Chapter 92: Worthy of the Name
"A person like you shouldn't be a nobody in Konoha, but I've never heard of you," Hōzuki Chigetsu said, staring at Minato Namikaze.
He had been absolutely certain that his last attack would hit Sarutobi Shinnosuke, but it had missed. That kind of speed was just too fast. It was the first time he had ever missed in a situation like that.
Minato said, "Konoha Jonin, Minato Namikaze!"
He had actually already started to make a name for himself in the shinobi world, and was beginning to earn the title of "Yellow Flash," it just wasn't nearly as famous as it would later become. And the Village Hidden in the Mist was a relatively closed-off village. They hadn't even participated in the Second Great Ninja War.
So, Hōzuki Chigetsu and the others hadn't recognized him before, nor had they known of the "Yellow Flash." But now, they had committed his name to memory.
Behind them, Kurosuki Raiga climbed up from the ground, his clothes stained red with blood. The Wind Release: Rasengan (Fūton: Rasengan) Minato had used had left more than a dozen wounds on his body, including one on his face.
"I'll remember you!"
Hōzuki Chigetsu looked up at the rapidly descending Tiger-Headed Eagle, then gave the order: "Retreat!"
Swish! Swish! Swish!
One by one, the Mist ninja grabbed their comrades and leaped back in retreat.
Genichi and Uzumaki Ina jumped down from Torao's back, landing on the surface of the water.
"Minato-niisan, aren't you going to pursue them?"
Minato shook his head. "No need. We just have to expel them from the Land of Fire."
"Genichi, I'll leave this to you. I'm going to go check on Kakashi and the others." After glancing at Ina, Minato's figure vanished.
Shinnosuke took off his mask and smiled. "Genichi, I didn't expect to run into you again."
Genichi spread his hands. "It seems I was a little late this time."
Shinnosuke quickly said, "Not late at all. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen are truly formidable. If it weren't for you, Genichi, I'm afraid they wouldn't have retreated so easily." He wasn't just being humble. Now that the Mist ninja were familiar with Minato's fighting style, their coordination would surely be more fluid, making them harder to fight.
Genichi wished he could have finished off the other six members of the Seven Swordsmen in one go, but unfortunately, he had arrived a bit too late. After a moment's thought, he said, "Senpai, it seems Root is fighting over there. Should we go and help?"
Shinnosuke immediately nodded and put his mask back on. "Then I'll have to trouble you!"
And so, the group set off. As they were moving, Shinnosuke's gaze fell on Ina, and he asked, "Genichi, who is this?"
Genichi said, "Uzumaki Ina. I met her while traveling, so we started traveling and training together."
The Uzumaki Clan! Shinnosuke thought to himself, as expected. He had already guessed as much when he saw her red hair. But he didn't ask any more questions after that.
And by the time they arrived, the Mist ninja who had been fighting the Root members had also retreated. The Root ninja continued to follow the retreating Mist ninja from a distance, monitoring them. Genichi's group stopped and waited for Minato's team of four to catch up.
"Genichi, what are you doing here?" Obito was very surprised to see him.
Genichi smiled. "Obito, long time no see."
"I just happened to be traveling and training nearby."
He then looked at Kakashi and Rin. "Kakashi, how have you been lately?"
"Rin, you've gotten even prettier!"
Rin blushed slightly as she greeted Genichi. Kakashi looked at him and said, "You seem to have changed a lot."
Genichi looked down at himself. "Have I?"
"Maybe I've just grown a lot taller."
Obito couldn't help but complain, "Genichi, how do you grow so fast?" In front of Genichi, he was a complete dwarf. They didn't look like they were the same age at all.
Genichi burst out laughing. "Obito, you need to eat more."
Kakashi pointed at Genichi's forehead. "That thing of yours..."
Rin said, "I think I've seen Lady Tsunade with one on her forehead too."
Genichi pointed to the Yin Seal (In'fūin) mark on his forehead and smiled. "This? It's a sealing technique."
Minato was also carefully sizing up Genichi, thinking to himself, "Genichi really has changed a lot. It seems he's grown a great deal!"
Shinnosuke, however, seemed to have thought of something. "Genichi, are you still training in that same place as before?"
Genichi nodded.
Shinnosuke's heart pounded, and he said in shock, "Genichi, don't tell me the wielder of Samehada from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist was taken down by you?"
Swish! Instantly, the gazes of Minato and the others all fell on Genichi.
