Unexpected Turn (Third Update)

In a short span of time, the proud Seven Ninja Swordsmen had already lost four of their number, leaving the remaining three questioning their lives.

Since when had one of Kirigakure’s trump cards become so utterly fragile?

First, a monster had appeared and wiped out three of them as easily as crushing dry leaves.

Then another formidable figure had suddenly emerged.

In an instant, the situation had changed from seven against one to three against two.

That newcomer had also recently been registered in the Anbu handbook. He was a young genius called "Black Little Flash"!

With such a perfunctory nickname and such a young appearance, hadn’t he only made the list because of his talent?

How could he be this strong?!

Whoever came up with that name had better not show up here, or they’d chop him to death!

For a time, they were utterly devoid of fighting spirit!

"Oh? Quite clever. A Water Clone, was it?"

The spinning Sharingan in Xu Yue’s eyes turned toward Suikazan Fuguki.

He discovered that when his initial attack had failed and Duy had instantly killed the first man, Fuguki had used some strange Substitution Technique. He had turned himself into a Water Clone and swapped places through a method similar to the Substitution Technique, while his real body had vanished with his ninja sword.

Meanwhile, the two remaining Swordsmen, Raiga Kurosuki and Jinin Akebino, wore expressions of utter terror.

What had happened?

Why had the invincible Seven Ninja Swordsmen been reduced to just the two of them in the blink of an eye?

What was wrong with this world?

Might Duy’s heart was also filled with shock.

Though he had never opened the Eight Gates before, his recent attempt had made him deeply understand the terrifying power within them.

He simply could not control it, much less make full use of it.

Yet even so, even after instantly killing three opponents, he understood how powerful the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were.

Especially the first two who had attacked him. The reason he had not dealt with them immediately was because even with the Eight Gates open, he had not been confident that he could kill them in a single strike.

And if he failed to kill them, the force his body endured would crush him.

Even now, after two consecutive attacks, his body was already on the verge of collapse.

But he had never expected that a Konoha ninja would suddenly appear and successfully ambush one of the most troublesome enemies, killing him in one blow!

Regardless of whether it had been an ambush, it represented the other man’s strength.

With one leg and one arm already ruined and his speed no longer capable of reaching its previous level, Might Duy had intended to feign weakness and lure another enemy into attacking. He would then use the last of his physical strength to perish alongside his opponent.

Yet he had never expected such a turn of events…

"Senior Duy, don’t move anymore. Save your strength so you can see Guy one last time."

Xu Yue raised a hand and dispersed Suikazan Fuguki’s Water Clone, which possessed only a tenth of the original’s strength. Then he slowly walked toward the remaining two.

A gentle, courteous smile remained on his face.

The most troublesome one had been dealt with. The remaining two were at the bottom among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

Still, the chance for an ambush had already been used up. Dealing with the remaining two would require some effort.

When he fought that Lightsaber-wielding Reincarnator before, he had thoroughly suffered from not having a good weapon. Picking one of the Seven Ninja Swords for himself did not sound bad.

Flying Thunder God Technique!

Xu Yue, who had appeared to be slowly strolling toward the two, appeared behind Raiga Kurosuki in the next instant.

One of the special kunai that had been knocked away by the Kubikiribōchō was right there!

But just as Xu Yue activated the Flying Thunder God again and prepared to test his opponent’s strength, he sensed something wrong the instant he appeared. The profound sensation of Force Sense gave him an overwhelming feeling of danger.

Every hair on his body stood on end.

Without hesitation!

Orochimaru-style Substitution Technique

Xu Yue’s entire body was enveloped in a mass of lightning. Then, as though shedding skin, he shriveled flat. His empty skin remained behind while he himself vanished.

In the next moment, Xu Yue reappeared beside another Flying Thunder God marker, though he looked somewhat bedraggled.

First using the Orochimaru-style Substitution Technique to neutralize the damage, then using the Flying Thunder God to flee—he had truly exhausted every means of preserving his life.

