Chapter 425: The Golden Skyline That Shocks the Mist (6k)

There was no need for words; Obito knew Kakashi's thoughts just from the look in his eyes.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Obito immediately gathered chakra in his throat, quickly formed hand seals, and spat out a massive ball of flame, hurling it toward Kurotsuchi Raiga, who was closest to them.

Because of the nature of his ninja sword, Kurotsuchi Raiga had focused more on Lightning Release, but as a Kirigakure jonin, he was also quite skilled in Water Release.

Facing the incoming fireball, Kurotsuchi Raiga did not dodge but instead spat out a stream of water to cancel out Obito's Fireball.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!

After Obito released the Fireball, Shisui used it as visual cover and immediately flung several flaming shuriken toward Kurotsuchi Raiga.

Kakashi, who had been building up power, gripped White Light Chakra Saber tightly, converting all the chakra in his legs into Lightning Release chakra to activate his cells and enhance his strength. The moment Kurotsuchi Raiga showed any opening, he would strike with lightning speed.

Due to the gap in strength and reputation, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist did not regard them as real opponents. Kakashi wanted to take this chance to focus fire and take down one of them instantly, which would make the rest of the battle much easier.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"

Biwa Juzo formed hand seals and spat out a water dragon that coiled around Kurotsuchi Raiga, blocking all of Shisui's flaming shuriken and continuing toward Kakashi and the others.

Kakashi sighed inwardly. Even though they weren't seen as opponents, the other party was still the famous Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and their little trick had been seen through.

The next moment, Suikazan Fuguki, Kyogoro Fubuki, Kuriarare Kushimaru, and Kurotsuchi Raiga all drew their swords and charged, intending to finish the battle quickly.

"Eight Gates: First Gate, Gate of Opening, open! Second... Fourth Gate, Gate of Injury, open!" Might Guy roared as he directly opened the fourth gate of the Eight Gates and focused his breathing to the extreme.

Currently, Might Guy could steadily open the fifth gate, but opening the fifth gate wouldn't allow for prolonged combat. In team sparring, that didn't matter, but in a real battle, he couldn't recklessly reveal all his trump cards.

"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"

Might Guy exploded with full power, his figure flickering as he closed in on Kyogoro Fubuki, who was nearest to him, and suddenly kicked out a whirlwind kick.

"Pretty fast, but you've picked the wrong opponent." Kyogoro Fubuki blocked Might Guy's powerful kick with his iron hammer held in front of him, then swung the blade in his left hand toward Might Guy.

He was one of the greatest iron-willed fighters among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen; for Might Guy to try to take him on with taijutsu was pure fantasy.

But Kyogoro Fubuki underestimated Might Guy's control over his body and his combat experience.

Facing the giant blunt blade swinging at him, Might Guy's expression remained unchanged as he adjusted his body to the extreme, dodging the swing, and then struck the iron hammer with a hand blade packed with a massive amount of chakra.

"Leaf Hand Blade!"

Clang!!

The tremendous force sent Kyogoro Fubuki stumbling backward, and his hand gripping the iron hammer was slightly numb from the impact.

Kyogoro Fubuki looked at Might Guy with a hint of surprise on his face.

His ninja sword was forged from various rare materials and was extremely hard. Striking it with a bare palm like that would normally send a shockwave back that could break an ordinary person's bones, yet Might Guy seemed completely unfazed.

"Is his palm made of iron?" The question instinctively popped into Kyogoro Fubuki's mind.

Might Guy's body's toughness was abnormal.

Of course, Kyogoro Fubuki had no idea that Might Guy's Rock Breathing was already quite proficient; when highly focused, it could greatly enhance his body's defense, so he couldn't be judged by ordinary standards.

"Even if your body is made of iron, I can still chop you to pieces!" After a brief moment of surprise, Kyogoro Fubuki regained his composure.

Even if 'made of iron' was just a metaphor, Kyogoro Fubuki could use his blunt blade, Ibuse (Splitting Sword), to chop a real iron man into scrap.

"Flash!"

Although Kurotsuchi Raiga hadn't shown any fatal opening, the arrow was already on the string. Kakashi couldn't bear to waste the power he had built up, especially since his chakra was already limited.

