Chapter 426: The Golden Skyline That Shocked Kirigakure
No words were needed. Obito understood Kakashi's intent the moment their eyes met.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Obito immediately gathered chakra in his throat, formed seals at high speed, and spat out a massive fireball that roared straight toward Raiga Kurosuki, the closest of the enemy to their line.
Raiga's twin blades favored Lightning Release, so he clearly focused more training there. But he was still a Mist jonin. His Water Release foundation was anything but weak.
He did not dodge.
Instead, Raiga exhaled a thick stream of water and snuffed Obito's Great Fireball head on, steam exploding outward in a harsh white burst.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The instant Obito's flames created that wall of sight, Shisui used it as cover. Several shuriken wrapped in fire tore through the steam and shot toward Raiga from different angles.
At the same time, Kakashi tightened his grip on the White Fang short blade. Chakra surged into his legs and instantly converted into Lightning Release, stimulating his body and pushing his speed higher. The moment Raiga revealed even the smallest fatal gap, Kakashi planned to strike like lightning and take a head off.
Their reputations were too different. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen did not truly see them as equals yet.
Kakashi wanted to exploit that arrogance. If they could focus fire and kill even one swordsman immediately, the battle that followed would become far more manageable.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Biwa Juzo's hands blurred through seals.
A water dragon erupted forward, coiling around Raiga like a living shield. It swallowed Shisui's flaming shuriken in a single surge, then continued forward without slowing, charging straight for Kakashi's group.
Kakashi cursed inwardly.
Even if they were not being treated as real opponents, these were still the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. Their little trap had been seen through in an instant.
The next moment, Suikazan Fuguki, Jinin Akebino, Kuriarare Kushimaru, and Raiga all drew their blades and advanced together, clearly intent on ending this quickly.
"Eight Gates, First Gate, Gate of Opening, open! Second… Fourth Gate, Gate of Pain, open!"
Guy roared, opening straight to the Fourth Gate while forcing his breathing to the absolute extreme.
Right now, Guy could stably open the Fifth Gate. But Fifth Gate was not something he could maintain for long. Sparring was one thing. On a real battlefield, he could not throw every trump card out with no plan.
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!"
Guy launched forward at full speed, his body flickering across the ground. In the blink of an eye, he reached Jinin Akebino and unleashed a violent whirlwind kick.
"Fast," Jinin said coolly, raising the hammer in front of him.
Guy's kick slammed into it with a heavy boom. At the same time, the blunt blade in Jinin's left hand swept toward Guy, aiming to cut him down mid motion.
"You chose the wrong opponent."
Jinin Akebino was the strongest iron fist among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Challenging him in pure taijutsu was, on paper, madness.
But Jinin had underestimated two things.
Guy's control over his body, and his combat experience.
The giant blunt sword swung in. Guy's expression did not change. He twisted his torso at the limit, slipping past the edge of the strike, then slammed a hand blade saturated with chakra directly down onto Jinin's hammer.
"Leaf Hand Blade!"
Clang!
The impact was brutal. Jinin staggered back several steps, and a numb tingling shot through the hand holding his weapon.
Surprise flickered across his face.
His ninja blade was forged from rare materials and absurdly hard. If a normal person struck it barehanded, the rebound force alone would shatter bones. Yet Guy looked like nothing had happened.
Are his palms made of iron?
The thought rose instinctively.
Guy's toughness was abnormal.
Of course, Jinin did not know that Guy's Rock Breathing was already highly refined. Under intense focus, it could massively strengthen his physical defense. Guy could not be measured by ordinary standards anymore.
"Even if you are iron, I can still chop you into scraps!" Jinin barked, regaining his composure.
Iron was just a description. Even if Guy truly was an iron man, Jinin believed Kabutowari could still smash him apart.
"Flash!"
Raiga did not give Kakashi the opening he wanted, but Kakashi had already built momentum. He could not afford to waste it. He did not have much chakra to begin with.
Swish!
With Thunder Breathing pushed to its peak, Kakashi burst forward like a bolt of lightning, cutting straight toward Raiga.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Fang!"
Before Kakashi could close the distance, Raiga snapped both lightning blades outward.
Crackling arcs exploded in every direction, forcing Kakashi to slam on the brakes.
He did not have enough chakra to coat his entire body in Armament Haki for defense.
Whoosh!
Raiga seized the moment Kakashi stopped. He used Body Flicker and shot in, moving with shocking agility. His twin lightning blades struck like venomous snakes that spat thunder.
Kakashi did not dare underestimate a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. He immediately entered Transparent World.
