Boom!
Munashi Jinpachi's Shibuki kept detonating, helping Kuriarare Kushimaru retreat, while he himself was also trying to escape. However, his scroll slightly deviated during the explosion.
Then.
Boom!
He got caught in his own explosion.
What happened?
Jinpachi looked utterly bewildered.
He had been using the Shibuki for many years and had never experienced a loss of control. How could this...
How was this possible?
Of course, it wasn't an accident.
Shikigami Dance!
Although it hadn't been refined with his own chakra and couldn't be controlled precisely, making it deviate just a little was still possible.
And that tiny deviation was enough to change the course of the battle.
The next moment.
Two swords flashed like a swallow spreading its wings.
The light flickered, and Munashi Jinpachi's leg and sword arm each gained a bloody gash.
Kuriarare Kushimaru hadn't expected his old partner to fall so quickly.
Moreover.
In just two seconds, the battle situation had completely changed.
Suikazan Fuguki was dead.
Munashi Jinpachi's fate was unknown.
The other four...
Damn it!
They all ran away?
He cursed in his heart, threw down an explosive tag as cover, and used Body Flicker to retreat.
But with Kyōichi in Earth Spear state, he wasn't afraid of explosions at all. He directly charged through the blast and caught up with Kuriarare Kushimaru, who could only block with his Sewing Needle.
However.
One sword was blocked, but what about the other?
Moreover.
Kyōichi moved his fingers slightly, using the faint light from the explosion to successfully cast a genjutsu.
The next moment.
Bam!
Kyōichi, with his Chakra Enhanced strength, kicked Kuriarare Kushimaru from where he was standing straight towards the rear.
There, Inoichi and the others were waiting.
They were on a killing spree!
Inoichi was stunned.
He knew Kyōichi was strong.
But.
He never expected that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen would be scattered in just a few moves against Kyōichi, Might Duy, and Shirakumo Hayama.
No!
To be precise, it was only Kyōichi and Might Duy.
Shirakumo Hayama had even used the Breath Activation Technique, but he could only barely hold off two attackers, while Kyōichi and Might Duy were each taking on four or five.
They were beasts!
At the coastline, Uchiha Yashiro and others formed three or four teams to hold off Yagura.
Initially, Yashiro thought he could handle it alone.
But the facts proved he couldn't!
Not only did he fail to hold Yagura back, but he was almost killed by the enraged Yagura.
If it weren't for the slug's rescue, he might have lost his life.
"Damn it! All of you, die!"
Yagura was furious.
These ants kept blocking him. If he was too late, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen might be wiped out.
Four or five teams charged at him.
He extended his hand, forming a water mirror.
Then...
Several figures rushed out, but this wasn't the key killing move—in a flash, the hook at the end of his staff instantly hooked someone's neck.
Yagura was on a rampage.
Because.
He sensed four people fleeing in this direction.
Four!
Out of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and Ao, only four were left alive!
A group of Konoha ninjas surrounded them, cutting off the retreat of the remaining four Swordsmen. Yagura, confident in his strength, didn't dare to provoke so many people. He was already feeling despair—
These idiots, how could they dare to go so deep alone?
Probably...
At most, one would escape.
Yagura wasn't wrong.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were being hunted down mercilessly.
Kyōichi and Might Duy were chasing them from behind, while the main force closed in from the front.
In just a moment.
Biwa Juzo was dead.
He had already been hit by part of the Morning Peacock.
It was a miracle he could run this far after being severely injured. Once he got here, Might Duy caught up and finished him off.
But at this point.
Might Duy was also at his limit.
If it weren't for Kyōichi using the Slug Technique to heal him back at the camp, he wouldn't have lasted this long.
Hōzuki Mangetsu was in despair.
He looked back, then forward, and made a decision. He jumped into the river, turning into liquid, and didn't dare to escape directly. Instead, he seeped into the underground water veins.
He was much stronger than Hōzuki Chikage.
Very decisive, willing to sell out his comrades when necessary.
His actions left Raiga dumbfounded, and even Kyōichi was stunned. He never expected Hōzuki Mangetsu to be so cowardly, selling out his teammates and only fleeing after reaching the underground.
Was he guarding against me?
There was no way to catch him now.
However.
He soon understood the reason.
The Hōzuki clan had mastered the secret technique of summoning the seven swords.
Even if Hōzuki Mangetsu hadn't escaped, the Hōzuki clan could still summon the six swords back.
Unless...
They restricted it!
Kyōichi pondered for a moment, then stopped worrying about Hōzuki Mangetsu and canceled Earth Spear to focus on dealing with Kurotsuchi Raiga.
Raiga wasn't weak.
In the anime, when Might Duy opened the Eight Gates and fought desperately, Raiga was one of the survivors.
However.
Now, Mangetsu had fled into the water veins, leaving Raiga alone.
Raiga swung his Kiba Swords.
Thunder rumbled.
Thunder Banquet!
But this time, Kyōichi didn't even need to act.
Shirakumo Hayama, who had caught up, slashed with his sword, and the Vacuum Blade directly neutralized the Thunder Banquet.
The next moment.
Kyōichi unleashed a wind blade.
With both swords enhancing the Vacuum Blade, his sword technique shifted to Flying Swallow.
Behind him, Konoha ninjas closed in, using ninjutsu to wear him down, while the Hyūga clan members activated their Byakugan, seemingly preparing to strike him with Gentle Fist.
Raiga's eyes flashed with despair.
He raised his twin swords to the sky.
Intense lightning gathered in the air.
Then, it transformed into a bolt of lightning, descending from the heavens.
Kyōichi couldn't dodge, so he formed hand seals and used Earth Style: Earth Wall to block the current.
