Another Jōnin was struck down by a flash of lightning. His body convulsed violently as he hit the ground, unable to stand on his own. Once again, the Mizukage's aides carried the fallen ninja to the medical room—this was already the third opponent Ringo Ameyuri had sent for treatment, and the sixth she had defeated in total.
In other words,
those who faced Ringo Ameyuri had a fifty percent chance of being hospitalized!
Of course,
that calculation was clearly an exaggeration.
Still, no one doubted the truth that those three collapsed figures made painfully clear—
the Seven Ninja Swordsmen selection battles were brutal beyond measure.
Previously, during the fight for the Twin Blades: Hiramekarei, no one had been seriously injured only because Hōzuki Mangetsu's Hydrification Technique made him immune to most physical attacks.
Besides, in order to conserve chakra, Mangetsu hadn't used any particularly destructive ninjutsu, and Water Release techniques, by their very nature, lacked high killing power.
So it wasn't surprising that,
up until the end of his matches, not a single person had been gravely hurt.
Ringo Ameyuri, however, fought in a completely different style.
This girl—whose chakra reserves were said to reach the level of fifty Yūsuke units—had no intention whatsoever of conserving her chakra. She never bothered with taijutsu exchanges; instead, she overwhelmed every opponent using raw Lightning Release—a barrage of jutsu unleashed without even the need for hand seals.
In fact, by this point, everyone had already noticed that Ameyuri's "seal-less" Lightning Release techniques seemed to consist of only two forms:
one—a lightning strike fired like a long spear;
the other—a ball of lightning shot forward like an explosive shell.
Just two moves.
But as the saying goes—
"A single perfected skill can conquer the world."
Her strength lay precisely in those two techniques. By abandoning hand seals entirely, she always struck first—and in battle, that advantage was everything.
Every Jōnin who stepped forward tried a variety of tactics, but none succeeded. Against this walking artillery tower, they were forced to defend with ninjutsu of their own—yet before long, each one's chakra was completely drained in the high-intensity exchange.
Meanwhile, Ringo Ameyuri herself showed no signs of fatigue whatsoever.
Even after facing six Jōnin in succession, she remained as composed and energetic as when she started.
"Who's next?"
Ringo's face was alight with excitement.
The string of fierce battles had completely ignited her fighting spirit. Unlike before, when her killing intent only appeared during combat, now—even between matches—her fiery aura didn't fade at all.
Unfortunately for her,
after the sixth opponent was carried off, no one else stepped forward.
The rest of the Kirigakure shinobi simply stood in silence, staring at her.
Many among them also possessed Lightning Release, yes—but their mastery of it was shallow, merely learned to diversify their arsenal. With such limited skill, even if they did win the Thunder Blades: Kiba, they wouldn't be able to wield them properly anyway.
So they chose to watch instead of fight.
Five minutes passed in silence.
"The battle for the Thunder Blades: Kiba is hereby concluded," said Yagura Karatachi, rising from his seat. "Ringo Ameyuri—claim your prize."
"Che."
The clicking of her tongue was loud and sharp.
Ringo looked genuinely displeased.
Still, she didn't let her frustration get the better of her. After that small display of irritation, she walked over to the wall and took down the Kiba.
Like the Twin Blades: Hiramekarei, the Kiba were a pair—but since the name Hiramekarei already referred to a "twin blade," these were simply called Thunder Blades.
Each was a straight sword, with a sharp, forked edge at both the tip and near the hilt—a design both elegant and deadly.
In an instant, the weapon wall was left with only three remaining blades:
the Blastsword: Shibuki, the Longsword: Nuibari, and the Butcher Blade: Kabutowari.
The Jōnin present all wore grave expressions.
Everyone knew that from this point onward, the competition would grow only fiercer.
And then—
"The Nuibari belongs to me."
A voice cut through the air.
A boy stepped out from the crowd and strode confidently into the training field.
He had short black hair, wore his forehead protector at an angle, and his dark, sharp eyes glimmered with violence. His skin was slightly tanned, and his neck and lower face were wrapped in bandages, obscuring his features—but many there recognized him immediately.
"Momochi Zabuza!"
"What a reckless brat."
"He's not just anyone—he's the Demon of the Hidden Mist."
Whispers spread through the crowd of Jōnin.
"Any objections?"
Yagura glanced briefly at the boy, then swept his gaze over the others. "If there are none, then the battle for the Nuibari begins now! The first challenger is Momochi Zabuza. Anyone wishing to compete—step forward!"
···
"Mei-hime," Yūsuke whispered, his ears twitching slightly as he overheard the murmurs of the other Jōnin, "is this Momochi Zabuza that famous?"
Though he'd traveled with Mei and Kyoichi on their return from the Land of Rivers, he wasn't particularly close to her—so he addressed her politely rather than by name.
"He's technically my junior—two years younger," Mei replied, her voice calm. "If I remember correctly… he's twelve this year."
"Twelve? And already a Jōnin?"
Yūsuke's eyes widened in shock.
At twelve, both he and Kyoichi had barely reached Chūnin rank. In any village, a twelve-year-old Jōnin was an extraordinary achievement.
"Yes," Mei nodded, her tone deepening. "But his fame doesn't just come from becoming a Jōnin at twelve. It's because he single-handedly changed the graduation system of Kirigakure's Academy."
"Changed the graduation system?" Yūsuke echoed, confused.
Mei's gaze darkened. "You and Kyoichi may not know, but a few years ago, in order to graduate from our Academy, a student had to take the life of another graduating classmate. Only by killing could one earn the right to become a shinobi."
By the time she finished speaking,
her tone had grown heavy—almost grim.
"..."
Yūsuke's expression froze. His mouth hung open, but no words came out.
He had heard of harsh training methods before, but this—this was on another level entirely.
"When it came time for Zabuza's class to graduate," Mei continued, her eyes fixed on the boy standing in the training field, "only he walked out of the examination hall alive."
Kyoichi glanced at her, knowing the answer but still asking, "What happened inside?"
Mei's lips curved slightly, though there was no smile in them. "Zabuza killed every single one of his classmates."
"...!"
Yūsuke drew in a sharp breath, disbelief written all over his face. "He killed all of them? How could he do that?"
Instinctively, his eyes turned toward the boy below—
younger than him by two years, yet already carrying such a chilling reputation.
To Yūsuke, it was incomprehensible.
Killing one or two classmates out of rivalry or hatred—perhaps that he could imagine.
But to slaughter every single one...
Had the boy been bullied, isolated, pushed to the brink by them all?
Otherwise—how could anyone bring themselves to do something so monstrous?