The seven swordsmen charged at Shikatoki.
Seven shadows emerged across the surface of the water.
Unlike before, these shadows were extraordinarily clear, and even their movements had become far more agile.
“Shikatoki Nara, stop wasting your time with these little tricks.”
Jūzō Biwa looked disdainful.
“Destroy the shadows in batches.
Everyone else, focus on attacking him!”
In the years since Shikatoki first made a name for himself, the major shinobi villages had conducted extensive investigations and analyses of his abilities.
They already had a general understanding of what his shadows could do.
Numerous strategies specifically designed to counter Shikatoki had been developed.
“You don’t need to tell me!”
Fuguki Suikazan swung Samehada and cleaved Jūzō’s shadow apart with a single strike.
“We’ll start with yours!”
“Tch.”
Jūzō clicked his tongue.
The shadow was split in two and completely dissipated.
The others were just about to bypass the remaining shadows and attack Shikatoki when— they heard Jūzō scream in terror.
Everyone instinctively glanced over.
Jūzō Biwa had been split in two.
He collapsed onto the surface of the sea, his eyes filled with disbelief.
The Kubikiribōchō slipped from his grasp and fell toward the ocean.
Black chains extended from behind Shikatoki, wrapped around the massive blade, and pulled it into his hand.
“Not bad.”
“Not bad at all.”
Shikatoki admired the Kubikiribōchō with satisfaction.
“You…”
Fuguki swallowed hard.
The remaining six swordsmen stood frozen in place, no longer daring to move recklessly.
An eerie silence descended over the battlefield.
“This isn’t what the intelligence said!”
“Intelligence?”
Shikatoki burst out laughing.
“Are you kidding me?”
“I’m barely in my teens.
I haven’t even reached a shinobi’s physical prime yet.”
“Of course both my strength and my ninjutsu are going to improve!”
Jūzō’s instant death had already planted the thought of retreat in the minds of the remaining six.
They exchanged glances.
The next moment, all six formed hand seals.
“Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu!”
A thick mist immediately spread across the sea, rapidly swallowing the surrounding area.
“Run!”
Shikatoki chuckled.
He casually waved a hand.
“All troops, hear my command.”
“Slit your own throats and ascend to the afterlife!”
The remaining six shadows immediately stabbed themselves through the neck.
The six fleeing swordsmen suddenly felt a violent tearing sensation across their throats.
They tried to speak— only to discover that no sound would come out.
One after another, they collapsed onto the water and began sinking beneath the surface.
Black chains shot outward.
They separately gathered the seven ninja swords and the bodies of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
Shikatoki took out sealing scrolls.
He sealed away both the corpses and the blades.
He paid particular attention to sealing the ninja swords securely.
He vaguely remembered reading in his previous life that Kirigakure could summon the Seven Ninja Swords back to the village.
He didn’t know whether that was actually true.
But regardless— adding another layer of sealing cost him practically nothing.
Better safe than sorry.
As for the corpses, they were extremely valuable in the shinobi world.
The Yamanaka Clan could examine the brains of the dead and extract portions of their memories.
That could provide Konoha with valuable intelligence about Kirigakure.
“The Land of Demons ship went that way, right?”
Shikatoki looked into the distance.
The vessel was already nowhere to be seen.
“Whatever.”
“I’ll just use Sage Mode to find it.”
“Getting lost at sea might not kill me anymore, but swimming around forever would still be exhausting.”
Shikatoki activated Sage Mode.
His sensory abilities quickly locked onto the merchant vessel from the Land of Demons.
Running across the surface of the sea, he soon caught up with it.
The captain visibly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Shikatoki return.
The priestess had personally instructed him to deliver Shikatoki safely to the Land of Fire.
“Mr.
Shikatoki!”
“I’m so glad you’re alright!”
The captain looked greatly relieved.
“When I return, I’ll definitely report this to Lady Priestess and have her demand an explanation from the Land of Water!”
“It’s nothing serious.”
Shikatoki waved casually.
“Handle it however you think is appropriate.”
Thinking about it, the Land of Demons might have been remote and relatively small, but it seemed to possess a respectable political standing.
That was probably related to all the monsters sealed within its territory.
The rest of the journey was much quieter.
Before long, the ship docked at a port in the Land of Fire.
“Thanks for the ride, Captain.”
“When you get back, please thank Akane for me.”
“If the Land of Demons ever runs into trouble, come find me in Konoha.
