Kurosawa Shichirō did not come alone this time. On his way from Village Hidden in the Clouds, he passed through the Land of Iron, greeted Mifune, and brought another hundred Swordmaster to bolster his forces and put pressure on Leaf.
He had sensed the powerful aura emanating from A Yotsuki's massive release of World-Destroying Thunder, so he took the lead. Not long after, the hundred Swordmaster behind him caught up.
If Jiraiya and the others still had some fighting spirit when facing Kurosawa Shichirō and his two companions, then all their fighting spirit collapsed in an instant when the hundred Swordmaster, equivalent to Kage Level ninjas, arrived.
How can we even fight ghosts like this?!
If a hundred Swordmaster, each equivalent to Kage Level expert, attacked together, they could definitely surround and kill them. Continuing to fight would only result in futile sacrifices.
Even the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was hiding in Hidden Leaf Village, couldn't sit still any longer. He hurriedly came over and kindly expressed that peace was the most important thing, and welcomed Kurosawa Shichirō and the other two into Leaf.
Of course, the hundred Swordmaster were kept outside the gates of Leaf as a form of hospitality. He dared not let them in, otherwise, if the fighting finally broke out, the entire Leaf might be wiped out.
Kurosawa Shichirō and his two companions didn't say much about this, and were surrounded by Jiraiya and the others as they strode into Leaf.
"Huh? White Fang?"
As they walked toward the Hokage Building, Kurosawa Shichirō suddenly stopped and looked at a White Fur brat standing at the entrance of an alleyway, staring at them. To be precise, it was a short sword on the brat's back.
That was none other than Sakumo Hatake's White Fang Blade. Kurosawa Shichirō, who had once fought fiercely against it on the battlefield, would certainly not be mistaken.
He just didn't understand why the White Fang Blade ended up in that child's hands.
For a swordsman, the sword is everything. Even though Sakumo Hatake's Sword Dao has become impure due to the influence of ninja principles, he would never easily abandon his sword.
"Could it be that Sakumo Hatake has reached the Sword Dao realm that Hao mentioned, where 'no sword is better than having a sword'?"
A thought suddenly popped into Kurosawa Shichirō's mind, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.
He had acquired quite a few Sword Dao philosophies from his prodigy disciple, one of which was the Sword Dao realm of "no sword is better than having a sword."
Has White Fang truly grasped this level of swordsmanship?
"Lord Kurosawa, Mito has been waiting at the Hokage Building for quite some time!"
Upon seeing the indifferent-looking White Fur brat, the Third Hokage's expression changed, and he quickly urged him tactfully. Jiraiya and the others also showed a strange expression.
"Kid, since that brat Sakumo Hatake White Fang to you, it means he approves of you. Pass on a message for me: I'll be waiting for him in the City of the Underworld a month from now!"
After saying that, Kurosawa Shichirō strode forward. He was very dissatisfied with his defeat in the last battle with Sakumo Hatake, and he had been training hard ever since, all in order to get his revenge one day.
He is now a high-level Swordmaster at the peak, and has even merged with his ancestral Kurosawa Divine Sword, achieving oneness with the sword and faintly touching the realm of Great Swordmaster.
Having gained such a significant boost, he was naturally eager to have another match with Sakumo Hatake.
"That man is dead. He committed suicide with this knife. I wasn't someone he approved of, and I certainly didn't approve of that coward!"
The White Fur brat spoke coldly.
That's right, this is Kakashi Hatake, the only son of Sakumo Hatake.
These words caused everyone present to change their expressions abruptly. Kurosawa Shichirō, who was about to take a step forward, froze, his face filled with disbelief.
You have to understand, Sakumo Hatake a man he respects, how could he possibly die? Let alone die in such a pathetic way as suicide.
After a brief silence, as if he understood something, Kurosawa Shichirō shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Back then, I saw that Sakumo Hatake was a Sword Dao prodigy whose talents were wasted on being a ninja. But the way of the Sword Dao is unyielding and unyielding. Using the path of the ninja to walk the path of the Sword Dao is destined to end badly."
Just as Kid Hao was right, "The tallest tree in the forest is bound to be felled by the wind!"
As he finished speaking, Kurosawa Shichirō gave a deep look at Hiruzen Sarutobi beside him, said nothing more, and continued walking forward.
He did admire his junior Sakumo Hatake, but no matter how much he admired him, he was already dead, and his death was a humiliating one, achieved through suicide.
Clearly, the opponent's will had been corrupted at the last moment. In this state, the opponent could no longer be considered a Sword Dao prodigy and was not worth his attention.
Jiraiya and the others' expressions became even more strange after hearing Kurosawa Shichirō's last words. They all looked at the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, and a small group of them seemed to have figured something out.
Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally sensed the strange looks from everyone, and his old face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
Actually, he felt quite wronged about this matter; he only wanted to undermine Sakumo Hatake's reputation.
After all, Sakumo Hatake is one of Leaf's top combatants, and now with the rapid rise of monstrous powerhouses like the Land of Iron and Wang Hao, even if he were out of his mind, he would never do something like crippling himself.
But who would have thought that the boy would be so headstrong, and in the end, he silently committed suicide with a knife, leaving the young man filled with remorse.
