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In the eastern forests of the Land of Fire, another Leaf team was running for their lives.
The unlucky squad leader from earlier was already dead. Now a different shinobi was sprinting through the trees, lungs burning, while seven monsters hunted him from a distance.
Kurara Senmaru's plan had worked too well. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen had already wiped out four separate Leaf teams—supply escorts and patrol squads alike—by using the survivors as bait.
But the Swordsmen were getting bored.
"This is too slow," Nozomi Jinhachi complained, swinging his explosive blade and chopping through branches. "These little bugs aren't even fun anymore. Give me something better, Kurara."
Kurara didn't even look at him. He knew exactly what kind of psycho his partner was. The man just wanted to kill something flashy.
Their real mission wasn't to rack up a body count. It was to wreck Leaf's logistics and throw the rear into chaos. Wandering around blindly wouldn't accomplish that. Using Leaf shinobi as bait was actually working.
Still, the man they were currently chasing was smarter than the others.
He had already figured out they were using him. Every time he tried to signal for help or head toward other Leaf teams, the seven killers stayed just far enough behind to keep him alive. They were waiting for him to lead them to bigger prey.
He made his choice.
Instead of running toward possible reinforcements, he turned and sprinted in the opposite direction—away from any other Leaf forces. If he was going to die, he wasn't taking anyone else with him.
Half an hour later, one of the Swordsmen finally noticed.
"River Puffer, we've been had," said Tongcao Yebito. "That bastard changed direction. He's leading us away from everything."
The rest of the group stopped. West of them, the sun was already too far to the left. They had been turned around without realizing it.
"Fucking Leaf scum," Nozomi snarled.
He didn't wait for orders. He shot forward like a bullet, vanishing between the trees.
The remaining six stayed behind. West of the River Puffer Ghost's face twitched with barely contained rage. He had just shot down Nozomi's earlier suggestion, only to get played by a single Leaf ninja minutes later.
Black Hoe Raiga smirked. "So? What now? Keep chasing random squads?"
The River Puffer Ghost shot him a murderous glare.
"We wait for Nozomi. See if he brings back anything useful."
Nozomi caught up to the fleeing Leaf shinobi easily. The man had already accepted death. Instead of running, he turned and charged straight at the Swordsman, kunai raised.
It was brave.
It was also pointless.
Nozomi's explosive blade knocked the kunai away in one swing. The following blast sent the Leaf ninja flying, clothes burning and skin scorched. Before he could recover, another swing took his right arm clean off at the shoulder.
The scream that followed was raw.
Nozomi closed his eyes and smiled, drinking in the sound like it was music. Only after he was satisfied did he bother finishing the job—taking the man's other arm and both legs.
Then he grabbed what was left of the body by the collar and started dragging it back through the forest, leaving a long trail of blood behind him.
When he finally returned to the group half an hour later and dumped the barely-living torso at their feet, the River Puffer Ghost's temple was throbbing.
"You didn't even interrogate him?"
"I don't like interrogating," Nozomi said with a shrug. "Figured I'd bring him back alive so you could do it."
The lie was obvious. The man on the ground had maybe minutes left. There was nothing useful left to get out of him.
Before the River Puffer Ghost could explode, Biwa Juzo stepped forward and drove his massive cleaver straight through the dying man's chest, ending it.
"No point," Juzo said. "My sword needed blood anyway."
The group fell silent.
Now they had to decide what to do next. Keep hunting small teams? Push deeper into the Land of Fire to cause bigger chaos? The decision rested with their captain.
The River Puffer Ghost opened his mouth—
—and every single one of them snapped their heads toward the trees on their left.
Seven pairs of eyes lit up with cruel excitement.
Their luck had turned around again.
---
Forward Camp – Command Tent
Tsunade sat at the head of the long table like she had been born there. The lazy gambler from the casino was gone. In her place sat a commander who expected to be obeyed.
