Iron Plate

Zabuza’s strength was beyond question. In the original story, he had inherited the Kubikiribōchō and defeated Kakashi in their first clash.

He had killed every other participant in the graduation exam immediately after graduating. His talent was exceptional as well.

Though he had not yet reached his peak and was still somewhat short of elite jonin level, he had already earned his own title.

"Demon of the Hidden Mist," Zabuza!

The Taketori Clan’s Kekkei Genkai was indeed powerful.

However, the two jonin had only earned their titles through the power of their Kekkei Genkai. In a one-on-one fight, they were considerably inferior to Zabuza.

Originally, the two of them working together could have held the advantage.

But Zabuza had kept himself restrained all along. The moment they made their move, he suddenly pulled a trick that greatly crippled one jonin’s combat power.

Together with the other pirates charging in at this point, the situation immediately became perilous.

Zabuza alone could completely hold back the two jonin, while the two chunin squads and the genin squad that had only come to handle miscellaneous work had no chance of stopping the swarming bandits!

There were more than ten Rogue Ninjas at chunin level among them, and no one knew how many were at genin level.

Even the vicious bandits who had not reached genin level could pose enough of a threat through sheer numbers.

In short, they had gathered manpower far too quickly, catching this side completely off guard.

"Damn it! We can only ask Lord Utakata for help."

"But will Lord Utakata interfere in the mess between the ninja clan and the village…?"

"We can’t worry about that now!"

The two Taketori Clan jonin did not hesitate in the slightest as they charged straight at Zabuza.

If they combined their strength to deal with this powerful enemy first and freed themselves up, there was still a sliver of hope.

"Hmph. Two pieces of trash who climbed their way up purely through the power of their Kekkei Genkai—what could you possibly know about the true essence of ninja?"

Zabuza snorted at the two rushing toward him, then formed hand seals.

Water Style: Mist Technique

A dense mist rose over the sea, and in this environment, the battlefield was almost instantly reduced to a place where no one could see their own hand in front of their face.

The Taketori Clan ninjas were not skilled in ninjutsu, so they had no way whatsoever to deal with the thick fog.

Silent Killing Technique!

A chunin guard was the first to be taken out!

The two jonin who realized what had happened could not help but darken their expressions.

When they tried to do the same, Zabuza—having already accomplished his objective—turned back and entangled them directly.

The bone blades in their hands continuously clashed against Zabuza’s short sword, producing fierce sounds of battle even within the dense fog.

The three fought in a tangled melee, falling directly into a stalemate…

"Um, Mr. Utakata, how is the battle going? You’ll step in, right?"

Listening to the sounds of killing and combat within the dense fog, Xu Yue looked at Utakata and asked with an expectant expression.

After giving Xu Yue a cold glance, Utakata ignored him and closed his eyes as he said,

"I only agreed to protect your safety. Everything else has nothing to do with me."

If they had simply run into ordinary bandits, then helping deal with them would have been no issue.

But this involved the political struggle within the village again. He had followed a merchant out precisely because he hated such things.

What he was doing now was refusing to help either side.

"How can you be like this? You, you… sigh."

Xu Yue seemed somewhat disheartened. With the danger outside as well, he opened the door and returned to his room.

Utakata did not care about this. He merely stood quietly on the deck.

With his abilities, no movement nearby could escape his notice. Standing here was enough to ensure Xu Yue’s safety.

This guy is far too stingy. He’d rather lose big money to save a little. Let him learn his lesson…

Yet just as Utakata confidently believed he had complete control of the situation and that nothing could escape his notice,

Xu Yue, inside the room, used the Wood Clone Jutsu, sending it out through a window on the other side and into the dense fog.

The cargo was secondary, but this was the first time I had used this merchant identity, and you people had already robbed my goods…

How am I supposed to rent Jinchuriki from other villages afterward? Cut my way through them?

I can’t let you keep doing whatever you please…

"Lord Ling is wise!"

"Lord Ling only needed a minor trick to suppress them so easily."

"Everything was within Lord Ling’s expectations."

"…"

At the edge of the mist not far away, several Reincarnators shamelessly showered flattery upon the figure carrying the Kubikiribōchō.

Ling greatly enjoyed it.

Normally, he was quite immune to flattery. But he had just become one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and had also orchestrated the situation before them.

Their words had hit exactly where he itched.

"Enough with the useless talk. When the time is right, we’ll capture those two jonin. The stronger they are, the more useful they’ll be to us. This is much better than the chunin targets we initially planned for."

"Understood!"

"With Lord Ling taking action, won’t they be caught easily?"

"That Zabuza will give us this favor too."

However, at that moment, a gentle voice drifted over.

"I was wondering why so many people suddenly appeared. So it was you."

A figure walked across the water and emerged from the dense fog. Wearing a bright smile, he looked at the group before him as though they were old friends he had not seen in a long time.

The Reincarnators could not help but be startled, but they quickly calmed down.

There was only one person.

In this situation, unless that Jinchuriki made a move, everyone else was completely useless!

Lord Ling had already seen through everything. Utakata would not interfere in the mess between the village and the ninja clan.

Lord Ling himself already stood at the top of the food chain. Unless it was a Kage-level powerhouse, even an elite jonin could be defeated with their assistance.

Everything was under control.

"Wait, this guy seems to be the president of that merchant association. He’s actually a ninja?"

The twin-sworded man who had attacked Xu Yue earlier stared at Xu Yue’s face for a moment before revealing a shocked expression.

Since the other man could appear here and walk on water, it was clear that he was no ordinary merchant!

"He’s actually a ninja?"

"He hid his identity. There must be secrets to uncover."

"Capture him alive."

Ling also drew his Kubikiribōchō with a faintly proud expression.

Though he did not know the other party’s strength, since he had dared to appear alone after seeing so many people on their side, he should have some skill.

But unfortunately…

Your knowledge is simply too limited!

My weapon is the Kubikiribōchō, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen’s blades. Obtaining this weapon itself is a symbol of my strength.

I am now a legendary ninja, one of the legendary Seven Ninja Swordsmen!

Uh, one of them…

"It is time for my blade to taste blood. Your blood will be just enough to replenish my strength…"

With an infatuated expression, Ling stroked the blade before raising his hand and pointing it at Xu Yue.

The next moment, without any warning or hesitation,

the sharp blade rushed straight at Xu Yue. Taking advantage of the Kubikiribōchō’s length and range, a single swing nearly swept across the entire area.

There was nowhere to dodge!

This heaven-shaking strike filled Ling with pride. After acquiring the Kubikiribōchō last time, he had trained bitterly using training cards and fully exploited the weapon’s advantage in size.

Against ordinary enemies, one strike was all he needed!

You failed to predict my move in advance and failed to dodge beforehand. It is already over.

Combined with his charge, the Kubikiribōchō’s weight, and its sharpness, ordinary weapons could not withstand it. If the enemy could not dodge, both person and weapon could only be cut in two by his strike!

"…Taste fear!"

As the blade swept through the air, the force even carved a trail across the sea’s surface. What looked like an ordinary strike had been used to perfection.

Clang~

A finger rose to block the Kubikiribōchō. Without trembling in the slightest and without any warning, the originally fierce attack came to an abrupt halt before that finger, completely stopped by it…

Two, two updates…

I’ve been visiting both sides of the family, with all kinds of aunts and relatives everywhere. There are just too many relatives. Every day has been filled with awkward smiles and awkward conversations, and we have not even held the banquet yet. That will be discussed around the middle of next year. My head already feels like mush. Just thinking about the New Year makes me shiver. I’m really not good at dealing with this sort of thing…