Shwish!

Kakashi, bursting with the Lightning Breathing, shot toward Kurotsuchi Raiga like a bolt of lightning.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Fang!"

Before Kakashi could get close, Kurotsuchi Raiga swung his two lightning swords, generating a torrent of electricity that shot out in all directions, forcing Kakashi to stop abruptly.

His chakra wasn't abundant enough to cover his entire body with Armament Haki for defense.

Swoosh!

After forcing Kakashi to a halt, Kurotsuchi Raiga immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to charge at Kakashi, wielding his two long lightning swords with incredible fluidity, like venomous snakes spitting electricity.

Facing a member of a renowned combination in the ninja world, Kakashi did not dare to be careless. He immediately activated the Transparent World, and the world in his mind changed.

After entering the state of the Transparent World, Kakashi could clearly feel that Kurosuchi Raiga's speed had suddenly slowed down.

Of course, knowing the effect of the Transparent World, Kakashi understood that it wasn't that Kurosuchi Raiga had slowed, but that his own perception had sharpened, and he himself had become faster.

Clang!

Kurosuchi Raiga's swing of the Lightning Sword was easily blocked by Kakashi.

Kurosuchi Raiga, expressionless, swung his swords several times in succession, but each time he was perfectly parried by Kakashi. Despite wielding two long blades, he could not break through the defense built by Kakashi, who held only a short blade.

Every single block Kakashi made was flawless, wasting not a shred of strength, nor allowing Kurosuchi Raiga to touch even a corner of his clothing.

Kurosuchi Raiga frowned slightly. His swordsmanship, while not top-tier in Kirigakure, was still decent—yet here he was, being suppressed by a ten-year-old child.

Although it appeared to be a stalemate between the two, Kurosuchi Raiga had actually fallen into a disadvantage in the swordplay exchange. His every attack was anticipated by Kakashi, as if even the lining of his underwear had been seen through.

Kurosuchi Raiga immediately judged that Kakashi possessed extraordinary talent in swordsmanship. In the era of samurai, he might even have become a sword saint.

"The most important thing for a ninja is still ninjutsu!" Kurosuchi Raiga retreated at high speed, gathered chakra, and used the Lightning Sword in his hand to unleash electricity at Kakashi.

As an assassin, Kurosuchi Raiga was never stubborn. Though it was a bit embarrassing that he couldn't beat a ten-year-old with his many years of sword training, fighting on stubbornly might cost him his life.

In just one minute, Kakashi's White Fang Short Blade had already left two scratches on his body.

Kakashi burst into movement at extreme speed to dodge, a hint of regret appearing on his face.

He had so hoped that Kurosuchi Raiga was a ninja with strong pride, because then Kakashi would have had a better chance of defeating him in a short time.

But unfortunately, ninjas rarely use their pride in combat.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

Obito's Flame Breathing continuously intensified his nature transformation ability. He gathered a large amount of chakra at his throat and quickly converted it into fire-natured chakra, spewing out a vast expanse of flame that rapidly formed a sea of fire.

The sea of fire evaporated the incoming Water Dragon Bullet, while the residual flames split into two small fire dragons that charged toward the approaching Suikazan Fuguki and Kuriarare Kushimaru.

In truth, the Water Dragon Bullet wasn't fast either—just as easy to dodge as a Great Fireball—but the current situation didn't allow Obito to dodge.

Because not every ninja had the ability to fight the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. If he left an opening while dodging, he would fall into great danger.

In order to protect Nohara Rin and the others, Obito had no choice but to use ninjutsu to block the attacks.

Shisui silently activated his Sharingan. His blood-red eyes locked onto Kuriarare Kushimaru and Suikazan Fuguki, and in the next instant, he used the Body Flicker Technique to flash forward—he couldn't let them get any closer.

Under the non-Flame Breathing chakra mode, Obito's Fire Dragon Flame Bullet had limited power. Moreover, since only residual flames remained, Suikazan Fuguki simply swung Samehada lightly and cut the fire in two.

