He had arrived in the village in half a day... going from the outer camp of the Suna battlefield all the way to the Land of Hot Springs was no joke. He had to run through the Land of Fire, and then, he got there.
Took him like, 6-ish hours, maybe 12, but oh well, he still got there.
And from what his chakra sensing was telling him... his victim was present.
Good... time to put on the act.
POV Change — Kyōka Suigetsu Victim
Jinin Akebino leaned back in his chair, the hilt of Kabutowari resting against the table.
A jug of rice wine rested half-empty by his hand. The crimson on his boots had finally dried. The noble hadn't even screamed right. No spine.
He wasn't that sadistic—he simply killed the man instantly, so it wasn't like he could scream.
Jinin yawned, scratched at his beard, then stuffed another dumpling in his mouth. Good kill, good drink, good pay.
As for what he looked like... think young Ōnoki. He had the same nose and all, same face structure and all that shit.
Though as he ate, something felt off.
A presence.
Someone sat across from him, quietly. No sound, no heavy chakra signature. Just... appeared.
Jinin frowned.
The man wore a fox mask, porcelain white with ink-brushed eyes. No village insignia. No smell of fear.
"...You lost?" Jinin grunted, voice thick with boredom.
"How peculiar," said the stranger in a velvet-smooth voice. "A Kiri-nin so far from home. You're off-duty... or playing dress-up?"
"Buzz off."
The stranger smiled beneath the mask.
"I've always been a fan of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Legendary assassins. Brutal, untraceable. Yet here you are... drinking openly like a missing-nin begging for notice."
Jinin raised an eyebrow.
The stranger slid something across the table:
A bounty scroll.
Jinin's own face stared back at him—80 million ryō worth of dead.
"I was hoping for a signature," the masked man said. "Right here."
As he said that, his finger kept pressing against the dead part of the poster.
Over... and over again.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Jinin growled. "I'm in a good mood. If you leave now, I'll let you keep your legs."
The stranger leaned in just slightly.
"As if you could threaten my life."
And then—
KABOOM
The clone jumped away. Hm, so the weapon was quite destructive. He knew that already.
The clone simply cleaned his little robe.
As for the man—
'He was able to dodge my slash point-blank,' he thought to himself. The man would think quite deeply into it.
Had his Kage sold him out...? Hm, very likely option.
No, this was probably a bounty hunter hoping to make it big by killing a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.
Hm. This bastard's head would be rolling on the floor soon.
The clone merely raised his hand at the man.
"Come."
The Kiri-nin, without needing another excuse, rushed at Seijuro, slamming his hammer down on the bounty hunter.
As the hammer made impact with the man's body, he would puke blood at the Jōnin's face as his body slammed into the floor.
BAM
Jinin was the victor.
"Not even worth the warm-up," the man said cockily.
"Quite the impressive weapon you have there," a voice came from behind him.
Turning around, he would see the man again.
"Kabutowari, the name's correct?"
Seijuro knew he was correct. Just wanted to see the man's reaction to him being alive.
'Genjutsu.' Jinin thought to himself. He didn't know when he was placed under it, but now he was on guard against it.
"And what if it is? Kabutowari is one of Kirigakure's precious weapons, and the last thing you'll see as it ends your life."
Cool.
"Fascinating. Such a simple design, yet so much force..." Jinin wondered what this man wanted, yet before he could act—
He was blitzed.
Seijuro took the weapon from his hand.
"How magnificent," he said, examining the weapon. He would 100% be keeping this for reasons. Study it for a bit, and sell it back to Kiri at an insane price.
The man rushed at Seijuro, who simply jumped over him, his feet planted on the man's face.
"Such simple-minded creatures, thinking physical strength can overcome it all," Seijuro said, before slamming his foot down.
KA-BOOM
A small crater was created... in the middle, the man lay... all bloodied.
Seijuro even made sure to toss the man's weapons right in front of him.
"Come on... pick them up."
Was this disrespectful? Yes. It was. Seijuro was bored. He thought this would be a challenge, but it seemed like he underestimated his own strength and overestimated the overhyped Swordsmen of the Mist.
He wouldn't be surprised if those bums were killed by a genin.
As the man reached out for the sword, Seijuro created a Chidori... walked to the man, and as the man's little finger touched the blade, he thrust his hand into the man's chest... exactly where his heart used to be.
Destroying it. The man died instantly.
Seijuro wasn't done yet.
Using a sword, he cut the man's head clean off from his body. Using Fire Release ninjutsu, he burned the wounds a bit—cauterized the wounds—then sealed it. He didn't want, when he unsealed it, for it to have blood everywhere. He wasn't that brutal.
He made sure to burn the man's body. Even left a grave where he killed him, with a gravestone and all.
As for his sword... he kept it for himself.
He needed to study it for a bit.
A/N fell asleep like 8 hour ago and just woke up