Without Soft Body Modification, the terrifying Chakra consumption of Orochimaru’s Substitution Technique left Xu Yue, whose reserves were already low, feeling as if he had been hollowed out. No wonder Sasuke could barely endure after using it once in the original story.

When he looked back at the place where he had inexplicably been attacked, he helplessly discovered that the Flying Thunder God kunai he had intended to use as a marker was being frantically struck by Raiga Kurosuki’s lightning.

Lightning flashed and flames raged all around it.

The Lightning Blades: Fangs erupted with terrifying power.

It was not that the Lightning Blades: Fangs were too strong, nor was Raiga Kurosuki himself particularly powerful. Rather, when the wide-area lightning strikes were unleashed, much of the electricity was conducted away by the metal kunai.

He had nearly teleported over and been roasted alive!

"This really was outside the plan…"

Sure enough, plans were usually affected by unexpected actions that could not be predicted.

Raiga Kurosuki had wildly unleashed his techniques purely out of fear, even electrocuting his last remaining teammate a few times in the process.

But precisely because of those actions, the Flying Thunder God’s approach had been greatly restricted. Without placing a marker on Raiga himself, the Flying Thunder God kunai used for breakthrough were the perfect targets for attracting lightning.

The strongest opponents had already been dealt with, yet he had nearly stumbled against the weakest one.

Although Raiga Kurosuki had lost his courage and seemed to be going mad,

his combat instincts and awareness had not disappeared.

After Xu Yue flashed into view and immediately retreated to evade, Raiga had found this weakness through the instincts gained from his Jonin experience.

He immediately raised the Lightning Blades: Fangs toward the sky without hesitation, drawing lightning and thunder from the already gloomy weather.

Then, while intermittently releasing lightning, he fled into the distance like a rabbit.

After hesitating for a moment, Xu Yue still gave up on pursuing him.

That man’s lightning attacks had no discernible pattern, and he had stirred the sky into a frenzy as well. If Xu Yue caught up only to be hit by the secret technique that drew down natural lightning, he would probably be done for.

Turning back to Jinin Akebino, who had also been shocked a few times and held a combined hammer and blade in his hands, Xu Yue was about to properly…

"Aah!"

Jinin Akebino looked down at the fist that had pierced through his body from behind. Blood continuously poured from his mouth. No sound came out, but from the shape of his lips, one could roughly make out:

You lied to me.

Hadn’t he said he would let the other one rest for a while…

With one leg and one arm, Might Duy had relied on the explosive power of his remaining leg. Taking advantage of Jinin Akebino being shocked several times and focusing his attention on Xu Yue, he completed the final finishing blow.

Not only Jinin Akebino—even Xu Yue wore a somewhat stunned expression.

"Youth must bloom amid burning passion! Guy has already become a man. He has already received the spirit I passed on to him. That alone is enough!"

Swinging his twisted arm, Duy forcibly raised a thumb toward Xu Yue. The last trace of a smile appeared on his face.

Then his entire body scattered away like ashes.

So the Will of Fire had been passed on? Unfortunately, I could not understand what that will was…

That was the final update for today!!

Please keep subscribing, ahhh~

Also, let me specifically clarify something. Raiga Kurosuki was indeed originally an anime-only character, appearing around episode 150 or so when the anime had just begun its original storyline. But Kishimoto completely borrowed this anime-original character and made him canon in Chapter 668, during Guy’s recollection of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—namely, the current plot being written. I know everyone does not like flashbacks, but this author definitely has to go through them. Raiga was not the only anime-original character Kishimoto borrowed; the bloodline ninjas such as Pakura, who were revived through Impure World Reincarnation, also first appeared in the movies before being borrowed by Kishimoto.

As for the Reincarnation Space storyline, according to the needs of the plot, it will naturally borrow some settings that were not contradicted in the manga but were expanded upon in anime-original material to enrich the story. Fugaku’s Mangekyo, for example.

That’s all.