The Kaguya clan charged forward like a pack of madmen, rushing in all at once.
Shiki watched the scene and let out a helpless sigh.
"Honestly… what a bunch of lunatics. I even gave you a chance to live."
He truly felt this group suited his taste.
Unfortunately, they were not just reckless. They were blind too.
Otherwise…
He would have been leading their charge himself.
"What a waste." Shiki shook his head and stepped forward.
"You're going in?" Mei Terumī asked as soon as she saw him move.
Shiki nodded. "Yeah. I'm a mercenary, aren't I? If I don't make my move now, then when am I supposed to?"
Am I supposed to wait until you've all killed each other first?
"Be careful," Mei Terumī said seriously. "These people are completely insane."
"No," Shiki corrected her with a faint grin. "They're desperadoes."
A solemn look passed through Mei Terumī's eyes.
The Kaguya Clan was truly powerful.
Even if their current generation had declined somewhat and lacked a true Kage-level fighter, the clan's overall strength was still terrifying. A clan with only a few hundred members had produced ten elite jōnin.
That was something almost no other shinobi clan could achieve.
Relying on their Shikotsumyaku, they were nearly unmatched among their peers and could even challenge opponents above their level.
Without that kind of strength, they never would have dared to rebel.
Nor would Kirigakure have targeted them so heavily.
The Kaguya clan surged forward with terrifying momentum.
They were all shinobi, and now that they had cast aside life and death, none of them hesitated to burn through the last of their strength.
In the blink of an eye, they closed the distance with wild, bloodthirsty cries.
"Kill every last one of them!"
"Hahaha! Send those Kirigakure bastards to hell!"
"Show them the power of the Kaguya clan!"
Their killing intent crashed forward like a tidal wave.
It was savage. Ferocious.
They looked chaotic, but these were not bandits or rabble.
They were elite killers.
And every single one of them was dangerous.
"They're here…" Rin Nohara whispered from behind Shiki.
Shiki casually drew the sword at his waist.
A dark sheen slowly spread over both his arm and the blade as Armament Haki coated them.
Then he swung.
A streak of golden sword light tore across the ground.
The enormous slash ripped forward, devouring everything in its path along with the blinding wave of sword energy.
In an instant, the sky full of battle cries vanished.
Silence fell.
"They're… gone…"
Rin Nohara murmured blankly. She had already seen this kind of power during the Third Shinobi War, but even now, it still left her in awe.
Mei Terumī and the others said nothing.
Before them, the enormous clan grounds had been erased by a single strike, flattened until the entire area looked unnaturally bare.
The many buildings that should have stood there were simply gone.
It was almost like a mirage.
But what made their hearts go cold was not just the destruction of the village itself.
It was the fact that the Kaguya clan's elite had also vanished completely under that one swing of Shiki's blade.
"So this is the power of the legendary Golden Lion…" Mei Terumī's heart sank. She could not even imagine how someone was supposed to fight a monster like this.
"Alright. That takes care of it." Shiki gave a light chuckle and slowly sheathed his sword.
"Now then…"
He deliberately dragged out the words, amusement flashing in his eyes.
"Aren't you all going to come out already? If you keep waiting around…"
His smile deepened.
"…you might miss your chance."
After hearing that, Mei Terumī stayed silent.
Mero stayed silent.
Hikari. Zabuza.
Everyone remained silent.
Then, after a brief pause—
"Come out," Mei Terumī said with a tired sigh. "There's no point hiding anymore. Not if we want any chance at all."
One after another, shinobi began stepping out from the shadows around them.
Shiki swept his gaze over them.
Most were unfamiliar faces, but there were some he recognized.
Ao, with his Byakugan.
The Six-Tails' jinchūriki.
And several others.
Of course, this was not all of Kirigakure's strength.
Among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, only the three from earlier were present.
The Fourth Mizukage was absent as well, and no one knew where he was.
There were quite a few skilled shinobi here.
And a lot of cannon fodder too.
"So this is what you prepared for me?" Shiki smiled faintly. "With just this much, you're not seriously thinking you can beat me here, are you?"
"Or did you think the Kaguya clan could wear me down first?"
Mei Terumī stayed silent.
Because that really had been part of their plan.
Shiki was a shinobi of Konoha.
Not just any shinobi, either, but one whose name had already become legend.
Back in the Third Shinobi War, even the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had been little more than children before him. He had crushed them personally.
A man like that suddenly appearing in Kirigakure, asking to work as a mercenary…
There was no way Mei Terumī would not be on guard.
The moment Mero and the others learned Shiki's identity, they had contacted her at once.
After that, they gathered every force they could mobilize without hesitation.
No one knew what Shiki's true goal was.
But if they wanted to prevent disaster from reaching Kirigakure, then they had to deal with him here.
Only now did they realize…
They might have underestimated him far too badly.
"Shiki," Mei Terumī said, drawing in a slow breath. Her face was tense, but her eyes did not waver. "State your purpose."
"Otherwise, even if we can't kill you…"
Her voice turned cold.
"…we'll drag you down with us."
"Even if it costs us our lives."
Everyone present wore grim expressions.
Not one of them stepped back.
Even after witnessing that slash just now, they still stood their ground.
That alone was enough to prove one thing.
Every person here had already resolved themselves to die.
In that case…
These are probably the people in Kirigakure who still care about the village the most, Shiki thought.
There were many unfamiliar faces, but over the past few days, he had already learned enough about some of them.
Mero, a shinobi deeply dissatisfied with the Bloody Mist's tyranny.
Mei Terumī, the woman who would become the Fifth Mizukage in the future.
Ao, Mei's trusted supporter.
They might be ruthless, stubborn, or unstable in their own ways…
But each of them still held onto a sliver of hope for Kirigakure.
They wanted to end the village's chaos.
That was why they had gathered here.
Shiki smiled faintly.
Then he spoke.
"It looks like you've all made up your minds."
He raised his chin slightly and looked at them as if inviting them to entertain him.
"Then come at me."
The smile at the corner of his mouth sharpened.
"Just make it worth my time."
"So negotiations are over…" Mei Terumī took a deep breath, then shouted, "Everyone, attack together!"
Bang!
She was the first to charge.
Her eyes were filled with resolve.
The Hidden Stone, the Hidden Sand, Kumogakure, and others had all spread whatever information they had after clashing with Shiki.
Everyone knew what kind of monster he was.
The strongest shinobi in the world.
A man standing at the very top.
And against an enemy like that, the first person to rush him would obviously be the one facing the greatest danger.
Mero and the others understood that too.
That was why none of them dared move rashly.
That's why it has to be me, Mei Terumī thought, her gaze hardening.
I'm the one who brought him here.
So I'm the one who has to take responsibility.
Even if it costs me my life.
Everyone knew Mei Terumī had never really had a choice. Shiki had forced her hand from the very beginning, and even if she had refused to lead him there, the Kaguya clan's fate would likely have remained the same.
But Mei Terumī still could not let go of that guilt.
If that was the case…
Then she would answer for it with her own blood.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"
Mei Terumī opened her mouth and spat out a violent surge of scorching lava.
The torrent swept forward, spreading across the battlefield like a burning flood.
The heat was so intense that the air itself twisted, and streaks of white vapor hissed into existence.
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