[Kiba]

Moonlight Ruyun's hand returned to his sword hilt.

Raiga Kurosuki noticed and sneered. "You think killing one useless fool means you can fight me?"

He charged, crossing his twin blades as blue-white electricity coursed along them.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Tsunade created a clone, which understood her intent and ran to Kushina's side to protect her.

Judging by their earlier performance, Liu Yun and Minato could protect themselves. Only Kushina, who currently knew nothing but the Great Fireball Technique, was considerably less capable of defending herself.

"You want to kill my students right in front of me? Do you think I'm not here?"

Seeing that Kushina was protected, Tsunade sneered and leaped high into the air.

In midair, she raised one leg above her head.

"Heavenly Foot of Pain!"

Blue chakra gathered around her foot, and her heel slammed down.

An instant later, a thunderous crash rang out.

Her terrifying strength made the ground shake violently. Huge fissures split open, spreading outward like a spiderweb.

The once-flat ground was completely transformed.

Gullies and craters scarred the earth.

At the same time, the massive shock wave made Raiga Kurosuki sway, throwing him off balance.

Tsunade naturally wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip away.

She vanished in a flash.

When she reappeared, she was already right in front of Raiga Kurosuki.

"Monster Strength Fist!"

Before Raiga Kurosuki's stunned eyes, a fist hurtled toward his face, moving so fast that it broke the sound barrier.

It tore through the air, creating a white shock wave visible to the naked eye.

He had no time to react and could only hastily hold his blades across his chest, trying to block.

The next instant, her fist struck the blades.

Raiga Kurosuki grunted and spat out a mouthful of blood. It felt as though a tailed beast had rammed into him.

The terrifying force sent him flying like a kite with its string cut.

His feet plowed two long furrows through the ground.

Tsunade stood where she was, slowly drew back her fist, and looked at her student.

Moonlight Ruyun understood immediately, with no time to marvel at her terrifying strength.

He boldly drew his sword and charged.

Finish him while he's down.

Raiga Kurosuki had been a little beyond him before, but after taking a Heavenly Foot of Pain and a Monster Strength Fist... he was just right.

Minato caught on and hurried after him.

Admiration and excitement welled up in his heart.

This was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, a figure whose name carried real weight throughout the shinobi world.

Raiga Kurosuki flew like a rag doll, smashing through countless trees before finally becoming embedded in a massive boulder.

By the time Moonlight Ruyun arrived, Raiga Kurosuki had already struggled to his feet.

He couldn't help wondering: weren't ninja supposed to have high offense and low defense?

Ninja who could move mountains and fill seas could be killed easily with a single kunai.

Yet a supposedly fragile ninja could still stand after a Monster Strength Fist sent him flying over a hundred meters?

How does that make sense?

"Cough, cough... urgh..."

Raiga Kurosuki had barely opened his mouth before he vomited another mouthful of blood.

His eyes held nothing but blank bewilderment. Clearly, the blow had left him dazed, and his mind had yet to catch up.

Liu Yun had no intention of waiting for Raiga Kurosuki to recover. His gaze fixed on the blade.

Kiba.

As one of the seven ninja blades passed down over many years, it had to be equipment material, if his guess was right.

And its grade probably wouldn't be low.

Clang!

Raiga Kurosuki barely managed to raise Kiba, and the two blades collided with a resounding crash.

[New equipment material detected]

[Kiba]

[Estimated quality: blue]

[Refining cost: 60,000 ryo per attempt]

[Special condition: kill this ninja blade's owner or kill the Mizukage]

[Condition not met. Unable to refine]

The instant the system notifications appeared-

Lightning burst out.

Liu Yun couldn't help retreating a few steps. He shook out his aching arm.

Why is this blade electrified, too...?

That brief contact had sent a current from Kiba through him, making him shudder. His arm went numb, leaving him able to exert only sixty or seventy percent of his strength.

Several chips had also appeared along his blade.

After several consecutive battles, this ordinary ninja blade was already struggling to hold up.

He gritted his teeth. Just as he had expected, Kiba really was equipment material.

"The special condition is to kill Raiga Kurosuki?"

As for killing the Mizukage, he dismissed that option outright.

"Konoha-Style: Dance of Spring!"

He unleashed a move that combined Konoha-Style Swordsmanship with taijutsu, making full use of his strength and speed.

His blade flashed again and again.

Wounds began appearing on Raiga Kurosuki's body, forcing him to raise his twin blades and cross them with difficulty.

He roared, "Lightning Summoning!"

Several bolts of lightning as thick as the mouth of a bowl crashed down.

The lightning blasted charred craters into the ground. Liu Yun had been watching out for this move all along and dodged swiftly.

Once the lightning faded, he charged in again.

Tsunade watched from nearby with Kushina.

As before, Minato prowled around them, waiting for Raiga Kurosuki to expose an opening.

Time slowly passed.

The rumbling from the direction of Uzushio Village gradually died away.

Raiga Kurosuki knew that their surprise attack on Uzushio Village had failed.

He might even end up dying here himself.

He silently cursed the Mizukage for being an idiot.

Looking at Tsunade, his mouth twitched. He dreaded the possibility of her suddenly appearing and landing another Monster Strength Fist.

On top of that, he had used Lightning Summoning several times. The lightning he called down hadn't hurt Liu Yun at all and had only consumed a considerable amount of chakra.

Then there was the persistent Liu Yun, who was clearly grimacing from the electric shocks.

Yet his sword hadn't slowed in the slightest, leaving Raiga struggling to keep up.

Finally, Liu Yun seized the opening just after Raiga Kurosuki finished using Lightning Summoning, and cold steel flashed in his hand.

One of Raiga Kurosuki's sword-wielding arms fell to the ground.

With one arm severed and only one blade left, he could no longer use Lightning Summoning.

With one less thing to worry about, Liu Yun's attacks grew even fiercer.

"You're not worthy of killing me! Let Tsunade do it!"

Raiga Kurosuki roared in defiance.

He couldn't bear to die at the hands of a nobody. It would disgrace the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Tsunade watched coldly, unmoved.

Anyone who dared invade Uzushio Village had no right to demand respect.

A few dozen seconds later, a head flew into the air.

Raiga Kurosuki was dead!

Minato Namikaze's eyes widened.

Moonlight Ruyun let out a heavy breath.

Even wounded, Raiga Kurosuki had been stronger than the Kirigakure ninja he had encountered at the start.

Throughout the fight, he had needed to watch for lightning bolts falling from the sky, while every clash with Kiba subjected him to another electric shock.

This had been the hardest battle he had ever fought.

Both his body and mind had reached their limits.

Sheer willpower alone kept him from collapsing.

He took a few steps forward and picked up the two strangely forked blades of Kiba, stroking them fondly, unwilling to put them down.

Finally, they're mine.

[New equipment material detected]

[Kiba]

[Estimated quality: blue]

[Refining cost: 60,000 ryo per attempt]

[Special condition: kill this ninja blade's owner or kill the Mizukage]

[Condition met. Begin refining?]