Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!

Two days later.

Lin Hai and two Konoha ANBU left the Temple of Fire and rushed overnight to the front lines of the Land of Whirlpools.

The Land of Whirlpools was an island nation surrounded by the sea, so the three could only travel by ship.

After days of travel, Lin Hai was exhausted from head to toe.

The moment he boarded, he collapsed in the cabin and fell into a deep sleep.

Midnight.

Boom!

A violent jolt, accompanied by the crashing of waves, startled Lin Hai awake.

He flipped to his feet and rushed out of the cabin.

Thick white fog blanketed the waters around the ship, reducing visibility to less than ten meters.

One ANBU stood on deck with a grim expression.

"Our escort squad has come under attack!"

"The enemy is slaughtering our comrades! We have to support them. Watch yourself!"

Before he had even finished speaking, the two ANBU shot into the fog like arrows loosed from a bow.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Hai jumped off the deck.

His feet landed steadily on the sea. He pressed his index and middle fingers together and closed his eyes.

"Chakra Sensory Technique!"

A vast wave of spiritual power spread outward.

"There's only one enemy?!"

Lin Hai's heart tightened.

Within his senses, four of the five Konoha jonin in the escort squad had already lost their vital signs.

The sole survivor's chakra was also extremely weak.

"One person instantly killed four Konoha jonin?"

"What a terrifying Mist ninja! Found you!"

Lin Hai formed hand seals, leaving behind a Shadow Clone to continue sensing the area.

His real body then shot toward the depths of the fog like an arrow.

When he reached the scene, he saw a tall, thin figure standing before a severely wounded Konoha ninja lying on the ground.

The man held an exaggeratedly huge blade upside down in one hand and was about to bring it down on the Konoha ninja's head!

"Stop!"

Lin Hai shouted sharply, his hands flashing through seals.

"Fire Release: Blazing Flame Transformation!"

A mass of blazing fire erupted from Lin Hai's mouth!

In an instant, it transformed into a shield of flames, firmly protecting the wounded Konoha ninja within.

Clang!

The massive blade slammed viciously into the fire shield with a dull boom.

The shield did not shatter. Instead, it transformed into a burning humanoid figure that roared as it lunged at the Mist ninja!

Taking advantage of the instant the Mist ninja retreated to defend himself, Lin Hai flashed forward and spewed out another massive burst of flames.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The dazzling blaze tore through the fog, illuminating the Mist ninja's face.

He was a tall, thin man with sinister eyes.

In his hand was a broad, massive blade with two crescent-shaped notches along its edge.

Faced with the incoming fireball, the man did not retreat.

His hands rapidly formed seals. "Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

The seawater beneath his feet surged skyward.

It turned into an indestructible curtain of water that blocked both the flaming figure and the Great Fireball Technique.

At that moment, the other two ANBU also arrived at the battlefield.

The three formed a triangular formation around the Mist ninja.

"Eight Gates! Gate of Opening! Gate of Healing! Gate of Life! Open!"

Lin Hai wasted no words and directly opened the first three gates.

Violent chakra burst from his body.

He turned into a streak of blue lightning and viciously kicked at the Mist ninja.

The Mist ninja raised his massive blade horizontally to block.

Bang!

The tremendous impact sent the Mist ninja sliding several meters across the sea.

Lin Hai twisted his waist in midair, spinning like a top.

He unleashed a taijutsu technique. "Shadow of the Dancing Leaf!"

A powerful spinning kick struck the Mist ninja squarely in the abdomen, launching him into the air.

"Good chance!"

The two ANBU understood each other without a word and formed seals at the same time.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Wind fueled the flames!

A gigantic fireball more than five meters wide crashed toward the airborne Mist ninja like a meteor!

Yet the Mist ninja remained exceptionally calm in midair.

His hands formed seals like fluttering butterflies. "Tiger—Snake—Tiger—Snake—Tiger—Snake!"

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

A cylindrical wall of water rose from the sea and tightly encased him within.

The combined wind-and-fire attack struck the water wall and turned into steam that filled the sky.

The vapor dispersed.

The Mist ninja stood on the sea once more and coldly swept his gaze across the three of them.

"Konoha insects, you are destined to be buried in this sea."

With that, his body vanished into the thickening fog.

Lin Hai and the two ANBU did not dare pursue him.

They hurriedly brought the surviving Konoha ninja back onto the ship.

After bandaging his wounds, Lin Hai could not help asking.

"Who exactly was that guy? He took on your ten-man squad alone and still won completely?"

