Fuguki Suikazan gripped Samehada's hilt with both hands. The living greatsword, its surface covered in hooked barbs, let out a low scraping noise as if responding to its master's intent.
"You little brat, you'll pay for your arrogance!"
He swung Samehada hard.
"Samehada: Crushing Slash!"
The hammer-like bulk on either side of Samehada carved a white arc through the air with a tearing roar as it smashed toward Kiyohara.
The essence of the move wasn't sharpness, but its terrifying weight and range—more than enough to flatten steel into sheet metal.
Kiyohara drew the ninja blade at his waist and, the instant Samehada's strike came down, blocked it head-on.
Clang!
The impact rang out sharp and clear.
Kiyohara's arm didn't budge an inch. Sparks flew where his blade met Samehada.
Fuguki's pupils shrank.
Something was wrong.
That huge force had actually rebounded through Samehada and into his own palm.
This brat was monstrously strong.
If Samehada hadn't buffered the blow, he might have been sent flying by that exchange alone.
"If this is all it takes for me to 'pay the price,' then you're pretty disappointing."
At the same time, black curse markings spread across Kiyohara's body, racing over his face, arms, and chest.
Cursed Seal Transformation — Stage One.
The muscles in the arm holding his sword swelled slightly, and then he sharply jerked upward.
Boom!
Fuguki felt a force far beyond what he'd expected travel through Samehada. Pain exploded through his grip, and the heavy blade nearly flew out of his hands.
He staggered back three steps, each one stamping deep footprints into the wet ground.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
Realizing he couldn't win with raw strength alone, Fuguki immediately switched tactics. He formed hand seals and spat out a tsunami-like torrent of water.
It wasn't just chakra converted into water—he also drew in seawater from the nearby coast, forcing it inward around the island as though he meant to drown the entire place beneath a sudden inland sea.
Wave after wave crashed toward Kiyohara, but Kiyohara didn't move a single step.
The water hit the space in front of him and split off to both sides.
Fuguki's real goal had never been the attack.
He formed another set of seals.
"Now this is my battlefield!"
The water around him began spinning, forming a massive whirlpool.
Standing at its center, the muscles along his back writhed violently. From the base of his spine, a shark tail covered in scales burst out. His face began to distort, his teeth lengthening into points, while his skin took on the rough texture of shark hide.
Gills opened along his cheeks, letting him breathe freely underwater.
Samehada fusion form.
Like Kisame Hoshigaki after him, Fuguki could merge Samehada directly into his own body, turning himself into something half-man, half-shark.
In this state, he could move freely through water while gaining chakra sensing and chakra absorption abilities.
Seeing Fuguki appear in that form made Kakashi's pupils contract.
His Sharingan could see the chakra flow inside Fuguki's body… and it had increased.
"This… this is the true power of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen!"
Fuguki's voice came out warped by the bubbling water around him.
Kiyohara watched the transformation quietly, interest flickering in his eyes.
"A living weapon that can fuse with its owner… interesting."
He was genuinely growing more and more curious about Samehada.
A symbiotic, evolving biological weapon like this—could it take on other forms too?
After all, even though Samehada was basically a fish, it functioned perfectly fine on land.
So what would happen if it were fed Fire Release chakra instead?
That thought only deepened the interest in Kiyohara's eyes.
Fuguki clearly misread that look as caution in the face of power.
Laughing wildly, he slapped one hand against the water.
"Rain of Four Sharks!"
Four sharks made of water shot straight up out of the whirlpool, then arced down toward Kiyohara from above.
Kiyohara raised a hand to defend, but when the four sharks came within a few meters of him, they suddenly split apart.
A thousand.
Countless miniature shark projectiles poured down like a storm, blanketing the entire water-covered area.
"Kiyohara!"
Rin cried out from afar.
She and Kurenai were standing back-to-back on the surface of the water, chakra gathered beneath their feet to hold them up.
Kakashi and Might Guy were each tangled up with Kirigakure ninja of their own and couldn't break away.
But Kiyohara didn't even bother looking up.
He just snapped his fingers lightly.
