c134 – Fall
Zhu Rong, the massive fire-breathing dragon-shaped summon under Uchiha Gen's control, opened its jaws wide. Chakra surged into its throat, gathering into an intense, condensed mass of Katon chakra before erupting outward as a roaring crimson pillar of flame similar in power to Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku used by Madara during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
Wu Sheng, Gen's weapon forged with sealing formulae reminiscent of the Uzumaki clan's craftsmanship, elongated instantly. The blade cut through the heavy Kirigakure no Jutsu mist, its point moving with a speed and precision that rivaled a kunai thrown with perfect aim.
At the edge of the river valley, Hōzuki Mangetsu — the reincarnated wielder of multiple Seven Ninja Swordsmen blades and Kurosuki Raiga, wielder of the Kiba twin swords, had no idea that Gen's Sharingan could track their chakra signatures even in dense mist.
By the time their killing instincts, honed through years of combat, screamed danger, it was already too late.
Raiga twisted his body, lowering his stance and crossing Kiba to intercept. Sparks danced across the blades as Raiton chakra surged.
The fire pillar was simply faster. Mangetsu, wielding Samehada stolen from Kisame before his reincarnation, had no time to shift into his hydrated Hōzuki form. One hand gripped the hilt, the other braced the blade's midsection.
The intense flames struck Samehada, making the sword writhe and growl exactly as it had when absorbing Killer Bee's chakra. The impact hurled Mangetsu into the cliff wall, pain flaring across his shoulders.
Samehada greedily absorbed the Katon chakra, weakening the attack significantly.
Raiga, despite anchoring himself with Kiba, was still slammed into the rock face. Unlike Mangetsu's resilient body bolstered by his partial Hydration Technique Raiga had no such defense, a sharp groan escaping him.
"Damn it… Kirigakure no Jutsu is useless against a sensor-type with a Sharingan," Raiga cursed under his breath. "We just gave him the advantage."
Mangetsu's jaw tightened. He'd assumed their movements had been invisible in the fog. Realizing his mistake stung.
"This sword's dangerous," Raiga muttered, nodding toward Wu Sheng.
"It's not just dangerous," Mangetsu replied grimly, "it's forged with sealing arts… could be a variant of the Kusanagi legend."
Mangetsu sidestepped another searing wave, swinging Samehada to knock Wu Sheng aside before scaling the cliff wall with chakra-enhanced soles. Raiga followed.
"Come," Gen's voice called. In a blur, he leapt after them. Zhu Rong swooped beneath him mid-air; Wu Sheng retracted into his hand. Gen began weaving signs, the movement deliberate and controlled.
The cliff was barely ten meters high. The two elite swordsmen surged upward. Zhu Rong exhaled a wide wave of orange flame, concealing another strike.
Katon: Bakuhōendan!
Several crimson fireballs burst from Gen's mouth tiny as marbles on release, swelling to fist-size in mid-air. This B-rank ninjutsu, like Sasuke's Hōsenka Tsumabeni, demanded precise chakra compression.
Sensing danger, Mangetsu and Raiga abandoned offense. Their fingers blurred through seals at record speed.
Suiton: Suijinchū!
Twin water walls merged into one towering barrier. Steam hissed violently as fire met water, momentarily shrouding the battlefield.
A flash of silver-white erupted through the mist Wu Sheng's edge reflected in Raiga's eyes. Mangetsu's hair, hardened with chakra like Jiraiya's Hari Jizō, extended to parry the thrust, stopping the tip a breath from Raiga's chest.
Raiga swallowed hard, gratitude forming on his lips then multiple explosions tore through the air.
The shockwave smashed the water wall apart, sending both men tumbling. Even as he was flung, Mangetsu's battle instinct kicked in; his living hair swept Kiba and Samehada safely back into his grip.
The pair groaned, burns stinging their skin. But as veterans of countless skirmishes, they recovered quickly.
"As expected of the Seven Swordsmen," Gen murmured. "Still breathing…"
He held back not from mercy, but because killing them outright would destroy their high-value souls. Elite jōnin souls were rare sustenance, far more potent than the nameless genin fodder of the Fourth War.
The two Kirigakure shinobi finally looked toward the shape emerging from the dissipating steam.
"A dragon?" Raiga blurted. "What kind of summon is that?"
Mangetsu stayed silent, uncertainty shadowing his gaze.
Gen, standing atop Zhu Rong, smiled coldly. "Nothing is impossible. Do you yield?"
"Yield? The Seven Swordsmen don't surrender," Raiga snarled, raising Kiba to call lightning but the ground erupted beneath him.
Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu!
Hands yanked him under in an instant, Kiba clattering to the snow. Only his head remained above ground.
Mangetsu swung Samehada down in a sweeping arc, blasting snow and soil aside, but missed entirely.
"Tch, careless…" Raiga muttered bitterly. He hadn't even unleashed a single Raiton technique before being pinned.
Mangetsu's mind raced. Without Raiga's aid, a genjutsu could end him instantly. He raised a flare signal.
Gen let him more prey meant more reward, and Kirigakure's reinforcements would split their forces away from Orochimaru.
Six Kiri jōnin saw the flare mid-fight with Orochimaru and Manda. Disgusted but obligated, they sent a Kaguya clan jōnin and another swordsman-ranked shinobi to assist.
Mangetsu's hair flared outward like a wall of senbon. Zhu Rong met it with a Katon: Endan, while Gen's skin darkened under an earth-hardening technique akin to Doton: Domu.
The fiery impact shredded chakra from Mangetsu's hair. He leapt back, avoiding scattered flames.
Raiga closed his eyes, bracing for death but instead felt a sharp yank at his hair. Opening his eyes, he saw Gen's spinning three-tomoe Sharingan. His mind fell instantly into a fear-based genjutsu.
The fear bled into his life force, which poured into Gen like mist. Raiga collapsed, lifeless.
Mangetsu's scalp prickled. "I don't mean to humiliate," Gen said, dropping the body, "but the hair was the easiest anchor."
He turned to Mangetsu, who avoided eye contact, tension radiating from him. Zhu Rong lowered its head, feinting charges. Mangetsu's patience broke; he prepared Kirigakure no Jutsu to obscure the Sharingan's reach.
The Kaguya jōnin and their partner arrived. "Commander, report?" one asked, staring at Zhu Rong with unease.
"That's his summon airborne, Katon-capable. Never meet his eyes," Mangetsu warned. "You two hold him; I'll reinforce Jūzō's squad."
He leapt away. Gen's lips curled. Better to let him flee killing Kiri's commander too early might collapse their offensive.
The Kaguya charged with Shikotsumyaku speed, but every movement was crystal-clear in Gen's Sharingan. He launched Wu Sheng; the Kaguya blocked with a sharpened bone spear.
Wu Sheng recoiled mid-air, then speared toward the other jōnin, forcing him to abandon his seals. The blade's sudden extension gouged the earth, whirling back into the fight.
Steel clashed again and again, sparks flying, as the Kaguya jōnin finally blurted between blows: "What kind of cursed summon is that?"
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