Chapter 66: Mifune Awakens Observation Haki, Root Ambush, and Naraku's Departure
The next morning, Naraku saw off Mifune.
Tsunade had been telling him repeatedly that she would teach him taijutsu and ninjutsu.
For once, Naraku saw Tsunade acting fully serious and authoritative. This time she truly put on the demeanor of a strict teacher.
"Naraku! I already saw your combat ability when we were bringing Nawaki back. As a ninja academy student, your strength is already very good! But there are many things you can do but didn't!"
Naraku nodded: "Mm-hmm!"
"Naraku! First, sign the contract with Shikkotsu Forest!" Seeming to think Naraku might not know about it, Tsunade continued on her own: "Shikkotsu Forest is one of the three holy summoning lands, on par with Ryūchi Cave and Myōboku Mountain. It is home to a large number of slugs—all of them split bodies created by the Slug Sage. These slugs also have the ability to divide themselves and can transmit a medical ninja's chakra on a large scale to heal the injured. They can also spit corrosive liquid from their mouths to attack enemies. If necessary, you can summon slugs—the larger your chakra reserves, the bigger the slugs you can summon."
As Tsunade unrolled the Shikkotsu Forest summoning scroll, Naraku saw densely packed names on it. The vast majority were from the Senju clan. Naraku even spotted the names of Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama.
Naraku obediently wrote his own name on it. Looking at the dense Senju names with one lone "Uchiha" among them, Naraku felt it was a bit glaring.
He could almost imagine some white-haired Senju seeing this scene and roaring in rage: "Damn Uchiha brat! How dare you trick little Tsunade! Watch me kill you right now…"
...
At this moment, samurai Mifune was sprinting rapidly through the forest. His speed was extreme—like a gust of wind weaving between the trees.
Suddenly, Mifune leaped high, trying to dodge the kunai flying toward him.
Despite his quick reaction, the kunai were too numerous—like raindrops. A few still struck his body, and he fell to the ground accordingly.
At that instant, a group of Root ninjas silently appeared. They slowly closed in, forming a encirclement. The leader wore a distinctive "Eagle" mask.
He sneered: "What mere samurai from the Land of Iron! So weak!"
Facing the enemy's mockery, Mifune suddenly exploded upward, his eyes flashing with determination.
In that instant, he unleashed a lethal strike—Iaijutsu Slash!
Mifune's movement was swift and fierce. His samurai sword drew a cold arc through the air, instantly piercing the "Eagle" mask.
The slash was so fast that the Root ninjas had no time to react. They stared wide-eyed as their comrade was run through by Mifune's blade—unable even to dodge.
In a single stroke, the "Eagle" mask was split in two!
"Puff!" The "Eagle" mask turned into white smoke and vanished.
"I knew you weren't dead! Everyone, attack together!" With the "Eagle"'s order, the surrounding Root ninjas immediately launched ranged attacks.
Fire Release, kunai, explosive tags tied to kunai—all flew toward Mifune.
But what the "Eagle" mask didn't expect was that Mifune showed no fear, no hesitation! Instead, he charged forward with unstoppable momentum.
"Iaijutsu Slash!" With a roar in his heart, Mifune unleashed Iaijutsu Slash once again.
This strike was faster and stronger than before—impossible to evade.
The "Eagle" mask finally realized how ridiculous he had been. At this speed, he couldn't even form seals to protect himself. He desperately raised his kunai to block, but he didn't realize Mifune's sword had changed.
Mifune had already coated "Tōya Lake" with Armament Haki!
In an instant, the "Eagle" mask's body was cleaved open by Mifune's slash—split completely in two.
He stared wide-eyed, face full of shock and disbelief. He never imagined he would be defeated so easily—by someone wielding a wooden sword.
Yet he didn't know that Mifune's wooden sword had become hard as steel, capable of easily cutting through iron.
The "Eagle" mask's death instilled a trace of fear in the surrounding Root ninjas. They began to realize Mifune's strength far exceeded their imagination.
The Root ninjas immediately tried to pull distance from Mifune, then resume ranged attacks to kill him.
But Mifune gave them no chance. His movements were swift and decisive, leaving no room for the enemy to breathe.
Mifune locked eyes on one of the Root ninjas, his gaze burning with determination. That Root ninja felt a chill from Mifune's stare.
Another simple slash—and that Root ninja was sent to the Dead God Hall.
But at this moment, the Root ninjas once again pulled back distance. This time they formed seals with both hands.
Even stronger ninjutsu arrived.
"Earth Release: Great Mud River!"
This was a special jōnin from Root. The ground beneath Mifune instantly turned to liquid mud, flowing like a great river.
Mifune could only leap upward.
Seeing Mifune jump, the "Wolf" mask gave a slight smile—waiting for exactly this moment.
All the Root ninjas wanted to focus fire on Mifune.
However, Mifune in mid-air showed no fear—he had prepared.
"Sword Technique: Rending Sky Slash!"
Mifune concentrated chakra and Armament Haki on the blade and swung forward with full force.
A sword wave slashed toward the enemies. The ordinary ninjutsu and projectiles from the Root ninjas were like child's play in front of this sword wave.
In an instant they were obliterated. The sword wave continued onward with undiminished power toward the Root ninjas.
"Ah!" "Ah!" "Ah!"
With screams ringing out, three more Root ninjas died.
It had to be said—the Root ninjas still had strong fighting spirit. Even after losing nearly half their number, the remaining five continued attacking Mifune.
After landing, Mifune resumed his pursuit of the Root ninjas on the ground. Even though his speed was fast, some still managed to circle behind him.
But Mifune seemed to have eyes in the back of his head—every time he sensed the attack from behind.
One minute later, with the fall of the last Root ninja—
This battle between samurai and ninja was over. Mifune did not dare linger. He quickly left Konoha far behind.
On the road away from Konoha, Mifune secretly reflected: he must have awakened Observation Haki!
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