What happened to martial honor?

Kakashi and the other two set their sights on Suikazan Fuguki, who wielded Samehada.

Zou Hyuga strode toward Kisame Hoshigaki, activating his Byakugan and preparing for battle.

He was very interested in the Shark Face before him. Despite being human, his opponent had shark markings on his face, along with an astonishingly inhuman amount of chakra.

It was hard not to suspect some secret technique or kekkei genkai-or even that a shark had simply gained sentience and taken human form.

"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique!"

With Kisame's fierce shout, shark-shaped water bullets took form, several of them lunging at Zou Hyuga.

Though it was only a low-level ninjutsu, Kisame's immense chakra gave it enough power to split mountains and shatter stone.

Zou Hyuga darted aside, dodging several water bullets. Craters appeared where he had just stood.

"Eight Trigrams: Explosive Air Palm!"

Pulling out several explosive tags, Zou Hyuga unleashed a gust with his palm. The tags shot toward Kisame at tremendous speed, setting off a series of explosions in midair.

The explosions sent a wave of heat washing over Shark Face. Kisame's expression changed, and his hands began forming seals.

Tiger-Snake-Rat-Snake-Tiger!

He had always been a conscientious, meticulous ninja. Once he finished his hand seals, a Water Formation Wall blocked the blast's aftermath.

At that very moment, Zou Hyuga had already closed in on Kisame, the outline of a palm slowly solidifying.

"Wind Release: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"

An unimaginably fierce wind gathered in Zou Hyuga's palm. Even Kisame could feel the pressure.

This unremarkable-looking Hyuga ninja could actually perform Wind Release of such a caliber, far surpassing his own mastery of Water Release.

With no time to think, Kisame stepped back and raised his great sword to defend himself, a sly smile crossing his face.

His unusual constitution allowed him to absorb some of the chakra in ninjutsu and use it himself.

It was precisely this constitution that had allowed him to pass the brutal graduation exam.

Kirigakure's graduation exam did not forbid students from killing one another. It even encouraged the practice.

And it was precisely this practice that made newly graduated Mist ninja capable fighters.

The next second, however, a powerful gust slammed into Kisame's face.

Kisame's face nearly twisted out of shape. The great sword he had used to block the ninjutsu flew from his hands and lodged in a nearby tree.

Kisame drew a breath, his caved-in chest swelling back out, and stared grimly at Zou Hyuga.

Straightforward as he was, he had actually believed the enemy's nonsense. His opponent was clearly a Konoha Hyuga jonin, and what he had used was not Wind Release, but an extremely advanced Gentle Fist Style technique.

Was ambushing a Kirigakure chunin really that much fun for a Konoha jonin?

Taking a deep breath, Kisame began to flee. Since he saw no hope of defeating his enemy, he might as well run.

At least he could preserve the village's intelligence. When it came to keeping information secret, Kisame knew a thing or two.

Biting his finger, Kisame summoned several sharks, hid among them, and began retreating toward the coast.

He was a ninja skilled in Water Release. In the ocean, even a jonin could do nothing to him.

Watching Kisame flee into the distance, Zou Hyuga reflected that he was far weaker than expected. He had thought they would be evenly matched, yet his opponent had turned out to be surprisingly unable to take a beating.

He had not even exerted himself, and his opponent had already run off without a shred of decency, showing none of the bearing of someone who could take on a jinchūriki alone.

Still, it made sense when he thought about it. Kisame was young, had only two Kakashis' worth of chakra, and lacked a suitable weapon like Samehada. His strength was only at the chunin level.

At this age, even white-haired Kakashi could barely fight Suikazan Fuguki to a draw with Asuma and Oto helping him.

With that thought, Zou Hyuga quickened his pace to chase Kisame. He had to finish this quickly.

He trusted the powerful equalizing force of Kakashi's fifty-fifty odds, but it would be bad if Oto accidentally got caught in the crossfire.

Like him, she was just a weak Konoha ninja. She had only awakened her Three-Tomoe Sharingan at fourteen, so her talent was nothing remarkable.

In the island's dense forest.

A 140-kilogram, orange-haired brute was being surrounded and attacked by a group of teenagers.

The orange-haired brute struggled to defend himself with a broom-like weapon, while also enduring occasional sneak attacks from a boy playing with fire.

"This guy really lives up to being one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!"

Kakashi and his two companions exchanged glances, keeping their distance from Fuguki as they caught their breath.

Fuguki was that rare sort of ninja with almost no weaknesses, fully deserving the title of elite jonin.

His weapon, Samehada, could absorb chakra, rendering most ninjutsu ineffective. Its unique nature even made it immune to the vast majority of genjutsu.

As a result, fighting Fuguki meant relying almost entirely on taijutsu.

Asuma was not skilled in taijutsu, and without Chidori's sharp edge, Kakashi's attacks were no longer lethal.

Only Oto Uchiha could fight at her full strength. The perception granted by her Sharingan made every slash precise and deadly, and the poison on her blade could even affect Samehada itself.

Samehada was one of the Seven Ninja Swords, but it was actually a living fish that loved devouring chakra.

Aside from that genin, why are all these guys monsters too?!

Cursing inwardly, Fuguki received chakra from Samehada. Fighting the three of them was no easy task for him, either. In particular, when the azure Samehada began gradually turning green, he realized something was wrong.

Since when had Konoha started using poison-and poison that could affect Samehada, at that?

As the two sides remained locked in a stalemate, Fuguki suddenly glanced at Oto Uchiha out of the corner of his eye.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Explosive tags tied to kunai detonated at Fuguki's feet. Unable to dodge, he could only block with Samehada.

Where did this Uchiha girl get so many different hidden weapons?

Poisoning her blade and scattering gold dust in close combat were one thing, but why could her explosive-tagged kunai turn corners?

Was that part of the Sharingan's calculations too?

Kakashi and Asuma, molding chakra as they fought, were inwardly astonished. Their assessment of Oto Uchiha's combat ability rose to a new level.

The earlier evaluation in the village might have restricted what Oto and Zou could do.

Their raw strength might not be particularly impressive, but they were thoroughly ninja-like-and utterly unscrupulous.

Kakashi even felt a twinge of regret. Why had he not brought more weapons and explosive tags out of the ANBU base, like Oto and Zou?

But they also understood that these little tricks would not be enough to defeat Fuguki of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

All three of them would have to risk their lives together to have a chance of defeating him. He was, after all, an established jonin.

Nervously reaching into his pocket for a cigarette to steady himself, Asuma found nothing. At the same time, he looked toward where Zou Hyuga and Shark Face had been.

Shark Face did not look strong. Zou Hyuga should have finished him off by now.

Still, Asuma had a huge question weighing on his mind.

They had come to deal with the Mist ninja attacking the town. Why had an enemy on the level of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist appeared?

Had Kirigakure's elite jonin become so cheap that they were reduced to robbery and looting?

More importantly, was Kirigakure not currently at war with Sunagakure?

What on earth was going on?!