Follow Me, All the Way West

Fuguki Suikazan looked at the two people who had suddenly appeared before him, thoroughly surprised. Then he found the blue-haired young man oddly familiar. He rummaged through his pocket, pulled out a portrait, and compared it with Jing Hang.

"You're the Third Kazekage?"

"That's right!" Jing Hang said.

"Hahahaha! You refused the road to heaven and threw yourself into the gates of hell!" Fuguki Suikazan threw back his head and laughed, his voice as piercing as a night owl's.

"You know your laugh sounds awful, right?"

Jing Hang was getting irritated. He immediately unleashed Iron Sand: Drizzle at Fuguki Suikazan. Despite being fat as a pig, his opponent was astonishingly agile, calmly evading the Iron Sand before drawing the Samehada blade from his back and slashing at Jing Hang. Jing Hang instantly formed a black iron staff to block it. To his surprise, his chakra was sucked through the black iron staff by Samehada. Samehada had already torn free of its bandages, opening its huge mouth and sticking out its tongue as though it had just enjoyed a delicious feast, savoring the taste. Meanwhile, the black iron staff in Jing Hang's hand had lost the Magnet Release chakra sustaining it and reverted into a pile of Iron Sand scattered across the ground.

"Everyone, be careful. The blade in that fat man's hand is strange. It can absorb chakra."

Jing Hang clicked his tongue. Samehada really was troublesome. In the future, Kisame Hoshigaki, who wielded Samehada, would be called the "Tailed Beast Without a Tail." He was a ruthless man capable of taking down the Four-Tails Son Gokū in a one-on-one fight. Fuguki Suikazan was Kisame's predecessor and commander, so he was surely no ordinary opponent. Samehada could absorb chakra and replenish its wielder. If it had not encountered that taijutsu freak, Emperor Kai, it would have been incredibly difficult to defeat. Wait, Emperor Kai? Wasn't Emperor Kai's father right here!? He had already opened the Seven Gates. Wasn't he the perfect choice? With that thought, Jing Hang had a plan.

"Brother Dai, you take care of this fat man. I'll handle the other six!"

Mike Dai did not decline. With an outrageously flashy series of flips, he landed in front of Fuguki Suikazan. First, he gave Jing Hang a thumbs-up, clearly meaning, Leave it to me. Then the blue vapor around his body intensified as he assumed a standard opening stance before Fuguki Suikazan.

"The Azure Beast of Hidden Leaf Village has arrived. Please enlighten me!"

At that moment, Tsunade suddenly appeared behind them and gave Jing Hang an OK sign. It seemed she had arranged for the Hidden Leaf Village ninja to complete the encirclement. Heh. Seven Ninja Swordsmen, today would be your unlucky day!

"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen truly are Hidden Mist's elite. Even with such a tight encirclement, three of them still escaped! Pakura, burn them all." Jing Hang looked at the four corpses sprawled across the ground and could not help sighing.

After Mike Dai took on Fuguki Suikazan, Jing Hang's task became much easier. Magnet Release was practically the natural enemy of sword-wielding ninja—except for a monster like Samehada. Before long, the six Hidden Mist ninja had been thoroughly beaten. Trying to flee? Tsunade, Pakura, and the others had long since cut off their retreat. The situation gradually turned against the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

At first, Fuguki Suikazan had not taken the unremarkable, bearded Hidden Leaf Village ninja before him seriously. But after exchanging a few moves, he discovered that this man was incredibly fast and powerful. Every attack was based on taijutsu, and Samehada could not absorb even the slightest bit of chakra. It made him feel stifled, and a trace of doubt rose in his heart. This man's chakra was leaking outward, so how could he not absorb any of it? In the instant he was distracted, the ninja opposite him formed a strange stance and shouted, "Day Tiger!" A blue-and-white tiger head surged toward him. Haha, so he was finally using ninjutsu! Let Samehada suck it dry!

"Water Release: Great Shark Bullet!"

A gigantic shark shot toward the tiger head. Fuguki Suikazan revealed a wicked smile. This Great Shark Bullet could absorb the chakra of any ninjutsu. The bearded ninja could wait to be torn apart!

When the tiger head collided head-on with the giant shark, something strange happened. The Great Shark Bullet was instantly torn to pieces by the tiger head, which transformed into a powerful shockwave and struck Fuguki Suikazan squarely!

"How... could this be? That... wasn't... ninjutsu?" Fuguki Suikazan spat blood from his mouth. He had clearly suffered severe internal injuries.

