219-Day At The Beach
'Now what do I do with you?' Renjiro thought as he knelt down, lifting the Kabutowari and bringing it closer to his face. The intricate craftsmanship of the blade was evident, but despite its intimidating appearance, Renjiro found himself conflicted.
The sword was undeniably powerful, yet in his hands, it felt somewhat redundant compared to the techniques he had honed over the years.
He carefully closed the gates he had opened during the fight, feeling the tension ease from his muscles. Despite his growing proficiency with the three gates, the strain they placed on his body was undeniable.
Prolonged use would have left him vulnerable, something he couldn't afford with the dangers still lurking around them.
As he stood there, staring at the sword, Renjiro's thoughts drifted to his squad. They had seen Date, and even witnessed him wielding the sword.
The idea of keeping the sword for himself, of wielding it as his own even if he did not really need it, was tempting. Yet, he knew that such a decision would come with its own set of complications.
'It's too bad that my squad already saw him,' Renjiro mused, a bitter edge to his thoughts.
'If they hadn't, I could have taken advantage of that and kept the sword for myself. Now I have to give it back to the village. Even though in my opinion it is one of the weaker swords, it could still be useful considering my staff is becoming redundant.'
He reached down, retrieving a scroll from his pack. He then sealed Date's body into the scroll.
'I wonder if I should try to convince the force, or even the village, to let me keep the sword,' he thought, but as quickly as the idea came, he dismissed it.
'Even if it works, which is highly unlikely, that will do more harm than good. While it would be cool to wield the sword, it would paint a huge target on my back. I already have one, and I'm not planning on making it bigger.'
With a resigned sigh, Renjiro sealed the Kabutowari into the scroll as well, and his decision was made. He would not want the burden of being a wielder of one of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist.
The recognition it would bring was not worth the risk. Since Kirigakure would definitely come after him by sending the other swordsmen as well as other people who would challenge him. Truthfully, it was not worth the stress.
As he secured the scroll, Renjiro muttered to himself, "That reminds me, there were other shinobi from Kiri following this swordsman. I didn't even get his name. I think it was Date Something in the databook. Anyway, I hope the time he bought them was enough. If not, I should clean them up."
With that thought, Renjiro vanished in a flicker of movement, heading toward the distance where he had last seen the Kirigakure shinobi fleeing.
As he moved, he activated his chakra field, extending his senses to locate the remnants of Date's squad. The snowy landscape blurred around him as he sped through it.
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Meanwhile, at the shore of Shimogakure, a group of six Kirigakure shinobi were huddled together, their breaths coming in ragged gasps.
They had pushed themselves to the limit to escape the pursuing Konoha and Shimogakure shinobi, and now, with the sea stretching out before them, they could finally see a path to safety. Since they only had to cross the sea to get back to Kirigakure.
The beach was desolate, the pale light of the moon casting a cold, silver glow on the churning waves. The air was thick with the scent of salt and seaweed, and the distant sound of crashing waves filled the silence between the exhausted shinobi.
One of the shinobi, a young man with a gash across his forehead, wiped the sweat from his brow and glanced anxiously at the sea. "We're almost there," he panted. "We just need to cross the water, and we'll be back their village."
"But what about Date-sensei?" another shinobi, a girl with short, spiky hair, asked, her voice laced with worry.
"Shouldn't we wait for him? He told us to go on ahead, but he hasn't caught up yet."
The others exchanged uneasy glances, their confidence in their sensei's abilities beginning to waver. Date Yuichi was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. But even so, they could hear the battle behind them while they were escaping. Calling it intense would be an understatement, and the thought of leaving their sensei behind gnawed at their conscience.
"Sensei will be fine," the young man with the gash said, though his tone lacked conviction. "He's one of the strongest shinobi in Kirigakure. He'll deal with those Konoha and Shimogakure shinobi easily."
"But what if he doesn't Jinin?" another voice piped up, this time from a shinobi with a bandaged arm.
"What if something went wrong?"
The group fell silent, the only sound the distant crashing of the waves. Their exhaustion weighed heavily on them, and the thought of abandoning their sensei was a bitter pill to swallow.
"We should at least wait a little longer," the spiky-haired girl said softly.
"Sensei wouldn't leave us behind."
As the group debated their next move, a faint rustle in the air caught their attention. Before any of them could react, Renjiro appeared before them, his presence sudden and overwhelming.
His Sharingan gleamed in the moonlight, and the Kirigakure shinobi froze in place, terror gripping their hearts.
"Sensei?" the spiky-haired girl whispered, her voice trembling. But she knew the truth—this was not her sensei.
Renjiro didn't give them a chance to react. With a swift hand movement, he cast a genjutsu, his chakra weaving into their minds with ease. The Kirigakure shinobi's eyes glazed over, their bodies going limp as they fell under the genjutsu's spell.
In their minds, they saw Date returning to save them, his powerful figure cutting down their enemies with ease. But in reality, they were already defeated.
"Now," Renjiro continued, "Will there be another set of attacks?" Renjiro asked.
"No," the man answered. "We were the only squad sent to Shimogakure."
"And why did you attack earlier? Why kill Yutaka?"
One of the other shinobi, answered, "We saw the Konoha shinobi arriving. We thought if we attacked early, we could catch you off guard."
Renjiro nodded, satisfied with the answer. He had no reason to doubt their words; the genjutsu ensured they couldn't lie.
"Good," he said, his voice icy. "That's all I needed to know."
Moving with clinical precision, Renjiro took them out one by one, his movements swift and efficient.
As he finished the last of the Kirigakure shinobi, Renjiro stood on the beach, his gaze drifting out over the dark waters of the sea.
'Hmm, I can't believe this is my first time on the beach since I came to this world,' Renjiro mused as he sealed the bodies of the fallen shinobi into another scroll.
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