Obito couldn't help but say, "That... that's impossible, right?"
"That was a Jonin!"
Kakashi pursed his lips. "Genichi is not a dead-last like you." He was much clearer on Genichi's strength than Obito was. Although he was also a little shocked, he didn't think it was something Genichi couldn't do.
Obito was stabbed in the heart by Kakashi's words, and his anger level instantly skyrocketed.
At this moment, Genichi said with a hint of helplessness, "You're really sharp, senpai."
Huh? Obito was flabbergasted.
Rin marveled to herself, "As expected of Genichi-kun!"
Minato was also very surprised. "Genichi, according to the intel from the Mist Village, that guy was killed in the Land of Water, right?"
Genichi nodded. "That's right, Minato-niisan."
"A while ago, I went to the Land of Water and infiltrated the Village Hidden in the Mist for a while."
Shinnosuke couldn't help but give a wry smile. "You, my friend, are really too bold."
The other three masked Anbu ninja were now also looking at Genichi with completely different eyes. Now they finally knew why their captain was so polite to this genius.
As expected of the genjutsu genius who surpasses the Uchiha! Before, they had thought this was just the Cloud Village hyping him up, but now they felt he was worthy of the name.
Minato said, "It seems the Mist ninja have found some things out, but they don't know it was you who did it."
Genichi said, "I don't think I was exposed."
"I made my move outside the Mist Village. There were no survivors, and I also took the bodies. I just didn't clean up the battlefield, but I didn't leave too many traces either. I mainly used genjutsu."
Shinnosuke was completely relieved. He then said, "Minato-senpai, I'll take my team and escort the Mist ninja out of the Land of Fire first. You and Genichi can stay here for a while!"
Minato and Genichi exchanged a glance, then nodded. "Alright, you be careful!"
Shinnosuke led his men away. Genichi and the others sat down under a large tree to rest.
As soon as Obito sat down, he asked with immense curiosity, "Genichi, why would you go and kill one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?"
Genichi said with a wide smile, "Originally, I wanted to assassinate the Third Mizukage."
Obito and Rin were both terrified.
Seeing their expressions, Genichi couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Just kidding."
"I was traveling in the Land of Water and was a little curious about the Mist Village, so I went in to have a look. After hearing about the reputation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, I casually collected some intel. It just so happened that the wielder of the greatsword Samehada, Suikazan Fuguki, was leaving the village on a mission, so I ambushed and killed him."
Rin said, "It must have been very dangerous, right?"
Genichi thought for a moment and nodded. "The Seven Ninja Swordsmen are worthy of their name. Suikazan Fuguki had extremely sharp intuition. He sensed my killing intent and saw through me ahead of time."
Minato and the others all listened intently.
Genichi continued, "And with the greatsword Samehada in hand, Fuguki was like a quasi-jinchuriki. Ordinary genjutsu had very little effect on him. He could break them in an instant, even those cast by a Sharingan."
A Sharingan? Obito was taken aback and quickly asked, "Why is that?"
"A Sharingan genjutsu has to be broken by someone else!"
Genichi said, "That is indeed true. That's why I said that with Samehada in hand, he was a quasi-jinchuriki."
"A jinchuriki?"
"What's a jinchuriki?" Obito was puzzled. Kakashi and Rin were as well. The existence of jinchuriki of the Tailed Beasts was not something an ordinary ninja would know. Even for Kakashi, Sakumo had never spoken of such things.
Genichi looked at Minato.
Minato said, "A jinchuriki is someone who has a being with a massive amount of chakra sealed within their body."
"You only need to know that a jinchuriki is very powerful, especially one who has mastered the power of their Tailed Beast."
After speaking, he looked at Genichi and said, "It seems that greatsword Samehada is quite extraordinary."
Genichi nodded, then formed a seal and summoned the greatsword Samehada. "Obito, you try."
Obito got up and walked over, reaching out to grab the hilt of Samehada. But the next moment, he cried out in pain and let go, jumping back. And Samehada stood up on its own, then hopped over to stand behind Genichi.
Minato and the others looked over and saw that Obito's right palm was already covered in blood.
"Th-th-this... it's alive!" Obito was completely shocked.
Genichi nodded. "You could say that Samehada is alive. It has its own consciousness."
"It can absorb chakra, and it can also feed the absorbed chakra back to the wielder."
Kakashi said, "So that's how he could break the genjutsu so quickly."
