"Keep guiding me."
Kiyohara spoke right beside Hyuga Ginka's ear, his warm breath brushing against the edge of her ear.
In the next second, Ginka felt the ground vanish beneath her feet, and her view suddenly shot upward.
The voices of Might Guy and the others quickly faded into the distance, replaced by the roar of the wind and the abruptly open sky.
She instinctively grabbed Kiyohara's arm. From high above, the deep blue sea shimmered under the sunlight like scattered silver, and the distant island looked like a dark emerald set into the ocean.
Through the Byakugan's vision, the chakra signatures on the island stood out clearly like fireflies in the dark.
Ginka forced herself to calm down, the veins around her Byakugan swelling slightly.
"Now that we're closer, I can see there are over twenty ninja outside the island, and around ten more underground inside."
Her voice was torn apart a little by the wind, but Kiyohara heard her clearly.
"How many jonin?"
"About eight, I think."
Ginka paused.
Kiyohara nodded. Holding Ginka in the air, he hovered for a moment, then raised his right hand and threw a kunai back toward the boat.
He himself continued flying forward with Ginka.
Thud.
Kakashi looked at the kunai sticking into the side of the boat and picked it up. A symbol had been etched into it.
Among ninja, simple symbols often carried specific meanings.
Kiyohara's symbol meant: I'm going ahead. Hurry and follow.
On the boat, Kakashi gave a slight nod and rested a hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Kiyohara wants us to move in."
Kakashi said it simply.
He glanced at the boat.
At their current speed, though, getting there might still be a bit slow.
"I can make us go faster."
Rin and Kurenai spoke at the same time.
The two girls looked at each other.
Rin said, "I can whip up waves around us to push the boat faster."
Kurenai nodded and added, "I can use Wind Release to drive the sails. If we work together, we should speed up a lot."
The two of them acted immediately.
One used Water Release to churn the surrounding seawater, while the other used wind to fill the sails.
The little boat, which had been drifting before, suddenly shot forward in the direction Kiyohara had flown.
Might Guy grabbed onto the boat tightly. The sudden acceleration had nearly thrown him into the sea.
Watching the two of them work, Kakashi thought for a moment and realized he also had a way to make them faster.
The Rasengan.
It was a technique Kakashi had copied from Kiyohara.
Of course, the original creator was Minato Namikaze.
Kakashi had seen the Rasengan many times, both from Kiyohara and from Minato.
The problem was that it consumed too much chakra, so Kakashi had rarely used it in the past.
But if he put a Rasengan at the stern of the boat, it could basically work like an oar.
So Kakashi crouched at the back of the boat, extended a hand, and formed a pale blue sphere of chakra.
Whoosh!
With the Rasengan stirring the sea water, the boat accelerated once again.
It shot across the surface like a skipping stone.
Meanwhile, Kiyohara was almost there.
The outline of the island rapidly expanded in his view.
It was a classic volcanic island. A small central hill rose in the middle, covered in dense tropical vegetation, while the coastline was jagged and lined with black reefs.
Just as Kiyohara came within a hundred meters of the island, a shrill alarm suddenly rang out from the watchtower.
"Enemy attack…!"
The Kirigakure ninja's warning was half-lost in the sea wind, but their reactions were not slow at all.
Three Kirigakure ninja leapt down from the top of the tower at the same time, their hands flashing through seals.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
"Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!"
Raging water surged upward like a tidal wave, crashing toward Kiyohara in midair.
Seeing that, Kiyohara judged them as fairly capable. Though they were chunin, they were clearly the elite among chunin.
Kirigakure had definitely not stationed ordinary fodder here.
But Kiyohara did not slow down.
Because in his eyes, chunin were now little more than speed bumps.
Sorry, but everyone here was doing their best to stay alive.
As far as Kiyohara was concerned, if they had anything to say, they could say it to his Fire Release.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation."
The moment he exhaled, a crimson wall of flame poured out of his mouth, more than ten meters wide and stretching dozens of meters forward.