However, the lightning wasn't aimed at him—it struck Raiga himself.
Lightning Style: Lightning Burial!
The lightning fell, devouring everything.
He had given himself a grand funeral. Aside from his two swords, nothing remained. The residual lightning destroyed everything around.
If it weren't for the Earth Wall blocking it, Kyōichi would have been caught in the blast.
And just now...
If he had been any closer, Kyōichi might have had to rely on a shadow clone to save himself.
After all, even the Senju physique had its limits. That lightning was impossible to withstand.
In the distance.
Yagura saw the grand Lightning Burial and sensed the disappearance of three chakra signatures. He immediately knew what had happened—
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were gone!
At this moment, he felt nothing but despair.
Kirigakure didn't have many top-tier fighters.
Over the years, only a few like himself and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had emerged. The rest, while there were jōnin and elite chūnin, couldn't shoulder major responsibilities.
Now, they were all gone.
Although Hōzuki Mangetsu was still alive, to be honest, Yagura wished he had died too.
If it weren't for this bastard, none of this would have happened.
At this moment.
As if to add insult to injury, Hōzuki Mangetsu emerged from the seawater.
"Let's go!"
Hōzuki Mangetsu, whether from exhaustion or guilt, spoke without any confidence.
Yagura wanted to tear him apart, but he had to remain calm.
As he retreated, he formed hand seals.
Then, the seawater surged, and endless waves crashed onto the shore.
Mangetsu didn't attack at all, only focused on escaping. Yagura's eyes flashed with fury.
Under the cover of Water Style: Exploding Water Collision, he successfully retreated.
"Yashiro-sama..."
"Let him go. He's too strong. Even if we chased him, we wouldn't be a match."
Uchiha Yashiro's tone was bitter.
Yagura was powerful!
His chakra was immense, and he used every Water Style technique to perfection. They were no match for him.
At this moment, he couldn't fathom.
How did Kyōichi manage to move so freely through Kirigakure with just four people?
But.
It didn't take long for him to find out.
After retreating from the coastline, Uchiha Yashiro saw the aftermath—a scene of utter devastation. Aside from Raiga and Suikazan Fuguki, who had been reduced to nothing, there were four other members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Among them, Munashi Jinpachi, Kuriarare Kushimaru, and jinin Akebino had been captured alive.
The most outrageous part was that only three people had participated in the battle.
What kind of achievement was this?
It was insane!
He couldn't believe it, but the facts didn't lie. At this moment, Kyōichi seemed to be collecting the six swords.
Seeing Uchiha Yashiro, Kyōichi smiled and said, "Yashiro-san, you were guarding the exit to the sea. Did you manage to block Hōzuki Mangetsu?"
"I... I failed. I couldn't stop him or Yagura."
Yashiro was deeply ashamed.
Kyōichi had fulfilled his promise of three against seven, while Yashiro, even with the help of three Konoha squads, couldn't defeat Yagura or stop Hōzuki Mangetsu.
In terms of performance, the gap was just too big.
"Didn't stop them?"
Kyōichi smiled and waved his hand. "It's fine. Yagura is said to be a contender for the next Mizukage. His strength is extraordinary. It's normal that you couldn't defeat him."
"Thank you for your magnanimity, Kyōichi-sama!"
It sounded like comfort.
But for the Uchiha, these words were more damaging than comfort.
Yashiro felt worse than if he had died.
"Kyōichi-sama, what should we do now?"
Shirakumo Hayama helped gather the other swords.
"First, let's seal the six swords to prevent Kirigakure from having any means to retrieve them. These are our spoils of war... Where's the sealing team?"
"Here!"
"Apply every sealing technique you know."
Kyōichi said, applying sealing techniques to each sword. Then, after the sealing team added their own techniques, he wrapped them in a large scroll and added even more seals.
After that...
He summoned a slug and had it store the items in Shikkotsu Forest.
He didn't hand them over to Konoha.
If these were taken to Konoha, they might never be seen again. Kyōichi was still thinking about melting a few swords to forge a weapon that suited him. As for the Kusanagi Sword—
What swordsman could resist the temptation of a great sword?
He wanted the Seven Swords, and he wanted the Kusanagi Sword too.
I want them all!
...
On a small island where some Kirigakure ninjas were stationed.
Yagura and Mangetsu had fled a long distance and finally felt safe enough to stop and rest.
Mangetsu didn't dare to look at Yagura.
Yagura took a deep breath and asked, "Are the others all dead?"
"There were three of them. One seemed to have used a forbidden technique, a technique that didn't rely on chakra. Fuguki tried to block it with Samehada but failed."
"And..."
Mangetsu's eyes were vacant as he rambled on.
Yagura's veins bulged as he listened. He snapped, "I don't want to hear all that. Just tell me, are the others dead?"
"I don't know."
Mangetsu lowered his head.
Yagura took a deep breath, suppressing his rage.
"What about the swords?"
"I... I didn't have time to grab them!"
Mangetsu stammered, sensing the intense killing intent.
"I remember your clan can summon the seven swords."
"They're... in the clan."
"You're useless. Why did you even come back alive?"
Yagura, even with his good temper, couldn't hold back anymore. His words were filled with murderous intent.
Damn it.
I chased after them with all my might, but couldn't catch up!
Mangetsu led the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to their deaths, and in the end, he was the only one who came back alive.
If he didn't know the Hōzuki clan wouldn't betray him, he'd think Mangetsu was a traitor.
"Listen to my explanation, at that time..."
Yagura extended his hand, and a sealing technique activated.
Mangetsu didn't react in time and was immediately imprisoned, while his Hiramekarei was confiscated.
"Return to the village and explain to the higher-ups!"