450. Enter the Seven Mist Swordsman
A/N:- I hope all of you are doing well. I met a series of unfortunate events in the past week. My father and I sustained injuries in an accident. My father sustained a broken wrist while I had a muscle tear and a cut in my heel and four of my toe nails got clipped. Other than these, there are a few cuts and tears. I have recovered mostly except for my foot which will take atleast another two to three weeks for me to walk properly.
Note:- The Fourth Shinobi war will last for seven days in the fan-fic and this arc will last for almost 60 chapters. Comments your thoughts on the pace of the war so far. Should I slow down or hurry up? A quick note, I will try to release extra chapters to make up for the previous days.
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Somewhere in Land of Fire, inside a secret underground hideout.
Swoosh…
Kabuto jumps out of the ground. He stares into his vicinity and nods his head in satisfaction.
"This place will do!"
Various stalactites and stalagmites are hanging down from the roof and jutting out from the ground. He places a shogi board on the ground and takes out several shogi pieces and places them on the board.
"It's already midnight. A perfect opportunity for me to make my move."
Swish… swish… Thump… thump… thump…
He makes a series of hand signs and eight coffins pop out from the ground.
"Who else could be more suitable than the former swordsman of the mist?"
Bang… bang… bang…
The lid of the coffin falls on the ground to reveal seven males and one female shinobi.
"Well, I don't have all the Seven Swords of the Mist. However, I do have a few in my possession."
Kabuto takes out a scroll from his clothes.
Poof… poof… poof…
Kabuto summons four out of seven mist swords.
"Too bad. I only have Kabutowari, Kiba, Nuibari, and Shibuki in my possession."
Kabuto shakes his head and proceeds to insert a control tag in each of the eight-mist swordsmen to wake them up. The mist swordsman slowly opens their eyes and glance at their surroundings.
"Where am I?"
They look around in confusion.
"I thought I died in that battle. So, how am I still alive?" One of them attempts to move but is unable to.
"Huh, is that you Jinin, Kushimaru? I thought you both died in that battle?"
"Huh, this voice!"
Jinin Akebino, one of the former mist swordsmen and wielder of Kabutowari, turns towards the voice.
"Fuguki, it's you?" He recognizes his companion.
"Of course, it's me! But I thought you died in that battle against that man."
"Hmm… I did die in that battle. But how am I still alive? Did someone resurrect me?" Jinin looks at his surroundings and notices several familiar and stranger faces.
"It's you, brat!" Fuguki recognizes Mangetsu's features.
"You seem to be all grown up!"
"Huh! Of course, it has been more than eight years since you died." Mangetsu Hozuki opens his mouth.
"Eight years?! He has been dead for almost 12 years." Raiga Kurosuki stares at the duo.
"Looks like all of us died in a one-time frame or another. And someone resurrected us." Ameyuri Ringo, the sole female member who was silent for the entire time, opens her mouth.
"I recognize this jutsu. It's Orochimaru's Edo Tensei!" Juzo Biwa, the former member of Akatsuki, recognizes Orochimaru's signature jutsu.
"Orochimaru, that snake!"
A few members of the former generation of Seven Mist swordsman grit their teeth.
"Kuku… now that's quite the joyful reunion, isn't it?"
Kabuto's hysterical laughter interrupts them.
"Who are you?" All of them turn their attention toward Kabuto.
Earlier, all of them noticed Kabuto's presence, but they were too occupied to figure out the situation so they ignored his existence. Now, however, it appears to them that their resurrection has something to do with this man.
"What relationship do you have with Orochimaru?" Juzo glares at Kabuto.
"I am one of Orochimaru's Sensei disciples." Kabuto's lips curve in a smile.
"And yes, it was me who resurrected all of you."
"YOU!"
Jinpachi Munashi, one of the seven mist swordsmen, clenches his fist and attacks Kabuto. However, his body stiffens partway and Jinpachi is unable to move any muscle.
"Kuku… it doesn't matter to me. What or how did you die? But currently, all of you are my soldiers and thus will follow my every command."
Kabuto snaps his fingers and erases Jinpachi's personality. He waves his hand, and Jinpachi obediently stands in front of him and bows his head.
"I can also do the same to you all If I want. However, I prefer to keep your personality intact since it's more efficient this way. However, if any of have thoughts to rebel, then I might as well as erase his personality."
"I don't mind fighting for you as long as there are strong opponents." Mangetsu walks towards Kabuto and picks up Shibuki, one of the seven mist blades. Shibuki is Jinpachi's former weapon. Now, since the latter has already lost his personality, it will serve well in his hands.
Kabuto turns towards Juzo and continues.
