Chapter 90: A Storm Gathers
Although the battle had only lasted for two minutes, in reality, Genichi had used his full strength.
The battle had seemed to go so smoothly, making the Jonin Suikazan Fuguki appear to have no real strength, but this was entirely because Genichi had made thorough preparations.
In terms of intelligence alone, Genichi held an absolute advantage. Fuguki knew nothing about him, while Genichi knew a great deal about Fuguki, especially his deep understanding of the greatsword, Samehada. For example, the spikes on Samehada could be used to break a genjutsu through pain. Also, Samehada could feed chakra back to its wielder, which could also be used to break a genjutsu.
These were all within Genichi's calculations.
The first three genjutsu he had used against Fuguki were all baits for him to break. The real, hidden killing move was the Kyōka Suigetsu (Mirror Flower, Water Moon) cast using a water clone as a decoy. Fuguki had not realized he was in this genjutsu, so naturally, he had no way to use Samehada to break free.
This was the difference between Samehada and a true Tailed Beast. If it were a true Jinchuriki, then even with Kyōka Suigetsu, the Jinchuriki themselves might not realize they were in a genjutsu, but the Tailed Beast, as an observer, would realize it and break it instantly.
Samehada had its own consciousness, but it was far from the level of a Tailed Beast. It was also unable to see through the Kyōka Suigetsu genjutsu.
And so, it seemed that Suikazan Fuguki had been easily dealt with by Genichi. But from the way Fuguki had quickly seen through his disguise and sensed his faint killing intent, it was clear that he was no simple man. Later, when he had blocked Genichi's A-rank water jutsu with a single sword stroke, it was more than enough to demonstrate his strength as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Although Genichi wanted to develop another powerful water ninjutsu, that didn't mean his A-rank Water Severing Wave (Suiton: Suidanha) was not strong. He just wanted a jutsu with a large area of effect, great offensive power, something that could threaten even a Tailed Beast and clash with a Tailed Beast Bomb.
After all, big is beautiful, and big is strong! Who wouldn't want to be a little bigger?
Taking off his mask, Genichi formed a hand seal and used the Summoning Jutsu (Kuchiyose no Jutsu), summoning Uzumaki Ina to his location.
"Lord Genichi!" Ina looked at the corpse on the ground and said in shock, "Is this the wielder of Samehada from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?"
Genichi nodded and pointed to the spiky Samehada on the ground. "Ina, use a sealing technique to bind this sword."
Ina looked at the strange greatsword. "This... it actually has its own consciousness?"
Although she was curious, her movements were not slow. Talisman-formulas linked together to form chains, which then locked down the greatsword Samehada, completely pacifying it.
Only then did Genichi step forward and smile. "This sword does indeed have its own consciousness. It's said to be the little follower of the Three-Tails."
Crouching down, Genichi formed a seal, then pressed his right palm onto the body of the Samehada. A sealing formula instantly spread out.
Contract Seal (Keiyaku Fūin)!
This way, the Village Hidden in the Mist would not be able to use the Summoning Jutsu to retrieve Samehada.
"Give me the scroll," Genichi said.
Ina quickly untied the scroll she was carrying and asked, "Lord Genichi, does this sword have any special abilities?"
Genichi took the scroll and spread it open, smiling. "Samehada can absorb the enemy's chakra and feed it back to the wielder."
Ina was shocked. "That's amazing!"
Genichi reached out and grabbed Samehada, and the chakra of the Eight-Tails gushed from his hand. "Ina, let it go."
Ina immediately released the Golden Chain Seal (Kin sa Fūin).
Without the restraint of the sealing technique, Samehada immediately began to absorb Genichi's Eight-Tails chakra, and it was a voracious feast.
"That's enough. Are you trying to suck me dry?" Genichi said with a laugh, cutting off the flow of his chakra.
Samehada seemed to want more. Its hilt immediately softened and rubbed against Genichi's hand, as if it were acting cute. Ina watched from the side, dumbfounded. It was the first time she had ever seen such a sword.
After taming Samehada, Genichi immediately had it sign a contract with another summoning scroll he had prepared. Besides Samehada, this scroll also contained the other two swords he had previously custom-ordered. So on this trip, Genichi hadn't been carrying his swords, but had stored them in a sealing scroll, ready to be summoned when needed. He didn't plan on carrying Samehada either; he would put it directly into the scroll.
After packing up Samehada, Genichi turned back and also sealed the bodies of Suikazan Fuguki's four-man squad into a scroll, to be brought back to Konoha as "cadaver teachers."
