An isolated reef, deep in the sea fog.
Seven figures stood amidst the crashing waves, emitting an astonishing scent of blood. They were fierce, varied in appearance, and each carried a monstrous, uniquely shaped weapon.
They were the absolute peak of Kirigakure's military might: The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
"Tsk. Isn't this Mei Terumī, the famous genius of our village?"
Raiga Kurosuki, wielder of the twin lightning blades Kiba, looked down at the exhausted, soot-stained kunoichi. He sneered without reservation.
"I heard your vanguard was beaten back by an unknown brat from Konoha? Even Kaguya Masaru failed. Truly... you've disgraced the Bloody Mist."
Mei was already in a foul mood. A trace of icy anger flashed in her emerald eyes.
"That Konoha boy is not simple."
"Hmph. Just an excuse," Raiga turned his head away dismissively. "A commoner nobody."
"Being of commoner origin does not equal weakness," a deep, resonant voice interrupted.
It was Fuguki Suikazan, a massive man shouldering the greatsword Samehada.
"Isn't Konoha's Minato Namikaze the best example? Before he made his name on the battlefield, who knew a commoner boy would grow up to become the Yellow Flash?"
At the mention of the Yellow Flash, the atmosphere among the Seven Swordsmen visibly froze. Even the arrogant Raiga restrained himself. That man's speed was a nightmare hanging over the hearts of every opposing ninja in the world.
"Since Mei's vanguard was discovered, Konoha's vigilance on the island will be at its peak," Fuguki continued. "But they won't anticipate our full-scale assault so soon. I suggest we rest for two days. At dawn the day after tomorrow, when the sea fog is thickest, we cut in from the weakly defended East Coast and strike directly at Orochimaru's main camp."
"Agreed," hissed Kushimaru Kuriarare.
"Acceptable," Jinpachi Munashi nodded.
"Then it is decided." Jūzō Biwa, wielder of the Executioner's Blade, delivered the final word. "Dawn. We slaughter them all."
The Coastline of the Land of Fire.
Kiyohara landed silently on the mainland beach.
The boat ride from the Uzushiogakure ruins had only taken a few dozen minutes. The salty, fishy odor of the sea was heavy in the air.
He immediately began scouting. He had expected to spend hours tracking the Suna infiltration unit, but before he even needed to send the Radical Spirit out as a radar, the sharp clatter of steel echoing through the trees caught his attention.
He moved through the forest, peering through the dense coastal bushes.
In a clearing ahead, a bitter close-quarters battle was unfolding.
On one side: Two ninja wearing Suna ANBU masks, backed by four standard Suna Chunin.
On the other side: Two Konoha ANBU wearing iconic fox masks.
'The minimum requirement for ANBU is Chunin-level,' Kiyohara observed calmly. 'But the skill gap between operatives can be massive. The Konoha side is losing.'
One of the Konoha ANBU, a young man, was coughing violently as he parried strikes, struggling to hold off a Suna ANBU and a regular ninja simultaneously.
The other Konoha ANBU—a slender kunoichi—was completely overwhelmed. A Suna ANBU slipped past her guard, his short sword thrusting straight toward her exposed ribs!
"Yūgao!"
The coughing Konoha ANBU, Hayate Gekkō, screamed in pure terror. He desperately tried to break away to save her, but the Suna ninja pinned him down.
Watching his comrade face certain death, a suffocating despair gripped Hayate's heart.
That was the exact moment Kiyohara moved.
He leaped from the brush, his right hand sweeping across his rear pouch.
Whoosh!
A massive Fūma Shuriken spun through the air, shrieking toward the Suna ANBU threatening Yūgao.
"Watch out!" the other Suna ANBU yelled.
The attacker reacted instantly. Abandoning his kill strike on Yūgao, he retreated and raised his blade.
Clang! The short sword deflected the heavy Fūma Shuriken.
But Kiyohara wasn't finished.
The instant the shuriken was deflected, Kiyohara flicked his fingers. The near-invisible copper wire connected to the weapon snapped taut. The Fūma Shuriken violently reversed its trajectory, slicing toward the Suna ANBU's exposed back!
"What?!" The Suna ANBU panicked, twisting his body to dodge the returning blades.
It was a fatal opening.
Kiyohara had already shot into the clearing like an arrow from a bow. His goal was singular: Secure a head. Fulfill the wish.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Flow!"
Electric arcs exploded along Kiyohara's Tachi. The blade became a blinding flash of blue.
The Suna ANBU didn't even have time to weave a hand sign. He felt a brief, numbing chill at his throat, and his vision went permanently dark.
Thump. The headless body collapsed to the forest floor.
From the moment Kiyohara threw the shuriken to the moment the ANBU died, less than three seconds had passed.
The clearing fell dead silent. The sound of the crashing waves seemed to amplify.
The remaining Suna ninja and the two Konoha ANBU stared in absolute shock at the masked boy who had just decapitated an elite operative in the blink of an eye.
Kiyohara ignored them. He stood perfectly still over the corpse, his Tachi dripping blood, waiting.
'I guess I completed it?' Kiyohara asked in his mind.
The Radical Spirit nodded slightly, his phantom face showing a grim satisfaction. His vengeance against the Suna ANBU was settled.
The next second, a brilliant ball of light erupted from the Spirit's body and slammed directly into Kiyohara's core.
Kiyohara gasped. His body was fundamentally changing.
His Spiritual Energy (Yin) surged, expanding his raw chakra capacity yet again.
More importantly, a profound, instinctive understanding of Earth Release and Wind Release flooded his nervous system. The clunky awkwardness he felt while practicing the Earth Submergence jutsu vanished entirely.
He closed his eyes.
He tentatively pulled the Wind chakra from his lungs and the Earth chakra from his gut, forcing them to collide and fuse in his chakra network.
Crack.
A barrier in his very DNA shattered. A completely new, heavy, resonant chakra emerged.
Magnet Release (Jiton).
He had done it. He had finally inherited a Bloodline Limit. He was no longer a commoner; his own descendants would now carry this genetic mutation.
He was a wielder of the Magnet Release.
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