Mei Terumī nodded slightly.
"That's right. The wielder of the Lightning Blades—Kiba—has defected. Although the pursuit squad has been searching non-stop, they still haven't found him."
"As for the wielder of Samehada, Kisame Hoshigaki… he's also betrayed the village. There's been no trace of him either."
Let's not even mention Kisame for now. After all, he's joined the Akatsuki, and his strength is formidable.
Still, if possible, it might be worth trying to bring him back to the Hidden Mist Village—though that would depend entirely on whether Kisame himself was willing.
The man known as the "Tailless Tailed Beast" possessed Samehada, one of the most unique and terrifying swords in existence. Losing such a powerful shinobi, a true master of Water Release, was indeed a pity for Kirigakure.
"Can I take a look at the remaining swords?" Shigure asked.
Mei smiled knowingly.
"I've already prepared them for you. It's just that you've been busy lately, so I haven't had a chance to hand them over."
With that, she tossed him a sealed scroll.
Shigure caught it deftly and unrolled it.
Inside were records of the three blades currently kept within the village:
Longsword: Nuibari (The Needle)
Blastsword: Shibuki (The Splash)
Butcher's Blade: Kabutowari (The Helmet Splitter)
Of course, there were also the Twin Blades: Hiramekarei, and the Executioner's Blade: Kubikiribōchō.
In total, Kirigakure had reclaimed five of the Seven Swords. Hiramekarei was currently wielded by Chōjūrō, while the Kubikiribōchō remained in Zabuza Momochi's possession.
That left three swords still without owners.
Shigure glanced at them and asked calmly, "You're giving them to me?"
Mei nodded.
"Didn't you say you wanted to rebuild the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist? Their new wielders should naturally be chosen by you."
"Fair enough," Shigure replied. "Then I'll handle it."
"Good. Since Tsunade's matter has been resolved, I can finally relax a little."
With that, Mei turned and left. As the Mizukage, she had countless affairs to manage and little time for idle talk.
Once she was gone, Shigure formed a single-hand seal. The earth trembled, and trees began to sprout all around him—growing taller, thicker, and older with every passing second until the once-barren island was blanketed in an ancient forest.
"These trees look incredible," Shigure murmured, admiring the sight. "Wood Release really is amazing."
He then turned his gaze inward.
"Great Sage, how's the calculation for Sage Ninjutsu progressing?"
[Great Sage: Calculation in progress. Current results as follows—]
Sage Art: Myōjinmon — 56%
Sage Art: Wood Release — True Several Thousand Hands — 78%
Sage Art: Top Transformed Buddha — 13%
Sage Art: Kōan Nitten Suishū — 46%
Multiple Ninjutsu calculations were being performed in parallel.
[Estimated completion time: 30 minutes]
"All of that… in half an hour?" Shigure muttered, impressed.
Recently, most of his focus had gone into calculations like this, which was why the repair progress on Gluttony was still stuck at 30%.
He thought for a moment before asking,
"Great Sage, if I want to modify these swords—add new abilities to them—would there be any issues?"
[Great Sage: Analysis complete. If the host wishes to modify the Ninja Swords and imbue them with new abilities, it is possible using Chakra. The more complex the desired ability, the longer the required calculation time.]
In essence, Ninja tools were just another form of Ninjutsu—physical vessels for Chakra effects.
Ordinary techniques were easy enough to create since they followed fixed elemental patterns. But more advanced Ninjutsu, like the Shadow Clone Technique, required intricate Chakra control and were far harder to develop.
Still, time was a luxury Shigure could afford.
The purpose of reviving the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist was to expand his influence within the village and cultivate his own loyal force.
As the new generation of Swordsmen grew in fame, so too would his authority—gradually reducing the power held by the village elders who constantly interfered with the Mizukage's rule.
But for that vision to take shape, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen couldn't just rely on their reputation.
Their strength had to match their name.
And right now… the legendary blades of the Mist, as they were, simply weren't enough to satisfy Shigure.
Among all the famed swords of the Mist, only two truly impressed Shigure — the Twin Blades: Hiramekarei and the Sharkskin Blade: Samehada.
As for the rest... what purpose did they even serve?
They were either too situational or simply inefficient.
Especially the three swords laid out before him now — Longsword: Nuibari (The Needle), Bluntsword: Kabutowari (The Helmet Splitter), and Blastsword: Shibuki (The Splash).
"What use are these things, really?" Shigure muttered under his breath.
He picked up Nuibari, the needle-like sword said to pierce enemies and bind them with wire. In Shigure's opinion, its lethality was laughably weak. The idea of killing enemies with silk threads was… absurd.
Still, the design itself sparked an idea. Its slim, senbon-like shape reminded him of Haku.
"For Haku, this might actually work," he mused. "He could make good use of something like this."
Of course, silk threads were unnecessary.
If the weapon needed threads, then Chakra threads would be far superior.
'Great Sage,' Shigure thought silently, 'what if I forged a chakra-conducting ring to be worn on the right wrist? Injecting Chakra into the ring would generate Chakra threads that connect to Nuibari. The wielder could then control the blade remotely and even channel Chakra to increase its piercing power—or infuse it with elemental Ninjutsu for attacks. Could this design be calculated?'
[Great Sage: Analysis complete. Feasibility — 80%.]
"Eighty percent, huh? That'll do," Shigure murmured. "We'll finalize it once the Sage Art calculations are done."
With the Nuibari modification concept decided, Shigure turned his attention to the next blade — Kabutowari, the blunt sword known for breaking defenses.
"This sword's entire purpose is brute force," he muttered. "If cutting's not its strength, then it should go all in on raw power."
Kabutowari was composed of a hammer and an axe connected by a chain — a weapon meant to crush rather than slice.
"It's said to break through any defense… so the axe part should have the ability to disintegrate Chakra, while the hammer focuses on sheer impact."
'Add an effect to the axe that neutralizes Chakra-based defenses. As for the hammer, give it an explosive amplification similar to Tsunade's Monster Strength — converting the user's Chakra into bursts of destructive power.'
[Great Sage: Analysis complete. Feasibility — 68%.]
"Not bad. As long as it's above sixty percent, it can be done."
Finally, Shigure examined Shibuki, the Blastsword, which relied on explosive tags stored within scrolls to enhance its cutting power.
"A weapon that uses scrolls to detonate paper bombs is too limited," Shigure frowned. "Its power is capped by the number of tags it carries."
He began forming a new idea in his mind.
'Remove the scroll system entirely. Instead, the wielder should be able to use their own Chakra to manifest explosive tags. These tags could detach from the blade at will and float toward the target before detonation.'
'And when striking an enemy, the wielder could inject Chakra directly into the wound, forming an explosive tag inside the opponent's body and detonating it instantly.'
[Great Sage: Analysis complete. Feasibility — 55%.]
"Hmm. Only fifty-five percent… needs refinement."
Shigure crossed his arms, lost in thought as new calculations and potential improvements formed in his mind.
Each of these swords, with a little ingenuity, could surpass their original design — and when complete, the reborn Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist would wield power befitting their name.
...
TN:
🔟 Pa-treon-com/LordMerlin (Support me! 😊)