I’ll definitely help.”
“I’ll be going now!”
Shikatoki waved goodbye.
Konoha.
Inside the Hokage Building—
Tsunade sat opposite Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzō Shimura, visibly furious.
Minato Namikaze was beside her.
“Tsunade, the information appeared far too suddenly.”
Hiruzen tried to reason with her.
“The Land of Demons is also extremely far away.
There’s a good chance this is a trap.”
“If it really is Shikatoki, he’ll return on his own.”
“That damn brat!”
Tsunade’s chakra continued surging.
“The last time Jiraiya sent me information, Shikatoki was in Yugakure!”
“I went there, and then the brat somehow ran all the way to the Land of Demons!”
“You think he’ll come back on his own?!”
Danzō, however, wasn’t intimidated in the slightest.
“Tsunade!”
“You were the one who proposed training medical-nin in the first place.”
“Konoha still needs you here!”
Then his expression darkened.
“And as for Shikatoki Nara—he’s a Konoha shinobi, yet he leaves whenever he feels like it!”
“Who does he think he is?!”
Bang!
Tsunade slammed the table.
“What exactly are you implying?!”
Hiruzen looked painfully at his desk.
Over the past two years— he had already replaced that desk more than a dozen times.
Hiruzen quickly gave Minato a look.
Minato scratched his head awkwardly.
He had no choice but to speak.
“Senior Tsunade…
well…
you know Shikatoki.”
“With his strength, even if he encounters someone he can’t beat, escaping should be fairly easy.”
“Exactly.”
Hiruzen immediately followed up.
“That brat’s shadow techniques are so strange.
I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“That’s right.”
“He definitely won’t be in any trouble.”
A familiar voice suddenly came from the doorway.
The office fell silent.
Everyone turned.
Shikatoki leaned against the doorframe with a smile.
“Yo~”
“Everyone.”
“Long time no see.”
Minato’s face immediately lit up.
He rushed over and gave Shikatoki a huge hug.
“Shikatoki!”
“You’re finally back!”
“Minato, you’ve gotten a lot taller!”
Shikatoki laughed.
Then he turned.
“Big Sis Tsunade, long time no—”
He had just been about to give Tsunade a hug— when an enormous fist came flying straight at his face.
Feeling the terrifying pressure generated by the punch, Shikatoki’s pupils contracted.
He dodged almost entirely on instinct.
Boom!
The door behind him exploded into pieces.
Shikatoki stared.
“Holy shit!”
“Big Sis Tsunade, are you trying to murder me?!”
Hiruzen stared too.
“Holy shit!”
“My door!”
“You damn brat!”
Tsunade roared.
“You really know how to disappear!”
“Two years!”
“You didn’t send back a single message for two whole years!”
“The last piece of news I got about you came from Jiraiya!”
“Do you have any idea how worried Grandma Mito and I were?!”
Shikatoki felt warmth spread through his chest.
“Sorry.”
“It won’t happen again.”
“You still want there to be a next time?!”
Seeing Tsunade’s temper rising again, Shikatoki hurriedly waved his hands.
“No, no!”
“I’ve finished everything I needed to do.”
“I’m not leaving Konoha again.”
“Hmph!”
Tsunade finally stopped.
Shikatoki turned toward Hiruzen.
“Lord Hokage.”
“Sorry for disappearing.”
“I’m back.”
Hiruzen smiled.
He clearly had no intention of blaming him.
At this stage of his life, Hiruzen Sarutobi was still the powerful and decisive God of Shinobi.
His position as Hokage was secure, and his political authority was stable.
Moreover, Shikatoki belonged to the Nara Clan— firmly part of the Hokage’s own political faction.
Naturally, Hiruzen was willing to be tolerant toward him.
“It’s good that you’re back.”
“Hiruzen!”
Danzō immediately interrupted.
“Shikatoki Nara is a Konoha shinobi, yet he hasn’t completed a single mission for the village in two years!”
“He also left Konoha without authorisation.”
“His behaviour is practically no different from that of a missing-nin!”
“Hand him over to my Root for punishment!”
Danzō showed absolutely no restraint.
Shikatoki looked at him.
“Root has already been established?”
“Danzō!”
Hiruzen frowned.
“Hiruzen, this must be punished!”
Danzō refused to back down.
“If we let this pass, what happens when everyone starts following his example?!”
Danzō was clearly determined to make trouble for Shikatoki.
Of course— if he could get Shikatoki into Root for research, that would be even better.
