The fourth chakra signature was coming from Kurosuki Raiga's back.
No doubt—it was Ranmaru.
Because of his Red Eyes, Ranmaru served as Raiga's "second pair of eyes." Their pairing made Kitazawa think of Momochi Zabuza and Haku. And like Haku, Ranmaru was often mistaken for a girl because of his looks—awkward, to say the least.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin.
From what his Byakugan fed back, Jūzō Biwa was fighting Raiga. Both were members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—why were they fighting each other? And why was Konan, the "White Tiger" of Akatsuki, watching?
As everyone knows, Konan is Akatsuki's de facto manager and head of HR. In the original story, she's the one who recruited the Sand Rogue Sasori to Akatsuki.
That makes the setup easy to guess. Konan first tracked down Jūzō and convinced him to join Akatsuki. Then Jūzō brought her to Raiga. Raiga refused to join—and started brawling with Jūzō.
Kitazawa thought it through. In canon, Raiga never joined Akatsuki. Kitazawa figured he'd been scared witless by Might Duy, lost all ambition, and just wanted to lord it over people at Katabami Gold Mine in the Land of Rivers. But how did he slip past Konan and Jūzō? Because of Ranmaru?
Whatever the case, Kitazawa decided to take a look—Raiga was his target, after all.
As he closed the distance, the clash of blades and ear-splitting thunder grew clear. Moments later he saw lightning tearing through the distance, great pillars of it slamming down from the sky.
From the name alone, "Seven Ninja Swordsmen" makes outsiders think the seven are all elite jōnin who specialize in taijutsu and kenjutsu. Not quite. Raiga, for example, is a pure Lightning Release shinobi. The twin Lightning Blades: Kiba he carries—one of the seven famed swords—are mostly used to draw down lightning.
Jūzō, on the other hand, fights mainly with swordsmanship. He swung the colossal Executioner's Blade (Kubikiribōchō), dodging lightning as he tried to close on Raiga. But every strike came up empty, because Raiga—or rather Ranmaru—read all his movements in advance.
"Ha ha ha!" Raiga laughed. "Jūzō, you're no match for me anymore!"
Jūzō's face darkened. Annoyed as he was, he couldn't refute it. With Ranmaru's help, Raiga's strength had spiked; the Red Eyes function much like the Byakugan, and with Ranmaru on his back he was basically running wallhacks.
"You still refuse to join Akatsuki?" Konan asked from behind Jūzō.
"Akatsuki? Never heard of it," Raiga snorted. "I defected from the Mist so I wouldn't have to take orders anymore."
"I see." Konan lifted her hand. Akatsuki doesn't need loyalty—just strength—so she opted for physical persuasion.
A storm of paper flurried into the air like petals. In the next breath, wings of paper unfurled from her back. She beat them once and soared skyward.
"She can fly?" Raiga's face tightened. Very few shinobi can truly fly, and every one of them is a powerhouse. Ninjutsu has range limits: go high enough and ground-bound shinobi can't reach you while you can still attack them.
Deidara's fight with Gaara showed this perfectly—Sand had plenty of strong ninja, but because Deidara flew they could only haul out giant ballistae and still couldn't stop him from kidnapping their Kazekage.
Raiga didn't hesitate—he raised both blades. A blinding bolt split the sky, lashing toward Konan. She swept her wings and shot higher. Raiga frowned, crossed his swords, and hurled a massive thunder sphere at her—but it fell short and crashed earthward at the edge of its range.
"We're leaving!" Raiga barked. "Ranmaru, guide me—shake them off."
He spun and ran.
"Trying to run?" Jūzō's muscles bulged as he whipped the Executioner's Blade like a helicopter rotor, sending it roaring through the air.
"Left," Ranmaru's childlike voice called. Raiga didn't even look—he slipped past the flying blade with ease.
Air tore. Konan flicked her hand and a rain of paper shuriken came down.
"Attack," Ranmaru said as they entered range. Raiga crossed his blades and then split them apart; dazzling lightning flooded from the twins and erased the incoming paper.
"Complicated terrain ahead," Ranmaru warned.
Every small nation in the shinobi world has its quirks. The Land of Rain—constant rain. The Land of Rivers—lots of preserved natural features, very complex terrain.
Water Style: Hiding in the Mist!
Raiga sheathed his swords and formed signs. In an instant, a sea of mist billowed out from him and swallowed his body whole.
"Not good!" Jūzō lunged after him. Konan frowned. Hiding in Mist is a must-learn for Mist shinobi—the blanket fog blinds the enemy, and when you pair it with their raised-from-childhood silent killing, the results are devastating. It's their signature doctrine. Everyone knows: do not fight Mist shinobi inside mist.
