Chapter 57

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Sakumo's eyes flashed with admiration deep down, but he still he shook his head.

"Some recklessness, lacking a bit of caution," he thought. But as he turned his head, Sakumo smiled again. "Did you grasp the crucial information from the intelligence that the leader is a Chunin? Understanding how to seize opportunities, being decisive yet grounded, even though there are signs of dancing on the edge of the blade, this style of action is essential for achieving a counterattack and creating miracles."

In his mind, he also rated Kyomu. Then, Sakumo shifted his attention to Kakashi.

"He's a lot like me, but more like his mother..." scattered memories surfaced in his mind. "Delicate, cautious, devout, although occasionally hesitating and missing opportunities, he always finds an answers in failure."

High praise, but Kakashi deserves it. However, with Kyomu's excellent performance as a benchmark, Kakashi still seemed somewhat unsatisfactory.

"The fighting styles of these two complement each other well. I believe that with more coordination, the reputation of the genius twin stars should not be limited to Konoha."

Sakumo became increasingly satisfied, but his attention was also drawn to the battle between the two.

"No ninjas," Kyomu briefly revealed information to Kakashi.

Kakashi didn't respond, but his fighting style became less cautious, leaving more room for maneuver, and his techniques became less elusive.

Since there were no ninjas, many energy-consuming situational judgments could naturally be simplified. A wandering samurai wouldn't suddenly spit out a fireball or ambush you with disguises.

In battle, samurai are as 'honest' as lambs.

Three meters away from an enemy, Kakashi suddenly slashed down with his sword.

Seeing Kakashi's attack, the wandering samurai's eyes flashed briefly with astonishment, followed by delight, then mockery, but in the end, panic and anger when he died.

How did the 30-centimeter blade suddenly extend more than three meters? With resentment, the wandering samurai fell. He wasn't even able made a move to block with his sword just now.

Ninjas are a bunch of despicable guys...

Seeing their companion's miserable death, the remaining wandering samurai became more cautious, choosing to engage Kakashi in close combat and constantly paying attention to the ninja blade in his hand.

Effective, but not much.

The samurai's fighting style is very straightforward, relying on swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat skills, and experience in close combat, far less versatile than ninjas.

Zap~

Lightning chakra was infused into the blade of Yukihime. The wandering samurai who was blocking with his sword became stiffened by the lightning chakra, and Kakashi, holding a kunai in his left hand, slashed his neck.

'Next.'

However, when Kakashi's gaze shifted to the next person, a crimson blade suddenly intruded into his line of sight, gradually occupying more space in his field of vision, becoming brilliant and violent in an instant.

Crimson Mood Blade! The blade chakra flew ahead, and Kyomu followed closely behind, his steps agile and as fast as lightning. Wherever the blade passed, if there were any survivors, he would surely finish them off first.

But unfortunately, there were none!

At the same time, Kyomu's left hand wasn't idle either. Hidden within the brilliance of the crimson blade, the shuriken concealed within it became an unexpected deadly move for the wandering samurai.

Even if they reacted, shuriken could curve. Although it could only change direction twice and its predictive efficiency was not as good as with the Sharingan, it was quite simple to deal with wandering samurai.

Although the samurai weren't that bad, it depended on who they were compared to. The genin ninjas of Konoha were so outrageous that they could jump around in power around various ninja ranks.

Unfortunately, they encountered the most atypical genin ninjas of Konoha, and there were two of them at once.

Being scared out of their wits and fleeing was inevitable.

"They're unusual!"

"I'll inform the leader, you guys cover the rear!"

"I'm going too!"

"Wait for me!"

Bandits only take advantage of favorable winds. Facing headwinds, they each looked after themselves, whoever ran slower would be the rear guard.

"is it really okay to leave your backs to us?"

Kyomu gripped his sword with one hand and swung forward.

Explosive power, speed, and the weight of his Yōei were all boosted to a level of seventy percent of his full power at that moment. It wasn't earth-shattering, but the elegant and swift trajectory of the Crimson Moon Blade was like cutting through water and splitting rocks. Extremely fast, it harvested lives like weeds.

In the blink of an eye, the flying blades caught up with the two fleeing figures, and the scene wasn't very bloody.

Although they were split in half, the scorching wave swept through, instantly evaporating and scattering the blood, igniting their bodies, turning them into half-shaped human fireballs.

With this one blow, they were cremated, sparing the need for cleanup.

The blades continued forward, beheading three more people before losing momentum.

Just as one side finished singing, the other side took the stage. Kakashi raised his Yukihime high, and the blade suddenly extended more than ten meters forward, impaling the remaining people together like candied fruits.

No one could escape.

"What a perfect infiltration," Kyomu wanted to laugh, but couldn't, so he spoke in the most restrained tone possible.

Not out of pity, but out of unease.

During the battle, he didn't feel anything, but the aftermath came rushing in. It's felt wrong to kill someone for the first time, and to kill so many at once, even worse.

Kakashi also nodded reluctantly, his body feeling somewhat stiff.

But he, who had been cool since childhood, didn't want to admit defeat and decided to show off a bit to soothe the waves in his heart.

Yukihime's blade was retracted, but it didn't return to its original length; instead, it remained the same length as a normal ninja blade.

Following Kyomu's earlier appearance, Kakashi raised the blade upwards, the back of the blade facing down, using his left arm to hold the extended blade, and as he drew it out smoothly, he wiped the blade clean and shiny.

Yukihime's blade returned to its original state, and Kakashi, with a cold face, sheathed it back into its scabbard.

"Is it necessary?" Kyomu couldn't help but smile at the sight. "You even bother to adjust the length of Yukihime's blade twice."

"Hmph." Kakashi snorted, crossing his arms. "What's wrong, I am not allowed to look cool?"

"Allowed, allowed." Kyomu nodded repeatedly. "But before wiping it, remember to shake off the blood, or else it'll be all over your sleeves."

Kakashi glanced up and couldn't hold back anymore, feeling both embarrassed and anxious, and losing his composure.

"I know, but this way, it feels like I'm in a real fight." He remained stubborn, but his face turned red.

"Okay, I know, I know, so after adjusting your mindset, let's continue."

Although joking seemed out of place on the bloody battlefield, it was the fastest and most effective way for the two of them to adjust their mindset.

If you can't change it, try your best to adapt. Regardless of the method, that's what growth is all about.

"Yeah." Kakashi nodded. "This time I'll take the lead, and you follow me."

Kyomu understood the need for alternating training.

And following behind Kakashi, he also had time to collect some souls.

With subtle gestures, the souls about to enter the afterlife were absorbed by Kyomu, strengthening his spiritual power.

With a clearer mind and a more sensitive sixth sense, Kyomu couldn't help but glance back.

"Did you notice me?"

Hidden well, Sakumo murmured in his heart, "Although there are many flaws in the place where I hide, after Kyomu has seen blood, his sixth sense in battle seems to have been strengthened?"

A wonderful misunderstanding, but Sakumo had already made up his mind.

"This kid has a talent for learning sensory ninjutsu. And the inevitable shortcomings of the two-man team have found an opportunity for improvement."

Watching the two gradually move away, Sakumo quickly followed.

The real test of their battle was finally coming.

(End of this chapter)