The next instant, a huge mass of gold dust surged out of the gourd at his waist.
The grains wove together into an airtight shield, blocking every last shark projectile.
Clink clink clink clink…!
And under cover of that chaos, Fuguki suddenly pulled a metal chain from his ninja pouch.
Now that Samehada had fused into him, he could only rely on other weapons.
But this form massively boosted his physical stats.
The metal chain lashed out like a whip toward Kiyohara and Hyuga Ginka beside him.
Kiyohara vanished.
When he reappeared, he already had Ginka in his arms and had moved them out of the way.
At almost the exact same time, the battle elsewhere shifted.
"Shikotsumyaku: Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!"
A white-haired Kirigakure ninja with two red marks on his forehead attacked from the side.
A Kaguya clan jonin—Kaguya Dairo.
Ten bone bullets shot from his fingertips, all aimed at Might Guy, who was in the middle of fighting three Kirigakure ninja.
Guy roared, and green vapor burst from him again.
"Leaf Whirlwind!"
He kicked the enemy in front of him away, twisted his body midair, and barely dodged most of the bone bullets, but two still grazed his arm and side, cutting bloody lines into him.
"Guy!"
Seeing that, Kakashi rammed a kunai through the throat of the Kirigakure ninja in front of him and turned to rush Kaguya Dairo.
Lightning chakra gathered in his palm, shrieking like a thousand birds.
"Chidori!"
Blue-white lightning tore through the air and drove straight for Dairo's heart.
Dairo sneered. Ribs burst through the skin of his chest and formed a bone shield.
Clang!
Chidori slammed into it, carving indentations into the bone, but failing to punch all the way through.
Kakashi frowned. The hardness and thickness of the bone were worse than he'd expected.
Rin and Kurenai were also under increasing pressure.
Rin formed seals with both hands, using Water Release to fend off three more Kirigakure ninja trying to surround them, while Kurenai used Wind Release to disrupt their formation. But with the enemy numbers growing, they were gradually being boxed in.
And at that moment, no one noticed a figure quietly stepping out from a cave on the far side of the island.
The seawater flooding more and more of the island had forced her out of the cave, now filled with water.
She was a girl, maybe in her mid-teens, with reddish-brown hair falling over her shoulders and beautiful features. But right now, her emerald-green eyes were blazing with anger.
Mei Terumi.
When the alarm first sounded, she'd been sorting through intel deeper in the cave. Now that she rushed out, the first thing she saw made her pupils shrink.
Kirigakure corpses floated on the shoreline, strewn across the water.
But the sight that truly set her blood boiling was the Konoha ninja in the distance holding a Hyuga woman in his arms.
Kiyohara.
This was the man who had killed so many of her comrades on the Mist front before.
And now he actually dared to hold some other woman in his arms and do whatever he pleased on her turf?
"Kiyohara…!"
Grinding her teeth, Mei flashed through seals instantly.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
She drew in a huge mass of seawater from the shore and shaped it into a raging water dragon, sending it straight at Kiyohara with all the fury she had.
Kiyohara had only just finished dodging with Ginka when he felt another attack coming. He turned and watched Mei complete her seals.
After seeing it once, he responded to the incoming attack from the side by forming the same jutsu while still holding Ginka.
He used that exact same Water Dragon Bullet Technique.
But the dragon Kiyohara produced was twice the size of Mei's.
The two water dragons collided midair, and Mei's was torn apart almost instantly.
The leftover torrent crashed down toward her position, forcing her to leap back in a scramble. When she landed, her face had gone pale.
She stared at Kiyohara, only to see his crimson Sharingan fixed on her, the three tomoe slowly spinning.
He was… copying her Water Release?
The realization hit Mei all at once, and shame mixed with shock.
As a Mist prodigy, her mastery of Water Release was top-tier among people her age, yet this guy had copied it so casually—and even surpassed it.
And Kiyohara really was learning.
Now that his water nature chakra had been completed, what he lacked most was real combat experience with Water Release and access to higher-level water techniques.
Mei and these Kirigakure ninja showing up here was basically like someone delivering a hard drive to his doorstep.