Feeling the intense heat of the flames, Samehada's hilt twisted twice and tapped Suikazan Fuguki's arm in dissatisfaction—it hated such scorching things.

Samehada's blade was very large; normally, this detail shouldn't have been noticed, but Shisui's Three-Tomoe Sharingan caught it, making him think of something.

"Phantom Body Flicker Technique!"

The battle was extremely urgent; Shisui had no time to think further and cast the technique, creating dozens of phantom clones that surrounded Kuriarare Kushimaru and Suikazan Fuguki.

"Shadow Clones? Impossible. He shouldn't have that much chakra." Suikazan Fuguki shook his head.

There were certainly ninjas who could spare chakra to make dozens of Shadow Clones, but those with that level of chakra wouldn't do so, because aside from wasting chakra, it was meaningless.

Swish! Swish!

Kuriarare Kushimaru swung his blade, shaped like a long needle, at tremendous speed, piercing the necks of three of Shisui's clones beside him.

But strangely, the pierced Shisui clones did not disappear, nor did their bodies show any wounds—as if they were illusions.

Just as the two thought all of the Shisuis were intangible phantoms, several other Shisuis actually launched attacks, forcing them to stop their advance.

Obito took the opportunity to shield the three with the weakest combat ability and retreated backward.

"Sharingan, phantoms, real bodies... it must be genjutsu." Kuriarare Kushimaru calmly pieced everything together and instantly reached the answer.

Without a moment's hesitation, Kuriarare Kushimaru struck Suikazan Fuguki with his palm, disrupting the chakra flow in his body and breaking the genjutsu.

After the genjutsu was dispelled, Suikazan Fuguki saw only three Shisuis left—two Shadow Clones and one original body.

"A genius not on the list, huh? Looks like our luck this time is even better than I thought." Suikazan Fuguki immediately returned the gesture and struck Kuriarare Kushimaru with his palm.

Genjutsu cast by the Sharingan cannot be dispelled simply by knowing you are under its effect; the easiest method is to have someone else help.

Shisui, whose ninjutsu had been seen through, wasn't too panicked. His opponents were on the level of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist; Shisui was prepared for his techniques to be countered.

Kuriarare Kushimaru and Fuguki Suikazan exploded with chakra and charged at Shisui. They weren't worried that Obito could escape; the remaining three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist weren't just watching.

"Thinking of abandoning your comrades and running? Too bad, you can't even escape." Using the Water Body Flicker Technique to intercept, Biwa Juzo held the Decapitating Carving Knife horizontally across the road, as if saying 'No passage here.'

Muryō Jinpachi also silently carried the Explosive Blade, Shibuki, and blocked in another direction. The lightly injured Mist Hidden jonin stood beside Muryō Jinpachi.

"Who would abandon a comrade? Don't underestimate us!" Obito shielded Rin Nohara behind him and immediately entered the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode.

At such a time, he couldn't worry about the drain. He had seen Kakashi and Might Guy's fights; every ninja of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist was not to be underestimated. Facing two of them at once, he had no right to be careless.

After all, even Kakashi, giving his all, could only barely surpass them in his area of expertise. The actual outcome of a battle to the end was an unknown.

Obito was well aware of one of their problems: their stamina was too poor; they couldn't fight a prolonged battle.

Actually, this wasn't their flaw. In terms of chakra amount, they had much more than ordinary ninjas of the same age. They just had means far beyond their current level, making their chakra seem insufficient.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Obito didn't form hand seals. In his Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, he easily generated the chakra for the Great Fireball and directly spat out a high-temperature fireball from his mouth.

There were too many enemies; Obito didn't dare waste chakra, so he used the relatively low-consumption Great Fireball.

This seal-less Great Fireball surprised Biwa Juzo a bit, but no matter how much time was saved, the speed of the Great Fireball couldn't be increased. Biwa Juzo easily dodged the Great Fireball and also used his Decapitating Carving Knife to swat away the ninja tools thrown by Ebisu and the others.

"Too weak." Ebisu clenched his fist, a strong sense of powerlessness surging in his heart.