Konan spread her hands. A torrent of paper shuriken plunged into the fog, but blind bombardment was doomed to fail. She lowered her arms—hope now rested on Jūzō. From their exchange so far, Raiga had the edge, but all Jūzō needed was to drive him back out of the mist. Konan hovered, watching from above, ready to unleash a thunderous barrage the moment Raiga showed.
Then the fog shredded away. Konan raised her hand—and froze. Aside from Jūzō, Raiga was gone.
"Damn it! He got away!" Jūzō said bitterly. He had just joined Akatsuki and wanted to make a splash; failing to capture Raiga stung. Barely two weeks ago they'd been evenly matched. Now Raiga fought like he had an extra pair of eyes, and Jūzō's attacks simply wouldn't land.
"A pity," Konan said flatly. Raiga was strong—he'd have been a valuable recruit. She had already sensed Ranmaru, too—a two-for-one deal. But they hadn't kept him.
"Let's go." She was calm again in moments. One fewer Raiga wouldn't affect Akatsuki. No need to waste time on a hard catch—she had other targets. Jūzō hefted the Executioner's Blade and followed.
Night settled.
"Nice work, Ranmaru!" Raiga crowed. "Taking you in was the best decision I ever made."
Ranmaru had been born in a small village, ostracized for his natural Red Eyes—until Raiga passed through, discovered his ability, and took him in without hesitation.
"I only did what I should," Ranmaru said. Grateful for being saved, he, like Haku, saw himself as a tool for battle—ready to do anything to help.
"Wait!" Ranmaru's face changed. "Someone's trailing us!"
"Who?" Raiga blinked. "Did Jūzō catch up?"
"It's not their chakra," Ranmaru said, shaking his head.
"Not them?" Raiga stopped cold and snarled, "Come out!" He was one of the Seven Swordsmen, and with Ranmaru as his eyes, most jōnin couldn't touch him. He taunted with swagger to spare.
"Red Eyes really are impressive—you sensed me from that far?" Kitazawa stepped out once he realized he'd been found. He'd given chase the moment Raiga and Ranmaru fled. As for Konan and Jūzō—no need to make their acquaintance yet. In his previous life he might've been a Konan fan, but here and now, priorities were different.
"A Konoha shinobi?" Raiga noticed the Konoha forehead protector, looked Kitazawa over, and dismissed him. He knew Konoha's big names; he'd never heard of "Kitazawa."
"Looks like you'll be the first friend I hold a funeral for since leaving the Mist," Raiga said with a twisted smile. He had a habit of arranging funerals for people—crying his eyes out at them, too.
"You ninja really aren't well in the head," Kitazawa said mildly. "Want me to find you a psychological medic-nin?"
"A what?" Raiga looked genuinely puzzled.
"Meaning your head's sick," Kitazawa said, blinking. "Sounds like Might Duy kicked your brain in."
"You know Might Duy?!" Raiga exploded, killing intent howling around him. Being thrashed and driven off by Duy was a shame he could never live down.
"His son's a friend of mine," Kitazawa replied unhurriedly.
"Good, good!" Raiga's expression twisted, then he laughed. "You're worth a funeral!"
He drew the Lightning Blades: Kiba. Twisting both hands, he stabbed the twin swords into the ground.
Lightning Burial: Banquet of Lightning!
Chakra surged into the blades; in a snap, four branching bolts raced along the ground toward Kitazawa.
Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!
A slab of earth surged up in front of Kitazawa. Raiga gripped his swords tighter and poured on more chakra—boom! The four bolts splintered the wall to pieces.
But when the earth fell away, Kitazawa was gone.
"Ranmaru—where is he?" Raiga asked warily, scanning.
"In the air!" Ranmaru snapped.
Raiga glanced up. Kitazawa had used the Leaf Body Flicker to vault into midair.
Whoosh—Kitazawa flicked a shuriken down.
"A shuriken? Pathetic," Raiga scoffed—
"Raiga, careful!" Ranmaru shouted. Raiga instinctively raised his blades. The shuriken twitched—and split into a storm of shuriken out of nowhere, a downpour that blanketed him.
"What—?" Raiga blanched, sensing real danger for the first time.
Lightning Strike Armour!
On the brink, he snapped the blades together and unleashed a flood of lightning, forming a crackling cuirass around him. Even so, the rain of shuriken pelting the armor made his whole body smart.
But he had no time to worry about pain.
"He's coming!" Ranmaru cried.
Kitazawa was right behind the rain, sword in hand, slashing down. Raiga reacted fast, catching the strike on his twin blades—clang! The impact flushed his face red.
"Watch it!" Ranmaru warned again.
Monster Strength!
Kitazawa's left fist crashed forward. Even with the lightning armor, Raiga was blasted away, spitting blood midair.
Kitazawa frowned. He'd aimed for Raiga's heart, but the strike had landed off-center. Ranmaru's Red Eyes were throwing off his chakra at the last moment?
