"Damn it… I cannot even move."
"The pressure is crushing me. Are we really going to die here?"
Might Guy and Kurenai Yuhi were only genin. Facing someone like Juzo Biwa, a seasoned Jonin and one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the difference in strength was overwhelming.
The killing intent alone felt suffocating.
Even prodigies could freeze under such pressure. During the Chunin Exams, Sasuke had once been paralyzed by fear in front of Orochimaru. Compared to that, Guy and Kurenai were far less experienced.
One relied almost entirely on taijutsu, the other specialized in genjutsu. Neither was prepared for this level of brutality.
Juzo moved.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared before them. The Kubikiribocho whistled through the air, descending in a brutal arc aimed at cutting all three in half at the waist.
He did not even consider them worth separate strikes.
Swish.
Just as the blade was about to cleave through them, the three figures blurred and vanished like streaks of light.
Boom.
The Kubikiribocho struck a tree as thick as a thigh, slicing it cleanly in two.
Several meters away, the three reappeared, unharmed.
Beside them now stood another young man wearing sunglasses.
The timing was unmistakable. He had intervened.
The remaining members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist stiffened.
Even they would struggle to extract three people from that strike in such an instant.
Who was this?
Almost instinctively, a few of them glanced at Ryūjin, who also wore sunglasses. The resemblance was superficial, nothing more than coincidence, yet the subconscious reaction was unavoidable.
Of course, they did not connect the two.
Wearing sunglasses meant nothing.
What none of them realized was that the newly arrived figure was Ryūjin himself.
The Ryūjin who had been standing beside Guy and Kurenai moments ago was merely a basic Clone Technique construct.
The moment the unnatural fog had descended upon Konoha, Ryūjin sensed danger. Without drawing attention, he had switched positions.
Neither Guy nor Kurenai noticed.
His caution had just paid off.
Juzo's eyes narrowed.
"This one looks interesting. His blood should taste better."
Without hesitation, he charged again.
Ryūjin did not waste words.
"Amaterasu."
The Mangekyo Sharingan activated beneath his lenses.
Black flames erupted instantly across Juzo's body.
"AAAAH!"
Juzo collapsed, rolling frantically across the ground. He tried to extinguish the flames with brute force, but Amaterasu was no ordinary fire. It devoured relentlessly, indifferent to resistance.
Within seconds, his screams faded.
His body was reduced to nothing.
No ash.
No remains.
Only the ownerless Kubikiribocho lay abandoned on the street.
Silence fell.
Fuguki Suikazan and the remaining Swordsmen stared in disbelief.
Juzo Biwa had been killed instantly.
Those black flames… what kind of technique was that?
Their shock quickly turned into tension. Weapons were gripped tightly. Every sense sharpened.
Their eyes locked onto the mysterious young man.
There was no other explanation. He was the attacker.
Ryūjin did not speak.
He simply shifted his gaze toward another swordsman.
"Amaterasu."
Raiga Kurosuki suddenly screamed as black flames ignited across his body.
He dropped to the ground, writhing just like Juzo moments earlier.
"It is him!" Fuguki roared. "Attack together! Kill him!"
The pattern was obvious. Each time the man turned his head, someone burned.
Five Swordsmen moved simultaneously, attacking from different angles.
Five massive blades sliced toward Ryūjin at once.
Swish.
His figure vanished again.
The five strikes collided with the ground, carving out a crater.
Impossible.
Even as Jonin with exceptional speed and experience, they could not track his movements. Earlier he had relocated three people effortlessly. Now he disappeared entirely from their combined assault.
This speed rivaled a Kage.
Before they could fully process it, another scream tore through the air.
Ryūjin had reappeared elsewhere using Flying Raijin and activated Amaterasu once more.
Another swordsman fell, consumed by black fire.
Panic set in.
The remaining members immediately scattered, using the Body Flicker Technique to take cover behind buildings and debris. No one dared remain exposed.
That flame triggered by sight alone was too abnormal.
None of them wanted to be the next target.
Ryūjin stood calmly in the middle of the street, posture relaxed as if this were a casual exercise.
"You three should leave," he said flatly to Guy and Kurenai.
Kurenai hesitated.
"But… senior…"
The clone spoke evenly.
"He is right. If we stay, we only get in the way."
Guy clenched his fists but nodded.
"Kurenai, we withdraw."
The three genin used Body Flicker and vanished.
The Swordsmen did not pursue them.
Children were irrelevant.
The real threat stood in front of them.
Ryūjin glanced around, voice laced with mocking indifference.
"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist? Is hiding your specialty now?"
Rage flickered across their faces.
They wanted nothing more than to charge at him.
But they had just witnessed two of their own erased in seconds.
Pride did not outweigh survival.
Ryūjin slipped his hands into his pockets.
His tone remained casual, almost bored.
"What happened? I thought your blades were thirsty."
The street was silent except for the faint crackle of lingering black flames.
For the first time in years, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist felt fear.
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