"Shut up! As shinobi of Kirigakure, how could you possibly fear battle?"
"You two are a disgrace to the name of the Bloody Mist Village!"
The captain shouted harshly at the remaining two, then glared viciously at the smiling Gekko Chizan.
"Damn Konoha shinobi, how dare you ambush us—if you have the guts, fight me head-on!"
"Is sneaking around all you're capable of?"
Hearing this, Gekko Chizan burst out laughing, his voice brimming with disdain.
"You Mist guys snuck all the way into the Land of Fire, even made it here, and now you want me to fight you head-on?"
"What a joke."
"Even if I fought you head-on—do you really think you're a match for me?"
"Be good and go quietly. I strike fast."
As the last word fell, Gekko Chizan had already appeared behind the three of them, his hands still raised.
"Multiple Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
His little combo never failed. With a sudden strike, only the captain among the three Kirigakure shinobi managed to react.
And this is where the cruelty of the Bloody Mist Village was fully revealed.
He directly used his two subordinates as human shields and bolted toward Kakashi at full speed.
"Tch, he ditched you guys."
"Oh well, I'll be merciful this once and let you die in the mouths of venomous snakes."
Seeing the two being bitten by the swarm of snakes, Gekko Chizan spat in disgust, then turned his gaze to the last remaining Kirigakure captain.
Kakashi stared at the charging enemy, his expression completely calm.
He sheathed his short sword on his back and lowered his stance.
The Hatake clan had originally been a samurai family, and their swordsmanship was a variant of Iaido.
Although it was just a short blade, when enhanced with chakra, the sword technique could unleash overwhelming power.
The core concept of Iaido was "one-hit kill"—using a high-speed unsheathing strike to catch the enemy off guard.
"You little bastard! Die!"
The Kirigakure captain gripped a kunai, his face twisted with fury.
Just as the two were about to clash, Kakashi understood.
"Hatake Style Sword Technique..."
"First Form—Slash!"
A flash of cold steel.
In Gekko Chizan's eyes, it was a chakra-imbued short sword slashing downward with unstoppable momentum.
Slash!
"Ah!"
A scream burst forth as blood gushed in a spray.
A plain and simple strike left a deep, bone-revealing gash across the captain's chest.
Even Gekko Chizan was stunned by the scene. This was only the second time he had witnessed the Hatake sword technique in action.
Though not as terrifying as when used by Hatake Sakumo, and clearly lacking that level of power—it had to be said, Kakashi was still just a kid. A genius.
"Not bad. You've got a bit of White Fang-sama's flair, though the strength is still lacking."
"Look, this guy's not even fully dead yet."
Using Flying Thunder God, Gekko Chizan appeared beside Kakashi and praised him while looking down at the fallen Mist captain.
Kakashi retrieved his short sword and smiled with a hint of helplessness.
"Couldn't help it. It was rushed. Plus... he's too tall and my sword is short..."
Hearing that, Gekko Chizan burst into laughter.
Indeed, the height difference meant Kakashi's blade only reached the opponent's chest. If Kakashi had been just a little taller, the strike might have cleaved the enemy in two from the shoulder.
"Cough cough... Hatake Sword Technique..."
"Are you the son of the White Fang of Konoha...?"
"Damn..."
The Mist captain, still barely clinging to life, coughed up a mouthful of blood, his eyes full of unwillingness.
Seeing him still breathing, Gekko Chizan crouched beside him, a mocking look on his face.
"Tsk tsk tsk... You might be the first person to survive a Hatake sword strike. You should be proud."
"Jūzō Biwa-sama will avenge me..."
That comment left both the captain and Kakashi speechless.
"Huh? Didn't expect one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to be here."
"Thanks for the info. As thanks, I'll give you a swift end."
The captain, already gravely wounded, widened his eyes in shock when Gekko Chizan mentioned the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
The next second, his throat was slashed.
As his eyes froze in reluctant defeat, the Mist captain was gone.
...
"Chizan-sensei, are the Seven Ninja Swordsmen really that strong?"
Since Kirigakure had only recently joined the war, their elite unit's fame hadn't spread yet.
It made sense that Kakashi didn't know.
"Mhm, very strong. Seven blades, seven people. All of them are quite capable."
"The one he mentioned—Jūzō Biwa—is a Jonin of Kirigakure who wields the Executioner's Blade. It packs a serious punch."
"I didn't expect the Mist ninjas infiltrating the Land of Fire this time to be them. We'd better be cautious."
He spoke as though they were formidable, but Gekko Chizan didn't really think so.
Jūzō Biwa—sure, the guy dared to block a Tailed Beast Bomb head-on with his greatsword. Pretty crazy. But ability-wise? Meh.
Honestly, Gekko thought Zabuza was stronger. After all, Zabuza's Silent Killing technique wasn't something to take lightly.
If it were just Jūzō Biwa alone, he really wouldn't care. The worry was whether he came alone.
"Kakashi, come help. Time to destroy the bodies."
"...What?"
Kakashi rubbed his ears and stared at Gekko Chizan in shock.
What was going on? They were really going to destroy the corpses? That was brutal.
"What? If we don't get rid of the bodies, won't it pollute the environment!?"
"Your Fireball Jutsu just now was pretty good. I'll leave this mission to you."
With practiced ease, Gekko Chizan stacked the five bodies into a pile and shoved Kakashi forward.
"Chizan-sensei... isn't this a bit much?"
"You really want to burn them?"
Seeing Kakashi hesitate, Gekko Chizan thumped him on the head.
"We're giving them a proper send-off."
"Sure, we killed them, but if we leave their corpses to rot in the wild, that's just too cruel."
"So let's be thorough. Since they came all the way to the Land of Fire, we've got to give them the full service."
"Oh? You think burning isn't appropriate? Then just wait!"
Under Kakashi's stunned gaze, Gekko Chizan suddenly turned into a human excavator and dug a large pit in no time.
Then, he tossed all the Kirigakure shinobi inside.
Brushing the dirt from his hands, he grinned at Kakashi.
"There, that better?"
"Now hurry up and finish the job. Then we can head back and catch up on some sleep. I wanna soak in the hot springs!"
Kakashi was completely dumbfounded.
What the heck was this? He was just a kid, and now they were making him do this?
But looking at Gekko Chizan's smiling face, it was clear he had no intention of helping.
Under Chizan's gaze, Kakashi finally gave in.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu."
As the fireball roared to life, a system notification echoed in Gekko Chizan's ears.