Kitazawa pondered, then Body Flickered again—surging after Raiga.
A blinding bolt speared down from the sky, forcing Kitazawa to break off.
"Who are you?!" Raiga wiped the blood from his lip and tightened his grip. With power like this, Kitazawa couldn't be a nobody—yet Raiga had no memory of him.
"Telling you wouldn't help," Kitazawa said lightly. His strength had grown so quickly his reputation hadn't kept up; outside Konoha, few knew his name. If Tsunade publicly claimed him as her student, he'd be famous overnight.
"Die!" Raiga roared. To be pressed by an "unknown" when he was one of the Seven Swordsmen was intolerable—add Kitazawa being Might Duy's son's friend, and rage carried him to the limit.
Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Tornado!
Thunder boomed. Lightning geysered up and spun into a dragon—a whirling twister that scorched the earth black wherever it passed.
Kitazawa's expression didn't change as he formed signs.
Composite Ninjutsu: Lightning Water Dragon Bullet!
A water dragon crackling with electricity roared out. The two dragons collided, churning violent eddies of chakra; after a brief stalemate, the water dragon smashed through the lightning dragon.
"Impossible!" Raiga gaped.
"Raiga!" Ranmaru shouted.
"I see it!" Raiga crossed his blades and called down a bolt to shatter the remains of the water dragon.
"Not that!" Ranmaru protested.
Body Flicker!
Kitazawa blurred like an arrow from the string, appearing in Raiga's face in an instant.
Monster Strength!
His right fist hammered down. Raiga had just fired a Lightning jutsu—he could only throw his blades up to block as Ranmaru scrambled to disrupt Kitazawa's chakra with the Red Eyes.
Boom! Raiga went flying again. As before, he was hurt, but not badly.
"Ha ha ha!" Raiga climbed to his feet. "With Ranmaru, you're dead for sure!"
With Ranmaru, he still had counters even while being pushed back. Given one opening, he could still flip the fight.
"Is that so?" Kitazawa smiled softly and formed signs.
Bringer of Darkness Technique!
In a heartbeat, the world's light vanished.
"Ranmaru—where is he?" Raiga turned in a panic—nothing but black.
"I…I can't see!" Fear tinged Ranmaru's voice. Since awakening the Red Eyes, this had never happened.
"W-what?" Raiga froze, dread clawing up his spine. He hadn't been Kitazawa's match to begin with—without Ranmaru's eyes, only death awaited.
He clenched his teeth and bolted. He wasn't one for last stands; he'd run fastest back when he met Might Duy, and he'd run now—if there's no hope of victory, don't hesitate.
"He's coming!" Ranmaru managed to glimpse a wavering shadow.
"Where?" Raiga blurted.
"I…I don't know!" Ranmaru strained his eyes, but the shadow was gone.
"Damn!" Raiga stabbed both blades into the ground. Lightning flooded out, restoring a sliver of his vision—
And with it came steel.
"You—" Raiga looked down to see Kitazawa's sword thrust through his heart. With Ranmaru blind, the Red Eyes couldn't interfere; he hadn't avoided the killing thrust.
Kitazawa didn't hesitate—he whipped his blade free and took Raiga's head. He remembered Raiga had a suicidal Lightning jutsu with terrifying power. He wasn't giving him any chance.
"No!" Ranmaru screamed, eyes bursting with blood. "Raiga!"
Kitazawa chopped him on the neck and knocked him out. Ranmaru had a ridiculous ability: resurrection. But the cost, per the original story, was everything—he'd spend all his power and become an ordinary person, usable only once in a lifetime.
Kitazawa rubbed his chin. Ranmaru's devotion to Raiga ran to dying with him—but letting the Red Eyes vanish here would be a waste. Kitazawa decided to take him back to Kurama Yakumo—wipe his memories of Raiga and place him in Konoha's orphanage.
Kitazawa's eyes narrowed—he looked up to see Konan descending like an angel, paper wings beating. In front of him stood a wide-eyed Jūzō, Executioner's Blade clenched, not daring to step in. If Konan weren't here, he'd have turned and run—facing someone stronger and sticking around is just stupid.
"We mean no harm," Konan said as she landed. "We're just a paid-for-hire shinobi group."
At this stage Akatsuki didn't yet have enough members or seed money, so they masqueraded as mercenaries. In the underground market they had a stellar reputation—Akatsuki hadn't failed a job yet.
"You can use monster strength?" Konan asked.
"Good eye," Kitazawa said, catching the friendliness in her tone—and the reason for it. Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko had been Jiraiya's students; they'd met Tsunade during the Second Shinobi War. If Kitazawa used monstrous strength, he likely had ties to Tsunade. Before the Eye of the Moon Plan, Akatsuki had no reason to antagonize the Five Great Villages; Konan, unlike Nagato, wasn't fully consumed by darkness and still had both feelings and reason. She had no cause to fight Kitazawa here.