The battlefield inside his mind changed.
In that state, Raiga's movements felt slower.
Kakashi knew the truth. Raiga was not actually slowing down. Kakashi's perception had sharpened, and his own speed had risen.
Clang!
Raiga's slash was cleanly blocked.
Raiga swung again, then again, then again. Every strike was perfectly intercepted. Even with two long blades, he could not break through the defense Kakashi built with a short blade.
Kakashi's blocks were flawless. Not a fraction of strength wasted. Not a single opening offered. Raiga could not even touch the hem of his clothes.
Raiga's brows drew together.
His swordsmanship might not be top tier within the Mist, but it was still strong. Yet a child who looked barely ten was suppressing him like this.
On the surface, it looked even.
In reality, Raiga was already losing.
Every attack was being read. It was as if Kakashi had seen straight through him, like his entire style was laid bare.
Raiga judged instantly that Kakashi had terrifying talent for the blade. In an era of samurai, this kind of child might have become a sword saint.
"Ninjutsu is still what matters most for a shinobi."
Raiga retreated at high speed and poured chakra into his blades, sending lightning surging toward Kakashi in violent bursts.
As an assassin, Raiga was never stubborn.
Yes, it was humiliating to struggle against a child after years of training. But stubborn pride was how people died.
And in this short exchange alone, Kakashi's White Fang had already left two cuts on him.
Kakashi dodged at high speed, a flicker of regret in his eyes.
If Raiga were the type with a swollen ego, Kakashi was confident he could have ended this quickly.
But shinobi rarely fought with pride.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"
Obito's Flame Breathing continuously tightened his focus, enhancing his Nature Transformation. He built chakra in his throat, converted it rapidly into Fire Release, and spewed out sheets of flame in an unbroken stream.
In seconds, it became a sea of fire.
The flames evaporated the incoming Water Dragon Bullet. What remained split into two fire dragons that roared forward toward Suikazan Fuguki and Kuriarare Kushimaru as they advanced.
The Water Dragon Bullet was not especially fast, and like Great Fireball, it was easy to dodge.
But Obito could not dodge now.
Not everyone on their side could trade blows with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. If they scattered to evade, someone would be exposed, and that exposure would become death.
To protect Rin and the others, Obito had to block with ninjutsu.
Shisui silently activated his Sharingan. His blood red eyes locked onto Kuriarare Kushimaru and Suikazan Fuguki.
Then he vanished.
Body Flicker.
He attacked, refusing to let those two close the distance.
Obito's Fire Dragon Flame Bullet was not boosted by Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, and these were only the remnants of the sea of fire.
Suikazan Fuguki simply swung Samehada once.
The flames were cut in half.
Samehada's hilt twisted twice and tapped Fuguki's arm in clear irritation. It hated scorching heat.
Samehada's blade was massive. In normal circumstances, no one would notice such a small detail.
But Shisui's three tomoe Sharingan saw it clearly, and that sight sparked a thought.
"Phantom Body Flicker Technique!"
The battle gave Shisui no time to think further. He immediately activated the technique.
Dozens of Shisui appeared in an instant, surrounding Fuguki and Kushimaru from all sides.
"Shadow Clones? Impossible." Fuguki shook his head. "There should not be that much chakra."
There were shinobi who could create dozens of Shadow Clones.
But shinobi with that much chakra would not do it, because it was meaningless outside of wasting chakra.
Swish, swish!
Kushimaru's long needle blade lashed out at terrifying speed, piercing the necks of three Shisui around him.
But the pierced Shisui did not vanish.
There were no wounds either.
They were like illusions.
The moment Fuguki and Kushimaru treated them as phantoms, several other Shisui attacked for real, forcing the two swordsmen to halt their advance.
Obito used the gap to pull the three weakest fighters back, repositioning them behind him.
"Sharingan, illusions, real bodies… genjutsu."
Kushimaru connected the pieces with calm precision.
He did not hesitate. He slammed a palm into Fuguki's body, disrupting his chakra flow to break the illusion.
Once the genjutsu cracked, only three Shisui remained in Fuguki's eyes.
Two Shadow Clones.
One original.
"A genius not on the list," Fuguki said, voice low. "Looks like our luck is even better than expected."
He immediately returned the favor, striking Kushimaru with a palm.
Knowing you are in genjutsu is not enough to dispel Sharingan illusions. The simplest way is always an ally's help.
Shisui was not flustered. These were members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. He had expected to be countered.
Fuguki and Kushimaru surged with chakra and charged for Shisui again.
They were not worried about Obito retreating.
The remaining three swordsmen were not just standing around watching.
