Chapter 32
Harusame was concerned. He couldn't find Utakata anywhere and knew the boy hadn't received any mission, so he should be in the village. Yet nobody had seen him, nor was he in his home or training grounds. Harusame couldn't help but get worried. In the past year, Utakata has pushed his body to breaking point in his training. Each time, he was closer to death.
It was nothing but torture from Harusame's perspective. He couldn't remember how often he found Utakata passed out on the training grounds. Every time Harusame found Utakata's bloody body lying on the ground, it gave him a scare. He feared he might find the boy not breathing if he continued training like this. But at least Harusame was able to find him before, now he couldn't.
"Here you are," Harusame was about to walk to another training ground when Mei Terumi stopped him. "I been looking for you."
"I don't have time for this," Harusame replied. He had to find Utakata before the boy killed himself. "If it is not important, leave me be, Mei."
"It is about Utakata," Mei Terumi said, not giving way to Harusame.
"What about him?" Harusame was getting impatient.
"Jinin Akebeno was found dead," Mei Terumi delivered shocking news. "He was killed. By inspecting the wounds, he was killed by Sewing Needle."
"No," Harusame couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it.
"Utakata is missing too, so Mizukage has given the order to hunt him down. Bring him back to the village, no matter what," Mei Terumi continued, making Harusame sick. "Two Hunter-nin, both sensors were dispatched with the five remaining members of the Seven Swordsmen."
"It can't be," Harusame could barely think as he tried to digest the news. "This has to be some kind of mistake. Why wasn't I informed of it?"
"Mizukage is trying to keep it quiet for now," Mei replied. "And he didn't want you to interfere. But we both know that no matter the truth, Mizukage won't leave Utakata alive. We need to find him first."
Harusame barely heard her words, as he still had trouble believing it. But he had to snap out of it and focus. Utakata was his student, and no matter what, he couldn't let him get killed. Mei was right. They had to find him first. There was no way Utakata could win against the rest of the Seven Swordsmen. The boy won't even be given a chance to explain himself.
…
Utakata's injuries were worse than he had expected. It took half a day for his ribs to heal. Too long by his calculations. Jinin's body should have been discovered, and Hunter-nin was probably already nearing him. Still, he couldn't sense anyone nearby, so he should be fine for now. Once he felt that his ribs healed enough for him not to have any problems moving, Utakata left his hiding place.
He knew he had only one chance to pass through the borders of the Land of the Water. So, he had to escape tonight while the security wasn't strengthened. Even though he could win against one of the Seven Swordsmen without using any of his tailed beast chakra, Utakata didn't want to fight if he didn't have to. He has proven to himself that he is strong enough, so he didn't see any reason to fight anyone if it wasn't unnecessary.
There weren't many paths Utakata could take to leave the Land of the Water. He would have to enter the Land of Tea, Fire, Hot water, or Lightning to reach the mainland. Lightning was out of the question, as Utakata was most wanted there. The most sensible countries he should visit would be Hot Water or Tea, as they would not pose any danger to Utakata.
Yet, he knew those paths would be most secured once the Mist discovered he was trying to run. So, he chose to enter the Land of Fire, as he also knew that the Hunter-nin wouldn't be able to pursue him far in that country. It was the best path he could take, and he doubted anyone would recognize him in the Land of Fire as he wasn't deployed there during the war.
It didn't take long to leave the premises of the Mist, and soon, he would come to the edge of the island. From there, he would have to decide whether to cross the sea on foot or take a boat. Both ideas had risks. Utakata was confident in having enough chakra to cross the sea on foot, but he still needed to account for currents and waves. The boat was safer but easier to spot.
Yet, he was forced to stop before thinking more about it. He could sense seven powerful chakra sources closing on him. Utakata quickly recognized five of them, and he conducted that the other two were sensors tracing him. He knew that as long as those sensors were with the others, he wouldn't be able to escape, so he had to kill them.
Rather than running straight to the end of the island, Utakata found a place where he would face his opponents. Utakata couldn't risk going to his destination, as they would quickly realize which port he was going to. Then Utakata would have no choice but to fight the rest of the Seven Swordsmen. He wasn't conceited enough to believe he could win against them.
"Utakata!" Ringo's lighting flashed before Utakata as he dodged the attack. "How could you betray us? Why? Why have you killed Jinin? Answer me!"
Utakata wasn't allowed to speak as he was busy dodging Ringo's blades and trying to locate the sensors. He knew that he needed to finish this quickly, otherwise, he might be in trouble. The longer the fight continues, the worse it will get for him. He couldn't let himself be surrounded and pushed into the corner. And he didn't want to waste his chakra if he didn't need to.
"Don't bother with pointless questions, girly," Jinpachi jumped to Utakata's side and used the explosives of his sword to blow away both Utakata and Ringo. "He will talk once we bring him back, or he will die."
"Watch where you swing your oversized scroll, you moron. You almost got me!" Ringo yelled out as she recovered from being blown away. "And don't get in my way. I will deal with him myself."
"Who cares, as long as I get him too," Jinpachi replied without concern as he holstered his weapon on his shoulder.
"Get back, you fool," Fuguki said as he blasted away Utakata's wires about to wrap around Jinpachi's neck. "We are fighting on of us; be careful, or you will die."
