The canyon mouth was thick with killing intent.
Kirigakure Ryūsuke's Hiramekarei twin blades shimmered with an eerie blue glow, their engraved patterns pulsing like tides.
Opposite him, Umino Yoru's six swords fanned out like a peacock's tail—ranging from thick, unsharpened slabs to needle-thin rapiers, each gleaming with lethal promise.
---
"Breath of Wind!"
Yoru's aura erupted, intricate markings crawling up his neck and face as his chakra surged.
"Die."
Ryūsuke struck first, treating Yoru as an equal—and thus, no room for testing blows.
Hiramekarei's blades skimmed the ground like darting fish before arcsing upward in twin crescent slashes, aiming to sever Yoru's knees.
(A river-cutting stance—designed to cripple.)
Yoru didn't dodge.
His two heaviest swords slammed down, blunt edges meeting Ryūsuke's strikes with a deafening clang.
(No finesse. Just absolute defense.)
But while the lower blades anchored, the middle pair—one long, one short—twisted into a "Meridian Piercing" stance, jabbing toward Ryūsuke's elbows and wrists.
Simultaneously, the uppermost blade thrust like a dragon breaching water, aimed straight for his spine.
Three layers. One motion.
- Lower: Unbreakable fortress.
- Middle: Surgical disassembly.
- Upper: Overwhelming offense.
Ryūsuke's eyes narrowed.
(Advance, and lose my arms. Retreat, and surrender momentum.)
He leapt back, Hiramekarei's left blade deflecting the spinal thrust—but Yoru was already pivoting.
---
"Sword Breaker!"
The lower heavy swords locked onto Hiramekarei's twin blades, while the uppermost sword swung upward, aiming to decapitate.
Ryūsuke wrenched his right blade free—
—only for the middle rapier to slash inward, forcing him to abandon Hiramekarei's right sword or lose a hand.
CLANG!
The discarded blade skittered across stone as Yoru pressed forward.
"Breath of Wind—Fourth Form: Scales of the Severed Fish!"
Six swords became a silver storm, their afterimages weaving a cage of light.
Ryūsuke's remaining blade danced, its curved edge slithering between gaps like a living thing, each parry etching spirals into the ground.
SPARK-SPARK-SPARK!
The clash painted the air with firefly-bright embers.
(Even one-handed… he's adapting.)
Yoru's jaw tightened.
"Breath of Wind—Fifth Form: Torrential Severing!"
Water-infused chakra coated each blade, multiplying their lethality—
—but Ryūsuke's Hiramekarei countered, its compressed hydro-edge slicing boulders clean in half with each swing.
(His quality surpasses mine… but I have numbers.)
Six against one.
Ryūsuke's left arm blurred, deflecting strikes at inhuman speeds—until—
"Abyssal Dragon's Howl!"
Hiramekarei's engravings flared crimson as Ryūsuke spun, conjuring a whirling water barrier.
Nine rotations.
The vortex condensed into an impenetrable dome.
(Now.)
Yoru's lips curled.
"Breath of Wind—Sixth Form: Infinite Willow Mirage!"
Six swords dissolved into phantom branches, their swaying motions warping perception—
—Ryūsuke's pupils shrank.
(Genjutsu?!)
He couldn't break it.
The dome collapsed as his focus shattered.
SHING!
Six blades struck as one—
—only to splash harmlessly through liquefied flesh.
"Hydrification Technique?!"
Ryūsuke's body rippled, water displacing damage to his vitals.
---
"Breath of Wind—Fifth Form: Torrential Severing!"
Yoru attacked again—
"Water Style: Shield of the Umibōzu!"
Ryūsuke's form expanded, morphing into a massive water demon that shrugged off the barrage.
(Even the Eight-Tails couldn't break this…)
Yoru scooped up Hiramekarei's lost blade and retreated.
---
The water beast dissolved, revealing Ryūsuke's smirking face.
"White Blood Demon… I acknowledge you as the strongest swordsman."
His tone dripped with the same arrogance as Uchiha Madara.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a puff of smoke, both Hiramekarei blades returned to his hands.
"Hidden Mist Jutsu!"
Fog swallowed the battlefield—
—but Yoru mirrored the seal, his own mist overwriting Ryūsuke's.
(Your advantage… is now mine.)
Ryūsuke's smirk faltered as his sensory range shrunk.
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