Chapter 78: A New Member of the Organization

"Return Samehada." Kushimaru Kuriarare, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, spoke in a neutral tone. He was so casual in his speech that it didn't even seem like he was demanding the return of the village's sword.

Tanaka looked at him and chuckled slightly. It was laughable to make such a request without being bold enough to confront him and take the sword by force.

Kushimaru was tall and thin, giving him a gangly appearance. His hair was voluminous, straw-colored, and disheveled. His face was hidden behind a white porcelain mask with a dark green triangle at the bottom, along with slits for the eyes and the Kirigakure symbol engraved on the top.

"Hey, this kid looks interesting, worth killing!" Another of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist spoke, excited.

It was Jinin Akebino.

Jinin had dark hair and a beard, which he tied in a topknot. His face was quite angular, and he had a very prominent nose.

He wore a dark poncho over the standard Swordsmen attire, which consisted of a sleeveless shirt and matching dark pants, along with the typical striped warmers from his village on his arms and legs, as well as the Kirigakure forehead protector. He also had bandages wrapped around his neck, like all the members of the previous generation of swordsmen.

"Your opponent is me!" Shiori intervened, stopping Jinin from advancing. With her halberd, she pointed the blade as she glared at him coldly. It was clear that the moment he turned his back on her, she would attack without mercy.

Her ponytail swayed in the wind as she firmly gripped the halberd's handle, standing defiantly before Jinin.

Her stance, blocking his path, made Jinin frown, but he quickly laughed: "Hahaha, very well, I'll enjoy torturing you to death before getting to him~!"

"Empty words from a dull man," Shiori mocked. "If you're as good as you say, I'll be disappointed."

Jinin's expression changed, and veins appeared on his forehead. "Say that again if you dare."

"Tsk, just look at you," Shiori sneered. "Why the hell would I listen to you? Or what, are you going to attack me? Don't worry, I won't strike first!"

Seeing Shiori charge at him with her halberd like a wild boar ready to trample him, Jinin quickly reacted with his giant-headed hammer, swinging it from top to bottom towards the spear tip.

"Clang!"

At the sound of metal colliding, Jinin couldn't believe what he saw.

Not only had he failed to force the halberd down, but he was also trapped by chains that sprouted from the ground.

"Fool~" Shiori taunted. "You should never let an Uzumaki get close to you. Do you know why?"

Without waiting for an answer, her halberd thrust toward Jinin's chest. "Because it's easy for us to use our chains and trap fools like you~!"

"Clang!"

The sound of skin and flesh being torn by the halberd's tip echoed, as Jinin, immobilized by the chains, stared at Shiori with visible horror in his eyes.

It was well-known that the Uzumaki Clan's chains were powerful but equally difficult to wield. Therefore, seeing how young Shiori was, he hadn't considered her capable of such a feat, which resulted in his carelessness and capture, struck down by Shiori.

It's important to understand that, at the moment the chains make contact with the opponent, they have a sealing property. So, even if it's just for a moment—depending on the user—that could be enough to change the course of a battle.

As now, Shiori managed to immobilize Jinin for only five seconds before he regained control of his body and chakra. However, for him, five seconds was enough to receive a fatal blow.

When he stepped back, managing to free himself from the chains, Jinin coughed up fresh blood and began to lose color in his face, becoming visibly paler.

"Kaia, go help Jinin!" Jinpachi Munashi, another of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, shouted while looking in Shiori's direction. Jinpachi wore a cloth over his mouth connected to another around his head, concealing much of his face.

Immediately after, he prepared to charge forward, not paying much attention to the Uchiha and Hyuga fighting against him.

"Boom!"

But before doing so, he struck the ground with his weapon, causing a large explosion and using the chaos to get closer to her.

The moment he reached Shiori, Jinpachi arrogantly spoke: "Explosive Sword Technique: Repeated Death Break!"

The explosive tags from his weapon easily released and attempted to surround Shiori, but even after losing sight of her when she used Substitution along with the Body Flicker Technique, she reappeared a few meters away, and an explosion echoed from the spot where she had been.

Seeing this, Shiori broke into a cold sweat. It was a terrifying attack, requiring no hand seals, relying solely on the weapon and the user's mastery.

Holding the halberd with one hand, she fished something out of her ninja pouch—a spherical ball.

Grasping it, she threw it toward Jinpachi, while at the same time advancing toward him, now gripping the halberd with both hands, charging straight at him with the halberd pointed at Jinpachi's chest.

Seeing this, Jinpachi scoffed: "How futile!"

With his weapon in hand, Jinpachi struck the spherical stone, intending to send it back at Shiori.

"BOOM!"

However, the moment his weapon made contact with the spherical stone, an explosion erupted, even stronger than conventional explosive tags.

"Urghh!"

Groaning in pain, Jinpachi, unable to fully defend against both the impact's blow and the explosion that happened right in front of him—close enough to engulf him partially—almost dropped his weapon.

Meanwhile, Tanaka, holding Samehada, murmured: "Accept."

His voice sounded calm and even friendly, but to Samehada, held in his grip, it felt like its fate was sealed. Though it resisted slightly and didn't seem particularly intelligent, when Tanaka was about to do something, a holographic page appeared in his vision.

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[[Giant Sword: Samehada]] has accepted entry into your organization. 

A new option is available: 

Option 1: Reset its level to level 1 with 25% of its current stats, but it will lose chakra and start using MP [Yes] - [No]? 

Option 2: Grant access to the status page and the possibility of growth by leveling up, with point distribution. (This option will be unlocked by selecting the second option). 

[New] Option 3: Create a dungeon linked to the faction leader's skill—e.g., with shadow clones. 

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Samehada was a sword that nourished itself with the chakra of others. So, converting to MP might not be the best option. While it could still consume his MP, he could also assimilate his MP into chakra, making it more convenient for Samehada to continue using chakra.

Not to mention it would be a shame to reset all 100 of the sword's levels, even if it could level up again.

The moment this was done, Tanaka felt a strange bond between himself and Samehada. He could feel Samehada's emotions, seemingly expressing happiness as he held it.

Staring directly at the only ninja of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist wearing a mask, a smile appeared on Tanaka's lips as he thought: 'Alright, I'll test this sword on him.'

||- Note -||

If you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to cast your vote with a Power Stone! Your support means the world and keeps me motivated to bring you new chapters.

Chapter 98 is already released on Pa treon!

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