Three-Tails Isobu lifted his head and looked down on Utakata, who now seemed taller than him. The form felt awkward, but for now it would do.
It wasn't that he didn't want to grow bigger—he just remembered what Yuto had said. Isobu shrank his neck… mostly out of fear of getting smacked.
Swaggering, Isobu crawled to Utakata's feet and lightly tapped his toe. A faint stream of chakra slipped into Utakata's body.
Utakata blinked at the motion, then, finding nothing wrong, slowly exhaled.
Inside Utakata's consciousness—
The coiled Six-Tails Saiken suddenly pushed two auxiliary eyes out from its body and stared toward the outside of the seal.
Isobu!
Saiken was stunned, slow to process what it was seeing.
What happened? Why is Isobu here?
Catching the dazed look in Saiken's gaze, Isobu's eyes flashed with smug delight.
For tailed beasts, nothing's sweeter than seeing another one worse off than yourself.
"Yo, Saiken. Long time no see."
Isobu imitated Yuto's tone, showing off as he spoke.
——
Before Yuto even reached the training field, the clash of weapons rang out sharp and constant.
On the grounds, Zabuza was trading blows with Suigetsu.
Everyone else stood just outside the lines, watching with bright, eager eyes.
Among the Five Great Villages, both Kumo and Kiri were notoriously warlike.
Kumo was a straight-up brawler's land—the realm of muscleheads.
Kiri? When it got serious, it chopped its own people. That said enough.
This fight was nearing its end. Even with a secret technique like Suika no Jutsu (Hydrification Technique) to rely on, Suigetsu lagged far behind Zabuza in both experience and overall strength.
Even wielding Kabutowari (Blunt Sword: Kabutowari)—a weapon that somewhat counters the Kubikiribōchō (Decapitation Blade)—he still wasn't Zabuza's match.
Seeing this, Yuto's eyes curved with a faint smile. Looked like Suigetsu had given up on chasing the Decapitation Blade.
Otherwise, with his personality, he'd never put down Kabutowari until he'd beaten that obsession.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen were now up to five members.
Broken Blade, Kubikiribōchō (Decapitation Blade) — Zabuza.
Shibuki (Blastsword: Shibuki) — Ranmaru.
Kabutowari (Blunt Sword: Kabutowari) — Suigetsu.
Kiba (Thunder Swords: Kiba) — Ameyuri.
Hiramekarei (Twin Swords: Hiramekarei) — Chojuro.
All that remained were Samehada (Greatsword: Samehada), currently in Kisame's hands, and Nuibari (Longsword: Nuibari), which had no user for the time being.
As for Nuibari's user, Yuto already had the perfect candidate—just not someone in Kirigakure.
Thump!
A dull boom sounded from the center of the field. Suigetsu was swatted away by a single strike from Zabuza.
Suigetsu lost!
"No wonder you're Zabuza-senpai," Suigetsu said with a wry smile, rubbing his numb forearm.
Ameyuri, off to the side, bared her slightly sharp little teeth at Zabuza.
Clearly, the next bout was going to be Ameyuri versus Zabuza.
"Yuto-sama!"
Kimimaro appeared at Yuto's side and bowed.
The call drew everyone's eyes at once.
Ameyuri froze, then hurried over to Yuto, face lit with delight.
The others were no slower. In moments, they were all standing respectfully by Yuto.
"Your recovery looks good, Kimimaro," Yuto said with a smile, studying his complexion.
Then he lifted his gaze, swept it across the group, and frowned slightly. "Where's Ranmaru?"
"Um… Yuto-sama, Haruna asked him to go with her," Ameyuri said, cheeks flushing.
Haruna?
Hearing the name, Yuto pictured the little girl with the oil-smeared mouth.
He had to admit—she'd left quite the impression.
Yuto waved to show he didn't mind.
Ranmaru wasn't that old—about the same age as Haruna. If he found a friend here in Kiri, Yuto figured that was something to be happy about.
Plus, among peers, that little gremlin Haruna had some sharp wits. Ranmaru might pick up a thing or two from her—maybe something useful in future battles.
The thought flickered and passed.
He raised his head to face the Five Swordsmen present, plus Kimimaro and Haku. What came next didn't really involve Ranmaru.
"Since everyone's here but Ranmaru, I'll keep it simple," Yuto said.
The tone alone tightened all their faces.
Yuto-sama clearly had something important to announce.
"You've all seen the power inside Ranmaru," Yuto said, smiling as he watched their sudden seriousness.
Zabuza's eyelids twitched, his mind recalling that unforgettable, violent force.
When he'd first returned to Konoha and learned there was a kid among the Seven, his mood hadn't been great, to put it mildly.
The title "Seven Ninja Swordsmen" was not to be sullied, in Zabuza's eyes—so of course he fought Ranmaru.
The result had shocked him.
Ranmaru was the toughest opponent Zabuza had ever faced. He'd rather fight two Kakashi than deal with Ranmaru again.
Overwhelming power, flawless speed—once you stepped into his range, Zabuza was almost crushed on contact. Technique meant nothing in the face of absolute power and speed.
If not for his deep well of experience, Zabuza wouldn't have lasted ten moves. Kiri's Kiri Ansatsu-jutsu (Silent Killing) was completely countered by Ranmaru's red eyes.
Defensive and binding ninjutsu? Almost useless. Shibuki's explosive force simply blew them apart.
And Ranmaru's iron body didn't even fear the blast's aftershock.
Right now, the strongest among the five present Swordsmen was the youngest brat of the bunch.
For proud fighters like Zabuza and Ameyuri, that was a blow. Even laid-back Chojuro had started training hard after being pushed by Ranmaru's performance.
That's why they'd been haunting the training field nonstop.
Their expressions only deepened the smile in Yuto's eyes.
What he needed was fighting spirit. Only those burning with it could become truly strong—and Yuto intended to forge the Seven Ninja Swordsmen into Kirigakure's strongest combat force.
That time when Guy's dad wiped out half of them in one go had shamed the entire group.
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