Chapter 24

Chapter 24

It was suspicious why the chamber they were in was so big. It was dark, but shinobi, with trained eyes, could still see in front of them. Utakata had no trouble as his sensing abilities let him discern people around him. Kisame, Zabuza, and Ringo had particular chakra that Utakata could easily distinguish from others.

But it didn't matter, as the people attacking them were different from anyone Utakata had ever met. Their chakra was irregular. It felt like they were drugged or were under genjutsu. But that wasn't the weirdest thing about them. Their eyes were desperate but crazed at the same time. It was disturbing to see them. It felt inhuman. And the way they fought was inhuman, too.

They wouldn't go down, no matter how hard Utakata hit them. Utakata was left to use the taijutsu he had learned without any weapon. It was a brutal form of taijutsu, but the people attacking them didn't seem to feel pain, or they simply ignored it. Even when Utakata broke their hands, they kicked him with their legs. When he crushed their legs, they would still try to crawl to him and bite him.

It wouldn't matter in any other situation as Utakata would break their necks and be done with them, but there were too many. Before he could defeat one another, four would come to him. His senses picked up hundreds of them, and the number didn't diminish, no matter how many he defeated. Without a weapon, Utakata was left to use his ninjutsu. And with his small body, his taijutsu wasn't impressive.

Unlike Kisame, who had an impressive physique that allowed him to bash the attackers' heads and snap their necks with one hand, Utakata was smaller and weaker than him. Even Zabuza possessed immense strength and skill that let him easily defend and counterattack the enemy. While Ringo was the same size as Utakata, she was fast as lightning and agile like a cat.

Utakata had only taken a glance at them and knew that, so far, they were fine. Defeating all the attackers would be no problem if they worked together, but Utakata knew that was impossible. In the Mist, individual strength was most valued, and apart from Zabuza, Utataka didn't know anyone. He didn't think that any of them even considered working together.

So, instead of worrying about impossible things, Utakata focused on the attackers. Gathering chakra into his hands, he used mist blade jutsu. Positioning himself so his back would be turned to one of the three, Utakata started his killing spree. Knowing his attackers would not go down easily, he went for killing blows.

Necks were the easiest way. Cutting through the artery quickly finished them, but his height set limitations in that some of the attackers were taller than others, so it was impossible for Utakata to reach their necks. But it only slowed Utakata a little, as he would strike at the armpit, inner thigh, or back of the knee, cutting down significant arteries. Making the attackers bleed down rapidly.

"Hey, six tails," Ringo called out to Utakata. "Use the beast chakra and blow them away!"

Utakata glanced at Ringo, and she struggled the most out of the four of them. There wasn't much place to move, and she wasn't strong enough to hold her position like Zabuza and Kisame. She was already out of breath as she dodged and moved around the attackers who relentlessly tried to get to her. She wasn't very good at hand-to-hand combat, it seemed.

It wouldn't be difficult for Utakata to use two tails and blast through the attackers as they were unarmed, and their irregular chakra didn't let them use any ninjutsu. Most of them wouldn't even be able to touch him if he covered himself in a tailed beast chakra cloak. But he had no reason to do it. He still could handle himself, and his tactics of cutting down the enemy's weak points worked well.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Ringo yelled out as Utakata said nothing to her and continued to fight as he was. "Hey! You little monster, I'm talking to you!"

"You too loud," Utakata replied as he dodged an outstretched arm and stabbed his attacker's armpit before kicking him to two other attackers leaping at him, knocking them back.

"What did you say, you little demon?" Ringo snapped her head at Utakata and asked as she jumped on one of the attacker's heads and stabbed her thumbs in his eyes.

Utakata ignored her as more attackers went his way. Jumping a step back, Utakata weaved his hands quickly and gathered chakra in his mouth. Using Rapid Fire Garp jutsu, Utakata spat out needle-thin bullets of water, piercing the heads of three attackers. Before they even fell to the ground, another four pushed through them.

After observing them for a while, Utakata wasn't surprised by that. He didn't know who they were but knew they weren't even human. They were probably once shinobi from other villages taken captive in the war. Utakata shuddered, thinking about what was done to them for them to act like crazed animals. There was no skill in their attacks. They threw themselves at Utakata, trying to claw and bite him.

The more he fought and killed, the more he thought that Yagura didn't give a damn about a test, he just had a bunch of prisoners to get rid of, and he used the candidates for the Seven Swordsmen to do it. It was just like him to do something like this. A senseless slaughter meant nothing to Yagura and might help weed down someone who didn't belong as one of the Seven Swordsmen.

"Shit, so annoying," Ringo said as she was getting overwhelmed. "They just keep coming and coming."

"If you killed them faster, we would already be done with them," Kisame seemed to dislike Ringo's whining.

