Chapter 624: In the Hidden Leaf teaching, the system says I am Tsunade's student, Chapter 406

It was undoubtedly Ranmaru.

Because of his Red Eye, Ranmaru was used by Raiga Kurosuki as his second pair of eyes.

The combination of him and Raiga Kurosuki reminded Kitazawa of Zabuza Momochi and Haku.

Moreover, both Ranmaru and Haku were mistaken for girls because of their good looks.

It was quite subtle.

Kitazawa stroked his chin.

From the feedback of his Byakugan, it was Juzo Biwa and Raiga Kurosuki who were fighting.

As fellow members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, why were they fighting?

And why was Konan, the White Tiger of the Akatsuki, watching?

It is well known that Konan is the Akatsuki's housekeeper and head of the Human Resources Department.

In the original story, it was she who recruited the rogue ninja Sasori of the Hidden Sand into the Akatsuki.

So, the cause and effect of this battle were easy to guess.

Konan had first found Juzo Biwa and persuaded him to join the Akatsuki.

Juzo Biwa then brought Konan to find Raiga Kurosuki.

But Raiga Kurosuki refused to join the Akatsuki, and so he and Juzo Biwa began to fight.

Kitazawa fell into deep thought.

In the original story, Raiga Kurosuki never joined the Akatsuki.

Kitazawa felt that he had been scared witless by Might Dai, lacked ambition, and only wanted to lord over the gold mines of the Land of Rivers.

But how did he escape Konan and Juzo Biwa?

Was it because of Ranmaru?

Regardless, Kitazawa decided to go over and take a look.

After all, he needed to know that Raiga Kurosuki was also his target.

As the distance closed, Kitazawa could already hear the sound of blades clashing and the piercing roar of thunder.

A moment later, he saw lightning flashing in the distance, with massive amounts of thunderbolts falling from the sky.

From their name, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist might lead an uninformed ninja to believe that all seven were elite jonin specializing in taijutsu and swordsmanship.

But in reality, that was not the case.

For instance, Raiga Kurosuki was a pure Lightning Style ninja.

The Kiba blades he held were one of the seven ninja swords, and their greatest function was to draw lightning.

Juzo Biwa, on the other hand, focused primarily on swordsmanship.

Wielding the massive Kubikiribocho, he dodged lightning while attempting to close in on Raiga Kurosuki.

But every one of his attacks ended in vain.

Because Raiga Kurosuki—or rather, Ranmaru—had anticipated all of his movements in advance.

"Hahaha!"

Raiga Kurosuki laughed and said, "Juzo, Itachi are no longer my match!"

Juzo Biwa's expression darkened upon hearing this.

Although he was deeply annoyed, he could not refute it.

With Ranmaru's help, Raiga Kurosuki's strength had surged significantly.

After all, the Red Eye functioned similarly to the Byakugan; with Ranmaru on his back, he essentially carried a map hack.

"Are Itachi still unwilling to join the Akatsuki?"

At that moment, Konan, standing behind Juzo Biwa, spoke up.

"What Akatsuki? I've never even heard of it!"

Raiga Kurosuki raised an eyebrow and snorted, "I defected from the Hidden Mist Village precisely so I wouldn't be ordered around by anyone else!"

"Is that so?"

Konan raised her hand.

The Akatsuki did not need the loyalty of its members, only their strength, so she still intended to resort to physical persuasion.

A massive amount of paper scraps flew into the sky like flower petals.

The next second, a pair of paper wings extended from her back.

With a flap of her wings, Konan took to the air.

"She can fly?"

Raiga Kurosuki's expression turned grave.

The number of ninjas in the world capable of free flight could be counted on one hand.

Yet every one of them was a powerhouse.

Because ninjutsu had a limit to its effective range.

Flying high enough into the sky led to a single outcome.

Ninjas on the ground could not reach her, but she could launch attacks from above.

