Enemies!
The same realization surfaced in all four of their minds at once.
"We need to get back immediately!" Ebisu shouted as he sprang to his feet.
But Duy suddenly grabbed the impulsive boy by the shoulder. His eyes locked onto the nearby forest as his expression darkened.
"Someone's coming."
"Prepare for battle."
"Yes!"
The four-man squad instantly formed a defensive formation with Duy at the center.
"Hah… and here I thought we'd finally caught a big fish."
A man stepped out from the forest.
He had short black hair, a prominent cross-shaped scar on the right side of his face, and bandages wrapped around his ears and neck. A Kirigakure forehead protector rested on him openly, while the massive Kubikiribōchō slung over his shoulder still dripped fresh blood.
His name was Biwa Jūzō.
The man bared a mouthful of sharp teeth and sneered disdainfully.
"What a disappointment. Three brats… and a middle-aged genin?"
Then, one after another, more figures emerged from the surrounding forest.
A second.
A third.
Until all seven had appeared.
Their appearances and physiques varied wildly, and each carried a bizarre, distinctive weapon.
But every single one of them was a Kirigakure shinobi.
And all seven were jōnin.
They have no chance of winning...
Duy knew he had to ensure Guy and the others escaped safely at any cost.
The burning camp in the distance, the bloodstained weapons before them, and the relaxed confidence with which these enemies had appeared…
The situation at the camp was likely already catastrophic.
There would be no reinforcements coming.
They would have to force a breakout themselves.
In that instant, Duy finalized his plan.
"I'll hold them off," he said in a low voice. "The three of you prepare to break through at any moment."
"Hehehe…" mocked a gigantic shinobi with long orange hair and green markings painted across his cheeks. "A middle-aged genin actually thinks he can hold us back?"
"You clearly don't know who we are."
The massive ninja swung the bandage-wrapped greatsword in his hand and declared proudly:
"My name is Fuguki Suikazan."
"And I'm the one sending you all to hell."
Before he could finish speaking—
BOOM!
Fuguki's enormous body was kicked straight back into the forest.
The speed was so terrifyingly fast that nobody present managed to react in time.
"GO!"
Guy, Ebisu, and Genma immediately charged toward the opening.
But halfway through—
A silver flash sliced through the darkness.
"Watch out!!" Guy shouted.
The three Konoha boys instantly retreated.
"My name is Kushimaru Kuriarare," the blocker announced calmly. "And this is my weapon—Nuibari, the Longsword."
The man possessed long, spiky yellow hair and wore a Kirigakure ANBU mask over his face. In his right hand was a thin, needle-like blade connected to an impossibly fine steel wire.
It was those nearly invisible wires that had cut off the trio's escape route.
"Be careful of that middle-aged genin's speed."
Duy's speed truly was astonishing, but not enough to overwhelm the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
His first strike had only succeeded because of surprise.
Fuguki had assumed he was just an ordinary genin and had lowered his guard.
But now that they were paying attention, Duy's current speed and strength alone were nowhere near enough to face seven Kirigakure jōnin.
"The Fifth Gate…"
Duy's skin instantly turned dark red as veins bulged violently across his body.
"…Gate of Limit…"
"OPEN!!!"
A violent surge of air exploded outward.
His chakra erupted from within him like a flood breaking through a dam.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen stared in shock.
"How did this genin's chakra suddenly become this massive?!"
The Eight Gates Formation—
A forbidden technique that Might Duy had spent twenty years developing.
Within the human body's chakra pathway system existed eight gates that restricted and controlled the flow of chakra: the Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit, Gate of View, Gate of Wonder, and Gate of Death.
These eight gates served as natural limiters placed upon the body.
But the Eight Gates forcibly shattered those restrictions, allowing the user's chakra to surpass its normal limits and unleash power dozens of times greater than their original strength.
Its only drawbacks…
were the terrifyingly harsh training required to master it—
and the catastrophic strain it placed upon the body.
"Guy, watch carefully! This is the true secret of the Eight Gates!"
The moment Duy's words fell, his figure vanished.
In the next instant—
BOOM!
Kushimaru Kuriarare was blasted away like a cannonball.
At the same time, however, three blades appeared directly in front of Duy.
"The Sixth Gate…"
"…Gate of View…"
"OPEN!"
BOOM!!!
An even more terrifying eruption of crimson chakra exploded outward like a raging inferno, instantly sending three of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen flying backward.
"Looks like we'll actually have to get serious," A middle-aged shinobi named Kurosuki Raiga , wearing a black vest and sporting long black hair, wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Don't get fooled again," Munashi Jinpachi warned while swinging his Explosive Blade: Shibuki. "There's no way someone like this is just a genin."
Duy's expression grew grim.
Even after opening the Sixth Gate, his attacks still failed to deal any lethal damage.
Some of his blows had been dodged.
Others had been blocked outright.
These shinobi were all at least elite jōnin level.
And Kirigakure had actually dispatched an entire squad this powerful…
"Guy… all of you… GO!"
"The Seventh Gate…"
"…Gate of Wonder…"
"OPEN!!!"
An even more monstrous storm of chakra burst from Duy's body as he charged toward the Seven Ninja Swordsmen at blinding speed.
"You…" Akebino Jinin stared in disbelief. "You're really just a Konoha genin?!"
"I am Might Duy, a Genin of Konoha!"
To still claim the rank of Genin—did he think they were idiots? Or was this some kind of mockery?
"Don't act like you've already won!" Fuguki Suikazan roared as he raised Samehada. "We are the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!!!"
In the next moment, two massive torrents of chakra collided head-on.
The resulting shockwave tore through the entire forest, snapping countless trees apart.
Using the brief chaos as cover, Guy, Ebisu, and Genma finally escaped the encirclement.
"Guy…" Ebisu said anxiously, "your father…"
But from the distant battlefield, a colossal surge of chakra suddenly erupted into the sky—
A power that had already surpassed the Kage level.
This was the final secret of the Eight Gates Formation.
The Eighth Gate—
The Gate of Death.
Once opened, it granted power more than ten times greater than that of a Kage-level shinobi…
But the price—
was death.
So Father finally reached this step after all…
Guy wiped away the tears gathering in his eyes.
"We can't waste the chance he gave us."
"We have to bring news of Kirigakure's invasion back to Konoha!!!"
…
Deep within the Land of Earth, the Konoha Special Operations Task Force stood in stunned silence.
"So Iwagakure and Sunagakure have already formed an alliance?" Amane said in disbelief.
Shimizu nodded grimly.
"Beneath that camp from earlier, there's definitely an underground tunnel leading directly into the interior of the Land of Fire."
Sunagakure possessed the capability to excavate tunnels on that scale.
And they also had every reason to cooperate with Iwagakure.
After all, they shared a common enemy—
Konoha.
A bitter enemy stained with blood-deep hatred.
"So what now?" Shisui asked. "Do we return directly to Konoha?"
At the moment, Shimizu's team had only confirmed the strategic cooperation between Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
But they still lacked crucial intelligence.
Where exactly did the tunnel lead within the Land of Fire?
How much progress had already been made on its construction?
None of that was known yet.
After a brief silence, Shimizu finally gave his orders.
"Amane, Megumi—you two will return to Konoha first and deliver this intelligence to the Hokage."
"Understood."
Amane then asked, "Do you need us to arrange support?"
Shimizu shook his head.
"Don't worry about us."
"A new war could break out at any moment. Konoha needs to gather every available force to prepare."
"And besides…"
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"We won't fight recklessly."
"Even if we can't win…"
"We can always escape."
...
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