The Land of Craftsmen was founded entirely by Seimei.
But few people knew that Seimei actually had an older brother named Kiyomasa...
As the ruler of the nation, Seimei's skill in crafting ninja tools was naturally among the finest in the world.
His brother, however, was far less talented. In fact, among all the master craftsmen in the land, Kiyomasa was widely regarded as the least skilled of them all...
Because of this, his business was always struggling. To save face and bring in work, Kaneda had entered the picture.
Sharp and cunning, Kaneda had a knack for securing decent orders for Kiyomasa.
The reason Kaneda had mistakenly identified Aoi as an official from the Mist Village was simple: Kiyomasa had received intelligence that important figures from Kirigakure were coming to place a large order.
But Kiyomasa had overestimated his own standing. The person arriving from the Mist Village wasn't just any official — it was the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hozuki himself.
Gengetsu could hardly believe his eyes. He had only come to arrange a purchase of weapons, and just as he was about to take his leave of Seimei, he saw Aoi in the middle of a fight, killing people right in front of him...
"Isn't Aoi supposed to be dead?"
Gengetsu stood there utterly confused. The feeling was exactly like walking down the street to buy breakfast and suddenly spotting one of the world's richest billionaires eating porridge at a stall next door.
Still, Gengetsu had no intention of stepping in. If you really had to ask why...
Would you walk over, slap the bowl out of that billionaire's hands, and lecture him, "You're the richest man on Earth! How can you eat porridge? You should be having bird's nest soup!"?
If anyone actually did that, Gengetsu would honestly respect them for their bravery...
"You boy! Halt!"
And now... a brave soul had appeared.
Standing beside Gengetsu, Seimei suddenly roared out, trying to stop Aoi. But Aoi had already made up his mind — Kiyomasa had to die — and he wasn't about to stop now.
"Dammit!"
Seimei thrust both hands forward and shouted, "Shadow Blades of the Fang!"
Hummmm...
Several purple blades, shaped like serpents, slithered out from his sleeves. They moved like living creatures, coiling and striking, and intercepted Aoi's Kusanagi sword mid‑swing.
"Hmm?"
Aoi frowned. He hadn't activated any of his three enhanced states, so his physical speed was only at the level of a Jōnin.
Having his blade blocked wasn't surprising — but what was surprising...
Was that the weapon itself had moved to block him on its own?
Aoi was familiar with the Shadow Blades of the Fang, but the speed and power displayed here were on an entirely different level from what was shown in the anime...
He looked up. Standing there, wielding the blades, was indeed the silver‑haired man — the Daimyō of the Land of Craftsmen, Seimei.
In the original story, young Gaara had defeated Seimei instantly with a single blast from the Shukaku Spear.
But this wasn't the first time Aoi had noticed that the power levels in the real world were vastly different from the fiction.
But regardless...
"You think you can stop me with power like this?"
Aoi sneered. Before he even realized it, shimmering silver dragon scales had spread across his entire body.
His hands turned into sharp claws, which effortlessly crushed every single one of the shadow blades blocking his path.
In his Sage Mode: Serpent Avatar, Aoi's strength was already equal to that of a Kage. These tiny magical blades were nowhere near enough to hold him back...
He tore through the blockade, only to find that Kiyomasa had already scurried away like a frightened chick and was now hiding behind Seimei.
Thud... thud...
Aoi didn't rush. He walked slowly and steadily toward Seimei. He was going to kill Kiyomasa — no matter where he hid.
"Brother! You have to save me!" Kiyomasa cried in terror, clutching desperately at the hem of Seimei's robe.
But Seimei couldn't even speak. The pressure radiating from Aoi was immense — like a true dragon: noble, majestic, and utterly unstoppable...
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