The wounded Konoha ninja still looked shaken.

"He is one of Kirigakure Village's most elite assassination unit—the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!"

"His real name is unknown. All we know is that his blade is called the 'Broken Blade: Decapitating Carving Knife'!"

One ANBU frowned. "The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist who followed the Second Mizukage and crushed Iwagakure's central army?"

"That's right!"

The wounded ninja gritted his teeth. "The Second Mizukage suddenly died in battle. To establish his authority and make up for their losses, the acting Mizukage sent all seven of those monsters to the Land of Whirlpools battlefield!"

"Over the past while, more than fifty Konoha comrades have already died at their hands!"

"If you hadn't arrived in time, I would have died here today too."

Just then, the sound of something slicing through the air suddenly came from the fog ahead.

The two ANBU immediately drew their ninja blades, facing the threat as if confronting a powerful enemy.

As the fog gradually dispersed, Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared in view with a squad of Konoha patrol ninjas.

"Brother Monkey!"

Lin Hai was overjoyed and hurriedly waved to him.

Hiruzen jumped onto the ship. When he saw Lin Hai, he curled his lips.

"Why did you take so long? Teacher's deployment order was sent out more than ten days ago, wasn't it?"

Lin Hai rolled his eyes.

"You think everyone's like you, sneaking off to steal peaches from farmers while on a mission?"

Hiruzen's old face reddened as he guiltily glanced around.

"Ahem, don't talk nonsense! When I was teaching you taijutsu, I merely borrowed a few peaches to quench my thirst!"

"Besides, didn't I leave money under the tree afterward?"

"Really?" Lin Hai looked skeptical.

Hiruzen quickly changed the subject and looked at the injured ninja. "You ran into Mist ninjas?"

Lin Hai nodded. "We ran into a guy carrying a huge blade. Apparently, he's one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."

Lin Hai asked curiously, "Brother Monkey, are those seven guys really that strong?"

Hiruzen's expression became grave.

"They're strong, and extremely troublesome."

"Each of those seven is skilled with a famous Kirigakure blade that possesses special abilities."

"They are Kirigakure Village's ace assassination force, specializing in high-risk missions."

Lin Hai smiled. "Since they're such a threat, why didn't the Second Hokage personally deal with them?"

Hiruzen gave a bitter smile. "How could Teacher possibly not have acted?"

"When we first arrived in the Land of Whirlpools, Teacher encountered them head-on."

"In that battle, aside from the fellow wielding a club-like blade called Shark Skin, who gave Teacher a little trouble, the other six were beaten senseless by Teacher's Flying Thunder God Technique."

"But unfortunately, Teacher still failed to keep them all behind."

"The man wielding Shark Skin used some unknown secret technique. His chakra suddenly surged to a level comparable to a tailed beast's, and he forcibly blocked Teacher's killing blow."

"In the end, seeing that the situation had turned against them, they split up and fled in all directions."

Hiruzen looked at the vast white fog surrounding them and sighed.

"Since then, those seven have never shown themselves before Teacher again."

"They use weather like this heavy fog to hunt our supply lines and isolated scouting squads."

"The enemy is hidden while we are exposed. It really is a headache."

A few days later, at Konoha's main camp in the Land of Whirlpools.

"Lord Hokage, I have returned."

Lin Hai entered the Hokage's Office and respectfully bowed.

Tobirama Senju looked up from the mountain of documents and examined Lin Hai from head to toe.

"Hmm. Have your injuries fully healed?"

"I heard from the ANBU that you were severely injured before reaching the Temple of Fire. Have you found out who did it?"

Lin Hai shook his head.

"The other party wore a mask and refused to reveal his identity. But... he could use Wood Release!"

"Wood Release?!"

Tobirama abruptly rose to his feet, his gaze sharp. "Are you sure you didn't see wrong?"

"I'm absolutely sure!" Lin Hai's tone was resolute.

"I once saw Teacher Hashirama use Wood Release with my own eyes. That person's ninjutsu was exactly like Teacher's, and he used it with great proficiency!"

Tobirama furrowed his brow and paced back and forth across the office.

"That's impossible!"

"In the entire ninja world, aside from my elder brother, there cannot possibly be a second person capable of using true Wood Release!"

"Not even I, a direct descendant of the Senju Clan, can do it!"

Tobirama stopped and looked at Lin Hai.

"You may have seen it wrong. Hidden Grass Village has some special ninjutsu that looks similar to Wood Release, but it is merely deception in essence."