"Trying to abandon your comrades and run?" Biwa Juzo flickered in with Water Instant Body, laying Kubikiribocho across the path like a gate. "Too bad. You cannot even escape."
Munashi Jinpachi moved as well, silently raising the Explosive Blade, Shibuki, to seal another direction.
The lightly injured Mist jonin stepped in beside him, reinforcing the blockade.
"Who is abandoning anyone?" Obito snapped, stepping forward with Rin behind him. "Do not look down on us!"
He immediately entered Flame Breathing Chakra Mode.
At this point, he could not worry about chakra consumption.
He had watched Kakashi and Guy. Every one of these swordsmen was dangerous.
Facing two of them at once left no space for hesitation.
Even Kakashi, going all out, could only gain a slight edge in his own specialty. The final outcome of a true fight was still unknown.
Obito understood one of their biggest problems.
Their stamina.
It was not that their chakra reserves were low. Compared to normal shinobi their age, they had plenty.
The problem was that their abilities were too far above their current stage, making their chakra feel insufficient.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Obito did not need hand signs.
In Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, he generated the chakra instantly and spewed a scorching fireball straight from his mouth.
There were too many enemies. Obito did not dare waste chakra, so he chose the relatively lower cost Great Fireball.
The hand sign free technique startled Biwa Juzo for a moment.
But no matter how fast the setup was, Great Fireball itself was not fast.
Biwa Juzo dodged easily, then casually used Kubikiribocho to bat away the ninja tools Ebisu and the others threw in support.
"Too weak…"
Ebisu clenched his fists. A crushing sense of helplessness flooded him.
Now he truly understood what it meant to be willing but unable.
He desperately wanted to share the pressure with Kakashi and the others, but if he rushed in, he would only become a burden. He was too weak, and he would be injured or killed too easily.
Their best contribution was to stay in a safe spot and assist with ninjutsu or support tactics.
To reduce Obito's pressure, Rin stepped forward on her own initiative and engaged Biwa Juzo, allowing Obito to focus on Munashi Jinpachi and the Mist jonin.
Rin was not on Kakashi's level, but with Genma and Ebisu backing her, holding one opponent temporarily was not a problem.
Because Kakashi was in Transparent World, he could read the entire battlefield with frightening clarity.
"As expected… this is an unprecedented crisis."
Sweat slid down Kakashi's forehead.
The battle had barely started, and they were already in a major disadvantage.
One member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen was still not even fully engaged.
They were teetering on the edge of desperation.
Guy, even in the Gate of Pain, could not overwhelm Jinin Akebino.
Kakashi, fighting with everything he had, still could not secure an advantage once Raiga became cautious.
Shisui was struggling under the combined assault of Kushimaru and Fuguki, his position dangerously unstable.
Obito, in Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, supported by Rin and the others, could only barely withstand Biwa Juzo, Munashi Jinpachi, and the Mist jonin together.
The remaining swordsmen did not even need to join in.
They only had to hold a little longer, and Kakashi's group would be crushed.
Worse, Kakashi noticed something else.
The swordsman who had stayed back was not idle. His blade was glowing with chakra, as if he were charging an attack.
Desperate.
That was the only word for it.
"Eight Gates, Fifth Gate, Gate of Limit, open!"
The situation was too critical. Guy did not have time to hesitate.
He forced the Fifth Gate open.
His chakra surged again, erupting outward like a storm.
"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"
With a single kick, Guy blasted Jinin Akebino back, then shot forward at extreme speed toward Shisui, who was being pressured on both sides.
Shisui was already in rough shape. Under the two man encirclement, his body was marked with multiple scratches from the long needle blade and stitched steel wire.
Hozuki Mangetsu immediately aimed Hiramekarei at Guy and fired a chakra orb.
"Guy, watch out!" Kakashi warned instantly, seeing it first.
Whoosh!
Guy erupted from his feet, leaving an afterimage behind as he shot forward like a green streak.
Boom!
The chakra orb slammed into the afterimage and detonated. Yellow dust burst upward, and a large crater opened in the ground.
Kakashi's brows tightened.
An attack like that, unless Armament Haki covered most of the body, would cause severe injury.
With Transparent World, Kakashi could dodge and warn others for now.
But what happened after he ran out of stamina and could no longer maintain it?
Kakashi was not a gambler.
Yet in this moment, he realized their only chance to survive was for the commotion here to draw powerful Konoha reinforcements.
Not only did Konoha have to find them first, it had to be strong Konoha shinobi.
If weak reinforcements arrived, it would not save anyone. It would only add bodies.
