On the way to the Land of Rivers.
Seiki and his Special Ops Team dashed through the forest using the standard ninja sprinting technique.
"Seiki, I heard you took down eleven Jonin from Mist early this morning?" Asuma asked excitedly, turning his head as he ran.
"This kind of result could only be achieved today. Once Mist realizes what's happening, they'll likely deploy their Jonin in groups. As long as three Jonin stay together at all times, my decapitation strategy won't be effective anymore," Seiki replied modestly.
"Regardless, Mist must be absolutely heartbroken right now," Asuma grinned with schadenfreude. "Eleven Jonin! Even our Konoha couldn't afford such a heavy loss!"
Mizuki flattered shamelessly, "Merely grains of sand, not worth a fraction of Seiki!"
Such words might have drawn skepticism anywhere else, but everyone on the team showed no displeasure at all; instead, they nodded vigorously with admiration and reverence.
Most of them had already been Seiki's loyal followers back when they were still at the Academy. After arriving on the battlefield, they almost heard about new legends created by Seiki every day. Combined with Seiki's meticulous care for them during daily interactions, all those positive impressions had transformed into pure admiration.
Seiki shook his head slightly, "Actually, I was just—"
At that moment, a squad of Mist ninja suddenly appeared within their field of vision ahead.
Upon spotting Mizuki and the others, this group of Mist ninja excitedly quickened their pace.
"What luck! These are just brats from Konoha!"
"Hehe, has Konoha fallen so far that even children must be sent to war?"
Then they saw Seiki turn his head, who had been talking, and in an instant, three or four Mist ninja screamed like they'd seen a ghost.
"Q-Qing Shui Shimaseki!"
"It's him—the ghost assassin of the temporal mist!"
Hearing these words, the other Mist ninja trembled involuntarily, nearly falling from the trees.
If many among them had previously thought Cloud's warnings were exaggerated, no one—no matter how arrogant—would dare think that after today.
Eleven Jonin eliminated overnight—such a feat left them absolutely horrified.
"Damn it! We hit the jackpot on the first day!"
"That guy is definitely beyond our capability!"
Fortunately, Mist had already urgently issued orders allowing immediate mission abandonment upon encountering either of the Twin Stars of Konoha.
Therefore, without hesitation, they quickly turned and fled.
Seeing how merely Seiki's name alone scared off the Mist ninja, the team's expressions grew even more admiring.
"Seiki, leave the chase to us!"
"These small fries are beneath your attention!"
Seiki didn't stop them. Those selected by him to join this unit were considered geniuses by anyone's standards. Though young, their abilities were nothing to sneeze at.
More importantly, there seemed to be no formidable experts within this squad of Mist ninja. Just as he had suspected, if the Jonin stayed grouped together, it meant that other teams wouldn't get much chance to face Jonin at all.
Soon enough, the pursuit ended, and everyone returned.
"This is boring. Are there really no Jonin among these Mist ninja?" Asuma sighed. After watching Seiki kill eleven Jonin in one night, he was also eager to test his own limits.
"You can't just lump all Jonin together!" Mizuki gave a sidelong glance. "If you run into powerful Jonin like Seiki, recklessly challenging them might get you killed before you even understand how!"
"Haha! What strong experts could there be among the Mist Jonin? Could they possibly have the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist here?" Asuma said carelessly.
Suddenly, eerie laughter like ghosts wailing filled the air.
"Hehe! I heard you're looking for a challenge?"
"Then let's fulfill your wish."
In the next moment, seven bizarre-looking figures appeared on the surrounding trees.
One look and every Konoha ninja froze in shock.
Mistakes happen with people, but not with those unmistakable ninja swords.
"What? It's actually the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist!"
"Damn it! This punishment came way too fast!"
"Asuma, quickly curse them with that mouth of yours!"
Asuma turned slightly purple-faced. What situation was this? He had just been kidding around!
You must understand, the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist stood equal in reputation to the Sannin of Konoha. The current scenario was akin to having the Sannin of Konoha — but from the Mist Village — appearing together before them.
Of course, if you wanted to talk about the credibility factor, they were on par with the legendary Sannin of Konoha.
Even so, such an array was absolutely beyond what they could handle.
Without hesitation, Seiki took out a kunai and crushed it directly using Monstrous Strength!
The Seven Swordsmen didn't stop him; they merely watched with grins.
One second, two seconds, three seconds passed...
There wasn't a single sound around them. Kushimaru Kuriarare played with his blade [Needle] and chuckled, "Waiting for Minato Namikaze to come save you? Unfortunately, he doesn't have time to rescue anyone right now!"
Ruiga's voice was cold, "Right now, he should be playing hide-and-seek with those two brothers from the Cloud Village."
"Cloud Village?" Seiki asked solemnly, "Was yesterday's fight between you and them just a performance?"
Kushimaru waved his hand repeatedly, "No no no! The war was definitely real. Otherwise, how could we deceive you guys?"
Biwa Juzo nodded, "Incidentally, it's true that Raikage wants revenge against Mizukage."
Gorō Samehada took over the conversation, "However, that doesn't prevent us from cooperating when eliminating threats because... you've become far too dangerous!"
Fuguki Suikazan grinned sinisterly, "Making all seven of us appear together—this kind of treatment usually belongs only to a Kage-level threat!"
How did it turn into targeting me... Instinctively, Seiki glanced toward Might Guy.
Might Guy, who was already nervously excited, questioned, "Senior, do you need something?"
Seiki shook his head slightly, "Never mind. Everyone, be careful. These enemies are different from before."
"At a time like this, still concerned about others? Should we say you truly deserve being called the Light of Konoha?"
"Pity though, this light will soon fall."
"Don't say that. Maybe our 'Light of Konoha' will abandon his comrades and run away."
Mizuki snapped immediately, "[Flying Thunder God Technique] — Seiki, get out now! Forget about us!"
Even though fear filled their eyes, the others roared in agreement — "That's right, Seiki! Promise you'll avenge us!"
"These people aren't afraid of death at all?" Seeing things spiral beyond his control, Gorō Samehada quickly called out, "Come on, don't give up yet! Put up a fight! Maybe you can still wipe a few of us out with the [Flying Thunder God Technique]!"
A bizarre sight unfolded — to stop Seiki from escaping alone, the Mist ninja unexpectedly began cheering him on.
"Go on, give it your all — who knows, you might actually beat us!"
"We're just seven average Jonin, after all — not that hard to take down!"
"Aren't you the hero? Heroes are born to make miracles happen!"
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