A Youth's Battle to the Death

"Qingyue!"

"That's right, it's me. Get out of here, now! You'll only get in my way if you stay. Retreat and find reinforcements—make sure you bring Jonin!"

There wasn't much time. Even though I had taken one of them out with a sneak attack, things wouldn't go so smoothly from here on.

All I could do was hold back their attacks as best I could, constantly maneuver around them, and last until my companions arrived.

"Got it! Father, hurry up and leave! We'll go find reinforcements!"

"No, you need to leave! They're strong. I can't possibly leave a child here to buy time for us. Let me use the Gate of Death—"

"Brother Dai, you're holding me back. Leave, now!"

At this point, I couldn't worry about anything else. I just needed them to get out of here quickly, or things would only become more troublesome.

"Let's go, Father. Qingyue is a ninja far stronger than us. We'll only hold him back if we stay!"

Finally, with Guy pulling him along, Might Dai gave me a deep bow before swiftly leaving with the others.

"Don't think you can escape!"

When Juzo Biwa raised his blade and moved to stop them, I immediately stepped forward and swung my sword to block him.

As we clashed head-on, immense force surged through me, forcing me to lower my stance and brace myself.

What a heavy sword. As expected of an Elite Jonin. I hadn't used chakra to strengthen my Dragon Saint Battle Aura, but this was the first time a contest of strength had been this difficult.

Lowering my body, I used a deft motion to slide my ninja sword away from his Executioner's Blade. Concealing my hand movements with my cloak, I swiftly threw out three explosive tags and retreated at top speed.

I raised two fingers on my left hand. Upon receiving the signal, the explosive tags detonated with a thunderous boom, kicking up a cloud of smoke.

But he had only suffered minor injuries. Holding the Executioner's Blade one-handed, he charged at me again.

He was an Elite Jonin, after all. It would have been strange if a few explosive tags had taken him down...

Just as I was about to block with the Water God Style, my Observation Haki suddenly warned me. In the distance, Suikazan Fuguki's hair stood on end before firing a barrage of needle-like hair senbon.

There was no way to deflect all of them. I could only strengthen my Dragon Saint Battle Aura, enduring the senbon strikes while swinging my sword and using the Water God Style to knock aside Juzo's Executioner's Blade.

The hair senbon rained down upon me. They failed to pierce my Dragon Saint Battle Aura, but the pain still made me grit my teeth.

After hurriedly pulling back, I glanced toward Kurosuki Raiga on the far right, who held the Lightning Blades: Fang. Then I spun around and charged toward Munashi Jinpachi at my left rear, activating the Silent Sword.

The Explosive Blade: Shibuki had far too much battlefield control. I had to take him out first, or the rest of the battle would be severely constrained.

Clang—

"What?!"

For the first time—since arriving in this world, for the first time—the Silent Sword had been blocked. Its user had been stopped by the wielder of the Twin Swords: Hiramekarei.

The twin blades of Hiramekarei fused into one, blue chakra burning like Flame. The enormous power overwhelmed me and sent me flying.

Exposed in midair, I saw Juzo leap from the ground and swing his blade at me. Fortunately, my Observation Haki had warned me in advance, giving me enough time to react.

I twisted my body slightly, narrowly dodging the Executioner's Blade, then drove a full-force backward kick into him and sent him crashing back to the ground.

The distance between us returned to where it had been at the start. I panted heavily, staring at the six men before me, unable to force a pleasant expression onto my face.

I never expected the Hiramekarei wielder, who had received no description at all in the original story, to block the Silent Sword. Luckily, he hadn't instantly accumulated chakra and unleashed all of Hiramekarei's power. Otherwise, that strike would have split me in two.

I lowered my head and looked at my ninja sword. The collision had already chipped its edge. It felt like it would shatter after a few more uses of the Silent Sword.

"Let me introduce myself again. My name is Qingyue, a Jonin of Konoha Village."