The temperature was so high that it distorted the air. Wherever it passed, seawater was vaporized into towering white mist, and the incoming wave disappeared into steam the instant it touched the fire.
"Fall back—!"
The Kirigakure chunin cried out.
The ninja in front tried to escape with the Body Flicker Technique, but he was nowhere near fast enough to outrun the advancing fire.
The red flames swept over him, and he did not even have time to scream before he was reduced to charred black remains.
The other two were a little farther back. They avoided the main blast, but the extreme heat at the edge of the flames still scorched their skin and lungs. They collapsed, writhing in agony.
In Kiyohara's hands, Fire Release was not some harmless, non-lethal art.
Kiyohara landed steadily, touching down on the sand so lightly that he didn't even kick up dust.
He released the arm wrapped around Hyuga Ginka's waist. She staggered half a step before regaining her balance, her pale cheeks flushed an unnatural red.
It was not embarrassment.
It was from the lingering heat of that terrifying Fire Release.
"So hot…"
Ginka felt as if the temperature from Kiyohara's flames was still burning around her.
"Keep reporting."
Kiyohara said.
By now Ginka had fully accepted that she was just here as an intelligence support girl. Forcing herself to ignore the sting in her cheeks, she activated her Byakugan again and looked through the dense jungle and rock.
"Three hundred meters straight ahead—five ninja are gathering. They're planning to use a combined Water Release… Inside the cave on the left, there are two more preparing explosive tag traps… There's one ninja hidden in the treetops on the right, about to throw weapons…"
"Good."
Kiyohara was very pleased with Ginka.
Most people would probably have frozen for a moment in this situation.
After all, almost no time had passed between leaving the boat and landing on the island.
Then Kiyohara moved, so fast he left several afterimages on the beach.
The Kirigakure ninja in the right-side treetop had only just locked onto Kiyohara's position when, the next instant, the target vanished.
A moment later, cold metal pierced his throat from behind.
Inside the cave, the two Kirigakure ninja heard their comrade fall and immediately triggered the explosive tags they had prepared.
A massive explosion boomed, collapsing the cave entrance and sending rubble flying.
But when the smoke cleared, they were horrified to find Kiyohara already standing outside.
He… had never even gone in.
The two Kirigakure ninja saw the Sharingan slowly turning in Kiyohara's eyes.
The figure they had seen just before had only been an illusion.
When had they fallen under genjutsu?
"Water Release: Water Bullet Tech—"
One of the Kirigakure ninja froze halfway through forming seals.
Kiyohara's right hand was already resting on his chest. He didn't punch him hard—just gave a light push.
But that seemingly casual push carried terrifying force.
The Kirigakure ninja flew backward and slammed into the rock wall, his chest caving in as blood sprayed from his mouth.
The other one turned and ran. Kiyohara did not even look at him. He merely flicked his left hand behind him.
Three shuriken flew out, collided in midair to change course, and the final one drove into the fleeing ninja's back.
Hyuga Ginka followed behind Kiyohara, her Byakugan taking everything in.
Her breathing quickened—not from fatigue, but from shock.
So this was Kiyohara's real strength?
That effortless ease, killing people as though he were trimming grass…
If she had to describe it, Ginka felt there was even a kind of elegance to it.
A battlefield rose?
The thought came to her for no reason.
"Watch out!"
Ginka suddenly shouted.
Ahead, the Kirigakure ninja's combined Water Release had finally been completed.
It was a fusion of Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique and Water Release: Water Prison Technique.
A huge mass of seawater had been forcibly drawn up by chakra from the shoreline, forming a giant sphere more than twenty meters across. Inside it, the water spun at terrifying speed, creating both immense suction and grinding force.
"Trap him!"
One of the Kirigakure jonin sneered.
"In a Water Prison, even if you're an Uchiha—"
His voice cut off abruptly.
Because Kiyohara was not trapped at all.
The instant the giant water sphere formed, Kiyohara was already standing in the middle of the five-man formation.
