On a sunny afternoon, a short figure walked along a tree-lined road.
Strangely, this figure had several oddly shaped Ninja Blade in its hands and on its back, making it look extremely bizarre.
"Damn, I should have brought a large weapon scroll. Otherwise, it would have been so troublesome, and I had to carry it myself. It's really speechless."
The figure covered in Ninja Blade was none other than Kōki, who had gone to carry out the mission of killing the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist of the Mist.
It's worth mentioning that he has now successfully thwarted the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist's mission to harass Konoha's rear, driven Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist out of the Land of Fire, and also rescued Might Duy and his son, as well as Ebisu and Genma Shiranui.
Unfortunately, he didn't completely wipe out the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist; two escaped. One was Juzo Biwa, the wielder of the Kubikiribōchō, and the other was Suikazan Fuguki, the user of Samehada. Raiga Kurosuki, who survived under Might Duy's feet in the original story, wasn't so lucky this time and died directly from his Wood Release.
This should have been a proud achievement—single-handedly defeating the entire Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist of the Mist, resulting in five deaths and two injuries—a truly dazzling feat. Yet, Kōki was still not satisfied.
The reason was that he didn't obtain the most special of the seven Ninja Blade, Samehada. In Kōki's eyes, this great sword, which had a special connection with the Three-Tails, was the most valuable item among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist of the Mist, and not obtaining it left Kōki with a profound sense of regret.
The main reason was that he didn't expect Suikazan Fuguki to be so cunning. As soon as he saw him appear, he immediately abandoned the other members of the Ninja Blade and turned to run away, without even having the courage to resist.
It was also his fault for being careless. He thought that Suikazan Fuguki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist Shinobi World, would at least entangle with him, completely unaware that Suikazan Fuguki so cowardly and decisively ran away at the first moment. As a result, he had no time to stop him and could only watch helplessly as Suikazan Fuguki escaped with Samehada by using the nearby river.
This Kōki. He felt he could wipe them all out, but they got away. How could he accept that?
His previous regret was that he originally had a chance to obtain Samehada, but now he lost it due to carelessness. It was as if he could have earned five million, but because of carelessness he only earned three million. Even though he was still making a profit, it felt like he had lost out.
Lost in these wild thoughts, Kōki quickly returned to the Konoha camp, covered in Ninja Blade.
Upon entering Orochimaru's office, Kōki threw all the Ninja Blade he carried onto the ground.
The sound of "clinking" suddenly appeared in Orochimaru's ears.
The rude action left Orochimaru was working at his desk, somewhat helpless.
He knew how powerful these Ninja Blade were; each one was the brainchild of the craftsmen of Kirigakure, and each had its own special function. Even if they couldn't compare to his Ninja Blade Kusanagi Sword, they were far superior to ordinary Chakra Ninja Blade.
Now, however, Kōki has carelessly discarded it like trash. If the Kirigakure, who take pride in possessing Ninja Blade, saw this, they would be heartbroken and might even hurl insults at Kōki.
However, that's all Kirigakure's business, and has nothing to do with Konoha. Do you think Konoha Ninja should take Kirigakure's feelings into consideration? Absolutely not.
" Kōki, judging from your haul, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist must have been wiped out by you, right?" Orochimaru asked Kōki, looking at the several Ninja Blade on the ground.
"That's right, Lord Orochimaru, I have completed the mission of killing the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist of the Mist. It's a pity that two of them escaped." After throwing all the Ninja Blade aside, Kōki reported his mission results to Orochimaru.
A few minutes later, Kōki told Orochimaru everything about his mission, including how he was accidentally escaped by Juzo Biwa and Suikazan Fuguki.
After listening to Kōki's report, Orochimaru's eyes were full of admiration. He praised Kōki, "As expected of Konoha's most outstanding young ninja, even the most difficult missions become simple in your hands."
He had always witnessed Kōki's strength, from the initial battle in Sunagakure where he had to use his trump card to defeat the combined forces of Sunagakure's powerful warriors, to the later battle in Kumogakure where he used Senjutsu Mode to overpower his enemies.
In just about a year, Kōki's strength improved in a way that an ordinary ninja could never achieve in a lifetime.
Even he, a ninja praised by Hiruzen Sarutobi, had to admire Kōki's extraordinary talent.
He knew Kōki would be able to handle the mission involving the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist of the Mist. But he hadn't expected Kōki to resolve it so quickly.
It's important to understand that although he had never fought against Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, that didn't prevent him from recognizing Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist strength.
In his view, the strength of a single Ninja Blade might be insignificant, but the combined strength of seven Ninja Blade was something even he would have to avoid.
This formidable duo managed to complete the mission in less than a day, from the time Kōki accepted it to its end. Subtracting the time for searching and rest, Kōki resolved the situation in just about half an hour. This left Orochimaru in awe.
It was precisely because of Kōki's strong performance that he had given up on the idea of Kōki's body. However, although the idea had disappeared, he was still very curious about the secret of Kōki's body.
Based on previous speculation, Kōki was definitely one of his previous Wood Release test subjects, but why did Kōki come back to life after he confirmed her death, and even awaken such a powerful Wood Release? There must be a secret he didn't know.
" Lord Orochimaru flatter me. I am still far from being able to learn from you, and there are many aspects I need to learn from Lord Orochimaru."
In response to Orochimaru's praise, Kōki responded with humility. He then went on to praise Orochimaru in return, stating that he himself still had many shortcomings.
In his mind, Orochimaru was a dangerous person. Although he was not afraid of Orochimaru at his current strength, he did not want anyone to keep targeting him.
In addition, Orochimaru is a very shrewd person.
If he's constantly being watched by Orochimaru, his secret might be discovered unintentionally, and Orochimaru might even find something to use against him.
So it's best to avoid Orochimaru if you can.
Kōki greatly admired Orochimaru's humble attitude; who wouldn't like someone who is both powerful and modest?
However, since Kōki suggested taking a break, and considering that Kōki had indeed done a lot of work recently, Orochimaru generously let Kōki, who was a child laborer, rest without lingering.