The deck went silent. Blood-scent threaded the fog.
The squat boatman's mouth peeled into a cold grin. "Uchiha Sogetsu—you've got guts. Walk right into the Mist with no disguise? Think we're blind?"
"Oh?" Sogetsu arched a brow. "Didn't know I was that famous. Even Mist's small fry know my name."
A vein throbbed at the man's temple. "Don't look down on me! I'm no small fry." He bit his thumb, slapped a summoning seal—an odd, door-wide blade thumped into his hands.
"Member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—Explosive Blade: Shibuki! Ishikawa Takeo!"
The heavy slab whistled through the air. Whoom—power crashed forward to cut Sogetsu in half.
Two fingers drifted out of a loose sleeve—pinched—and the broad edge stopped.
Ishikawa's pupils shrank. He bulged cords in his arms, poured strength in. The edge didn't budge.
"Die!" Runes crept across the black blade like swarming ants. The seals ignited.
KR-BOOOM!
The blast shredded the deck; fire curled up the fog. Ishikawa backflipped onto the sea's skin, riding the chop, laughing. "Hah! That's Uchiha Sogetsu? Pathetic."
Explosions at that range—no one lived. Not shinobi with paper armor for defense.
From the haze, a calm figure walked out, clothes unmarked. He nudged his glasses. "So you've teamed with Iwa after all. Lucky me—half my mission's done before landfall."
Ishikawa froze. "You—how?"
"Want to know?" Sogetsu's lip curled.
Panic crawled up Ishikawa's spine. He howled and rushed, seals blooming over both faces of the blade. "It was genjutsu! Your file said you love genjutsu!"
"Explosive Blade Art: Overpacked Ruin!"
KRAK-BOOOM! A taller wall of flame caved the sea in a bowled-out crater; ten-meter waves shouldered outward.
Sogetsu walked through steam a second time.
"W-what… what did you do to me? What illusion is this?"
"Not an illusion." Sogetsu's voice was mild. "You're too small for genjutsu."
Chakra licked from his skin like fire; wind rose in rings around him, heaving up black water.
"Curious how I took your blasts point-blank?" Three tomoe spun, then braided together. Blood slicked down his cheek.
"Normally I wouldn't waste this on you." He closed a fist. "But it's been a while since I had the ocean to myself, so…" He smiled. "I'll indulge a little."
Bones of pale gold bloomed around him, knitting tendons, thickening with muscle, cladding in armor—an ancient giant rose from the sea.
Sogetsu stood inside the titan's ribcage; the four-spoked windmill burned in his eyes.
"SUSANOO."
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