Compared to Satoru's face, which had become twisted with rage, Ryouma appeared exceptionally calm. It was like watching a hurricane and a glacier face off.
"Judging by your expression, did someone important to you die at my hands? If so, then how unfortunate because I usually don't have a habit of tormenting the weak. I probably let him die too easily."
As soon as those words were spoken, Satoru felt the string of reason within him about to snap.
"You bastard! You killed my brother! He was in Ao's unit, and because of you, he became a disgrace to Kiri! He wasn't even recognized as a hero!"
Spittle flew from his mouth, his eyes wide with a grief that had transformed into something more destructive. Not just the loss of a brother, but the loss of his brother's honor, in Kiri, perhaps the greater tragedy.
With a light chuckle, Ryouma said, "Don't worry. Your brother died in a very pitiful state."
Hearing this, Jūzō felt something was off. He immediately tried to stop Satoru from acting on impulse.
"Wait, Satoru—" He called out urgently, recognizing the tactic immediately. He'd used it himself countless times.
But it was already too late. Satoru could no longer suppress the raging fire of anger inside him.
Memories flashed before his eyes, growing up together in Kiri's brutal Academy, protecting each other during the graduation ritual, celebrating his brother's assignment to Ao's elite unit. Then the news of his death, the whispers of failure, the quiet shame of their clan.
He gripped his dual swords, Hiramekarei, tightly. In response to his action, the sword's blade rapidly expanded, becoming massive in an instant.
Without hesitation, he unleashed the battle form of his sword.
He then swung a powerful slash toward Ryouma. From his sword, a massive chakra blast shot forth like a cannonball, charging straight at Ryouma with overwhelming force and momentum.
The chakra blast cut through the air with a high-pitched whine, leaving a visible distortion. Trees in its path splintered and disintegrated before it even touched them.
This strike carried his fury and resolve. He wanted to slay Ryouma in one blow.
Facing this hate-filled attack, Ryouma simply drew Lostvayne Cutter, and made a single swing.
An invisible domain expanded outward from his body.
When the chakra blast from Hiramekarei reached the edge of this domain, it triggered a mysterious mechanism. All the chakra within the blast instantly reversed direction and returned the way it had come with even greater force than before.
Satoru never expected his own attack to be reflected back at him. He hurriedly leapt to the side to dodge.
He knew all too well the power of Hiramekarei's chakra blasts.
Through its unique structure, the sword could transform the wielder's chakra into a devastating chakra projectile with almost no waste.
The chakra blast struck the area where the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had originally been positioned, shattering several large boulders into dust.
The explosion was deafening, a thunderclap followed by the screech of disintegrating stone. The ground cratered under the impact, trees at the periphery splintering or uprooting entirely. A cloud of debris shot skyward, momentarily obscuring that portion of the battlefield.
However, the remaining swordsmen were unaffected.
That was because the moment Satoru launched his attack, Jūzō and the others had already scattered, assaulting Ryouma from multiple directions.
Unlike him, they hadn't allowed emotion to cloud their judgment. They'd recognized the bait for what it was and adapted instantly, using his impulsive attack as cover for their own coordinated assault.
Ryouma flipped both hands, revealing several Flying Thunder God kunai between his fingers, and then hurled them outward.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh~
Several kunai were thrown in a special arc, landing in various spots around the battlefield.
Faced with the pincer attack of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, he immediately used the Flying Thunder God Technique and teleported to one of the kunai's locations.
He reappeared thirty meters away, crouched beside a kunai embedded in a large tree.
Jūzō quickly realized what was happening and warned his teammates. "Watch where his kunai land!"
Having spent so long on the battlefield of Kiri, Ryouma's mastery of space-time ninjutsu had long since been known to Kiri.
"In that case, I'll just…"
Kushimaru showed a cruel smile as he suddenly changed direction and charged toward Guy's group, eyes full of bloodthirsty madness.
Predictable heroes and their predictable weaknesses, he thought with satisfaction.
The fact that the Leaf's Gale frequently moved across the battlefield, rescuing squads from Konoha, was no secret. Although in his eyes, such actions were boring and inefficient.
But if he attacked those weak genin, Ryouma would surely come to their aid.
