Coercion

Once he knew where they were, Li Yi didn't hold back. He used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside them, while a layer of blazing flames covered Ryujin Jakka in his hand. This was only a downgraded version of Ryujin Jakka. If Li Yi could release its Shikai, he wouldn't need to use the Mera Mera no Mi to cover it in flames.

His long sword came down. The blade, blazing with fierce flames, instantly parted the mist around them. A ninja wearing a Kirigakure Forehead Protector looked alarmed. He hadn't expected Li Yi to be this strong—or this fast.

But Li Yi's attack was already upon him. With no other choice, the ninja raised the Kunai in his hand to block. It was obvious what would happen when it met Ryujin Jakka: the Kunai was cleaved in two. Worse, the scorching heat of the flames overwhelmed the Kirigakure ninja, and Li Yi soon slit his throat.

A wisp of transparent thread was absorbed by Ryujin Jakka. Li Yi had long since grown used to it.

Once the Kirigakure ninja died, the Hidden Mist Technique dissipated. The mist Li Yi had created still hung in the air, but it no longer obstructed their vision as much.

Kagami Uchiha appeared in front of Li Yi and nodded. "Very good. Your reaction speed and your use of ninjutsu are both excellent."

Kagami Uchiha was pleased. Li Yi's growth had satisfied him. However, Li Yi's chakra nature was too limited, making him easy to counter. There was nothing to be done about it; it was determined by nature.

Although jōnin could use ninjutsu of other chakra natures, doing so consumed an enormous amount of chakra. In most cases, they preferred to fight using the chakra nature they knew best.

Kagami Uchiha then pointed out some of Li Yi's shortcomings. He especially lacked large-scale techniques, but those required a large chakra reserve. As long as he had enough chakra, he could use Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation, a large-scale Fire Style technique.

Li Yi could only build up his reserves gradually. His body was already quite good; at the very least, he had a decent amount of chakra. He just couldn't compare to members of the Senju Clan or the Uzumaki Clan.

And so, the two of them traveled through the Land of Rain, searching for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. To be honest, Li Yi was rather curious. He wondered whether Kagami Uchiha had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. After all, he was someone who had broken free of the constraints of clan loyalty.

But that was a ninja's private matter, and Li Yi wouldn't ask.

At that moment, in Amegakure, Hanzo of the Salamander angrily slammed his hand on the table. Those major villages were utterly detestable. They roamed so brazenly through his country and even fought battles there, causing many civilians in the Land of Rain to lose their lives.

But all Hanzo could do now was slam the table. Compared to those major villages, Amegakure was as insignificant as a drop in the ocean. They didn't care about it at all.

Even though Hanzo had reached Kage Level, so what? Was he supposed to single-handedly take down an entire village? Sorry, but Hanzo couldn't do that.

"Leader, a Kirigakure ninja is here to see you!" a Kirigakure ninja said, kneeling before Hanzo.

Hanzo frowned. Kirigakure's people were trouble, but he couldn't refuse to meet them. He had no choice but to go outside the village. A man carrying a large sword stood there, waiting quietly.

When Hanzo appeared, the man spoke without a hint of emotion. "Hanzo, I ask that you help Kirigakure find Kagami Uchiha, the man Konoha has just sent here."

It was true: Kirigakure had received word of Li Yi and the others' arrival. But Li Yi was a nobody. Kagami Uchiha was the one who mattered. He had served in the personal guard of Konoha's former Second Hokage and was now an elder of Konoha. Capturing him would deal a massive blow to Konoha.

Hanzo replied just as impassively, "Impossible. Amegakure can't afford to offend Konoha."

As if! If he helped Kirigakure today, Konoha's army could wipe out Amegakure tomorrow. Hanzo wasn't stupid enough to do something like that.

"Think it over," the man said, still without a hint of emotion. At the same time, four more people stepped out from behind him.

They carried all kinds of swords. They were clearly members of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen—and there were five of them. If those five joined forces, Hanzo figured he'd be done for. As for Amegakure's other ninjas, these people didn't even consider them worth noticing.

"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen..." Hanzo's heart sank. They had all come, and judging by the looks of it, unless he gave them an answer, things were going to get ugly.

But offending Konoha would be suicide too.

Just because the First Hokage and Second Hokage were dead didn't mean Konoha was easy to bully. Its reputation as the foremost shinobi village hadn't been earned for nothing.

But now he had no choice but to give in. "I can lend you fifty ninjas. I'll have them remove their Forehead Protectors."

He would let them use his people, but they couldn't be identified as Amegakure ninjas. That was the greatest concession Hanzo could make. If the Seven Ninja Swordsmen still weren't satisfied, there was nothing more he could do.

"Fine," said the man carrying Kubikiribōchō, nodding in acceptance. After all, pushing things to the point where both sides suffered would be no good for Kirigakure either.

With no other choice, Hanzo went back and gathered fifty ninjas. He explained the stakes to them and told them that even if they died, they must never admit they belonged to Amegakure.

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

Once they had the fifty ninjas from Amegakure, the Kirigakure ninjas set them to work without the slightest courtesy. They were just using them as cannon fodder. The Amegakure ninjas could only swallow their anger and help Kirigakure search for Kagami Uchiha.

With Amegakure's local forces involved, it didn't take long for Kirigakure's people to pinpoint Kagami Uchiha and Li Yi. They didn't care about a nobody like Li Yi, but they still had to take a powerful figure like Kagami Uchiha seriously.

So they laid a trap for Kagami Uchiha.

Kagami Uchiha and Li Yi still knew nothing about it.

"There seem to be more and more Kirigakure ninjas around lately," Li Yi remarked.

Kagami Uchiha frowned. "Something feels off. These people seem more like they're from Amegakure!"

Li Yi looked down at the ninja who had already been killed. The man was wearing a Kirigakure Forehead Protector.

"People from the Land of Rain tend to be rather pale because they rarely see the sun. Kirigakure's people aren't like that. They often have rather unusual appearances. Look at these men. Their skin has a sickly pallor. I suspect Kirigakure forced Amegakure's hand, and Hanzo had no choice but to send these people out to take the blame!" Kagami Uchiha analyzed. And the truth was not far off.