The Land of Fire.
With its temperate climate, flat terrain, and extremely abundant resources, had always been a strategically vital location coveted by the other great nations.
In fact.
Ever since the death of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, the great Ninja Villages had been eyeing this fertile land greedily. It was only due to Konoha's formidable strength that they had been unable to fulfill their wishes.
Night fell.
Border region of the Land of Fire.
Three figures were swiftly moving through a dense forest.
It was the temporary action squad composed of Sora, Yagura, and Mei.
The three advanced at high speed towards the northwest. Soon, the trees in the dense forest began to thin out.
In the distance,
A wide road became faintly visible.
"Ahead is the main road used for transporting supplies. There's a high chance of Konoha's patrols. Sora, Mei, be careful!"
Yagura warned in a low voice.
He had been on the front lines the longest, knew the situation best, and held the highest rank, so he naturally took command of the team.
"Understood."
Sora nodded.
Mei, beside him, took a nervous deep breath, muttering under her breath, "Hopefully, that dead fatso Fuguki finds Jiraiya first. Saves us from taking the initial brunt of the attack."
Mei had not a single good impression of Fuguki. Back during her first Chunin Exams, it was that dead fatso who made her fail the written exam with a wave of 'psychological attack'.
Even after all these years, the young woman still hadn't forgotten this 'deep-seated grudge'!
"Terumi Mei!"
Yagura, for once, glared at the girl sternly, "Fuguki-san is, no matter what, a senior in the village. You should show him some respect!"
"Hmph!"
Mei snorted coldly but didn't retort further. She didn't dare talk back to Yagura. Despite her senior brother's usual gentle and elegant demeanor, like a good-tempered gentleman, he was actually prone to violent outbursts. When he lost his temper, he was far more ruthless than that dead fatso Fuguki.
Sora listened to the bickering between the senior brother and junior sister with interest.
As for the originally planned members, Fuguki and Juzo, they had left the team to rendezvous with the other five swordsmen after entering the mission area.
In Kirigakure, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were a unique entity… powerful and cliquish. They typically carried out missions within their own group, refusing to include other Ninjas.
This could basically be understood as the Seven Swordsmen being arrogant and looking down on the 'rookie' Ninjas from their own village, considering everyone else dead weight.
Therefore,
After entering the general area where Jiraiya was likely to appear according to intelligence, Fuguki and Juzo left the team to operate separately.
Moreover, while Fuguki was tolerable, Juzo had been thoroughly beaten by Sora. On the way here, just seeing Sora made his scalp tingle and his entire body feel uncomfortable.
Now that they had a legitimate reason to operate separately, they naturally kept as much distance as possible.
As for Sora, Yagura, and Mei, they were assigned as the force for 'besieging the point to attack reinforcements'. Simply put, the Seven Swordsmen would take down Jiraiya head-on, while Sora's team was responsible for holding off any Konoha's Ninjas who came to support upon hearing the news.
Put more plainly, it was about grabbing credit.
The Seven Swordsmen stuck together and excluded others to prevent the credit for killing Jiraiya from being shared.
Regarding this,
Both Yagura and Mei felt very displeased. But since their status wasn't as high as Fuguki, who is the head of the Intelligence Division, they could only grit their teeth and follow orders.
Sora, however, watched coldly from the sidelines, looking very much like he was waiting for a show.
In reality,
It wasn't just watching a show… it was schadenfreude.
After all,
Based on the original plot, if nothing unexpected happened during this mission, then something unexpected was very likely to happen to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
It must be known that the members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were the most powerful Elite Jonin in Kirigakure, including even the Kage-level head of the Intelligence Division, Fuguki, and Juzo, who would later defect from Kirigakure and join the Akatsuki.
Therefore, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen normally operated separately. They only gathered together for extremely difficult S-Rank missions.
However,
Throughout the year, there were very few missions that required all seven legendary blades to gather.
So, probabilistically speaking, the chance of Fuguki and the others, with their apparent bad luck, running into Might Duy was quite high.
'Grabbing credit?'
Sora shook his head. He thought the Seven Swordsmen should be more pragmatic and focus on how to have more survivors when facing Konoha's cheaters!
As they moved-
Hum~ Hum~
Hum~ Hum~
Just as the three were about to leave the forest, sharp, whistling sounds suddenly erupted.
"Fang Passing Fang!!!"
Instantly,
The situation changed dramatically.
Within the forest.
Four small, rotating whirlwinds abruptly formed, sweeping directly towards the path of the three.
"Watch out!"
"Konoha's Ninjas!"
Yagura shouted a warning. He recognized the incoming attack immediately, it was none other than the signature technique of Konoha's Inuzuka Clan, Fang Passing Fang!!!