But now that the person is dead, it's too late to say anything!
Kakashi Hatake, who had been indifferent, immediately sensed something was wrong after hearing Kurosawa Shichirō's words and noticing the strange expressions on Jiraiya's and the others' faces. However, he wisely refrained from asking any further questions.
Now that he has lost his father's protection, he must be extremely careful, otherwise he won't live long.
"Kid, I suppose Sakumo Hatake left in a hurry and probably didn't teach you his Sword Dao properly. I'll be staying in Leaf for the next couple of days, so feel free to come over if you're interested."
I've gained some understanding of Hatake Sword Dao from the last battle, so I can certainly give you some pointers.
Since Sakumo Hatake chose to defend his Sword Dao with his death, then you shall bear the Cause and Effect between him and me. I hope that in the future you will be qualified to fight me!
Just then, Kurosawa Shichirō's voice came from ahead, causing Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others to change their expressions again, but they didn't say anything more.
The reason Kurosawa Shichirō said this was because he recognized that Kakashi Hatake was also a Sword Dao genius. He was excited about him and didn't want this Sword Dao genius to be buried by the ninja system like Sakumo Hatake. That's why he said that.
If the other party hadn't been from Leaf, he would have wanted to take him on as a disciple on the spot.
Ever since he nurtured a prodigy like Wang Hao, his desire to take on disciples has been burning brightly. He has been wandering around the Land of Iron for some time now, looking for talented young people to take on as disciples.
Unfortunately, although he had taken in quite a few disciples, few of them were aptitude enough to satisfy him.
As it happened, he took a liking to Kakashi Hatake today; he saw him as a promising youngster worth nurturing.
After this little incident, the group hurried on and soon arrived at the Hokage Building, where a Red Hair was already waiting.
" Mito, you're still so young!"
Looking at the girl with long red hair, Kurosawa Shichirō couldn't help but sigh.
He saw this girl back in the Sengoku period, and she still looks the same after all these decades. It seems that Chakra isn't entirely useless after all!
" Kurosawa- senpai is still the same, he hasn't changed a bit since back then!"
Mito Uzumaki stepped forward and smiled gently, displaying the demeanor of a well-behaved and demure lady.
But it was precisely this ladylike demeanor that made Kurosawa Shichirō instinctively protect his long beard and take a step back to create distance.
His carefully maintained beard was ruined by this girl, and he's developed a psychological trauma from it.
"Don't pretend to be a lady in front of me, we all know each other well!"
Kurosawa Shichirō found Mito Uzumaki's ladylike demeanor utterly unsettling; it was such a stark contrast to her former self.
These words froze Mito Uzumaki completely, and she even seemed on the verge of turning evil.
Do you think it was easy for me to pretend to be a lady for decades?
Did you, old man, really have to expose my past like this?
Back then, all I did was tug at your beard a few times, old man. Is it really worth holding such a grudge?
"Grandma, calm down! This Kurosawa- senpai is a distinguished guest of Leaf!"
Seeing that her grandmother was showing signs of turning evil, Tsunade quickly stepped forward, took her arm, and whispered words of comfort.
There was nothing they could do; their lineup was simply too powerful and impressive, and Hidden Leaf Village couldn't afford to offend them.
"Alright, kid, I've known Mito for ages, no need for such formalities."
Waving his Tsunade didn't need to be so formal, Kurosawa Shichirō turned to A Yotsuki and Killer B who were following behind him and said, "I'll leave the rest to you. Explain things as quickly as possible so we can get there and make preparations."
As a samurai swordsman, he disliked the underhanded ways of dealing with power and interests, and naturally wouldn't get involved in such matters.
He came here only to support A Yotsuki Yozuki and to use his past relationship with Mito Uzumaki as a pretext to make connections.
Now that his mission is complete, he can leave the A Yotsuki and Killer B. Besides, the Third Raikage specifically told him before he left that Killer B was the key to this plan.
"Yes, sir!"
Nodding solemnly, A Yotsuki gestured to her younger brother beside her.
"Yoyo check it out, so you must be Mito's little sister! Hachi has something to say to that big fox, let's bump fists!"
Killer B explained his purpose and the manner of their subsequent communication in a quirky rap style.
Although he didn't understand why his old man would honor such a young girl as a senior, that didn't matter. What mattered was the Nine-Tails within her, which was the key to convincing Mito Uzumaki and Leaf.
This was what Hachi told him on the way here, and fist bumping is their way of communicating.
"Who are you calling 'little sister'? You think you can take advantage of me like that?"
Unexpectedly, Mito Uzumaki threw a punch that slammed Killer B's entire head into the ground.
She, Mito Uzumaki, is already in her fifties or sixties; how could she tolerate being called "little sister" by such a brat?
Although she was quite happy to be called that, in order to uphold her own and Hashirama's honor, she had to teach the other party a lesson.
This scene stunned everyone, while Kurosawa Shichirō looked as if he had known it all along, with a hint of reminiscence in his expression.
Back in the Hashirama Senju brought his then-girlfriend Mito Uzumaki to their Land of Iron to learn Sword Dao. Mito Uzumaki was notoriously violent, and she beat his five-year-old son until he was covered in bumps.
How similar this scene is to what happened back then!