Hearing Hozuki Mangetsu's words, Rin finally confirmed one fact.
The Hozuki of Suika Mountain had indeed been killed by Kaede, a string of deaths all within mere minutes. Six corpses lay scattered across the ground.
And now, before her stood Hozuki Mangetsu himself, the last survivor. Though not dead yet, he was already pinned to the ground by Kaede's Kusanagi sword, crackling with entwined lightning.
Where was Kaede?
That question flashed through Rin's mind.
She scanned her surroundings and soon spotted Kaede by the nearby stream.
He was calmly walking over, his expression serene and indifferent, no different than when he had first arrived. The chakra fluctuations on his body had already settled.
"Didn't I tell you to stay put?" Kaede said flatly as he approached Rin.
She stiffened, replying, "Well… the barrier dissolved, and I was worried about you, so…"
"Forget it. It doesn't matter," Kaede interrupted, shaking his head.
In truth, he hadn't told Rin to stay put for her safety. After entering Sage Mode, he had already locked onto the positions of all seven of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. He just looked a bit ugly in the initial Sage transformation and didn't want to be seen like that.
As for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen seeing him, well, that didn't matter. None of them were going to survive anyway.
If it weren't for their Wind Release mist barrier that couldn't be dispersed, Kaede wouldn't have bothered using his initial Sage Mode, because Sage Mode couldn't coexist with the Eight Gates Lightning Release.
Between the two, the Eight Gates Lightning Release was definitely more effective.
"I have to master the perfect Sage Body quickly…" Kaede muttered to himself.
The highest level of Sage Mode still couldn't coexist with Eight Gates Lightning Release. Only a complete transformation into a perfect Sage Body could.
And a perfect Sage Body wouldn't have any physical flaws.
Kaede turned his gaze to the Hozuki pinned to the ground by his Kusanagi sword and said calmly, "Truly worthy of the Hozuki clan's Hydration Technique, almost an immortal body. But when the chakra runs out, you still die, right?"
"You…" Hozuki Mangetsu forced out a sound.
Fear welled up inside him, not fear of death, but fear of Kaede. In just a few minutes, Kaede had cast such a long shadow over him.
No technique worked against Kaede. Their proud stealth jutsu was useless. The Hydration Technique was ineffective. It was like a Genin facing a Jōnin, an overwhelming gap he couldn't overcome.
How ridiculous that they once thought they could take down Kaede.
"You… have you already… reached that level? The legendary… Uchiha Madara… and the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju…" Hozuki's fragmented voice came from the small puddle of water his body had become.
Kaede grasped the Kusanagi sword's hilt and said calmly, "I want to know the answer to that too."
Crackling!
Lightning chakra surged into the Kusanagi sword.
Electric arcs exploded instantly, crackling wildly, shrouding the small puddle where Mangetsu's body had been.
Moments later, the puddle vanished completely, leaving only a shallow crater in the ground.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen,
All of them,
Had been utterly wiped out.
"Go collect their swords. See if any suits you," Kaede said, sheathing the Kusanagi and turning to Rin.
Rin looked at the spot where Mangetsu had disappeared, then back toward the bodies scattered behind her. After a brief pause, she took a deep breath.
Even though she had witnessed Kaede's incredible power, and how he had subdued the Three-Tails, her heart remained uneasy.
Because,
These were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen!
Once infamous on the battlefield, they had caused Konoha tremendous trouble.
And now, in just a few minutes, they had been slaughtered one by one by Kaede, despite holding nearly every advantage in their ambush.
The gap between them was like heaven and earth.
Now, Kaede could crush even the Seven Ninja Swordsmen as easily as ordinary shinobi. Rin could barely fathom the true extent of his power.
Mangetsu's dying question stirred a profound wave inside her as well. Kaede had already killed the Third Raikage and the half-divine Hanzō of the Salamander.
So…
How far was he from becoming a god of the shinobi world?
Or perhaps…
Has Kaede already reached that level?
After a moment, Rin finished collecting the seven swords of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, sealing them in scrolls. She kept the long blade "Nuibari" that best suited her as her weapon.
With that sword and the Three-Tails' chakra, even without fully transforming into the tailed beast form, she could almost wield power on par with an Anbu.
"Not bad. Seems to suit you well… Let's go," Kaede said with a faint smile, stretching his body before speaking.
Rin stopped her practice and asked, "Where to?"
"To Myoboku Mountain."
….
Kirigakure
Top floor of the Mizukage's Tower
Yakusa, captain of Kirigakure's covert unit, stood by a desk, organizing recent intelligence files and handing them to the Third Mizukage, who sat behind the desk.
Noticing the Third Mizukage's pale, strange expression, Yakusa paused and asked, "Mizukage-sama, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," came a hoarse reply.
Concerned, Yakusa said, "Mizukage-sama, maybe you should rest first. Leave this to me. The frontline intelligence should arrive after you wake up."
He guessed the Mizukage's exhaustion came from dispatching the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to reclaim the Three-Tails. This mission was critical.
If they succeeded in recovering the Three-Tails and eliminating the Silver Flash, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen would instantly become legendary, sending shockwaves through the entire shinobi world.
The room fell silent.
Suddenly, ripples spread across a mirror placed in the center of the office, and a scroll flew out with a soft pfft.
"Intel has arrived!" Yakusa's eyes flashed. He dashed forward, caught the scroll, and swiftly returned to the Mizukage, handing it over.
The Mizukage opened the scroll and read. His eyes suddenly shone with intense light, then began to twitch and soon froze.
Years of mental strain under Uchiha Madara's control had left the Mizukage's mind fragile. Now freed from control, his psyche was on the verge of collapse.
The intelligence dealt the final blow.
His hand slowly fell, and he leaned back, his breathing growing faint as chakra rapidly dissipated.
"M-Mizukage-sama?" Yakusa, head bowed, suddenly looked up in alarm.
"Mizukage-sama!!"
Seeing the Mizukage's rapidly weakening presence, Yakusa's face changed drastically. He rushed forward, supporting the Mizukage and shouting, "Medical team! Medical team!!"
His cries echoed throughout the Mizukage Tower.
Chaos erupted.
Medical ninja rushed in, faces grim. They took the Mizukage from Yakusa, laid him on the floor, and immediately began emergency treatment.
Yakusa staggered back two steps, his gaze falling on the intelligence scroll left on the desk.
He reached out tremblingly and grabbed it.
Seconds later,
Clatter!
The scroll slipped from his hand, falling to the ground and rolling to a stop at the desk's edge. The black patterns on the scroll seemed to symbolize the coming darkness.
------
End of the 47th Year in Konoha.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist ambushed Konoha's Silver Flash, only to be utterly defeated and annihilated, their seven swords lost.
Upon receiving this intelligence, the Third Mizukage suffered a mental breakdown from years of accumulated strain and died inside his office that same day.
The news spread.
The shinobi world fell into a deep silence.
-----
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