At that moment, it felt like he had premium membership activated—downloading the files at full speed.
"Next time, don't just stand there like an idiot."
Kiyohara said calmly.
A moment ago, he'd only grabbed Ginka because she'd frozen and failed to dodge.
He shook his head inwardly.
The Hyuga really had declined.
Ginka stiffened, but still nodded.
"U-understood."
She did her best to ignore the awkward fact that Kiyohara still had one arm around her waist and activated her Byakugan again, scanning the battlefield.
That scene happened to land directly in Mei's eyes, and she felt a fresh wave of nameless rage shoot straight up to her head.
This bastard… killed her comrades, copied her jutsu, and now he was flirting with another woman right in front of her?
"I'll kill you!"
Mei formed seals again, but another voice came from the side first.
"Well, well, Fuguki—you look like you're having a rough time."
A figure carrying the massive Executioner's Blade stepped out from the forest.
Juzo Biwa.
He wore a mocking grin, but his eyes were cold.
"Juzo Biwa?!"
Rin blurted out in shock.
"The intel was wrong… There are two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen on this island!"
Kurenai's face grew serious too.
Fuguki alone was already trouble. Add Juzo, and the situation got much worse.
Seeing that, Kakashi immediately broke off from Kaguya Dairo without hesitation and body-flickered in front of Juzo.
"You're fighting me."
"Oh? The lucky brat with the transplanted Sharingan?"
Juzo raised a brow.
"Interesting."
He swung the Executioner's Blade in one brutal arc. Kakashi blocked with his kunai, but the weight of the blade far exceeded ordinary weapons, numbing his arm and driving him backward.
"Kakashi!"
Might Guy tried to go help, but Dairo's bone spikes forced him back.
Seeing that, Fuguki laughed triumphantly.
"Hahaha, Kiyohara—how exactly are you going to deal with two of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen by yourself? This is my real plan!"
At last, Kiyohara tore his gaze away from Mei and looked at Fuguki and Juzo, who had just climbed out of the broken rock wall.
Then he let go of Ginka's waist.
She stumbled, nearly slipping into the water, and before she even had time to react, Kiyohara had already drawn three specially made shuriken in each hand and hurled them out.
Juzo had no choice but to abandon his pursuit of Kakashi and raise the Executioner's Blade to block.
Clang clang clang clang!
And at that very instant, Kiyohara flicked his fingers, pulling taut the wires attached to the tails of the shuriken.
The razor-sharp wires, sharp enough to cut steel, snapped inward from all directions, forming a net.
Juzo swept the Executioner's Blade around and managed to cut a few of the wires, but several still sliced across his arms and thighs, leaving blood-deep wounds clear to the bone.
Kiyohara's figure appeared directly in front of him and kicked him square in the chest.
Boom!
Juzo flew backward like a cannonball, smashing through several half-submerged trees before slamming into a rock wall, loose stone raining down around him.
Kiyohara gave the wires a flick and reeled back in the specially made shuriken.
These were all premium pieces he'd gotten from Uchiha Tekka, after all.
"Kakashi, the others are yours."
Kiyohara said without even turning his head.
"Mei, and these two—I'll handle them."
Kakashi took a deep breath and nodded.
"Understood."
He turned and charged Kaguya Dairo, joining forces with Might Guy to attack from both sides.
Rin and Kurenai also reformed their formation, back-to-back again as more Kirigakure ninja closed in.
Kiyohara looked again at Fuguki and Juzo, now climbing back up out of the rubble.
"You've done well."
He slid the shuriken back into his pouch.
"But…"
The black curse markings spread again—only this time the transformation was much more violent.
His skin turned light brown, and from his spine a thick, scaled tail burst through the back of his clothes.
Cursed Seal Transformation — Stage Two.
"Everyone knows a boss has a second phase, right?"
Kiyohara smiled slightly.
"I still have a little time. Entertain me. Don't make this boring."
That line filled both Fuguki and Juzo with an icy sense of insult.
"Bastard!"
Juzo exploded first, raising the Executioner's Blade and charging like a whirlwind.