"You have had too little contact with Wood Release. It would not be strange for you to have been deceived. Once the fighting here is over, I'll take you to Hidden Grass Village and let you see for yourself."

Tobirama added gravely.

"If a second ninja capable of using Wood Release has truly appeared in the ninja world, and is lurking within the Land of Fire..."

"Then that would be an absolutely devastating threat to Konoha!"

Lin Hai shrugged indifferently.

"Isn't that a little too alarming? Wood Release may be powerful, but it's not invincible under heaven, is it?"

Tobirama snorted and looked at Lin Hai as if he were an idiot.

"That is because you have never seen the peak battle between my elder brother and Madara Uchiha!"

"If you had, you would understand what power capable of suppressing an entire era truly meant!"

"Wood Release is unquestionably the number one ninjutsu in the ninja world!"

Lin Hai raised his brows, his voice filled with powerful confidence. "Is that so? But soon, it won't be!"

Tobirama could not be bothered arguing with him and sat back down.

"By my calculations, that brat Ōnoki should be sending over the information on Bloodline Selection soon."

"Once the information arrives, I'll properly study how to fuse your three chakra natures together."

"Before that, get out there and practice the Yin and Yang nature transformations of chakra!"

"As a genius of the Uchiha Clan, you can't even use the most basic Summoning Technique. Aren't you ashamed?"

Lin Hai awkwardly rubbed his nose.

"Can you blame me? I had enough chakra, but I just couldn't draw the formula for the summoning contract properly."

"This is clearly because Teacher Hashirama's method was flawed..."

"Get out! Don't let me see you again today!"

With an angry roar, Tobirama threw Lin Hai, who was still making excuses, straight out of the office.

Land of Whirlpools, inside a hidden sea cave.

Kirigakure Village's trump card—the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist—had gathered here.

"Broken Blade, can your Decapitating Carving Knife still be used?"

An extremely tall, fierce-looking man glanced at the teammate who had returned not long ago.

Broken Blade gazed painfully at the massive blade in his hands, now broken in half.

"I never expected the legendary Thunder God Sword to be so sharp. It cleaved my sword in two with a single strike!"

"Tobirama Senju really is a monster!"

Another ninja wielding twin blades shrugged dramatically.

"The monster isn't the sword—it's the person holding it, okay!"

"If your big blade hadn't blocked that Flying Thunder God Slash, all seven of us would've reported to the Pure Land on the first day!"

"Getting away that time was pure luck."

"Tobirama Senju didn't know that Shark Skin could devour chakra, which was the only reason I found an opening."

"If we face him head-on again, even if all seven of us were tied together, we still wouldn't be enough for him to kill."

The tall man spoke in a deep voice. He was none other than Suikazan Fuguki, owner of the greatsword Shark Skin.

"Fuguki is right. We have to come up with a foolproof plan to assassinate the Second Hokage!"

"Otherwise, once he frees up his hands and leads troops straight into the Land of Water, Kirigakure Village will be in danger!"

A hot-tempered ninja suggested.

"Assassinate the fastest ninja in the world? Did water get into your brain?"

Another man mocked him mercilessly. "You want to go? Believe it or not, your head will be gone before you even get within a hundred meters of him."

"If my Explosive Blade: Shibuki could get close enough to detonate..."

"Oh, shut up already! With that little explosive power of yours, you couldn't even blast through his Water Formation Wall!"

Just as the group's argument grew increasingly heated.

Suikazan Fuguki suddenly drove Shark Skin into the ground, producing a deep, thunderous boom.

"Enough!"

Fuguki swept his gaze over the crowd and spoke coldly.

"What Tobirama Senju wants is to end the war, while what we need is to plunder resources in the Land of Whirlpools. Those two things don't actually conflict."

"Our top priority now isn't to throw our lives away trying to assassinate the Hokage!"

"It's to continue our previous tactics: split up, use the heavy fog as cover, and relentlessly hunt down Konoha's isolated squads and supply lines!"

"Muddy the waters and run them ragged!"

"As for our next strategy, once the village chooses the Third Mizukage, there will naturally be a decision."

"The reason the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist exist is to cut down every obstacle for Kirigakure Village!"

Broken Blade raised the shattered Decapitating Carving Knife in his hand and let out a low roar.

"Glory to Kirigakure!"

Suikazan Fuguki raised the massive Shark Skin as well.

"Glory to Kirigakure!"

The other five raised their respective ninja swords.

The sound of weapons clashing echoed through the cave.

"Glory to Kirigakure!"