After the battle

"Sensei, this sword..."

Liu Yun looked at Tsunade with earnest eyes.

Tsunade looked at her student, who refused to let go of the sword, then at his old blade, its edge rolled beyond recognition.

She teased him, "Relax. It's your spoils of war. You can keep it."

"Thank you, Sensei!"

Only then did Liu Yun breathe a sigh of relief.

Of Kirigakure's seven ninja swords, aside from the somewhat unusual Samehada, none could really be called top-tier weapons.

Among them was the Kubikiribōchō, a rather underwhelming weapon that could repair itself when broken but had no other abilities.

Remarkable as that was, it really wasn't all that useful.

But in a sense, the seven ninja swords could be considered symbols of Kirigakure.

If they were captured in battle, the usual choice was to make Kirigakure pay to reclaim them, unless someone in the village was particularly suited to wielding them.

Now, as long as Tsunade gave her approval, this sword would be his for good.

"That's a two-handed sword. It might not suit you. Later, go see whether Orochimaru kept any of the other ninja swords and pick one that suits you."

Moonlight Ruyun's eyes lit up.

There was more?

Too narrow. My horizons were still too narrow.

On reflection, it made sense. Kirigakure had launched a surprise attack on Uzushio Village, which was practically an open declaration of war against Konoha.

With Mito Uzumaki around, Konoha would never be spineless enough to return these ninja swords.

As long as they stayed in Konoha, things would be much easier...

As an inheritor of the will of fire, I should have round-the-clock access to all seven ninja swords!

The corners of his mouth curled upward.

Bless those kind Kirigakure Ninja, coming all this way to deliver equipment and materials.

There was still kindness to be found in the shinobi world.

Minato coughed lightly and raised his own ninja blade, its edge also rolled. "Lady Tsunade..." he said sheepishly.

Tsunade laughed. "You get one too. Have Jiraiya pick one for you."

Minato was overjoyed. "Thank you, Lady Tsunade."

These were the seven ninja swords, after all. Anyone who had studied swordsmanship would be curious about them.

Liu Yun: "..."

Seriously? Shouldn't the Yellow Flash be focusing on developing the Rasengan? How had he actually ended up practicing swordsmanship?

Of the seven ninja swords, only Kiba, Nuibari, and the Kubikiribōchō had relatively normal shapes.

The others were all bizarrely shaped.

It was hard to imagine the future Yellow Flash zipping around with some strange ninja sword in tow.

By then, the fighting in the various areas was drawing to a close.

"Mito Uzumaki!!!"

A roar erupted from the direction of Uzushio Village, followed by a figure wreathed in lightning.

Clutching two unconscious Kumogakure ninja, he charged straight through every obstacle in his path.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished over the dark sea.

"Grandma Mito!"

Tsunade cried out, called to Liu Yun, and rushed toward Uzushio Village.

Liu Yun didn't dare delay. By the time he reached Uzushio Village, the fighting had ended completely.

He looked at Mito Uzumaki.

Scarlet chakra, brimming with bloodlust and savagery, covered her entire body.

More than a dozen Adamantine Sealing Chains writhed through the air, each with an unconscious Kumogakure ninja bound at its end.

Mito Uzumaki raised two fingers. "Evil Sealing Method!"

Once the technique was complete, she casually tossed the dozen or so Kumogakure ninja onto the ground and noticed the worry on Tsunade's face.

She smiled gently. "Don't worry. I let him go on purpose."

The Third Raikage had been even harder to handle than she had expected.

His terrifying physique was backed by speed, destructive power, and defense that ranked among the very best.

For her, with no highly destructive ninjutsu other than the Tailed Beast Bomb, he had been a difficult opponent.

Although she was confident she could wear the Third Raikage down and kill him, it wasn't worth it.

With that, she turned to Liu Yun and Kushina and beckoned them over.

Liu Yun took Kushina's hand and hurried over, glancing at the still-unconscious Kumogakure ninja.