"That barbed blade can absorb chakra," Shisui panted, forcing the words out. "We need to deal with it using pure taijutsu."
If not for his three tomoe Sharingan and his exceptional Body Flicker, a normal Konoha jonin would have already died under the combined pressure of those two.
Guy nodded, storing the information instantly.
He drove Rock Breathing to the limit and erupted with force, slamming a kick toward Fuguki and forcing him back.
Shisui understood Guy's intent.
He dragged his exhausted body into position and fully committed to blocking Kushimaru.
Now that Guy had opened the Fifth Gate, he was unquestionably the strongest among them. He was also the one most likely to actually defeat a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Shisui had to create that opening.
Guy felt urgency like never before.
He had to drop one of them quickly.
If no outside help arrived, death was guaranteed.
Jinin Akebino, having been forced back, did not chase Guy.
Instead, he turned and charged Kakashi, the closest target.
For a moment, Kakashi became the one under heavy pressure.
Fortunately, Jinin was a type Kakashi was comparatively good at handling.
Jinin was powerful, but if he could not land a hit, that power meant nothing.
With Transparent World, Kakashi did not immediately collapse. He shifted fully from offense to defense, holding on.
But Mangetsu's charging pressure weighed on Kakashi like a blade at his throat.
In a close exchange like this, Kakashi might not be able to dodge Hiramekarei's chakra orb.
"Golden Skyline!"
The situation kept worsening.
Guy could not hold back anymore.
He used the strongest technique he could access right now.
Guy pulled out a nunchaku, gripping the stick in his left hand and the chain in his right. He spread his stance slightly, turned his body to the right, placed his left hand forward and his right hand back by his waist, and extended his index and middle fingers.
He had practiced this motion countless times over the past year.
He completed it in an instant, then burst toward Fuguki.
As he moved, his left hand drew forward like a sword draw, leading his right hand into a slashing strike that carved a thin golden line through the air.
Fuguki raised Samehada to block.
Then he met Shisui's gaze.
The moment Fuguki looked into the three tomoe Sharingan, his mind blanked for a fraction of a second.
In daily life, that kind of lapse would not matter. It would not even make someone stumble.
In high intensity combat, it was fatal.
Boom!
A heavy explosion of sound.
Blood sprayed outward.
A bloody hole opened in Fuguki's abdomen, and his body was blasted backward, fresh blood splattering across the ground.
The sudden reversal shocked the other members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Fuguki was one of the stronger among them, yet he had nearly been killed by a child.
"How is that possible?" The Mist jonin fighting Obito jolted in panic. "That was Suikazan Fuguki!"
In that instant, the jonin felt grateful to the point of fear.
Luckily, he was not strong enough to draw their full effort from the start.
If Obito's Flame Breathing Chakra Mode and Guy's Golden Skyline had been aimed at him immediately, he would not have lasted a minute.
He would have died before the Seven Ninja Swordsmen even arrived.
"I misjudged you," Biwa Juzo said, his tone turning serious. "Calling you weak was inappropriate."
From that moment, he truly treated these young Konoha shinobi as real opponents.
There were levels even among prodigies.
Obito, Kakashi, Guy, and Shisui had earned Biwa Juzo's recognition through their sheer performance.
All Biwa Juzo could call it was astonishing.
A ten year old child withstanding pressure from two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, even for a minute, was something to be proud of.
They were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, figures who terrified countless shinobi across the world, not random jonin from some small village.
But that level of coordination came with a price.
The next moment, Kushimaru's long needle thrust straight toward Shisui's heart.
To Kushimaru's surprise, it did not pierce.
Shisui's chest felt like it was protected by an impossibly hard piece of metal.
Kushimaru was an experienced shinobi. If the chest was protected, he would cut somewhere else.
He gripped the hilt and slashed hard across Shisui's abdomen, carving a long, narrow line of blood.
Then Kushimaru immediately retreated.
Guy was charging over.
Kushimaru had no interest in colliding head on with a taijutsu monster who could send Fuguki flying with one strike.
"Shisui!"
Guy saw the blood seeping from Shisui's abdomen, and rage rose in his chest.
Shisui exhaled and shook his head, signaling he was fine.
It looked horrific, but compared to Fuguki's wound, Shisui's injury was light. Their plan had worked.
"As repayment for saving your life," Munashi Jinpachi said coldly, gesturing toward the Mist jonin, "contribute your chakra."
The Mist jonin understood what that meant. He knew enough about the Seven Ninja Swordsmen to grasp Jinpachi's intent.
He used Body Flicker and rushed straight to Samehada's side.
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