Wiped out with a flick of the wrist-could he pin it on Susanoo?

The battlefield was frighteningly quiet.

Flames still danced everywhere, the ground had been torn to pieces, and the vegetation had long since turned to ash.

Disbelief covered everyone's faces.

In their eyes, Yan Uchiha's lean figure was no different from a demon god.

Cold sweat covered Fuguki Suikazan's and Juzo Biwa's foreheads as they stared at the scene before them in horror.

Both men were completely stunned.

How could this possibly be real?

They were among the Hidden Mist's best. Aside from the Water Shadow and the Jinchuriki, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were practically a badge of prestige.

But now?

Without even activating his Sharingan, Yan had killed five of them in less than a minute.

That record was fucking terrifying. Even with the facts staring them in the face, they still refused to believe it.

And they weren't the only ones.

Shisui and Kazama also looked as though they had seen a ghost.

Aya Hyuga's mind had gone completely blank.

Confusion filled her face as she wondered, Was this really that unremarkable Uchiha boy I remembered?

"Run!"

Juzo Biwa forced out that single word, then turned to flee without another sound.

Fuguki Suikazan needed no further prompting.

Without a moment's hesitation, both men began running for their lives.

What a joke!

Normally, they were Elite Jonin of the Hidden Mist. But against someone as utterly unreasonable as Yan Uchiha, every scrap of courage they had for a fight had drained away.

The ninja swords in their hands might have been famous throughout the Shinobi World.

But their own strength topped out at Elite Jonin.

Though Yan Uchiha had yet to reach the level of a Kage, he was clearly beyond what either of them could handle.

Both men were thinking much the same thing.

Probably only the Water Shadow or a Jinchuriki could exchange a few blows with Yan Uchiha!

"Shisui, stop them," Yan Uchiha said, his expression grave. "You too, Kazama. Use your Shadow Techniques."

"Aya, activate your Byakugan."

"We have to kill those two, no matter what it costs."

"I need to keep my strength hidden. I can't reveal it yet!"

His gaze darkened.

With that, he chased after the two men without hesitation.

Shisui and the other two exchanged glances, but none of them questioned him. They charged after him.

In an instant, the attackers had become the hunted.

Yan carried Aya Hyuga, while Shisui carried Kazama.

The four of them moved at an unbelievable speed.

Juzo Biwa and Fuguki Suikazan were already running as fast as they could, cycling through the Hidden Mist Technique, Earth Release, and the Transformation Technique along the way. But under Aya Hyuga's Byakugan, all their tricks were useless.

The distance between the two sides kept shrinking.

Once they were close enough, Yan Uchiha activated his Sharingan with a fierce glare, set Aya Hyuga down, and charged straight in.

"Six Powers: Iron Body: Jade!"

Without another word, he became a streak of black wind and slammed into Juzo Biwa like a cannonball.

"Earth-Style Rampart!"

Left with no choice, Juzo Biwa turned to meet him head-on.

With a thunderous crash, the Earth-Style Rampart shattered almost as soon as it rose, and the two plunged straight into close combat.

Iron Body: Demon Sky Wolf, Wolf Bullet, Heavy-Step Wolf, Wheel, Steel, Shatter...

They traded blows back and forth, exchanging nearly thirty strikes in little more than ten seconds.

Juzo Biwa was going all out, swinging the Executioner's Blade so fast it became a gale.

But it was useless.

Yan Uchiha was burning with urgency too. Neither of these men could be allowed to leave alive.

They had caused far too much commotion here. People from the Hidden Leaf could arrive at any moment.

He had to finish the fight quickly!

For that reason, he held nothing back, unleashing his Iron Body fist techniques with lethal intent.

He did not even bother dodging the Executioner's Blade, meeting it head-on with his Iron Body-reinforced fists.

With the Sharingan aiding him, Juzo Biwa's movements seemed to slow down.

It took only two minutes from start to finish.

Bones had broken in several places throughout Juzo Biwa's body, and blood coated the corners of his oddly shaped mouth. Only sheer refusal to fall kept him standing.

Elsewhere, Shisui pushed his Body Flicker Technique to its limit. The three tomoe spun in his blood-red Sharingan as he kept Fuguki Suikazan pinned in place.

Had Samehada not been so difficult to deal with, Shisui would already have cut Fuguki down several times over, Elite Jonin or not.

Though they remained locked in combat, both men could naturally see what was happening on Yan Uchiha's side.

Fuguki Suikazan was truly panicking now.

He could tell that Juzo Biwa was about to give out.

"Stop fighting! I surrender!"

"You can seal our chakra. We're both willing to surrender to the Hidden Leaf."

"With the Seven Ninja Swordsmen gone, the Hidden Mist will definitely be willing to bow its head. Lord Water Shadow can come ransom us later."

"..."

Fuguki Suikazan hurried to speak.

He was afraid of death.

To put it bluntly, he had little loyalty to the Hidden Mist left.

Behind the scenes, he was also in league with Danzo.

Backed into a corner like this, he truly did not want to keep fighting. If he did, he might actually die!

Unfortunately for him.

Shisui acted as though he had heard nothing. Taking advantage of an opening Fuguki carelessly left while speaking, he swept his Tachi across and sliced open his throat in one stroke.

Fuguki Suikazan met his end there.

That was right.

Under other circumstances, Shisui might have accepted the Hidden Mist's surrender.

But not now.

Yan Uchiha's strength could not be revealed to the Hidden Leaf's higher-ups, so Fuguki had to die here.

With the Yamanaka around, they could not even leave his corpse behind.

Yan Uchiha was frighteningly efficient on the other side as well.

At the very moment Shisui finished his opponent, Yan drove a Shigan through Juzo Biwa's heart.

With that.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen had been wiped out!

Even after that, Yan Uchiha showed no intention of stopping. He turned and unleashed Fire Release: Storm Release: Gale Style, destroying the dense forest before him and burning both corpses away completely.

He collected Samehada and the Executioner's Blade along the way.

"Come on. Back to that mountain hollow."

They could not leave the corpses there either, and they could pick up that hiltless ninja sword while they were at it.

The others nodded.

Fifteen minutes later, after thoroughly wrecking the scene, their squad finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Jin, how are you planning to explain this afterward?" Shisui frowned and could not help asking. "We caused too much commotion here. With all the Seven Ninja Swordsmen dead, there's no way we can keep this from the village."

"What excuse are you going to use?"

Kazama Nara and Aya Hyuga also turned their eyes toward Yan Uchiha.

It was obvious.

After today's battle, both of them regarded Yan Uchiha with newfound respect.

In the Shinobi World, strength ultimately spoke loudest.

The stronger someone was, the more respect they received.

Kazama Nara felt that even more keenly.

He had already bet on Yan Uchiha making something of himself, but only after witnessing this firsthand was he truly certain he had backed the right man.

His own plan now had an even better chance of succeeding.

With that in mind, he needed to hurry and set his next pieces in place.

Yan Uchiha remained silent for a long time.

His brows drew tightly together.

For the moment, he could think of no answer to Shisui's question.

The fight had been too rushed. He had not had any time to settle down and think.

He had to find an explanation for his strength.

Otherwise, if the village and his clan learned that he had deliberately concealed it, his life would only become more difficult.

After brooding for a while, he finally spoke slowly.

"Yeah, let's go with this."

"We'll tell everyone that, on the verge of death, I unexpectedly awakened the Mangekyo."

"As for how I killed them, we'll say Susanoo did it!"