Duy tensed up. Since the enemy was acting alone, he figured he might only need to open the Seventh Gate, the Gate of Wonder.
"Stay behind me!" he called to the genin.
Guy immediately understood, pulling his petrified teammates into position behind his father. Despite his fear, he assumed a defensive stance, kunai drawn.
"We're not helpless. We can fight too," Guy said with new fire in his voice.
However, Ryouma wouldn't give Duy the chance. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen must be taken down by him, one by one.
Duy's Eight Gates would eliminate the threat, but at the cost of his life. An unacceptable trade.
And he was a bit selfish. He wanted to take these swordsmen down by himself. It was something he had to do.
"Four Red Yang Formation!"
Several dazzling red beams of light shot up into the sky. They quickly linked with one another in pairs, forming a massive red rectangular barrier.
This was a trap he had prepared before appearing.
He had borrowed chakra from Shukaku, created four shadow clones infused with Kage-level chakra, and sent them to each corner in advance to set up the barrier technique.
When Kushimaru saw the red barrier suddenly appear before him, he cautiously stabbed it with Nuibari. The next moment, he was blown away by the intense chakra surging across the barrier's surface.
This Four Red Yang Formation was a high-level barrier technique of the Senju clan, requiring four individuals with Kage-level chakra to stand at four specific positions and perform a simultaneous hand seal formation.
Due to its extremely strict activation conditions and powerful isolating effect, it was recorded in the Scroll of Seals, and under normal circumstances, only a Hokage would be qualified to learn this technique.
But hey, Ryouma had a very capable Tsunade.
He deployed the Four Red Yang Formation not just to stop the Seven Ninja Swordsmen from escaping, it was also to prevent others from stealing his kills.
Yes, he was referring to that restless brute on the outside, who was itching to open the Eight Gates and jump in.
At the moment, Duy didn't fully understand what was happening. He only saw beams of red light shoot into the sky, and then Ryouma and the Seven Swordsmen were all sealed within the barrier.
What he could confirm, though, was that the barrier technique was used by Ryouma, since one of his shadow clones was clearly visible, seated at the base of a pillar of light, hands clasped in a sealing gesture.
"Guy, do you know what this technique is?" Duy asked.
Guy shook his head. "No, but it must be incredible if it can contain all the Swordsmen."
Inside the Four Red Yang Formation, Kushimaru, who had been blown away, felt a bit dizzy. He shook his head vigorously to regain focus.
"What... the hell... kind of barrier is this?"
Just then, Jūzō suddenly appeared behind him, wielding Kubikiribōchō, and swung it toward his back.
A sharp metallic clang echoed through the battlefield. The sound reverberated within the confined space of the barrier.
Ryouma had blocked the strike with it, which crackled with the electric arcs of Chidori Current. The two blades now clashed fiercely.
He instinctively directed the current along his enemy's blade, aiming to paralyze Jūzō by transmitting lightning chakra into his body.
"Lightning nature, eh?" Jūzō grimaced as blue-white electricity crawled along his blade like living things, seeking the path of least resistance toward his hands.
But he wasn't fighting alone, Kushimaru quickly recovered and lunged at Ryouma's abdomen with Nuibari.
However, Ryouma didn't even bother dodging the attack. He continued channeling the lightning chakra into Jūzō, paralyzing him on the spot.
Is he insane? Or... Jūzō's eyes widened in shock, both at the pain coursing through him and at his enemy's seeming disregard for the sword about to impale him.
At the same time, Shukaku, perched on Ryouma's shoulder, formed a hand seal with both hands. A surge of sand rose from the ground and formed a shield in front of him, blocking Kushimaru's stab.
"Surprise, sewage-breath! Thought he was fighting alone?" The tiny tanuki grinned wickedly.
The sand shield suddenly sprouted spikes, forcing Kushimaru to leap backward to avoid being impaled. The sand followed, forming tendrils that reached for him like hungry vipers.
In the blink of an eye, Ryouma condensed a Rasenshuriken in his hand. He didn't throw it. Instead, he wielded it like a weapon and slashed toward the immobilized Jūzō, treating it like a ninja tool.