"It really wasn't ninjutsu! It was taijutsu!" Mike Dai stood proudly as the blue aura around him gradually faded.

"And that isn't chakra flowing out. It's evaporating sweat!"

The two little fans perched in the tree had stars in their eyes. So cool.

Fuguki Suikazan spat out another mouthful of blood and threw Samehada into the air. Trembling, he forced himself to stand. Samehada suddenly opened wide in midair and draped itself over Fuguki Suikazan like clothing. In an instant, he transformed into a massive monster, neither man nor shark, yet both man and shark!

"Retreat!" the monster roared, charging out at Mike Dai's flank with incredible speed. The remaining members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen began breaking through in different directions.

In this battle, all members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen except Jūzō Biwa, Fuguki Suikazan, and Raiga Kurosuki were killed. No one on the Hidden Leaf Village and Sunagakure side was killed or injured. Well, to be precise, one person had been injured.

Mike Dai lay on a stretcher, having long lost his earlier magnificence. A foul odor wafted from his entire body. He was weak and pale, as though his soul had left him.

"Is your dad okay?" Hidan's eyes were full of concern. Beside him, Mike Kai had tears in his eyes and sobbed uncontrollably while holding the stretcher.

"Can you two stop being so dramatic? He's just exhausted. You're acting like he's dying." Tsunade speechlessly gave Mike Dai an IV to replenish his fluids.

"You were far too reckless. You opened the Seventh Gate right from the start. If you keep doing that, you'll become crippled. For the next few days, stay obediently on that stretcher. Otherwise, even the gods won't be able to save you."

Jing Hang picked up Hiramekarei, gave it a hard swing, and said with satisfaction, "As expected, it's a good blade!" As he spoke, he pulled out a blank scroll, used a sealing technique to seal Hiramekarei inside it, then took out a brush and wrote the flamboyant character "Twin" on the scroll. It already bore the characters "Explode," "Blunt," and "Sew."

"You really don't waste anything." Tsunade was clearly disdainful of Jing Hang's looting behavior.

"Here." Jing Hang tossed the scroll to Tsunade, who caught it with a puzzled expression.

"Later, have someone send this back to Hidden Leaf Village and hand it to Lord Hokage. Then Hidden Leaf Village and Sunagakure can issue a joint statement strongly condemning Hidden Mist Village's despicable actions and declaring that they will pursue the matter to the end. That way, the Mizukage won't dare act rashly, and Hidden Leaf Village's eastern border will be safe for the time being."

Tsunade froze. Jing Hang looked at her with a smile. "I told you that you have the potential to become Hokage. A Hokage needs to see the bigger picture!"

"It's over. Everything is over?" A group of villagers wept loudly as they stared at their ruined village.

"What's your name?" Jing Hang walked over to the villagers.

"In reply to my lord, my name is Wuzhong Ou." The leading villager wiped away his tears as he answered.

"Ah, how pitiful. The village has been destroyed. Once winter comes, won't these villagers freeze and starve to death?" Pakura said, her eyes filled with sympathy.

Jing Hang pondered for a moment, seemingly thinking of something. His face immediately broke into a broad smile.

"Brother Wuzhong, are all these people your clansmen?"

"Yes. They are all my brothers and family." Wuzhong Ou pointed to the villagers.

"Mm. How many of you are there altogether?"

"Twelve in total, including adults and children."

"Alright, then all of you come with me!"

"Huh?" Wuzhong Ou looked utterly confused.

Jing Hang smiled as he put on his green Kazekage hat. "I am the Third Kazekage of Hidden Sand Village. I'm building a new village in the west. I'll provide all your food and daily necessities. There are new houses, new farmland, new jobs, new lives, and Sunagakure ninja to protect you. Are you willing to go?"

The confusion on Wuzhong Ou's face slowly turned into wild joy. He dashed like smoke to his clansmen and said something to them. Before long, the entire group erupted in cheers and ran over to thank Jing Hang.

Jing Hang smiled and nodded, then pointed west with outrageous swagger. "Follow me, all the way west!" Everyone cheered and jumped with joy.

At that moment, a little girl held out a chunk of crystal to Jing Hang and said sweetly, "My lord, this is for you."

Jing Hang smiled and accepted the crystal, scooping the little girl into his arms. He examined the crystal in his hand. It was pink, with a small flower inside.

"What's your name, little sister?"

"My name is Honglian. Wuzhong Honglian."

"Oh, what a good name. What a good name." Jing Hang's smile became even brighter, like a rat that had stolen oil.