Now he truly understood what it meant to have the will but not the strength. He really wanted to help relieve the pressure on Kakashi and the others, but if he blindly charged in, he would only increase their burden, because they were too weak and could easily be injured or killed.

The ideal state for them was to stand in a safe place and use ninjutsu or tools to assist Kakashi and the others.

To share Obito's burden, Rin Nohara stepped forward to deal with Biwa Juzo, allowing Obito to spare energy to handle Muryō Jinpachi and the Mist Hidden jonin.

Rin Nohara didn't have strength like Kakashi and the others, but with the assistance of Shiranui Genma and Ebisu, temporarily stalling one person was not a problem.

Because he was in the Transparent World, Kakashi could observe the entire battlefield situation very well.

"As expected, this is an unprecedented crisis." Fine sweat beaded on Kakashi's forehead.

The battle had just begun, and they were already at a huge disadvantage.

With the enemy still having one member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist waiting without attacking, they were nearly in a desperate situation.

With four Gates, Might Guy couldn't gain an advantage over Jinin Akebino. Even after Kakashi went all out, he got no benefit after Raiga Kurosuki became cautious.

Shisui struggled to cope under the combined assault of Kuriarare Kushimaru and Fuguki Suikazan, and his situation was very dangerous.

Obito in Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, plus the assistance of Rin Nohara and the others, could only barely block the combined attack of Biwa Juzo, Muryō Jinpachi, and the Mist Hidden jonin.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist didn't even need the remaining members to act; they just needed to hold out a little longer, and Kakashi's team would be unable to withstand.

Moreover, Kakashi saw that the remaining member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen didn't seem to be idling; his ninja sword was emitting chakra light, as if charging up for an attack.

It was no exaggeration to call this situation a dead end.

"Eight Gates: Fifth Gate, Gate of Closing, open!" The situation was too critical; Might Guy couldn't think further and directly entered the fifth Gate of the Eight Gates, his chakra suddenly surging again.

"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"

Might Guy's powerful kick sent Jinin Akebino, who had been locked in combat with him, flying back. He then burst forward at top speed toward the besieged Shisui.

Shisui, facing a two-on-one assault, was now very disheveled, with multiple scratch marks on his body from the long sword, sewing needle, and steel wire.

Seitei Hōhei immediately aimed the Twin Swords, Hiramekarei, at Might Guy and fired a chakra sphere at him.

"Guy, watch out!" Having immediately sensed the attack, Kakashi quickly warned Might Guy.

Swish!

Might Guy burst chakra from his feet, leaving an afterimage at the spot, and his whole body shot out like a green light.

Boom! Boom!!

The chakra sphere struck Might Guy's afterimage, causing a violent explosion. After a cloud of yellow sand, a large crater was left in the spot.

Kakashi frowned slightly. An attack of this level would necessarily cause severe injury unless one covered most of the body with Armament Haki.

Now, thanks to the Transparent World, he could not only dodge himself but also warn his teammates in time. But what about after he had no stamina left to maintain the Transparent World?

Kakashi was not a gambler, but at this moment he realized that their only chance of survival was for the commotion here to be noticed by a powerful Konoha ninja.

It had to be a Konoha ninja who discovered them first, and not just any Konoha ninja—they had to be powerful; otherwise, being discovered was useless.

"That spiked sword can absorb chakra—you have to deal with it using pure taijutsu," Shisui warned, panting heavily.

If not for his three-tomoe Sharingan and excellent Body Flicker technique, an ordinary Konoha jonin would have already died under the combined attack of the two.

Might Guy nodded, committing the information to memory. He pushed his Rock Breathing to its limit, and unleashing his full strength, he kicked out a whirlwind leg toward Fuguki, forcing him back.

Shisui roughly guessed what Might Guy was thinking, and with his exhausted body, he did his utmost to block Kuriarare.

Now that Might Guy had opened the Fifth Gate of the Eight Gates, he was the absolute strongest in their team and the one most likely to defeat a member of the Seven Swordsmen. Shisui had to create an opportunity for Might Guy.

Might Guy felt an unprecedented urgency. He had to defeat a member of the Seven Swordsmen as soon as possible; otherwise, without outside intervention, death was certain.