The blade's special property was absorbing blood to repair itself. As long as it cut you even once, it only got stronger over the course of battle.
Kiyohara didn't even draw his sword.
He lifted his right hand, and golden particles of sand took shape in his palm, forming a spindle-shaped projectile.
Then—electromagnetic acceleration.
Whoosh!
The sound of tearing air couldn't keep up with the projectile's speed.
Juzo saw only a flash of gold, and the next second a terrifying shock blasted through the Executioner's Blade in his hands.
Clang!!!
The massive sword was knocked straight out of his grip, spinning end-over-end before embedding itself in a distant reef.
Juzo's palm split open, blood spraying, and the remaining force sent him sliding backward.
"What—"
He didn't even finish the thought before Kiyohara was already in front of him.
This time, Kiyohara's right hand was coated in a layer of black metallic sheen.
Steel Release: Hardening.
Then, over that, he layered the hardening effect of Earth Release: Earth Spear and threw the most basic straight punch imaginable.
"Magnet Release: Electromagnetic Acceleration Fist."
Driven by electromagnetic force, the punch broke the sound barrier, compressing the air into a white shockwave.
Juzo instinctively crossed both arms to defend, but the instant the punch landed, he knew it was over.
Crack!
The sound of his arm bones breaking was terrifyingly crisp.
His defense tore apart like paper, and the force of the punch blasted through both arms and slammed into his chest.
Juzo spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with bits of organs and went flying like a broken kite.
His face went grim. He immediately tried to use the momentum to get back to the Executioner's Blade.
The blade's greatest strength was its self-repair and its ability to restore the user's stamina by absorbing blood.
It also had some ability to accelerate wound healing.
Not as strong as Fuguki's bond with Samehada, but still comparable to ordinary medical ninjutsu.
Fuguki understood exactly what Juzo was trying to do, so he forced himself back up and moved to buy Juzo time.
But now, in Kiyohara's left hand, an orange-red sphere of light had appeared at some point, highly compressed fire-nature chakra burning and rotating inside the form of a Rasengan.
"This is my gift."
Kiyohara hurled the Fire Release: Microwave Great Flame Rasengan at Fuguki.
Boom!!!
The instant the fireball touched the water, its terrifying heat exploded outward.
Centered on the impact point, all the surrounding seawater vaporized at once, forming a massive depression in the surface.
A huge cloud of steam erupted, and Fuguki screamed as he shot up out of the water. The shark tail of his lower body had turned bright red from the heat.
Samehada writhed in pain too, its barbs curling inward.
It was too hot.
The water in that area had been flash-boiled. If he hadn't reacted quickly, he really might have been cooked alive.
"You… you monster…"
The agony twisted Fuguki's already ugly face even further. In the look he gave Kiyohara, rage was now mixed with genuine fear.
The fusion form he used to dominate both sea and land had been crippled this badly by a single casual fire technique.
Who would've thought Kiyohara's Fire Release would get hot enough to boil an entire local section of sea?
How was that even reasonable?
Fuguki desperately wanted to ask.
Off in the distance, Mei's emerald eyes narrowed, and her red lips pressed tight.
She had just seen Kiyohara unleash that horrifying Fire Release: Microwave Great Flame Rasengan.
That kind of technique was basically Fuguki's natural enemy.
In that form, Fuguki could only reach full strength in the water.
Only there were his speed and Water Release at their strongest.
A little farther behind Kiyohara, Hyuga Ginka stood on the water, the veins around her Byakugan pulsing slightly.
Now, for the first time, she carefully studied the sheer amount of chakra inside him.
It completely surpassed the normal limits of a ninja his age.
Ginka had never seen anyone in the same generation with more chakra than Kiyohara.
That immense chakra kept being drawn from his cells and flowing through his chakra pathways.
Kakashi, Might Guy, Rin, and Kurenai were all still locked in combat of their own, but out of the corners of their eyes they never stopped watching the main battlefield.
Seeing Juzo blown away by a single punch, the Executioner's Blade knocked from his hands, and Fuguki burned and driven back in humiliation, all four of them were shaken.
~~~
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