He had long coveted Shikatoki’s modified Shadow Imitation Technique, his fūinjutsu, and the strange illusion effect capable of bypassing the Sharingan.
Shikatoki gave Danzō a disdainful glance.
Then he slapped two sealing scrolls onto Hiruzen’s desk.
“Elder Danzō really loves talking big despite contributing absolutely nothing.”
“I, on the other hand, brought gifts home.”
Shikatoki released the seal on one of the scrolls.
Clatter!
“This is…!”
Hiruzen immediately recognised them.
“Kirigakure’s Seven Ninja Swords?!”
“Exactly.”
Shikatoki nodded.
“These seven guys tried to intercept and kill me on the way back.”
“So I killed them instead.”
“These are the spoils.”
“I’m handing them directly over to the village.”
Then he pointed at the second scroll.
“Their bodies are sealed inside that one.”
“I figured their corpses might contain some useful intelligence, so I brought those back too.”
For once—
Danzō had no idea what to say.
He could only snort coldly and turn away.
Hiruzen, meanwhile, was practically beaming.
“Excellent!”
“I like this gift!”
Forget the intelligence that could potentially be extracted from the Seven Ninja Swordsmen’s brains.
The seven blades themselves held enormous importance to Kirigakure.
Whether Konoha used them to equip its own shinobi or as bargaining chips in future negotiations— they were extremely valuable.
“Shikatoki, you’ve only just returned.”
“Go home and rest first.”
Shikatoki nodded.
“Then I’ll be going.”
After leaving the Hokage Building, Shikatoki first returned to the Nara Clan compound and met with his elder uncle, Shikaomi Nara.
Afterward, he accompanied Tsunade to the Senju Clan compound.
The moment he entered— he spotted a familiar face.
“Nawaki!”
“Long time no see!”
Shikatoki waved.
Nawaki’s eyes immediately lit up.
“Shikatoki!”
“You’re finally back!”
“Fight me!”
“I’ve trained like crazy these past two years!”
“I definitely won’t lose to you again!”
Shikatoki patted Nawaki on the shoulder.
“Nawaki, I’ve got something to do today.”
“Next time.”
His Sealing Technique activated.
Nawaki’s chakra was instantly sealed away.
The previously excited Nawaki froze completely.
Then he charged toward Shikatoki in outrage.
“Shikatoki!”
“You cheated!”
“I wasn’t even ready!”
“Hahahaha!”
Shikatoki laughed proudly.
“All is fair in war.”
“Don’t you know that?”
Shikatoki continued toward Mito Uzumaki’s courtyard.
Standing respectfully outside, he called out,
“Grandma Mito!”
“I’m back!”
Mito walked out of the room.
Her appearance had barely changed.
Her smile remained as gentle and affectionate as ever.
“Little Shikatoki.”
“After two whole years, you finally remembered to come home.”
“I was starting to think you’d forgotten about me.”
“How could I?”
Shikatoki hurriedly explained.
“There were just…
a lot of unexpected problems over the past two years.”
“You’ve grown.”
Mito gently rubbed Shikatoki’s head.
“You’re taller too.”
Then she glanced at Tsunade beside him.
The two were already nearly the same height.
Standing together— they actually looked rather well matched.
“Are you leaving again?”
“No!”
“I’m staying this time.”
“If you’re staying, then come visit this old woman more often.”
Mito smiled.
Shikatoki, however, keenly noticed the faint trace of sadness hidden beneath that smile.
He activated Sage Mode.
From the perspective granted by Sage Mode—
Mito’s life force was unmistakably fading.
She probably only had a few years left.
“Grandma Mito…”
Shikatoki hesitated.
“Your body…”
Mito remained completely calm.
“You noticed, Little Shikatoki?”
“Looks like your abilities improved quite a bit over these past two years.”
She smiled faintly.
“You’re right.”
“I’m going to die soon.”
Tsunade stared at her grandmother in disbelief.
“Grandma!”
“What are you talking about?!”
“You look perfectly healthy!”
“That’s only because of the Yin Seal and the Nine-Tails keeping me going.”
Mito spoke calmly.
“I know my own body.”
“At most, I probably have a few years left.”
A trace of sadness appeared in her expression.
“It’s a pity.”
“I probably won’t live long enough to see you and Nawaki get married.”
Tsunade opened her mouth.
Then suddenly declared,
“I’ll go find Nawaki a woman to marry right now!”