Inside the Mist Village base...
The Mist shinobi stationed here were panic-stricken, clearly shocked by the sudden terrible news.
"Tell me this is a joke? Five out of the Seven Elite Fighters have fallen in battle?"
"Defeated by just a kid? Impossible! I don't believe it!"
"Seiki Shimaseki? That guy's nothing more than a monster wearing human skin!"
Hearing their lamentations, Shiyaya covered her mouth with one hand and nudged Mei Terumi with her elbow. "You don't suppose... what they're saying is really about that Seiki Shimaseki who took the Chunin Exams with us two years ago, right?"
Mei sighed, "Who else could it be?"
"That guy's way too brilliant!" Shiyaya exclaimed, full of amazement. "Two years ago he was already a genius sweeping across the entire shinobi no sekai, and now he's even beyond the level of those great masters from the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist."
Nodding in deep agreement, Mei realized that while their sights were still limited to their own generation, Seiki had already stepped into battles against the previous generation's legendary shinobi.
This gap was so vast that she couldn't even find the motivation to chase after him anymore.
In the temporary command center...
The usually calm and composed Mizukage unusually exploded in helpless rage. "Damn you, Seiki Shimaseki! Not only did you kill my people, but you dared steal our village's ninja blades too! And that damn Raikage—you couldn't even gather proper intel on him over two whole years! You're nothing but trash among trash!"
"I will never let either of you off!"
Compared to the deaths of the Five Elite Fighters, what pained the Mizukage more deeply was the loss of those Five Shinobi Swords.
With the Seven Ninja Blades comes the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist; without the blades, there is no Seven.
Had those Five Shinobi Swords not been lost, choosing five jonin and allowing them time to adapt would quickly produce a weakened version of the Seven Swords anew.
Raiga Kurosuki and Fuguki Suikazan lowered their heads, pretending not to hear anything.
Since you can't defeat Seiki or even capture him, all you can do is shout here.
After venting his anger, the Mizukage coldly asked, "Is that Seiki Shimaseki really that powerful?"
Fuguki nodded heavily. "That guy's not human at all. In a one-on-one fight, no one in Mist but the Mizukage himself has a shot against him!"
Raiga added, "According to intelligence from Cloud Village, he has insane speed, powerful regeneration, mastery of countless ninjutsu techniques, and top-tier combat awareness. What's worse—he seems to have fixed even that last weakness!"
Fuguki continued, "Exactly! That guy's a six-sided warrior—no weaknesses at all!"
Raiga exaggerated further, "I suspect this was part of the Raikage's scheme all along. He must've known how terrifyingly strong Seiki was and deliberately sent us to our deaths! Otherwise, why wouldn't we have been the ones to hold off Minato Namikaze while those A/B brothers lay in ambush?"
Of course, they had to exaggerate—otherwise, their humiliating escape would seem even worse!
Besides, that guy really was too damn strong.
After hearing all their praise, the surrounding jonin grew fearful—this Seiki Shimaseki sounded like nothing less than the Great Demon King (the ultimate threat)?
The Mizukage frowned slightly...
Could that conniving old bastard Raikage actually be behind this? Was this retaliation for their raid on Cloud a few days ago?
At that moment, a panting chunin burst into the room. "Mizukage-sama! Bad news! The Cloud Army is attacking us—they're demanding we hand back everything we looted!"
"What?" The Mizukage forced his usually half-closed eyes wide open in shock. "So that old man really is trying to scheme against us? Dammit! I'll make them taste the true power of Kirigakure!"
The jonin surrounding him exchanged anxious glances. In their current weakened state, how could they possibly face Cloud shinobi in battle?
But before they could voice any objections, the Mizukage continued, "Get on the boats! We're going to circle behind Cloud and attack their base!"
Whoosh~ The tension eased as everyone felt reassured. Once again, the Mizukage proved his brilliance with a clever move!
...
In Iwagakure.
"Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist... That boy from Grass..." Onoki lounged in his high-backed chair, fingers drumming rhythmically against the table. "Cloud really did raise themselves a monster in Konoha—Seiki Shimaseki!"
Beside him, Kitsuchi wore a heavy expression too. If he personally faced such a situation, he'd consider himself fortunate to take down two or three enemies before being cut down himself.
Killing five members of the Seven Swords and driving off two more—wasn't that what Seiki Shimaseki had just accomplished? In his eyes, such a feat was simply incomprehensible.
Someone who had only recently been promoted to chunin two years ago now slaughtered jonin like flies.
Did you guys actually train him yourselves or something?
Magze couldn't help twitching his mouth. He had no doubt whatsoever that if he faced Seiki Shimaseki now, it would mean certain death.
Taking a deep breath, Magze spoke with determination, "Actually, this works out better for us. The stronger his power becomes, the more valuable our secret operations will prove!"
Onoki's eyes lit up. "You mean that kid from Grass? Can he be trusted?"
Magze responded confidently, "Absolutely reliable!"
Nodding in satisfaction, Onoki warned, "Don't use this piece too soon though. With Seiki Shimaseki's talent and achievements, he might very well become a Hokage candidate someday. Being close to a Hokage candidate could be even more valuable than winning an entire war."
Magze replied sharply, "Yes sir!"
"As for dealing with Seiki Shimaseki himself, we'll leave that to Raikage and Mizukage," Onoki stated firmly, continuing, "Our current task is to try winning over Sanshouo Hanzo, and attempt contact with that monster hiding in the desert!"
...
In Sunagakure's medical facility.
Dozens of Suna jonin lay suffering on their beds as medics hurriedly treated them.
Rasa asked seriously, "Have you finished developing the antidote yet?"
Wiping sweat from his brow, the medical jonin apologized, "Forgive us, Kazekage-sama, but the complexity of this poison exceeds our capabilities."
Turning toward another figure, Rasa asked, "What about your progress, Chiyo-ue?"
Chiyo, however, seemed lost in thought, merely staring silently at the wounds on the injured ninja.
"Chiyo-ue? Chiyo-ue?"
Finally looking up blankly, she murmured, "Sorry... I'm helpless against this too..."
The medical jonin standing nearby exclaimed in surprise, "How is that possible?"
"Honored Lady Chiyo, you are the most renowned Medical Ninja in all of Sunagakure!"
"I'm not a Medical Ninja," Chiyo replied coldly. "As a Puppet Master, my strength is in crafting poisons. As for antidotes, that young woman from Konoha far outshines me in that area."
Rasa asked softly, "Do you mean Tsunade-hime, the Princess of Katsuyu?"
Chiyo's expression remained calm. "Aren't we allied with Konoha now? You can always ask them for help."
Ebizō shot down the idea bluntly. "Sister, how long's it been since you last kept up with the outside war situation? The people in Konoha are suffering from poisoning too—they have just as many victims as we do."
Chiyo said blankly, "Then they're beyond saving. Leave them to die. I'll take my leave."
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