Taiichi stood at her right side. He didn't have a seat, but nobody in the room was stupid enough to think that made him less important.
Shizune had been sent to the medical tents the moment they arrived. This level of meeting wasn't for her yet.
Below them sat the clan representatives—Uchiha Fugaku and the Hyuga elder on opposite sides of the front row, with the rest of the clan heads and local jonin filling out the rest of the seats.
Tsunade swept her gaze across the room. The low chatter died instantly.
"I'm not going to waste time explaining how important this battle is," she said, voice steady and cold. "Everyone here is either a clan leader or a senior jonin. You already know what's at stake.
So let me make one thing clear right now—there are no 'clan shinobi' on this battlefield. The moment you stepped into this camp, you became Leaf shinobi. You fight for the village, not your family name. If I catch anyone bringing that village bullshit onto the battlefield, I will deal with it personally. And I won't be gentle."
Several clan heads nodded immediately. Even the Hyuga elder voiced his agreement a little too loudly.
Taiichi fought the urge to roll his eyes. The same man who had been mocking the Uchiha on the march here was now the loudest one sucking up.
Tsunade raised a hand and the room quieted again.
"Wood Falcon," she said, addressing the scarred jonin who had been running the camp before they arrived. "You know the situation here better than anyone. Tell us what we're dealing with."
Wood Falcon stepped forward. The long scar across his face made him look like he had been carved out of stone.
"Mist's vanguard is already here," he said. "Led by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—seven elite jonin, each armed with a unique legendary blade. They're the ones who destroyed our coastal outposts. Right now they're deep in the forest, hunting our patrols and supply teams. We've already lost several squads and a lot of supplies because of them."
A ripple of surprise went through the tent.
"Seven jonin working together?" someone muttered.
"Each with a special sword?" another added.
Wood Falcon nodded grimly. "Every team that's run into them has been wiped out. They're extremely cruel. Most of our people didn't die cleanly."
Tsunade's expression didn't change, but her eyes sharpened.
"No detailed intel on their abilities?"
"None that survived," Wood Falcon answered. "We only know they each have a signature weapon and they enjoy playing with their prey."
The room grew heavier.
Tsunade didn't waste time asking for opinions. She turned her head slightly.
"Taiichi."
Taiichi stepped forward without hesitation. "Here, Sensei."
"Those seven are yours. Handle them."
The entire tent went dead silent.
Several clan heads looked like they wanted to object. Seven elite jonin wasn't a small problem. Handing the entire thing to one person—even if that person was Matsushita Taiichi—felt reckless.
But the ones who had actually fought alongside Taiichi before stayed quiet. They knew the gap between him and normal jonin was massive.
Tsunade didn't give anyone time to argue.
"Wood Falcon, besides the Seven, what else are we looking at?"
"The main Mist force hasn't landed yet," he reported. "But our patrols have spotted Mist activity on several large islands off the coast. We expect their main army within the next two days."
Tsunade tapped her fingers on the table once, thinking.
Then she looked at the Hyuga elder.
"Hyuga. How many of your people came with you?"
"Two hundred, including myself," the elder answered, chest puffed out.
"Good. Pull fifty of them. I want fifty scouting teams built around Byakugan users spread along the coastline. The second Mist's main force shows up, I want to know immediately. They are not to engage. Spot, signal, and retreat. Understood?"
The Hyuga elder opened his mouth, probably to brag, but Tsunade had already moved on.
She swept her gaze across the rest of the tent.
"We're not playing games here. Every life matters. We don't have the numbers to throw people away on stupid fights. From this moment on, every action we take has to count."
She leaned forward slightly, voice dropping.
"Mist thinks they can bleed us from the shadows. We're going to show them exactly why that was a mistake."
Taiichi stood beside her, arms crossed, already thinking about how he was going to hunt down the Seven Swordsmen.
Outside the tent, the sun was setting over the eastern forest.
The real war was about to begin.