The repelled Jinpachi did not pursue Might Guy; instead, he targeted Kakashi, who was nearest to him. This time, Kakashi was under pressure from a two-on-one assault.

Fortunately, Jinpachi was the type Kakashi was good at dealing with. Jinpachi had great strength, but if he couldn't land a hit, even the greatest strength was meaningless.

With the support of the Transparent World, Kakashi did not quickly fall into a major disadvantage; he simply switched from offense to defense.

However, the recharged Qingti Fengbi put great pressure on Kakashi. In the midst of their close combat, he might not be able to dodge the chakra spheres fired by the Hiramekarei.

"Golden Horizon!"

Seeing the situation grow increasingly dire, Might Guy couldn't help but use the strongest ninjutsu he currently could perform.

Might Guy pulled out a tonfa, gripping the body with his left hand and the chain of the single-section staff with his right. Then he spread his legs slightly, turned his body to the right, and simultaneously placed his left hand in front and his right hand behind his waist, extending his index and middle fingers.

Might Guy had practiced this movement countless times over the past year. He completed everything with incredible speed and then charged at Fuguki.

During the charge, Might Guy's left hand performed a sword-drawing motion, pulling his right hand forward to slash, ultimately drawing a fine golden line.

Fuguki raised Samehada to block, but he realized Shisui was looking at him.

Staring into Shisui's three-tomoe Sharingan, Fuguki faltered for a moment.

Under normal circumstances, such a lapse would have no effect—it wouldn't even make someone stumble—but in high-intensity combat, it was fatal.

Boom!!

With a loud noise, a spray of blood burst forth. A bloody hole appeared in Fuguki's abdomen, and he was sent flying backward, blood splattering all over the ground.

This sudden turn of events shocked the other members of the Seven Swordsmen.

Fuguki was considered one of the stronger members

"Impossible, that's Lord Suikazan Hebite." The Mist Hidden jonin fighting Obito was greatly startled.

At this moment, he felt extremely fortunate that he wasn't strong enough for Kakashi and the others to go all out.

If Obito's Flame Breathing chakra mode and Might Guy's Golden Horizon had been used against him from the start, he probably wouldn't have lasted even a minute, and would have died before the Seven Ninja Swordsmen arrived.

"I misjudged you. Calling you weaklings is indeed inappropriate." Jūzō Biwa began to regard these young Leaf ninja seriously.

There are differences even among prodigies. Though young, the strength displayed by Obito, Kakashi, Might Guy, and Shisui earned Jūzō Biwa's recognition; he considered them opponents worth fighting.

Jūzō Biwa could only describe the performance of Kakashi and his three teammates as astonishing.

Ten-year-old children holding off two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—even just one minute was enough to be proud of. They were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen who terrified countless ninja across the world, not some nameless nobodies from any village.

However, such cooperation did not come without a cost.

The next moment, Kushimaru Kuriarare's long needle thrust toward Shisui's heart.

But contrary to Kushimaru Kuriarare's expectations, he failed to pierce Shisui's body; Shisui's chest seemed to have an extremely hard iron plate.

Kushimaru Kuriarare was an experienced ninja. Since the chest was protected, he would target another spot.

Gripping the hilt, Kushimaru Kuriarare slashed forcefully toward the abdomen, leaving a long, narrow bloody wound on Shisui's body.

Immediately afterward, Kushimaru Kuriarare retreated quickly because Might Guy was charging in.

Kushimaru Kuriarare had no desire to directly clash with a taijutsu expert capable of knocking back Suikazan Hebite with a single blow.

"Shisui!" Might Guy looked at the blood seeping from Shisui's abdomen, his heart burning with fury.

Shisui let out a breath and shook his head, indicating that he was fine.

Although it looks terrible, compared to Suikazan Hōzuki, his injuries are very light; this operation plan was very successful.

"As repayment for saving your life, offer up your chakra." Muri Shinpachi gestured for the Kirigakure Jōnin to go over to Suikazan Hōzuki.

The Kirigakure Jōnin knew a little about the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, understood Muri Shinpachi's intention, and used the Body Flicker Technique to go beside Samehada.