Chapter 41: Assassination or Open Attack?
The forest was shrouded in darkness.
Tree shadows swayed like ghosts beneath the night sky as the cold wind swept through the fallen leaves with a constant rustle.
"Careful. The big shots are here."
Gōenji instantly activated his Sharingan and locked onto the figures concealed within the darkness—shinobi carrying specialized weapons.
From their silhouettes, distinctive chakra signatures, and ninja swords, he could tell that they were elite shinobi from Kirigakure.
And they weren't ordinary elites.
They were members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
"Shibuki, the Explosive Blade."
Judging from the shape of the sword, Gōenji immediately identified his opponent.
Munashi Jinpachi of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
He hadn't expected to encounter one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen so soon.
And judging from the circumstances, they had come specifically to assassinate him.
Yet rather than becoming excited at the prospect of fighting such an opponent, Gōenji felt an enormous pressure weighing down on him.
"Fūjin, anything else?"
Fūjin narrowed her eyes for a moment before opening them again.
"One to the southeast, one to the northwest, one to the southwest, and one directly ahead. Be careful. These enemies aren't pushovers."
The insects around her feet scattered in all directions.
"Captain, I'm afraid someone is going to die this time. If that happens, you'd better run."
Ryōma and Zē's expressions immediately became solemn.
Fūjin's insects were extremely sensitive to danger. If even her insects sensed that the entire team was facing a threat, then Kirigakure had clearly come prepared to ensure their mission succeeded.
This was the first time they had encountered such a situation since joining the battlefield.
After all, their captain was exceptionally strong.
"Plan C."
The instant Gōenji finished speaking, a figure appeared directly in front of him.
Munashi Jinpachi.
"Not bad, kid. As expected of an Uchiha."
Jinpachi sneered and swung Shibuki horizontally.
The force of the ninja sword's swing slammed toward Gōenji's face.
"So fast!"
Gōenji raised his short blade to block.
Bang!
The tremendous force sent him backward.
He took several short, rapid steps, dispersing the impact through his movement while using the momentum to widen the distance between himself and Jinpachi.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
At that instant, shuriken flew in from all directions, converging on Jinpachi.
Sizzle...
Explosive tags attached to Gōenji's short blade began to burn.
With lightning speed, he hurled the blade straight at Jinpachi.
As expected of one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
I can't underestimate him just because he was killed by Might Duy in the original story.
It was no wonder Shibuki was one of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist and was so highly valued by Kirigakure.
An ordinary shinobi lacking sufficient judgment could easily be caught off guard by an explosive-tag attack like that.
Moreover, Jinpachi's Body Flicker and taijutsu were clearly worthy of his reputation.
They were extremely impressive.
According to the original story, Jinpachi had developed numerous coordinated techniques around Shibuki.
He was a genius among geniuses.
So it wasn't surprising that he possessed such abilities.
Gōenji's expression became serious.
If even one of their opponents was this powerful, the others couldn't be far behind.
Kirigakure wouldn't send Jinpachi alone if they were serious about eliminating him.
His eyes shifted toward his teammates.
...
Whoosh! Whoosh!
"Plan C."
After receiving their captain's warning, Fūjin and the others simultaneously used the Body Flicker Technique, rushing in the same direction to escape the enemies approaching from four sides.
Whoosh!
"That path is blocked. Sorry, miss."
"Too bad we're enemies. Otherwise, I'd definitely chase after you."
The incoming shuriken were intercepted by Fūjin's kikaichū.
A young man with a bright, cheerful smile appeared before her and greeted her sincerely.
Fūjin didn't let her guard down.
She displayed the calm composure inherited from the Aburame clan and rapidly assessed the situation.
Chase me? You haven't even seen my face clearly, and you already want to chase me? What an idiot.
She didn't attack immediately.
Instead, she glanced around and confirmed that all of her teammates had already entered combat.
She knew that her strength was inferior to the captain's.
Since her opponent was willing to talk, she didn't mind delaying him for a while and buying Gōenji more time to escape.
Shirō Fubuki smiled.
"That's precisely because of the mystery that I want to chase you. Without a little mystery, wouldn't things be too boring?"
"But I won't let you stall for too long. If that Uchiha kid gets away, we'll have a problem."
As soon as he finished speaking, he leaped into the air.
The sincere, sunny smile on his face transformed into something feral, like a wolf preparing to pounce.
His hands moved rapidly through a sequence of seals.
"Ice Release: Eternal Blizzard!"
The temperature within dozens of meters suddenly plummeted.
A faint icy-blue radiance surrounded Shirō Fubuki.
Then the wind began to howl.
Tiny snowflakes drifted down from the sky.
At first, there were only a few scattered flakes.
Then they rapidly multiplied.
In the blink of an eye, the entire area was swallowed by a raging blizzard.
His low, frigid voice echoed through the storm.
His right leg was enveloped by the blizzard.
Then, like a football player unleashing a powerful kick, he sent the raging storm hurtling toward Fūjin.
"Damn it..."
Seeing the opponent's Ice Release, Fūjin immediately understood how dangerous the situation was.
Ice Release was a rare kekkei genkai associated with Kirigakure's bloodlines, and it possessed tremendous battlefield potential.
Judging from the power displayed before her, this opponent was clearly no ordinary Ice Release user.
Facing such a violent attack, Fūjin felt as though she were about to be struck by Gōenji's own Fire Release.
"Insect Scatter."
...
Clang! Clang!
Elsewhere, Ryōma clashed with Kaguya Sei.
The two immediately engaged in a fierce sword clash, sparks flying as their blades collided again and again.
"Heh. A Konoha chūnin?"
Sei arrogantly smiled while wielding her bone sword.
"Your swordsmanship isn't bad. I hope you're stronger than this, though. Otherwise, this will be boring."
The two fought to a standstill.
Ryōma snorted.
"A member of the Kaguya clan..."
"I hope you still have the courage to be this arrogant later."
During the battle, he caught sight of the clashes between Fūjin, Zē, and their respective opponents.
He knew he couldn't afford to drag this out.
As the second-strongest fighter in the squad, he needed to eliminate his opponent as quickly as possible.
He had heard about the Kaguya clan's kekkei genkai.
During his time fighting Kirigakure, he had encountered members of the clan before.
They were a clan of shinobi who had pushed taijutsu to the extreme.
To deal with someone like this, he had no choice but to use his ultimate technique.
Although his captain had ordered them not to use it casually, he had no other choice now.
"Oh?"
Sei's interest deepened.
"I'd love to see what Konoha is capable of."
Clang! Clang!
"Absolute Refinement."
Ryōma instantly cast aside every distracting thought.
In his eyes, there was only the enemy before him.
Only this battle.
Chakra surged through his body, circulating according to a specific pattern.
A domain seemed to unfold across the battlefield—a domain that only Ryōma himself could perceive.
No matter what movement Sei made, Ryōma could instantly identify the weakness in her attack.
He intercepted her strikes before they could reach him or slipped away from them at the last possible moment.
It was as though an invisible web had wrapped itself tightly around Sei.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Clang! Clang! Clang!