None of them had even seen how he bypassed the Water Release barrier.
The truth was, he hadn't broken through it at all. In the split second before the combined technique fully formed, he had simply shot through the gaps in their formation at a speed too fast for the eye to follow.
As his chakra reserves grew larger and his body stronger, the repulsive force Kiyohara could use increased as well, naturally pushing his speed even higher.
Then he used Uchiha-style taijutsu.
Several Kirigakure ninja were blown backward almost at the same time—some crashed through trees, some into rock walls, some straight into the sea.
They didn't even have time to cry out before losing consciousness.
Kiyohara stood amid the wreckage and flicked his wrist.
Honestly, compared to punching and kicking, there were times he preferred using a blade.
It kept blood from splashing all over him.
"Well now, so it's the little brat who's been getting famous lately."
Fuguki Suikazan walked forward with Samehada strapped to his back.
Kiyohara looked at him quietly.
Fuguki had long orange hair that reached all the way down to his waist.
His teeth were sharp too. Kiyohara had noticed that many Kirigakure ninja had unnaturally sharp teeth, which made him wonder if it was some regional trait of the Land of Water.
His neck was wrapped in thick bandages, and green stripes were painted across his cheeks.
While Kiyohara was sizing Fuguki up, Fuguki was doing the same to Kiyohara.
His first thought was: handsome.
No, actually—young.
The more Fuguki looked at Kiyohara, the younger he seemed.
As for the attractive Hyuga Ginka standing nearby, Fuguki barely spared her a glance.
In his eyes, Ginka was just some minor fry.
The only one worth paying attention to was Kiyohara.
While Kiyohara was cleaning out the shoreline defenses, the others in the boat had finally reached the island too.
They were only a few dozen meters from landing.
Might Guy was the first to leap onto the rocks at the shore, his green training suit billowing in the sea wind.
He took a deep breath and crossed his arms over his chest.
His momentum surged once, then again, and again, until—
"Sixth Gate: Gate of View… Open!"
Green vapor burst from every pore in his body. His skin flushed red, and his muscles swelled.
But his face broke into a radiant smile—pure joy for battle.
"Youth means charging forward without hesitation!"
Before the words had even finished, he turned into a streak of green lightning and shot into the forest, moving so fast he left a white spray trail across the sea behind him.
Kakashi followed close behind, gathering chakra beneath his feet and stepping across the water in a line of ripples.
Rin and Kurenai came last.
They reached the shore, and Rin immediately slammed her hands to the ground.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
A circular wall of water surged up, giving the two of them temporary cover.
Kurenai closed her eyes, chakra spreading outward like a spiderweb as she sensed for hidden enemies.
"Three enemies on the left, fifty meters out. They're closing in."
Kurenai suddenly opened her eyes.
Rin nodded and changed hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!"
A water sphere condensed from the air and shot toward the direction Kurenai had indicated.
Cries of alarm and the crash of clashing ninjutsu came from the jungle.
But soon, three Kirigakure ninja burst through the water attack and lunged toward them.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Kurenai blew out a strong gale that threw the Mist ninja off balance.
Rin used the opening to flick three specially made senbon from her pouch.
The needles arced through the air and hit the three ninja in the shoulders, making it hard for them to lift their arms and form seals.
If they had to use one-handed seals, their efficiency would drop sharply.
"Looks like they don't need our help."
Kakashi's voice came from the side.
He and Might Guy had already cleared the nearby enemies and were now standing atop the trunk of a broken tree.
The green vapor around Guy's body was slowly fading. The Sixth Gate put a huge burden on the body and couldn't be maintained for long.
"Where's Kiyohara?"
Rin asked.
Kakashi pointed toward the center of the island.
"He went that way. Hyuga Ginka is with him."
The moment he said it, a violent clash of chakra erupted from deep inside the island.
At that moment, Kiyohara and Hyuga Ginka were standing in a relatively open forest clearing.
Their opponent was a tall Kirigakure ninja, most notable for the bandage-wrapped greatsword strapped to his back—Samehada.
