Forced

Knowing the location, Li Yi did not stand on ceremony. He flashed forward, simultaneously coating the Ryujin Jakka in his hand with a layer of raging flames. It must be said, this was merely a low-tier version of Ryujin Jakka; if Li Yi could perform the Shikai of Ryujin Jakka, he would have no need to use the abilities of the Mera Mera no Mi to coat it.

As the long blade slashed down, the searing flames instantly tore through the surrounding mist. A ninja wearing a Hidden Mist headband revealed a trace of panic in his eyes; he had never expected Li Yi to be this strong, nor this fast.

However, Li Yi's attack had already arrived. With no other choice, the ninja raised his kunai to block. Clearly, upon colliding with Li Yi's Ryujin Jakka, the kunai was shattered instantly. Not only that, but the intense high temperature of the raging flames made it impossible for the Hidden Mist ninja to parry, and he was quickly dispatched by Li Yi with a slash to the throat.

A wisp of transparent thread was absorbed by Ryujin Jakka, a sight Li Yi had long since grown accustomed to.

After this Hidden Mist ninja died, the Hidden Mist Technique dissipated. Although the mist Li Yi had created was still swirling, it no longer obstructed one's vision to the same degree.

Uchiha Kagami appeared before Li Yi, nodded, and said, "Very good. Whether it is your reaction speed or your application of ninjutsu, both are excellent."

Uchiha Kagami felt gratified; he was very satisfied with Li Yi's growth. However, Li Yi's chakra nature was too singular, which made him easily countered. Yet, there was no helping that; it was determined at birth.

Although a Jonin could release ninjutsu of other natures, doing so would consume an immense amount of chakra. Under normal circumstances, Jonin mostly used the chakra natures they were familiar with to fight.

Subsequently, Uchiha Kagami began to point out some of Li Yi's shortcomings, specifically his lack of large-scale ninjutsu. However, that required the accumulation of chakra reserves; as long as one had enough chakra, one could perform a large-scale Fire Style like Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation.

Regarding this, Li Yi could only accumulate it slowly. His current body was already quite good; at the very least, his chakra volume was decent, though it could not compare to the Senju Clan or the Uzumaki Clan.

Just like that, the master and apprentice walked through the Land of Rain, beginning their search for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. To be honest, Li Yi was still quite curious whether Uchiha Kagami had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, as he was, after all, a man who had transcended the shackles of clan-centrism.

However, as this was a ninja's private matter, he would not ask.

At this moment, in the Hidden Rain Village of the Land of Rain, Hanzo of the Salamander slammed his hand onto the table in a fit of rage. These great ninja villages were truly detestable, acting so unscrupulously within their country and even engaging in combat, causing many civilians of the Land of Rain to sacrifice their lives.

Yet, for now, Hanzo could only slam the table, because compared to these great ninja villages, their Hidden Rain Village was like a drop in the ocean; those people didn't care about them at all.

Even if Hanzo had now reached the Kage level, so what? Was he supposed to rely on himself alone to crush a ninja village? Sorry, he, Hanzo, could not do that.

"Leader, there is a ninja from the Hidden Mist Village outside asking to see you!" a Hidden Mist ninja said, kneeling before Hanzo.

Hanzo frowned. People from the Hidden Mist Village—trouble. But he could not refuse to see them, so he went outside the village. There, a man carrying a large blade stood quietly.

After Hanzo appeared, the man said without a hint of emotion in his tone, "Hanzo, please help our Hidden Mist Village find the Uchiha Kagami recently dispatched by Konoha."

Indeed, the intelligence regarding Li Yi and his companion had already been obtained by the Hidden Mist Village. However, Li Yi was just a small fry; the most important target was Uchiha Kagami, a former member of the Second Hokage's personal guard and a Konoha elder. If they captured Uchiha Kagami, it would undoubtedly be a massive blow to Konoha.

Hearing this, Hanzo remained expressionless and said, "Impossible. Our Hidden Rain Village cannot afford to offend Konoha."

What a joke. If he dared to help the Hidden Mist today, Konoha's army could flatten the Hidden Rain Village tomorrow. He, Hanzo, was not stupid; he would never do such a thing.

"Think carefully!" the man said, still expressionless. At the same time, four more people stepped out from behind him.

They carried various types of blades; clearly, these were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and there were five of them. It could be said that if these five joined forces, Hanzo estimated he would lose his life here. As for the other ninjas of the Hidden Rain Village, heh, they were not even in these people's eyes.

"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!" Hanzo's mood was heavy. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen had all come, and it looked like if he didn't give them an answer, he would be in a precarious situation this time.

But to make him offend Konoha? Heh, that was also courting death.

Do not think that because the First Hokage and Second Hokage were dead, Konoha was easy to bully. Their long-standing reputation as the number one ninja village was not something earned by bluffing.

But now, he had to compromise, so he could only say, "I can lend you fifty ninjas. I will have them remove their headbands."

He could provide the men, but they could not be ninjas of the Hidden Rain Village. This was already the extent of Hanzo's sincerity. If these Seven Ninja Swordsmen were still not satisfied, then he, Hanzo, had no other options.

"Fine!" The man carrying the Kubikiribocho nodded, considering it acceptable. After all, forcing a situation where both sides perished was not a good thing for the Hidden Mist either.

Hanzo had no choice but to return and mobilize fifty ninjas, clearly explaining the stakes: even if they died, they were not to admit they were from the Hidden Rain Village.

As long as they didn't admit it, there was still room for maneuver.

Having obtained the fifty ninjas from the Hidden Rain Village, the Hidden Mist ninjas began to order them around without the slightest courtesy, using them as cannon fodder. These Hidden Rain ninjas could only swallow their anger and began helping the Hidden Mist Village track down Uchiha Kagami.

It had to be said that with the addition of the local forces of the Hidden Rain Village, the Hidden Mist ninjas quickly locked onto Uchiha Kagami and Li Yi. They didn't care about a small fry like Li Yi, but they had to take a powerhouse like Uchiha Kagami seriously.

Thus, a trap was laid for Uchiha Kagami.

And Uchiha Kagami and Li Yi were currently unaware of it.

"There have been more and more Hidden Mist ninjas lately," Li Yi remarked.

Uchiha Kagami, however, frowned and said, "It doesn't quite look like it. These people look a bit like they're from the Hidden Rain Village!"

Li Yi looked at the ninja he had just killed at his feet; the man was wearing a Hidden Mist headband.

"People from the Land of Rain are generally quite pale because they rarely see the sun, but people from the Hidden Mist Village are not like that. People from the Hidden Mist Village tend to have somewhat strange appearances. Look at these people; their skin has a sickly pallor. I suspect the Hidden Mist Village pressured the Hidden Rain Village, and Hanzo had no choice but to push these people out to take the fall!" Uchiha Kagami analyzed, and the reality was not far off.