He inwardly marveled at the sight. Losing more than a dozen elite Jonin in one go would probably leave Kumogakure badly weakened.

Mito patted his shoulder and said emotionally, "This was all thanks to you. If it hadn't been for you... ah."

She shook her head and said no more.

The outcome went without saying. Without Liu Yun's warning, no reinforcements would have come to Uzushio Village tonight.

Faced with a coordinated surprise attack by Kumogakure, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure, Uzushio Village could have met only one fate.

The annihilation of its clan.

She suddenly felt grateful.

Grateful that Kushina had met Liu Yun, that Hiruzen Sarutobi had asked her to meet Liu Yun as soon as possible, that Tsunade had taken Liu Yun's uncle on a mission, and that she herself was not yet too old to fight...

"Come. Let's go check on the others."

Mito Uzumaki tucked her tangled emotions away, taking Liu Yun's hand in one hand and Kushina's in the other.

She walked toward the center of Uzushio Village.

"Lady Mito!"

Akina Uzumaki was covered in injuries. The moment he saw Mito Uzumaki, he froze, tears spilling from his eyes.

He was the clan leader, yet he wept like a child.

At his most desperate and helpless moment, when he had believed the Uzumaki Clan would perish under his leadership, Mito Uzumaki had arrived with reinforcements from Konoha.

She had saved the Uzumaki Clan, and she had saved him as well.

"Akina, you've grown old too." Mito Uzumaki sighed softly. "Get up. How heavy were the village's losses?"

Akina Uzumaki stopped crying, but as he looked at the devastated ruins of Uzushio Village, grief welled up inside him.

His voice choked as he said, "Fortunately, you arrived in time. The casualties weren't too heavy, and none of the village's children were harmed."

Mito Uzumaki nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

Compared with the annihilation of the clan, this was the best news they could have hoped for.

"A destroyed village can be rebuilt. As long as our people are still here, that's what matters."

Akina Uzumaki nodded firmly.

Indeed, what more could he ask for?

This was already the best possible outcome.

Mito Uzumaki gave Akina Uzumaki a few instructions, telling him to gather the clan members and reassure the villagers.

Just then, the other two teams finished their battles and came over together.

"How did it go?"

Hatake Sakumo was drenched in blood, his mask already removed.

His face was slightly pale as he said calmly, "The Third Mizukage escaped with severe injuries."

Liu Yun quietly studied Hatake Sakumo.

Although the original story had mentioned neither the Third Mizukage's name nor his specific abilities, it was known that he had served as the First Mizukage's bodyguard and attended the first Five Kage Summit.

Judging by the Third Kage of the other hidden villages, however, he couldn't have been weak.

Severely wounding a Kage-level opponent in single combat-the White Fang of Konoha certainly lived up to his reputation.

Mito Uzumaki nodded. This result was within her expectations.

Orochimaru and Jiraiya carried over four ninja swords and tossed them onto the ground. "Five of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist came. We killed them all."

Liu Yun recognized the four differently shaped ninja swords.

The Kubikiribōchō, Nuibari, the explosive blade Shibuki, and the blunt blade Kabutowari.

Too bad Samehada isn't here.

He was very interested in that ninja sword.

Tsunade asked pointedly, "Shouldn't five ninja swordsmen have five swords? Where's the last one?"

The corner of Orochimaru's mouth twitched as he looked at Kiba in Liu Yun's arms.

Jiraiya gave an awkward laugh, looking a little embarrassed.

It had indeed been their mistake to let Raiga Kurosuki slip away.

Since Tsunade was over there, they hadn't pursued him, focusing instead on dealing with the remaining swordsmen.

Tsunade couldn't be bothered with them. She gave Liu Yun a meaningful look.

She motioned for him to see whether any of the swords suited him.

"What about Iwagakure?"

Dan Katō, his long hair a pale blue, stepped forward and took out a scroll. "Lady Mito, Iwagakure sent the fewest people. They're all in here."