In the original story, the battle between Deidara and Gaara demonstrated this clearly.

The Hidden Sand Village was full of experts, but because Deidara could fly, they were helpless, even resorting to massive crossbows.

But it was of little use, and in the end, they could only watch helplessly as their Kazekage was forcibly taken away.

Raiga Kurosuki did not hesitate to raise his twin blades.

A dazzling bolt of lightning from the sky struck toward Konan.

Konan flapped her wings and accelerated sharply, soaring into the high altitude.

Raiga Kurosuki frowned slightly, crossed his blades, and a massive sphere of lightning headed toward her.

But it plummeted to the ground once it reached its maximum range in mid-air.

"Let's go!"

Seeing this, Raiga Kurosuki said without hesitation, "Ranmaru, guide me, let's shake them off."

With that, he turned and ran.

"Trying to run?"

Juzo Biwa's muscles bulged as he swung his arm with force, sending the Kubikiribocho spinning through the air like a helicopter rotor.

"To the left."

Ranmaru's youthful voice rang out.

Raiga Kurosuki didn't even look as he easily dodged the Kubikiribocho.

A whistling sound pierced the air.

Konan waved her hand, and a sky full of paper shuriken rained down.

"Attack."

Ranmaru waited until they entered the attack range before speaking.

Raiga Kurosuki immediately crossed his blades and then pulled them apart.

Brilliant lightning surged from his blades, engulfing the incoming paper shuriken.

"Ahead is complex terrain."

Ranmaru spoke again.

Every small nation in the ninja world possessed its own unique characteristics.

The Land of Rain was perpetually rainy.

The Land of Rivers, however, preserved much of its natural landscape and was a country with very complex terrain.

Hidden Mist Jutsu!

Raiga Kurosuki immediately sheathed his blades and performed hand seals.

In an instant, a massive amount of mist erupted, centering on him.

His body vanished into the mist.

"Damn it!"

Seeing this, Juzo Biwa gave chase.

Konan frowned.

The Hidden Mist Jutsu was a technique that every ninja from the Hidden Mist Village was required to master.

The dense mist could perfectly obscure an enemy's line of sight.

Coupled with the Silent Killing technique they practiced from childhood, it could cause terrifying damage.

It was a signature tactic of the Hidden Mist.

Everyone knew better than to fight a Hidden Mist ninja inside the mist.

Konan waved her hands.

A massive number of paper shuriken disappeared into the mist, but such blind bombardment was destined to be futile.

Konan lowered her hands; the hope now rested on Juzo Biwa.

Judging from the battle just now, Raiga Kurosuki's strength was superior.

But as long as Juzo Biwa could force Raiga Kurosuki out of the mist, it would be enough.

Konan stood in the sky, looking down.

Once Raiga Kurosuki appeared, she would launch a thunderous assault.

But at that moment, the mist suddenly dispersed.

Konan raised her hand, her eyes narrowing, but she did not launch an attack.

Because apart from Juzo Biwa, Raiga Kurosuki had already vanished without a trace.

"Damn it! He got away!"

Juzo Biwa said with extreme frustration.

He had just joined the Akatsuki and was eager to make a name for himself, yet he couldn't even take down Raiga Kurosuki.

Clearly, half a month ago, their strength had been on par.

But the current Raiga Kurosuki seemed to have grown an extra pair of eyes, rendering all of his attacks completely ineffective.

"A pity."

Konan said with an expressionless face.

Raiga Kurosuki's strength was decent; if he joined the Akatsuki, he would have been a rare asset.

Moreover, she had already detected Ranmaru's presence.

This was essentially a "buy one, get two free" deal.

But unfortunately, they ultimately failed to capture Raiga Kurosuki.

"Let's go."

Konan quickly regained her composure.

For the Akatsuki, the loss of a Raiga Kurosuki would not affect anything.

Since he was so difficult to catch, there was no need to waste any more time.

After all, she had other targets to pursue.