"Ah, there's a small nick on the blade..." "It looks like we need to let it absorb some blood to regenerate the iron."
With an eerie, cold smile on their lips, Biwa Juzo and his accomplices each grabbed a different weapon. Their eyes emitted a murderous intent that froze the air.
They were among the most exceptional assassination elites from the Hidden Mist Village, and facing Leaf Village ninjas, even if it meant taking on all five little demons of Team Gai, they would not show any mercy.
Damn it...
Why did it have to be the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist...
As they confronted the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, blocking their path, Yu could feel his fists clench involuntarily.
Ever since he had been assigned to a mission by the Third Hokage to team up with Might Guy, Ebisu, and Genma, he had had a foreboding feeling. He hadn't anticipated that they would actually encounter all the members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, just like in the original story.
"If it were just one Jonin ninja..." "But now we have to face seven of them simultaneously, and they're the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist..."
Feeling the terrifying aura emanating from the seven Jonin ninjas in front of him, Yu's heart sank.
If he were alone, perhaps he would still have a chance to escape. However, there were four other kids with him, and their chances of survival were now even slimmer.
"Guy!"
As Yu pondered a plan, a voice suddenly echoed from a distance, catching everyone's attention.
"Dad?!"
Hearing that familiar voice, Might Guy, who stood behind Yu, froze.
It was a figure enveloped in green chakra, moving at an incredible speed, approaching Yu and his team in the blink of an eye, kicking up dust as it landed.
"Phew... I finally caught up..."
Might Dai?!
Seeing this man suddenly appear, Yu's eyes widened in recognition. He identified him by the striking resemblance to Might Guy—Dai, Guy's father, a long-serving Genin ninja from the Leaf Village.
"Could this be... the Eight Inner Gates?"
Observing the green chakra energy radiating from Might Dai, Yu's eyes showed a hint of curiosity. He recognized this state as the result of opening the Third Gate, the Gate of Life, in the Eight Inner Gates Formation.
"Dad, what's a Genin ninja like you doing here?!"
Seeing his father, Might Guy was bewildered, clearly not understanding the situation.
"Enough talk. You all need to run... I'll buy you some time!"
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But before Might Guy could continue speaking, Might Dai stepped forward, blocking the path of Yu and his friends.
"Let us run? Dad, what are you talking about?!"
"They're all Jonin ninja! And they're the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist!"
Seeing his father, Might Dai, intervene, Might Guy became emotional. It was evident that he hadn't grasped the situation yet.
"But I have the Eighth Inner Gates..."
"Right now is the time to protect what's most important to me, isn't it?"
Feeling his son's intense emotions, Might Dai turned his head and gave Might Guy a thumbs-up, flashing his signature white teeth with a charismatic smile.
The Eighth Inner Gate... was he going to open the Eight Inner Gates Formation?
Witnessing his father's carefree smile, Yu inexplicably felt moved.
"Hahaha... Leaf Village's Genin ninja?!" "A Genin ninja thinks he can stop us, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?!"
At this moment, as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist laughed heartily at Might Guy, they suddenly stopped laughing in the next second.
"The Eight Inner Gates Formation!"
"Open!"
With a booming shout from Might Dai, all of his chakra concentrated at the position of the Gate of Death within his body.
"Boom!"
A burst of unimaginable force erupted.
Before Yu and his team could react, they were blown away by the terrifying shockwave.
"Crimson steam..."
"Is this... the Eight Inner Gates Formation?!"
Yu, who had been sent flying and landed on the ground, stared with wide eyes. He recognized the state that Might Dai had entered as the result of opening the Gate of Death in the Eight Inner Gates Formation.
"That guy... What has he done?!"
Seeing Might Dai's incredible transformation and feeling the horrifying chakra emanating from him, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were all shocked.
Amidst their astonishment, Might Dai's hair, eyebrows, and beard had all turned red, his chakra flow had reached its peak, and he was emitting crimson steam from his entire body.
"It's not just withering away..."
"I will become the nourishment for new green leaves, and when the green leaves sprout, with the arrival of spring..."
"It will be the pinnacle of youth! The moment of the most brilliant burning!"
Emitting terrifying crimson steam and chakra, Might Dai, who no longer had visible pupils in his eyes, locked onto the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist in the forest in front of him.
As he finished speaking, the ground in the entire forest exploded. Might Dai had instantly transformed into a streak of crimson light, charging toward the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
"This kind of chakra?!"
"This speed?! Is this a joke?!"
As they witnessed Might Dai, who was now like a crimson monster, charging toward them, the faces of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist turned pale.
"Let's go, Guy!"
"We can't let your father's sacrifice be in vain. Our mission isn't complete yet!"
Seeing Might Dai sacrifice himself to unleash the Eight Inner Gates Formation, Ebisu and Genma, who were with Might Guy, forcibly dragged him away.
"Let's go. If the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist appeared here..." "It means there was an issue with our intelligence. This mission won't be as simple as we thought."
Turning back to cast a deep gaze at the man who had transformed into a crimson beast, Yu's eyes revealed a complex emotion.
As Might Dai, a Genin ninja, had activated the Eighth Inner Gate and erupted with such incredible power, Yu couldn't help but wonder about the kind of power that Might Guy, who reached the pinnacle of Jonin ninja, would possess when he unlocked the Eight Inner Gates Formation.
Although he wished to witness the battle between the Eight Inner Gates Formation and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, he ultimately chose to turn away and lead his group, including Kurenai, out of the dark forest.
If things went as expected, after this battle, Might Dai would have exhausted all his chakra and sacrifice himself. As for the renowned Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, only three of them—Biwa Juzo, Fuguki Suikazan, and Raiga Kurosuki—would survive.
Feeling the intense battle erupting behind them in the forest, Yu and his group finally escaped the woods and arrived in an expansive grassland.
"Be careful, everyone!"
However, just as they stepped out of the forest, more than a dozen kunai and explosive tags with wires attached were already flying toward them.
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