One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Kakashi's expression turned serious.
He had seen the old Seven Ninja Swordsmen get hunted down by Might Guy's father, Might Dai—but that had only been because the Death Gate was overwhelmingly powerful.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen themselves were anything but weak.
"He's the one… who killed my father."
Might Guy stared at them.
Even for someone like Guy, anger rose inside him.
At the end of the day, his father had only opened the Death Gate because of these Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
If not for them, his father would not have died, and his youth would not have ended so soon.
The more Guy thought about it, the angrier he got—angry enough that he almost wanted to open the Eight Gates again.
Kakashi grabbed him and motioned for him to calm down.
The Eight Gates placed enormous strain on the body, so the timing had to be chosen carefully.
"You little brats from Konoha…"
Fuguki sneered.
"Just the few of you dared to come charging in here. Should I call that brave… or just stupid?"
As he spoke, Samehada on his back twitched slightly, and through the gaps in its bandages, rows of vicious barbs could be seen along the blade.
It was more than a weapon.
It was a living creature, a monster that could devour chakra.
Kiyohara didn't answer.
He simply looked at him quietly.
Hyuga Ginka stood half a step behind Kiyohara, her Byakugan fully activated, scanning their surroundings carefully for any other hidden enemies.
"No answer? Then don't bother speaking again!"
Fuguki formed hand seals. His long orange hair rose as if blown by invisible wind, each strand hardening into a sharp steel needle.
"Ninja Art: Hair Needle Senbon!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh…!
Thousands of hardened strands shot toward Kiyohara like a rainstorm.
Each hair carried enough force to pierce steel plate. It was Fuguki's trademark technique, and more than one jonin had died to it.
Kiyohara's body blurred, evading the attack directly.
Then the gold dust in the gourd at his waist vibrated and took on the shape of shuriken.
Gold Dust Shuriken.
Driven by electromagnetic force, those shuriken instantly sliced through Fuguki's hair and cut it apart.
"My hair!"
Fuguki was furious and shocked.
That brat actually dared to cut his hair!
But before he could say anything else, Kiyohara disappeared from where he stood.
Fuguki hadn't even seen how he moved. He only felt an overwhelming force slam into his stomach.
Boom!
Fuguki's entire body flew backward, smashing through three massive trees thick enough to take two men to wrap their arms around, before crashing hard into a giant reef boulder.
Kiyohara looked down at him, his three tomoe Sharingan slowly spinning.
"When you're fighting, don't lose focus."
Kiyohara said it blandly.
Letting yourself get distracted over your hair being cut was just handing him an opening.
Then Kiyohara's eyes moved to Samehada.
A living weapon. Able to devour chakra. Able to fuse with its user…
Very interesting.
Kiyohara found himself wondering whether Samehada could… reproduce.
Because in theory, Samehada was just a special kind of fish.
And if it was a living thing, then usually reproduction was part of the package.
Could it spawn a whole bunch of little Samehadas?
"Ginka, fall back."
Kiyohara said.
"You're handling him alone?"
Ginka asked.
She swept her gaze around and found that more and more Kirigakure ninja were gathering.
Further back, Kakashi and Guy were already fighting the newly arrived Mist ninja.
Rin and Kurenai had begun fighting too.
"Yeah. Go help the others."
Kiyohara said.
One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?
He alone was enough.
Though Fuguki was Samehada's first master, he was clearly nowhere near as skilled with it as Kisame Hoshigaki would later be.
In the original story, even if Kisame only killed Fuguki through betrayal and surprise, Fuguki had still lost to his own subordinate.
The fact that he hadn't reacted in time to Kisame's betrayal was proof enough that his reactions weren't fast enough.
And according to the databooks, Fuguki was highly vigilant—even wary of Kisame—yet still got killed instantly by the ambush.
"Samehada would be better off with me than with you."
Kiyohara said, looking at Fuguki.
If you don't know how to use Samehada properly, then what exactly are you doing carrying it?
~~~
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