After finishing all this, Genichi immediately summoned Torao, his Tiger-Headed Eagle, and, together with Ina, rode it to leave the Land of Water at once. If they were too slow, and the Mist Village discovered that Fuguki was dead and Samehada had been stolen, they would definitely send out ninja on a large-scale search. At that point, the danger would continuously increase.
...
Three days later.
In the Mizukage's office, the Third Mizukage looked at the subordinate before him and asked, "Has Fuguki not returned yet?"
The masked Anbu ninja nodded. "That is correct, Lord Third. There has been no news back yet."
The Third Mizukage frowned. With Fuguki's ability, regardless of whether the mission was a success or a failure, there should have been some news by now. The current situation meant that something unexpected had happened.
"Dispatch at once! Find the tracks of Suikazan Fuguki's squad!" the Third Mizukage ordered.
Not long after, a squad of Anbu ninja was dispatched, leaving the Mist Village.
In the evening, the Third Mizukage received a report from the Anbu. It was highly likely that Fuguki's team had been completely wiped out, killed on their way to the mission. Although Genichi had taken the bodies, he had not dealt with the bloodstains and traces of the battle. Although three days had passed, it had not rained in those three days, so it was not difficult for a ninja to find the tracks.
This news made the Third Mizukage's face turn grim. He immediately ordered, "Have Hōzuki Chigetsu come here at once!"
Hōzuki Chigetsu, the first wielder of the twin swords, Hiramekarei. He was also widely acknowledged as the strongest of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. At the same time, he was able to summon all seven of the ninja swords.
Less than ten minutes later, Chigetsu appeared in the Mizukage's office and performed the Summoning Jutsu to summon the greatsword Samehada. But it was clearly a failure.
Chigetsu said, "Lord Third, I'm afraid the person who stole Samehada was well-prepared. They have placed a Contract Seal (Keiyaku Fūin) on it, making me unable to summon it."
The Third Mizukage nodded slightly, his eyes downcast as he said coldly, "The Anbu will be dispatched immediately! Track down any suspicious persons!"
"Split into three directions: the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Lightning!"
To kill Suikazan Fuguki within the borders of the Land of Water and steal Samehada—this was a provocation against the Village Hidden in the Mist!
Chigetsu immediately requested, "Lord Third, let me be dispatched as well!"
The Third Mizukage nodded. "You may!"
"You will assemble the other sword wielders and set out together!"
Chigetsu accepted the order. "Understood!"
That night, the entire Village Hidden in the Mist was shaken. Suikazan Fuguki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, a powerful Jonin, had been killed, and his ninja sword had been stolen.
And the next day, the matter of the chunin Sanshō's disappearance was brought to the Third Mizukage's desk. In fact, the report had been filed a day after he went missing. But a single chunin had not attracted much attention and had not even been reported to the Mizukage. Because there was no body and no signs of a struggle, he was simply listed as missing. But with the news of Fuguki's team being wiped out, the Jonin in charge of that matter immediately felt that something was wrong. The Third Mizukage immediately ordered a thorough investigation.
Unfortunately, Genichi had been very careful. So much time had passed, and all traces were long gone. The investigation yielded no results.
...
In a coastal town in the eastern Land of Fire, while the Third Mizukage was searching the world for him, Genichi and Ina had already returned and had temporarily settled down again. The reason he had returned here was, one, he felt this place was very nice and suitable for reclusive training, and two, he could better monitor the movements from the direction of the Land of Water.
Genichi knew that with the death of Fuguki and the loss of Samehada, it was absolutely impossible for the Mist Village not to react. Any of the other five great ninja villages would have dispatched elite forces to track down the perpetrator. Genichi would not be too surprised if Mist ninja entered the Land of Fire to investigate.
So, Genichi's real body stayed at home to train and teach Ina, while a shadow clone would occasionally take Torao out to sea. On the fifth day after returning to the town, Genichi finally noticed Mist ninja entering the territory of the Land of Fire from the sea.
...
In Konoha, in the Hokage's Office, looking at the intelligence report, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, frowned slightly. The intel that Fuguki had been killed and Samehada had been stolen had been received two days ago. But it didn't mean much; after all, it wasn't Konoha who had done it.
But now that Mist ninja had entered the territory of the Land of Fire, the nature of the matter was different. Was the intel about Fuguki's death and the theft of Samehada true or false? Was it possible that the Mist Village was using this as an opportunity to infiltrate the Land of Fire? The situation had been tense recently, with the various ninja villages getting restless. Hiruzen had to consider the worst-case scenario.
However, Danzō, who was also in the office, seeing that Hiruzen was still considering, said in a heavy voice, "Hiruzen, it is highly likely that the Mist Village is using this as an opportunity to infiltrate, or to test us."