"The sharp pain, and the feedback of chakra."
Genichi smiled. "That's right."
Rin, after her shock, quickly went to treat Obito's wound, bandaging it.
And Genichi continued, "The seven swords of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen are all extraordinary."
"The Executioner's Blade (Kubikiribōchō) wielded by Jūzō Biwa can absorb blood, and any damage to it can be regenerated from this. It can also absorb blood to restore the user's stamina."
"The blastsword Shibuki, wielded by Munashi Jinpachi, is covered in countless explosive tags."
"The longsword Nuibari, wielded by Kushimaru Kuriarare, is extremely fast and elusive."
"The bluntsword Kabutowari, wielded by Jinin Akebino, can break through any defense."
"The twin swords Kiba, wielded by Kurosuki Raiga, are perfect for masters of Lightning Release."
"The twin swords Hiramekarei, wielded by Hōzuki Chigetsu, are said to be the strongest of the seven. The two swords can combine into one, continuously storing chakra, and when released, possess incomparable power."
"Hōzuki Chigetsu should also be the strongest among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. He is from the Hōzuki clan, is proficient in Water Release, and has mastered the secret Hydrification Technique (Suika no Jutsu), which grants him immunity to physical attacks. To deal with him, Lightning Release (Raiton) is most suitable."
Genichi revealed all the intelligence on the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Minato would surely take this information back to Konoha.
Although he had already changed a lot of the original plot, once the Third Great Ninja War began, the Mist Village would still face off against Konoha. The Mist Village hadn't participated in the Second War, but they would definitely participate in the next one. Genichi could make this judgment just from the internal situation of the Mist Village. They needed an external war to divert the increasingly prominent internal conflicts.
Obito marveled again and again at how extraordinary the seven swords were.
Minato said, "It seems that Hōzuki Chigetsu did not use his full strength today." In their battle earlier, Chigetsu hadn't even used his sword.
Genichi said, "Minato-niisan, you have the Flying Thunder God (Hiraishin). These swords don't pose much of a threat to you."
Minato shook his head. "One should not underestimate others."
He then asked, "Genichi, are you going back with us this time?"
Genichi thought for a moment and refused. "I still need to travel and train outside for a while longer." He had been out for less than a year. If he went back now, it would probably be an endless stream of missions again.
He had only mastered two of the five-senses-depriving ninjutsu. There were still three more. He had no leads on smell and taste yet, but he already had some ideas for touch. Besides, after this year's future overdraft was over, Genichi also planned to travel with Ina to search for the scattered records of the Uzumaki clan. As for returning to Konoha, going back before the New Year would be enough.
Obito listened with great envy. "In the future, I'm also going to travel the entire shinobi world! Rin, you come with me too!"
Kakashi's sharp tongue activated. "You should probably fix your habits of being late and crying all the time first."
Obito immediately gritted his teeth, his fists clenched again.
Watching the two of them bicker, Genichi found it quite amusing.
When Shinnosuke's group returned, it was time to say goodbye. Before leaving, Kakashi said, "Genichi, by the time you return to Konoha, my new jutsu will definitely be complete!"
Genichi chuckled. "Then I'll be looking forward to it!"
Minato and the others left. After watching them go, Genichi summoned Torao and left with Ina.
And the departing Obito couldn't help but look back, then said, "Minato-sensei, Genichi's strength should already be at the Jonin level, right?"
Kakashi said coldly, "You really are an idiot, to ask such a question."
Obito immediately shouted, "Being able to kill a Jonin doesn't mean you have the strength of a Jonin!"
Seeing the two of them about to start arguing again, Rin quickly mediated.
Minato was also a bit helpless. He then said, "Being a Jonin is indeed not an absolute measure of strength. But to be able to become a Jonin, one possesses an undeniable ability."
"As for Genichi, his genjutsu and water-style abilities are undoubtedly qualified for the rank of Jonin."
Obito nodded and said with emotion, "I wonder how that guy Genichi trains."
"But when I awaken my Sharingan, I will definitely be able to catch up to him!"
Kakashi couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Minato, on the other hand, smiled encouragingly. "Then you'll have to work hard, Obito!"
Obito's spirits were lifted. "Of course! I'm going to be Hokage, after all!"
Kakashi said coolly, "Is there a Hokage who is always late and loves to cry?"
"Kakashi!" Obito's angry voice startled a flock of birds into flight.
(End of Chapter)
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