"The name of the Legendary Sannin is known across the ninja world," Konan explained. "We intended to recruit Raiga, but since he's dead, we'll leave it at that."
"I'm Kitazawa," he said. "You could say I'm Tsunade-sama's student."
"I see." Something faint stirred in Konan—by ties, that made them senior and junior schoolmates of a sort. Jūzō, meanwhile, was baffled—why wasn't Tsunade's student a medic? One thing he did understand: after tonight, Kitazawa was going to be famous.
"I'm Konan of Akatsuki, codename White Tiger," she said. "We take on high-difficulty commissions. If you've got one, find us at a bounty exchange."
A bounty exchange—the underground black market. Functionally similar to Konoha's mission desk, especially for rogue-nin, but many jobs there don't follow the Five Villages' rules—lots of bounties. (Asuma Sarutobi, for example, had a 35 million ryō bounty there.) Canon never says who founded the exchanges, but Akatsuki's early funding came from them, and Kakuzu was a notorious regular.
"If I need something, I'll reach out," Kitazawa said, half amused.
"Until next time." Konan turned on her heel. Jūzō exhaled in relief and hurried after her.
Kitazawa watched them go, then turned, pulled out a summoning storage scroll, and sealed away Raiga's corpse. He picked up Kiba, examined the swords, and stowed them. They were valuable—especially their lightning-drawing function, a massive chakra-saver for Lightning specialists.
Kitazawa wasn't a pure Lightning shinobi, but he could use Lightning Release—the blades would serve him well. He also realized Kiba paired perfectly with Lightning Release: Kirin. With Kiba, he wouldn't need to ignite the sky with Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire like Sasuke did to make a thunderstorm. In battle, that saves time and flips the board faster.
There was, however, a risk. The Mist keeps a summoning scroll for calling back the seven blades, guarded by the Hōzuki clan. But the surviving Hōzuki, Suigetsu, was probably already in Orochimaru's hands. In the short term, Kiba wasn't likely to vanish.
Even so, there was a fix. Kitazawa planned to reforge Kiba and lay sealing techniques on it to block any summoning recall. The Uzumaki clan actually has such a seal—the Contract Seal, one of their core fūinjutsu. It cuts the link between caster and summon (or summoned object). In canon, Minato used a Contract Seal to sever Obito's control over the Nine-Tails.
[Current Mission: Eliminate Kurosuki Raiga, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.]
[Reward: Composite Ninjutsu—Typhoon Water Vortex Technique.]
[Mission Completed. Reward Granted.]
Kitazawa exhaled in relief. He'd worried the system wouldn't trigger a reward if he soloed Raiga—but the quest never said the team had to land the kill together.
He'd finished Raiga here for two reasons. First, Raiga might bolt; there was no telling when he'd head to Katabami Gold Mine—no point wasting time waiting.
Second, Kurenai and the others still lagged a bit behind Raiga in strength. If they needed live practice, they could wait until Kurenai mastered monstrous strength and Kabuto's group leveled up further. The ninja world is big—there will be plenty of chances to train.
Standing there, Kitazawa absorbed the Typhoon Water Vortex Technique the system granted. He only knew Wind Style: Rasengan, so the system threw in Water Style: Ripping Torrent as well. Two for one—two new jutsu learned.
He glanced at the sky. He'd been out a while, but three hours hadn't passed yet. He decided to swing by the capital of the Land of Rivers first. Before he left, he sent a shadow clone to carry Ranmaru back—Katsuyu's reverse summoning only worked on him personally.
Their B-rank target for this mission was in that city, but Kitazawa wouldn't take that one alone. Kurenai and the others had come all this way—they deserved to be part of it. If he did everything himself, what was the point?
After locking the target's location, he felt the tug of a familiar summons. He didn't resist—and a heartbeat later he was back at the team's campsite.
"Well?" Kurenai grabbed his hand the moment he appeared, checked him over, and only relaxed when she saw he wasn't hurt.
"I've got a fix on our target. We can act tomorrow," Kitazawa said. "On the way, I ran into Kurosuki Raiga and took him out."
"Huh?" Kurenai's eyes widened. "Come again?"
"You mean that Raiga—one of the Seven Swordsmen?" Kabuto blurted, stunned.
"He's dead?" Izumi Uchiha felt like she'd been hit by a genjutsu.
"Mm." Kitazawa smiled. "Seemed a shame to waste such a good opportunity, so I handled it."
"…" Kurenai had words and swallowed them. He said it so casually it was hard to believe—but Kitazawa wouldn't joke about something like this.
"Kitazawa-sensei, that's incredible," Kabuto breathed. The Seven Swordsmen are famed across the shinobi world—each one a top-tier jōnin. He'd never imagined Kitazawa would drop one so "simply." The man's strength was terrifying.
~~~
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