"Only an idiot like Jinpachi would fall for the kid's trap," Kisame replied as he didn't look too concerned with his weapon still on the back.
"Let's get over with this," Zabuza wasn't too keen on playing games. "It is over, Utakata. You can't defeat us. You better return with us, or we will have to kill you."
"How many years has it been the last time you tried to kill me?" Utakata asked as he faced his opponents. "Don't you remember, Demon of the Mist? I was still a kid in the academy when you came after me with a cleaver. How many did you kill again that day? A hundred kids, if my memory serves me right. And what was your punishment?"
"Forget what was in the past," Fuguki replied. "This is now, and now you have committed a crime, killing one of your fellow Seven Swordsmen and trying to run away."
"Forget the past?" He was far too happy to buy time to pinpoint the sensors behind his opponents and plan how to get rid of them. "Like you forgotten how you were forced to give up Samehada to Kisame? Don't try to fool anyone with your bullshit. The only reason you are here is because Mizukage ordered you to. But soon, you will realize, just like I did, that you don't need to listen to his orders. We were bred to be monsters. What right does one man, one village, have to control us?"
Ringo didn't like Utakata's response as she threw a bolt of lightning at him. But Utakata could see that hit Fuguki's nerve by mentioning Samehada, as he tried to cut Utakata in half with his swing. Zabuza and Kisame came from behind Utakata, as he could avoid all attacks with ease so far. Then Jinpachi jumped at Utakata, wanting to blow him away.
Instead of trying to dodge the attack and run at others' blades, Utakata took the attack head-on. The explosion blasted away the others, leaving only Jinpachi and Utakata in dust and smoke. But as the smoke cleared, it showed Utakata standing fine, holding Jinpachi's weapon with one hand. Red chakra cloaked Utakata's body as three tails came from behind him.
"Run, you fool!" Fuguki tried to warn his comrade, but it was already too late.
With his free hand, Utakata used the wire from his sword. The wire danced around Utakata, cutting Jinpachi into pieces. As blood splattered and chunks of meat and bone flew around him, Utakata held the explosive weapon that was left behind. Kisame was the first to rush at Utakata with a sword swing, and the others soon joined.
Utakata didn't entertain them and swung his new weapon into the ground beneath him. Once again, the rest of them were blasted away in the explosion, and smoke and dirt rose from the ground. Jinpachi's arrogance and ignorance of Utakata's abilities granted him an opportunity to finish this fight. Utakata moved quickly in the smoke, past the other swordsmen to his targets.
The sensors might have sensed him but were too slow to react as he leaped at them with his chakra cloak still intact. He ripped the first one into pieces with his tails and threw his sword at the second, who tried to retreat, piercing his chest. By tugging the wire, Utakata got his sword back. The rest of the swordsmen could do nothing but watch Utakata kill their sensors as a thin wire surrounded them, and it took a moment to cut it.
"Utakata!" Ringo was enraged as she was the first to cut her path through the wire to Utakata.
Not only did Utakata kill two of the Seven Swordsmen, but he showed his true strength that he was hiding from her. She probably felt betrayed, as Utakata had never used his true power against her in their spars. She might have seen him as a friend, but to Utakata, everyone was the same. To a monster, everyone else was a prey.
"You too weak," Utakata said as his mist clone was cut apart, revealing him standing a step behind it. "You were always the weakest of us, Ringo. You should be grateful that you possess even a bit of intelligence, unlike Jinpachi."
With a swing of his sword, Utakata batted away Ringo's blades and grabbed her by her throat. She always was small and light. He barely had to exert strength as he threw her to the others. With his goal accomplished, Utakata threw the weapon made of endless explosive seal tags with Ringo. Once again, it created a massive explosion, making others scatter.
It bought Utakata enough time to use Hidden Mist jutsu, covering the area with thick mist. Then Utakata created two water clones to distract the members of the Seven Swordsmen before he took off. The battle was over. There was no point for him to stay any longer. Before any more shinobi from the Mist showed up, he needed to leave the Land of the Water.
Utakata was lucky his opponents didn't know how to fight in a team. Especially Jinpachi, who got caught in his explosions. He helped Utakata more than he helped the rest of the Seven Swordsmen with his reckless attacks. Of course, they would have taken him more seriously if they knew of his sensing abilities and his true strength.
Next time, they would overwhelm him with their strength and won't be played by him. So, he needed to get away before he faced them again. Utakata was incredibly fast in his tailed beast chakra cloak, so he quickly escaped the area before anyone realized it. Without any sensors, they will take time to find his traces.
After making some distance and being unable to sense them, Utakata stopped. Taking a head-on attack from Jinpachi took its toll on him. And using that weapon was more difficult than he thought it would. His arm would have been broken from the recoil if not for the tailed beast chakra protecting him. Still, it didn't matter as he reached his destination.
He needed to rest briefly, so he risked taking a boat from the port before him. Even though the fight against the other member of the Seven Swordsmen was quick, he had exhausted quite a bit of his chakra. And he still hasn't recovered from his fight with Jinin. He wasn't confident to walk across the sea anymore. As he entered the small fishing village, he again had to stop in his tracks as he found face-to-face with an opponent he didn't wish to fight.
"Master."
A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.