"Therefore, we must respond firmly and expel them from the Land of Fire."
Hiruzen exhaled a puff of smoke, then slowly nodded. "Then send people to intercept them."
"Root will move out first. I will then mobilize two more squads."
Danzō nodded with great satisfaction and immediately turned to mobilize his troops.
And Hiruzen, withdrawing his gaze from the intelligence report, also immediately gave an order. "Shinnosuke!"
Sarutobi Shinnosuke's figure rose up from the floor.
Hiruzen said, "Go and inform Minato. Have him lead a team to carry out the mission of monitoring and expelling the Mist ninja. You will lead a team to provide covert support."
Shinnosuke nodded. "Understood!"
...
An hour later, at the gate of Konoha Village, Kakashi said coldly to the panting and tardy Obito, "You're late again!"
"Is this the conduct of an elite Uchiha?"
Obito was immediately indignant and was about to make an excuse, but before he could speak, Rin pulled him back. "Alright, Obito, the mission is important."
Obito's expression softened. He nodded, but he glared at Kakashi and snorted.
Minato looked at this pair of bickering rivals and was also helpless. He said, "Since everyone is here, let's set out!"
"Yes, sir!"
Four figures vanished from the spot in unison. And not long after they left, Shinnosuke and four other Anbu ninja also left the village, following behind them.
"Minato-sensei, what kind of urgent mission is this, to be summoned so suddenly and have to leave today?" Obito asked on the way. He had been happily helping an old lady plant fruit trees before.
"You've all heard the recent news about the Mist Village, right?" Minato said.
Kakashi immediately asked, "Is it the one about one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Suikazan Fuguki, being killed, and his greatsword also being lost?"
Minato nodded.
Obito, however, looked bewildered. "The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?"
"Are they strong?"
Hearing this, Kakashi couldn't help but snort. "As a qualified ninja, you must be sensitive to intelligence. This matter has spread throughout the entire shinobi world, and you actually don't know."
Obito was both blushing and angry, his fists clenched. "I... I was busy training seriously!"
Rin quickly said, "Obito, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen are very powerful ninja. It's said that every one of them is at the Jonin level."
Obito's gaze shifted to Rin, and his anger instantly vanished. He asked, "Such a powerful ninja was killed, and even his sword was lost. Was he assassinated by an enemy ninja?"
Minato said, "It's said that he was intercepted and killed. It is currently unknown which power was responsible."
"But the Mist Village is on a massive hunt for the perpetrator, and they have now entered the territory of the Land of Fire."
Obito was puzzled. "What does this have to do with us?"
Kakashi said coldly, "Idiot!"
"The news of Fuguki's death and the theft of his sword came from the Mist Village. We can't be sure if the intelligence is accurate."
"The Mist ninja have entered the Land of Fire. We have no idea if they are really tracking down the killer or if they have other motives. Of course, we can't just let them be."
Obito couldn't help but clench his fist. "I knew that, of course."
Minato nodded with gratification. "Kakashi is right. This is also the reason we are being dispatched."
"This mission is to monitor and expel the Mist ninja."
The three of them nodded.
Then Obito asked curiously, "Minato-sensei, if the Mist Village's intelligence is true, then who could the killer be?"
Kakashi and Rin also looked at Minato.
Minato smiled. "I can't judge that either."
"Besides our own Konoha, it could be any of the other ninja villages."
"It's even possible that it was an internal matter of the Mist Village."
Minato knew a little about the internal political situation of the Mist Village, so he judged that it was not impossible that it was an inside job. In fact, he felt that this possibility was very high.
Obito said with emotion, "To be able to take down a Jonin, their strength must also be very formidable, right?"
"Minato-sensei, if it were you, could you take down that... whatever-oni?"
Minato smiled slightly. "I have never fought against the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, so I cannot answer that question for you."
"But the Seven Ninja Swordsmen are all very powerful ninja. They were formed by the Third Mizukage and are an elite force specifically for carrying out high-difficulty missions."
"So, you must never underestimate them in any way."
"If you encounter them, you must go all out."
Hearing this, the three of them felt a chill in their hearts and quickly nodded. "Yes, sir!"
...
Just as Konoha was reacting, the Sand and Cloud villages also sent people to monitor and expel the Mist ninja who had entered their own territories. Regardless of whether they had done it or not, you could look for your people, but don't just run wild in my sphere of influence. Especially in a situation where tensions were already high and all sides were on edge. No one could be sure that the Mist Village wouldn't take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on them.
And at this moment, Genichi, who was holed up in his small town, still didn't know that just by stealing a sword, he had stirred up a storm in the shinobi world.
(End of Chapter)
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