I should stall for time first. I couldn't attack rashly.

"A stalling tactic? Interesting. I'll indulge you. After all, it makes no difference how many Konoha scum come."

The one speaking was the wielder of the Twin Swords: Hiramekarei. His sharply pointed hairstyle resembled a drill, while his entire face looked like that of a large predator from the ocean.

"I am Hōzuki Chiba of the Hōzuki Clan. Quite the swordsman for someone so young! Kushimaru Kuriarare may have been the most useless one among us, but your ability to kill him instantly is still worthy of recognition. You haven't used your full strength yet, have you?"

I had still underestimated the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. I didn't expect them to notice so quickly that I was holding something back.

"After all, we may have another duel in the future. It wouldn't be wise to reveal too much information now."

"You still want to hide information while facing the six of us? I really don't know whether to call you overconfident or recklessly ignorant. Fine, let your death teach you this lesson!"

The stalling tactic had failed. Chiba split Hiramekarei into two blades and charged at me, firing several blue senbon along the way to guide my evasive movements.

Against a fighting style like this, the best response was naturally to take everything head-on. Feints at this level couldn't pierce my Dragon Saint Battle Aura.

Ignoring the blue senbon, I swiftly crouched down and grabbed a handful of dirt. When Chiba drew close, I scattered it at him to obstruct his vision.

"Such a childish trick. Are children fighting?"

Just as Chiba prepared to deal with my attack, I abruptly changed direction and charged at Munashi Jinpachi again.

Unfortunately, the turn this time was too sharp for me to use the Silent Sword, but it was enough!

My Observation Haki suddenly warned me. Two bolts of Lightning, shaped like sharp fangs, struck from the side. With no other choice, I strengthened my Battle Aura to block them and halted my charge.

After being sent flying by the two Lightning Blades: Fang strikes, I immediately got back to my feet, only to see Juzo with the Executioner's Blade drawn behind his back to gather strength. He was already right in front of me!

"Farewell, brat!"

The Executioner's Blade tore through the air as it came straight down. If I blocked it head-on with my ninja sword, the blade would likely break and injure me.

Seizing the right moment, I lowered my ninja sword and moved face-to-face with Juzo. Taking advantage of his confusion, I pressed my left hand against the Executioner's Blade and used a subtle force to gently redirect it.

With Dragon Saint Battle Aura wrapped around my body, I drove my raised knee into his abdomen. Juzo recoiled in pain and staggered back two steps. I pressed the advantage and swung my sword, but he blocked it with the Executioner's Blade.

At that moment, Munashi Jinpachi, who had remained hidden at the very back, swung the Explosive Blade: Shibuki at me. Its blade was covered in explosive tags.

Was he trying to blow up Juzo too at this distance?

My Observation Haki suddenly warned me. I unleashed my chakra in one burst, strengthening my Dragon Saint Battle Aura to its limit as I fled at full speed. The next instant, a spherical water prison appeared where I had just been standing.

That was the Water Prison Technique. If I got caught by it, there would be no escape. Taking the Explosive Blade: Shibuki's damage head-on would definitely leave me seriously injured.

"Such fast reactions. I really did underestimate you before, brat. Qingyue, was it...? My name is Juzo Biwa. Be happy—you've earned my recognition!"

He hadn't landed a single attack on me and had been getting chased around by me the whole time, yet he still had the nerve to say that...

Were Hidden Mist Village ninja always this shameless? They were practically a match for the Uchiha Clan.

The Lightning Blades: Fang struck again, two bolts of Lightning racing toward me at incredible speed.

Even after taking the Lightning Blades: Fang while covered in Battle Aura, my body was still somewhat numb. I absolutely couldn't take another hit, or my movements would slow.

Thinking this, I immediately sidestepped the Lightning Blades: Fang. But Akebino Jinin, wielding the Blunt Sword: Kabutowari, suddenly charged at me!