"Fine! You want fast, I give you fast," Ringo was even more annoyed at Kisame's comment and made a set of hand signs. Utakata couldn't ignore the powerful chakra gathering at the palms of Ringo's hands as she slammed them to the ground. "Lightning Release: Celestial Luminaire"

As the light came from Ringo's palms, Utakata jumped into the air just in time to dodge lightning spreading through the floor. But he couldn't escape the light coming from the ground as it blinded him momentarily and stunned the attackers. Even if the attackers could have dodged the attack, now they were shocked by the light and soon fried by the lightning.

Utakata sensed that a third of the attackers were gone just like that. As he fell to the ground, he turned around to see Zabuza had also jumped into the air to dodge the attack. While Kisame was still standing on the ground, holding one of the attackers by the neck. As Utakata touched the ground, he could still feel a small charge of electricity coming from the ground.

"Hmph, what do you think about that?" Ringo turned to Kisame as smoke came out of him.

"A nice trick," Kisame replied, letting go of his prey and flexing his arm as he seemed not to receive any damage. "A bit ticklish to my liking, but I guess it did the job."

"Hmph, just be glad it wasn't directed at you," Ringo turned away from Kisame and looked at the remaining attackers.

Utakata had to admit Ringo's jutsu was effective, providing a momentary respite from the relentless assault. The attackers, disoriented by the sudden burst of light and electricity, were now more manageable targets. Utakata wasted no time. He quickly dispatched several of them with Rapid Fire Garp jutsu, taking advantage of their temporary vulnerability.

Utakata couldn't help but wonder if the others had similar trump cards hidden up their sleeves as the rest used this moment to take down more of the attackers. Kisame and Ringo were trained by the previous members of the Seven Swordsmen, so they were expected to know at least a few powerful jutsu. Utakata didn't know about Zabuza though.

Either way, Utakata, Kisame, and Zabuza took advantage of the opening Ringo had created. Utakata, in particular, used his Mist Blade jutsu precisely, targeting the remaining attackers' vital points as he ran through them. Kisame went on a frenzy, crushing any opposition left. Zabuza was more tactful, using hand-to-hand combat to kill his opponents but still reserving his strength.

Gradually, the number of assailants began to dwindle. The room that once felt suffocating due to the sheer number of attackers was slowly clearing up. As the last few crazed enemies were taken down, Utakata couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. The battle wasn't that difficult, and he didn't even feel pressure for a moment, but the senseless killing took its toll on him.

"Well, I'd say we handled this little test just fine," Ringo laughed. "Barely even broke a sweat."

Even if she did, it would be impossible to see through all the blood they were drenched in. Apart from learning their fighting style, there wasn't anything Yagura could have tested them with this test. If the attackers had some sense of them and acted as true shinobi, it would have pushed them a bit. Even a third of the number of them would give quite a bit of challenge, but Utakata didn't think Yagura cared that much.

"Well done," Yagura appeared, walking through countless corpses and looking bored. "I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less from you."

"Are you satisfied with our performance?" Kisame asked, disinterested in whatever Yagura wanted to say.

"A little teamwork would have helped finish this faster," Yagura said, knowing that would never happen. "But who cares about it? All that matters is that you can overwhelm small fries, no matter their number, with your strength. You must do at least that much to be one of the Seven Swordsmen. Too bad all of you survived. I thought that at least the little girl would die."

"Shut it and give me my swords," Ringo replied, showing no respect for the Mizukage.

"Yes, yes, follow me."

Utakata stepped over the dead bodies and followed the Fourth Mizukage out of the chambers. Soon, they arrived at a rocky platform that jutted out into a serene lake, surrounded by the village's tall, fog-shrouded cliffs. There were no spectators, as four wooden boxes of various sizes were presented before them. The Fourth Mizukage stepped to the first box and opened it.

"Kiba Twin swords that are imbued with lightning, which increases their cutting power," Yagura said, taking out the swords and giving them to eager Ringo before taking another sword from another box. "Executioner's Blade, the sword can regenerate using the iron absorbed from the blood of those it cuts down. May it serve you well, Zabuza Momochi."

Then Yagura took about the Samehada from the giant box. From what Utakata knew, it was the most terrifying of the seven blades. It has the appearance of a gigantic knife covered in shark scales. It is a sentient, living weapon and can eat chakra. Yagura didn't have time to introduce the sword as Kisame took it from Yagura's hands. Yagura visibly deflated, disappointed he couldn't tell the sword's capabilities.

"And lastly, Sewing Needle, apart from the long thin wire attached to it and very pointy end, it isn't anything special," Yagura wanted to get some reaction from Utakata but was disappointed when Utakata took the sword without any response apart from the cold face.

It didn't matter much to Utakata what the sword was capable of. What mattered was the status it presented to Utakata. He was now one of the Seven Swordsmen and a jinchuriki. Utakata didn't know how well these titles would serve him, but he felt like he had gone far from the kid who had no name and could be only used as a weapon for the village. At least now, the village will know its weapon's name.

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.