"I am in a partnership with Akatsuki and currently we are in a war against the Five Great Nation," Kabuto reveals the information to them all.
"Akatsuki, huh? Never heard of it!"
The members of the previous generation grip their weapons and shake their heads.
"However, if we can fight powerful enemies from other nations; I don't mind fighting for you. Since I am already dead, it doesn't matter if you win or lose the war." Fuguki and other members of the previous generation gently caress their blades.
"So, who is our opponent?" Mangetsu slung the blade on his shoulder and glare at Kabuto.
"Now… now… you all won't be fighting a single person but an army. I will guide you all to the battlefield. This will be a Night Raid and your task is to slaughter as many strong shinobis as possible."
Kabuto's lips widen in a grin.
"An army huh?! Last time, almost all of us died to a single person. Now, I wonder how strong that person is compared to an army." Jinin smashes the axe and hammer of his blade together.
"You said this body is immortal, right? So, does that mean I can fight to my heart's content?" Kushimaru licks the corner of his Nuibari needles.
"Of course! However, keep in mind that the enemy can still seal you with a Fuinjutsu technique. So, keep an eye out for that." Kabuto reminds them.
"It doesn't matter. Just tell us the location of the battlefield. I also hope to see the swordsman skill of the current generation of shinobis." Ameyuri Ringo opens her eyes and glances at Kabuto.
"Very well!"
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Half an hour later, inside the Allied Shinobi Force Headquarters,
Beep… beep… beep…
Multiple fast-approaching red beacons appear on the radar of the CPS system.
"Enemy attack!"
The shinobis in the logistics department swiftly alert the captains of the various sectors. The various captains signal their men and quickly arrange themselves into a formation.
Whoosh…
Two figures appear outside one of the shinobi camps in a sector.
"Huh! So, this is the current state of the five great nations."
Jinin and Fuguki glance at the timid expressions of various shinobis.
"I am disappointed!"
Fuguki shakes his head and turns to a few shinobis with Mist's chakra signature.
"Who is the current Mizukage?" He asks one of the Vice-Captains from Kirigakure.
The vice-captain recognizes Fuguki as the mist swordsman from the previous generation. He gulps his saliva and musters the courage to answer him.
"It's Lady Mei Terumi from the Terumi clan. Hmm… the current Mizukage is from the Terumi clan and a female at that. I didn't expect Mist to degrade to such an extent." Fuguki shakes his head.
"How strong is the current Kiri compared to other nations?" Jinin, who is silent the entire time, raises another question.
"Umm… currently, Konoha is the strongest Shinobi nation among the five nations. And since Kiri has very close ties with Konoha, then we can say it's the second strongest." The vice-captain carefully organizes his words and replies to him.
The expression of shinobis from other nations falters, but they can't deny the truth in his words.
"Second strongest?! Close ties with Konoha? What's with this crap?" Jinin's expression turns ugly.
He hates shinobis from Konoha with passion. Almost all of his family and friends died in the war against Konoha during the Second and Third Shinobi War. His parents died in the Second Shinobi War and his friend and lover died in the Third Shinobi War. He himself died to a Konoha shinobi who was protecting his son.
"Umm…" The vice-captain notices the ugly expression on Jinin's face but replies to him, nonetheless.
"The current Mizukage Mei Terumi is married to a member of the Uchiha clan, Izuna Uchiha. Izuna Uchiha is the current strongest shinobi of the shinobi world and is almost on par with the God of the Shinobi, Hashirama Senju." He reveals a few things to Jinin.
"There is no need to reply to him anymore. He is an Edo-Tensei and is currently our enemy. We should seal him as soon as possible." A few shinobis from other nations gather their courage and surround Jinin and Fuguki.
"Attack!"
The group of shinobis launches an attack on them in a formation. They launch various projectiles toward the duo.
"Your formation is not too bad for a group of rag-tag bunch. However, your strength is too weak."
Jinin claps his hands. His long red hairs turn hard.
"Sharp Hair Spear Might,"
The hard hairs deflect every projectile and pierce through the body of multiple shinobis, killing them in the process.
"Allied Shinobi Force, huh?! Let me see how strong you are!"
Fuguki grabs a giant chakra blade between his fingers.
"Nice blade! However, its user is too weak." He clenches his hand into a fist and punches through the guts of the wielder of the blade.
Whoosh… Swoosh… slash…
Fubuki flips the giant sword in his hand and performs a horizontal slash with it. His slash severs multiple shinobis in half.
"Don't engage them in close combat. Trap them using the Earth Release and bombard them with long-range attacks." The Captain swiftly issues a series of commands.