More than ten kilometres away— Senju Akira forced his trembling body upright and looked back over his shoulder.
“Elder Shigure!
I’ll return to the clan as quickly as possible and inform the clan leader!” His eyes were bloodshot as he forced his chakra-depleted body into motion and raced towards the Senju compound.
Akira had no idea what kind of desperate situation Shigure would face after his departure.
However, the thought of those several hundred enemy shinobi filled him with dread.
Could one person possibly fight that many shinobi?
Deep down, Akira already knew the answer.
This is all my fault!
I dragged Elder Shigure into this!
Regret gnawed at his heart.
He desperately wanted to turn around and help, but he forced himself to resist the impulse.
Faster!
He had to move faster!
Drawing upon every last reserve of physical strength, Akira continued accelerating towards the Senju compound.
… Back on the battlefield, the dense white mist was gradually dissipating.
Gengetsu Hōzuki appeared to have reached an agreement with Shariki.
Although clearly unwilling, he moved behind the fish-faced shinobi.
The force under Gengetsu’s command then divided into two groups and merged with the shinobi positioned on either flank.
Shariki’s weapon was a gigantic sword wrapped entirely in bandages.
Shigure needed only a single glance to recognise it.
Isn’t that Samehada?
Could these seven be the predecessors of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?
Samehada was not the only weapon he recognised.
Six other unusually shaped blades were also being carried by shinobi scattered throughout the crowd.
While the enemy quietly discussed their next move, Shigure prepared to slip away.
Swish!
At that moment, an extraordinarily slender blade appeared before him without warning.
It cut through the air with almost no resistance, producing barely a whisper of sound.
Bang!
Fortunately, Shigure’s mastery of the Three Basic Techniques far surpassed that of an ordinary shinobi.
Almost the instant the blade struck, his body transformed into a broken log pierced straight through the middle.
Shigure himself narrowly reappeared atop another tree.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Several figures rapidly closed in on him.
They were the seven Hōzuki shinobi wielding the unusual ninja swords.
“You’re quick!” Among the approaching swordsmen, a masked shinobi sounded genuinely surprised.
“If you can escape Nuibari’s first strike, then you’re worthy of my attention.” With a single pull of his hand, the slender blade returned to him in the blink of an eye.
“Don’t let your guard down, Chōmaru,” Shariki warned after landing opposite Shigure.
He raised the enormous sword resting on his shoulder and held it before him.
“Relax!
If he can still escape after being surrounded by all seven of us, then he must be a Kage-level shinobi!” “Heh… To think a half-dead old man made us go to so much trouble!
I’m going to cut off his head once we catch him.” Faced with the swordsmen’s excessive confidence, Shigure pulled several gleaming explosive tags from his clothes.
“You bunch of dumbasses!” He tilted his head back even more arrogantly than they had and casually picked his nose, his expression filled with contempt.
“Now I’ll show you brats my prototype of the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags!” With that, he tossed the explosive tags into the air.
Faint chakra threads could be seen connecting them.
This was another of Shigure’s inventions.
By connecting several explosive tags with chakra threads, he could delay their detonations and make them explode one after another.
The tags he had thrown were essentially a chain of timed bombs.
If the enemy tried to knock them aside with their weapons, they would be met with a succession of explosions.
“A petty trick!
Hmph!” One of the swordsmen sneered disdainfully at the approaching tags.
The greatsword in his hands suddenly flickered and launched several scarlet fireballs.
Boom!
A violent explosion erupted, blasting the surrounding trees into splintered branches and debris.
“Rasengan!” Seizing the opening, Shigure used the Body Flicker Technique and appeared behind Chōmaru.
A sphere of swirling blue chakra slammed directly into the masked shinobi’s back.
Shigure had trained the Body Flicker Technique to the point where he could use it almost at will.
His hand-seal speed was equally extraordinary.
Together, those abilities made his surprise attacks exceptionally difficult to counter.
Bang!
Shigure did not even glance at Chōmaru as the swordsman was hurled away.
His hands paused for only an instant before another Rasengan appeared in each palm.
At close range, few single-target ninjutsu could rival the Rasengan’s destructive power.
Shigure charged towards two more swordsmen and thrust both Rasengans at them simultaneously.
The two shinobi swung their greatswords together, bringing the blades down against the Rasengans.
Boom!
Boom!
The collisions produced two violent shock waves.
However, the instant Shigure saw that his attacks had been blocked, he used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished.
He had no intention of remaining entangled with them.
“Chōmaru is badly wounded!” Shigure’s surprise attack had successfully removed the swordsman who posed the greatest threat to him.
That had been his primary objective from the beginning.
Nuibari’s nearly silent attacks were simply too dangerous.
Even with Shigure’s sensory ability, the blade remained a considerable threat.
Eliminating Chōmaru from the battle had deprived the enemy of one of their greatest advantages.
Shigure reappeared some distance away, but his brow remained tightly furrowed.
He did not lower his guard in the slightest.
His senses detected a dense mass of shinobi closing in around him.
They clearly intended to trap him there and crush him through sheer numbers.
“In that case… I’ll give you another combination ninjutsu!” Having made his decision, Shigure immediately retreated at full speed.
He could not afford to remain locked in battle with these swordsmen.
Once the surrounding force completed its encirclement, he might truly die here.
The remaining six swordsmen pursued him closely.
However, Shigure casually threw several explosive tags behind him.
The threat of another chain of explosions forced the six men to slow down, allowing him to open some distance between them.
Sensing a concentration of enemy shinobi not far ahead, Shigure began forming hand seals once more.
“Wind–Fire Coiling Dragon Technique!” A vast torrent of wind, interwoven with rolling flames, swept forwards once again.
Shigure pushed his speed to the absolute limit.
Charge!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
As he raced forwards, an overwhelming barrage of kunai descended upon him like a swarm of locusts.
The sight made his heart leap into his throat.
They’ve really turned me into their damned prey!
Relying on his exceptional sensory ability, Shigure dodged one kunai after another.
Pfft!
Eventually, one kunai approaching from a particularly difficult angle slipped past his defences and buried itself deeply in his shoulder.
“Fuck!
I’m supposed to survive until the very end!
How the hell could I die here?!” The agonising pain jolted his nerves.
Shigure forced himself to accelerate once more and broke through the terrifying rain of kunai.
Grimacing in pain, he continued fleeing.
He pulled the kunai from his shoulder and hastily wrapped the wound.
“This has really gotten out of hand!” Blood continued seeping through the makeshift bandage, and Shigure could feel his physical strength gradually draining away.
Yet the pursuers behind him formed a vast, dark tide.
They had no intention of giving him even a moment to rest.
Just as Shigure racked his brains without finding any solution, familiar writing suddenly appeared within his mind.
[The Host has intervened in and altered an event in shinobi history: Senju Akira’s fate.] [Reward: 20 World Points.] … Author’s Note : Want to keep reading?
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