The battlefield fell into dead silence.
Flames raged across the land, the ground split open, trees and grass reduced to ash.
Everyone stood frozen, faces filled with shock.
That seemingly thin, almost frail figure of Uchiha Kai now looked like some kind of god or demon in their eyes.
Hoshigaki Fuguki and Juzo Biwa had cold sweat dripping down their foreheads, staring in utter terror at the scene before them.
They were completely dumbstruck.
Impossible.
This was impossible!
They were the elites of Hidden Blood Mist Village, known across the shinobi world. Aside from the Mizukage and the Jinchuriki, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were the very symbols of their village's might.
And yet…
In less than a single minute, Uchiha Kai had already slaughtered five of them.
And this was without even opening his Sharingan.
This kind of record was too monstrous—so much so that even witnessing it with their own eyes, they still couldn't believe it.
Truthfully, it wasn't just them.
Even Shisui and Kazama were left dumbfounded.
As for Hyuga Aya, her mind had gone completely blank.
Her face was full of confusion.
This… this was still the same unremarkable Uchiha she'd known?
"Run!"
Juzo Biwa didn't waste any breath. He spat out a single word, then immediately turned to flee.
Fuguki had no objections.
The two of them said nothing more, breaking straight into a full retreat.
What a joke!
Yes, they were elite Jounin of the Mist, but in front of a monster like Uchiha Kai, they had not the slightest shred of fighting spirit left.
Even wielding the famed swords that had made them famous across the shinobi world…
At the end of the day, they were still only Jounin.
And Kai—though not quite at the level of a Kage—was far beyond what they could handle.
In their hearts, only the Mizukage or a Jinchuriki had any right to face him.
"Shisui, stop them," Kai's voice was cold and sharp. "Kazama, use your shadow techniques."
"Aya, open your Byakugan."
"No matter what it costs, these two must die."
"My strength cannot be exposed."
His eyes were grim, filled with a dangerous light.
Without waiting for a reply, he darted after the two fleeing swordsmen.
Shisui and the others exchanged a quick glance, but none of them questioned him. They charged forward immediately.
In an instant, the hunt began.
Kai moved with Aya, Shisui with Kazama.
The four of them shot forward at incredible speed.
Even though Biwa and Fuguki ran at their absolute limits, using Mist techniques, Earth Style, even Transformation Jutsu in succession…
In the face of Aya's Byakugan, none of it mattered.
The distance shrank rapidly.
And when it closed enough—Kai opened his Sharingan.
Setting Aya down, he rushed in headlong.
"Rokushiki: Tekkai Jewel!"
His body hardened like iron, spinning into a black whirlwind, blasting toward Biwa like a human cannonball.
"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
Biwa had no choice but to turn and face him.
Boom!
In an instant, Tekkai Jewel smashed through the Earth Wall, and the two clashed at close range.
"Rokushiki: Wolf Fang Fist! Wolf Shot! Heavy Step Wolf! Wheel! Steel! Smash!"
In mere seconds, dozens of strikes were exchanged.
Jūzō fought desperately, his Executioner's Blade whirling like a storm.
But it was useless.
Kai pressed harder and harder. He could not allow them to escape alive.
The battle here was too fierce—if Konoha reinforcements arrived, everything would fall apart.
He had to finish it quickly!
So he held nothing back, pushing Tekkai fistwork to the extreme.
He didn't even bother dodging the Executioner's Blade anymore, using his hardened fists to meet it head-on.
With the Sharingan's insight, Biwa's movements looked like they were playing in slow motion.
Within just two minutes, Biwa's body was riddled with fractures, blood streaming from his mouth, barely holding himself up through sheer will.
Meanwhile, Shisui was also fighting at his peak.
His Sharingan spun with three tomoe, body flicker at full throttle, binding Fuguki tightly.
If not for Samehada's strange abilities, Shisui would already have cut him down.
But even while battling for his life, Fuguki could see what was happening on the other side.
And terror filled his heart.
Biwa couldn't hold out much longer.
"Stop! I surrender!" Fuguki shouted desperately.
"You can seal our chakra—we'll surrender to Konoha!"
"Without the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Hidden Blood Mist Village will be forced to surrender anyway! Let the Mizukage ransom us back!"
His voice cracked with panic.
Yes—he was afraid of death.
And truth be told, his loyalty to the Mist was shallow at best. Secret dealings with Danzo were proof enough.
Facing certain death, he had no will to keep fighting.
But unfortunately…
Shisui ignored his pleas.
And when Fuguki slipped for just a moment mid-sentence, Shisui's blade flashed mercilessly across his throat.
Hoshigaki Fuguki—dead.
Yes, perhaps at another time they would've accepted a Mist surrender.
But not now.
Kai's power could not be exposed to Konoha's higher-ups. Fuguki had to die here, and with the Yamanaka clan around, even their bodies couldn't be left intact.
On Kai's side, things ended just as quickly.
At the same moment Shisui struck, Kai's Shigan pierced straight through Juzo Biwa's heart.
And with that—
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist… were annihilated.
Yet Kai did not stop there.
He immediately unleashed Fire Style: Storm Dance, tearing the forest apart and incinerating the corpses of both men until nothing remained.
As for Samehada and the Executioner's Blade—he collected them without hesitation.
"Let's move. Back to that ravine," he ordered. "We need to burn those bodies too—and don't forget the sword without a hilt."
The others nodded silently.
About fifteen minutes later, after thoroughly erasing all traces of battle, their squad finally allowed themselves to breathe.
"Kai, how do you plan to explain this?" Shisui frowned, unable to keep quiet. "The commotion here was too big. The death of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen cannot possibly be hidden from the village."
"What excuse are you going to use?"
Both Kazama and Aya turned their eyes to Kai.
After today's fight, their gazes carried a faint respect.
In the shinobi world, strength was everything.
And Kai's strength commanded respect.
Especially Kazama—though he'd already bet on Kai's rise, only now did he realize he'd won that gamble. His plans had just become far more viable.
Kai fell silent.
His brows furrowed.
The battle had happened too suddenly—he hadn't had time to plan an explanation.
If the village or the Uchiha clan discovered he'd been hiding his true strength, his position would only grow worse.
After a long pause, he spoke faintly.
"…Alright. Here's what we'll say."
"We'll claim that, under the threat of death, I awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan."
"As for how they were killed… we'll say it was Susanoo."
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