"Get out of the way!"
The Mist Ninja leading the group barked an order and darted out of the gray haze. The other Mist Ninja hurriedly scattered in every direction.
Crack!
Asuma clenched his teeth hard. Sparks flew, instantly igniting the scorching hot ash. In a flash, it turned into a vast sea of flames.
"Burn!" Asuma shouted theatrically.
"Gaaah!"
One unlucky Mist Ninja hadn't managed to escape the gray haze when the blazing flames swallowed him up. He screamed as he burned to a crisp.
This was the only Fire Release in Naruto that could actually burn people to death—Ash Pile Burning.
"Gentle Fist: Double!"
Just as one Mist Ninja was congratulating himself on surviving, tremendous force suddenly struck from behind, piercing straight through his chest.
Thud!
His organs were pulverized by the impact. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with shock and unwillingness.
"How is this possible...?!"
He'd been keeping an eye on the area behind him. There hadn't been a single enemy in that direction just moments ago!
The Mist Ninja slowly collapsed. Yuhi Kurenai, hidden in a tree, let out a quiet breath.
Genjutsu: Mirage!
Genjutsu was all about deceiving an enemy's senses. After such a spectacular explosion, tricking a Genin's perception was incredibly easy.
"Hey, weren't you supposed to take on that Chunin?" Asuma said, looking at Genye.
"That guy was too alert. I couldn't get a good opening, so I had to pick off an easier target first," Genye replied casually.
Seeing Asuma and Genye chatting as if no one else were around, the Mist Chunin was instantly enraged.
"You little brats, don't underestimate me! Hei, help me kill them!"
He drew the long sword at his waist and charged at Genye and Asuma with his subordinate.
"Hmph!"
Genye gave a cold snort. An invisible Eight Trigrams Formation suddenly unfurled, enveloping the two Mist Ninja.
"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!"
Genye struck from a distance, firing a mass of chakra. The Mist Ninja named Hei fell to the ground, clutching his chest in pain.
"Hey, hey, leave one for me!"
Before Genye could attack again, Asuma rushed forward impatiently, claw knives in hand, and faced the last Mist Chunin.
"Eight quack!"
The Mist Chunin was both shocked and furious. He was shocked that the two brats were so strong, and furious that they were treating him like a joke!
"Sword Technique: Water Flow Splatter!"
The Mist Chunin swung his long sword rapidly. As the blade flashed, it seemed to churn with flowing water. He used the force of his spin to bring it down hard on Asuma.
"Sword Technique: Twin Stars Chasing the Moon!"
Asuma dipped low and struck with both claw knives. The instant his left blade blocked the long sword, his right blade was already thrusting toward the enemy's neck.
Squish.
The Mist Chunin's artery was severed, and blood spurted out as he crumpled to the ground.
Asuma: "..."
He silently turned around and looked at Yuhi Kurenai, who had just dropped down from the tree.
"Sorry, I just wanted to try out the genjutsu I'd learned. I didn't expect it to work so well." Kurenai stuck out her tongue playfully.
"Bullshit. You did that on purpose," Asuma said irritably, shooting Kurenai a look.
"Alright, hurry up and clean up so we can leave. We still have to get to the next location," Genye urged.
They quickly cleaned up the scene.
As Asuma wiped down his claw knives, he suddenly looked suspicious.
"I think I smell something strange..."
He sniffed around like a Ninja Dog, but couldn't find anything unusual.
Seeing Genye and Kurenai staring at him in confusion, Asuma scratched his head and said awkwardly,
"Never mind. It was probably my imagination. Let's go."
In a quiet stretch of woods,
A man with tousled yellow hair and a Kirigakure Anbu mask slowly pulled a blade out of the head of the Konoha Ninja in front of him.
No—calling it a blade wasn't quite right. It looked more like an elongated sewing needle, with a thin wire attached to the end.
The man had perversely "stitched" four Konoha Ninja together. He dragged their bodies behind him as he walked over to his companion.
His companion was holding a massive cleaver, using the Konoha Ninja's blood to mend the chips in its blade. Before long, the sword was as good as new.
"Tsuru, you're as twisted as ever," said his companion, holding the massive sword impassively as he looked at the bodies trailing behind the man.
Kushimaru Kuriarare!
One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kirigakure, and the wielder of the long sword Nuibari!
"Juzo, you cold-blooded bastard. You're hardly one to judge me," Kushimaru Kuriarare said nonchalantly.
Juzo Biwa.
One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and the wielder of the blunt sword Kubikiribōchō!
Juzo stopped paying attention to Kushimaru, hoisted the greatsword onto his shoulder, and turned to walk in the other direction.
"What a cold guy," Kushimaru muttered, suddenly bored.
He abandoned the bodies behind him, hurried after Juzo, and struck up a conversation with a grin.
"Tsk. Using our own village's Genin as bait to mark a Konoha squad—Juzo, why is the Mizukage so heartless?"
Juzo gave Kushimaru a sidelong glance and replied expressionlessly,
"We were born in the Village of the Bloody Mist. What's strange about that? You and I should be used to it by now."
Kushimaru was completely at a loss. Juzo always knew how to kill a conversation.
"Koji Fortress!"
Kushimaru stopped paying attention to Juzo, bit his finger, formed Hand Seals with his blood, and summoned a ninja beast that looked like an weasel.
The little beast climbed onto his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. Kushimaru immediately let out an exaggerated gasp.
"Oh? There's a Konoha squad to the east and another to the south? Goodness, what should I do?"
"I don't want to be separated from Juzo. Being alone is so boring."
Juzo couldn't be bothered with the drama. He roughly grabbed the ninja beast off Kushimaru's shoulder and turned to head east.
"I'm going east. Meet me at the usual place later."
"Tsk."
Watching Juzo walk away, Kushimaru summoned another beast and headed the other way, humming a tune.
In the woods to the east, Genye and the others had just finished dealing with a second Mist Ninja squad.
As the three of them rested, Genye's expression suddenly changed.
"Asuma, Kurenai, we need to move!"
At his words, Asuma and Kurenai immediately followed him as he started to retreat.
"What's wrong, Genye? Is there someone dangerous behind us?" Asuma asked as they ran.
"It's Juzo Biwa, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen!" Genye replied grimly.
"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen? Juzo Biwa? Why is he here?!" Yuhi Kurenai cried in shock.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were Kirigakure's terrifying human weapons. Every one of them was an elite Jonin.
It was said that the seven of them could conquer a small country in a single night.
Juzo Biwa was the most brutal of them all, his reputation for cruelty and bloodshed known across the nations.
They absolutely must not fight him!
The three of them fled without looking back. After a while, Asuma asked, "Genye, have we shaken him off?"
"No." Genye's expression grew even grimmer.
Not only had they failed to shake Juzo Biwa, but with him pursuing them at full speed, the distance between them was shrinking.
"He must have some way of tracking us," Genye said bitterly. "We probably... can't get away."
He might have been strong enough to take on a Jonin, but their opponent was an elite Jonin, a battle-hardened veteran who could bat Tailed Beast Bombs around like ping-pong balls!
Salamander Hanzo was one hell of a guy, wasn't he?
The man behind them was worth twenty of him!
Against an opponent like that, they couldn't see the slightest chance of winning!
But they... couldn't escape. They had no choice but to fight!
Genye looked at his teammates and took a deep breath. "Everyone, get ready to fight!"
"Once we..."
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