Two days later.
Figures flickered through the dense forest, leaping from branch to branch.
Uchiha Kai and his two companions moved quickly.
Compared to Kai's previous life, guerrilla tactics worked far better in this world.
After all—these were shinobi.
They moved faster, their bodies stronger, their single-combat ability unmatched.
Yes, the enemy had similar capabilities, but as long as they didn't know your exact location and didn't have a sensor-ninja on your trail, targeted pursuit was a joke.
That was exactly the case now.
Kai's squad had been darting all over the Land of Whirlpools for days, and the Mist still hadn't managed to pin them down.
Even when they did bump into enemy squads, with Kai's team hiding most of their true strength, those Mist shinobi were nothing more than lambs for the slaughter.
As for larger forces?
That was where Nara Kazama came in.
The Nara clan couldn't match the Hyuga's Byakugan in reconnaissance, but they weren't helpless either.
Their Shadow Imitation Jutsu was fearsome—shadows left no trace. Especially at night, they were almost impossible to defend against.
Using these secret arts, Kazama could scout ahead, letting the team avoid Mist's main forces.
And Uchiha Kai?
He hadn't revealed his Sharingan at all. Pure taijutsu and Fire Style alone had made him the de facto captain.
The reason was simple.
Sure, the three worked well together now, but only because death loomed over their heads.
Once they were safe? Who knew what schemes would surface.
Kazama was the safer bet.
They each held dirt on the other—unless major benefits were at stake, neither would dare betray.
But Kudo Shin… was a different story.
He was just a civilian shinobi. After countless brushes with death, all he had managed to scrape together was one Earth Style technique—barely C-rank.
In the eyes of elite clans like Uchiha and Nara, that was laughable.
And such men were far too easy to buy.
Two or three C-rank jutsu, and he'd sell his comrades out.
A single B-rank? He'd probably fall to his knees and call the seller "father."
So why not kill him?
Because killing him wasn't worth it.
Not out of kindness—not out of some fabricated "bond."
In the shinobi world, kindness was useless. It belonged only to the weak, or to gods among men—
those duped civilian shinobi parroting the "Will of Fire," or monsters like Senju Hashirama, or chosen ones like Uzumaki Naruto, or at the very least those with powerful backers.
For everyone else? Kindness was just an illusion.
Take Hatake Kakashi—was he kind?
Under Sarutobi Hiruzen, he was nothing more than a blade in the dark, killing whoever he was ordered to. Right and wrong meant nothing.
Or Namikaze Minato—was he kind?
Even as Fourth Hokage, anything Hiruzen forbade remained undone, right up to his death. He never even fully controlled ANBU.
If such men couldn't afford kindness, how could Kai or Kazama?
And "bonds"? Laughable.
They had been schemers long before meeting. A few days of cooperation filled with suspicion and maneuvering didn't suddenly make them comrades.
Unless you were part of a specially trained elite squad, bonds were a luxury.
The truth was simpler: keeping Kudo Shin alive was more useful.
If both civilian shinobi in their squad died while the two clan heirs returned unscathed, ANBU would investigate. They'd dig through every scrap of their pasts, every mission record, every inconsistency—
and if anything slipped through, they'd be finished.
No one was perfect. Not even Uchiha Kai could swear his record would survive such scrutiny.
So Kudo Shin lived. For now.
"Careful," Kazama's voice cut in.
"Two Mist squads ahead. Chakra levels look average—likely standard patrol teams."
Kudo Shin glanced immediately at Kai.
By now, after days of close coordination and narrow escapes, Kai's leadership was unquestioned.
Kai didn't hesitate.
"Same plan as always.
Kazama and I up front—Shin, you stay hidden and finish anyone who slips through.
Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"
Seven blazing fireballs roared from Kai's mouth, scattering toward the Mist squad.
Kazama followed up instantly.
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage Jutsu!"
A massive gust shredded branches and cracked the ground, merging with Kai's fire.
Fire fed by wind—an unstoppable inferno.
The blast obliterated everything in a radius of over ten meters.
The Mist Genin were incinerated instantly.
Only two Chuunin survived—barely.
"It's… Konoha shinobi!" one Chuunin spat, eyes burning with hate.
His older brother had been killed by Konoha, and now he saw a chance for revenge.
But before he could act, Kudo Shin's kunai slit his throat cleanly.
The other Chuunin tried to flee—
only for Kai's thrown kunai to pierce his heart.
"Seal the heads. We're leaving," Kai ordered calmly.
Kazama and Shin nodded without a word, each moving to their task.
They had this routine down after days of repetition.
But then—
A figure stepped out of the trees.
A fat Mist shinobi, dragging behind him a weapon that looked the least like a sword yet was among the most terrifying of them all.
"The Great Sword—Samehada…!" Kazama gasped, face turning pale.
"—Hoshigaki Kisame's predecessor… Momochi Zabuza's peer… one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen… Kuriarare Kushimaru? No… it's Hozuki Fuguki!"
His voice trembled.
One of the legendary Seven Ninja Swordsmen. A name that carried fear even among Jounin.
Kai's expression darkened.
If he unleashed his true power, even against a member of the Seven, he was confident he could at least fight to a standstill—maybe even win.
But no.
His real strength could not be revealed here.
"Run!"
The word was out of his mouth before he finished thinking.
Kazama was already ready—at Kai's shout, he bolted without hesitation, chakra flooding his limbs.
But Kudo Shin…
He froze. Fear locked his body. He couldn't even muster half his usual strength.
Fuguki sneered, not even bothering to raise Samehada.
Instead, he simply clenched a massive fist and swung.
For a Jounin of his caliber, three Konoha "kids" weren't even worth unsheathing his blade.
His chakra alone could crush them like ants.
"Heh… three little brats.
So you're the ones who've been causing us trouble, killing Mist shinobi these past days.
Well then—
since you ran into me… leave your lives here!"
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