"Don't get careless. He seems to be one of the escort ninjas."
One of the Kumogakure ninjas reminded his two teammates. For a shinobi, underestimating the enemy was one of the greatest taboos.
Even if the Konoha ninja before them looked like an immature child, once they t on the battlefield, he was an enemy to be killed without rcy.
"It's fine. He's just a kid. No matter how strong he is, could he really have the strength of a special jōnin?"
The Kumogakure ninja with the wounded arm, crimson blood still seeping from the gash, revealed a cruel smile.
The pain tearing through his wound seed to scrape against his brain, making his mood increasingly violent.
He had to repay this grudge.
He would carve that Konoha brat apart, cut by cut, and let him die slowly.
"I didn't expect even a place like Konoha to have swordsmanship enthusiasts. But you? Three swords? Nothing but a cheap stunt."
Under the Raikage's influence, Kumogakure was a militant ninja village that valued swordsmanship and taijutsu.
For example, Killer B's future Eight-Sword Style would one day beat Sasuke so badly he would look like he had been tortured.
"Kai, hurry up and deal with him. The two of us will go after the prince. Don't let soone else steal the credit."
"Kai? Kai!!"
??
!!
The Kumogakure squad captain standing in the middle realized that Kai beside him had not responded at all, and his pupils began to shrink.
"Pfft!!"
The familiar sound of blood spraying erupted.
Thick liquid burst into the air, drawing a beautiful arc of crimson.
Kai, who had been mocking Zoro with disdain only monts ago, had already been separated from his head. Even in death, his expression remained frozen in that sa contemptuous sneer.
"Hmm.. How should I put it… I don't really feel anything."
The cold voice drew the attention of the remaining two, making both Kumogakure ninjas whirl around.
Beneath the forest canopy, a boy in a black coat stood there, staring at the refined katana in his hand. Blood slid down the blade and dripped onto the ground.
The boy's face was expressionless, his gaze indifferent.
"Its my first ti drawing blood… so why does it feel so empty?"
Zoro looked fondly at the Wado Ichimonji in his hand.
This was his first ti killing soone.
And yet he was strangely calm.
Against enemies who intended to kill him, Zoro would show no rcy.
The remaining two were experienced fighters. Naturally, they would not be frightened off so easily, even after seeing their teammate cut down on the spot.
"We underestimated him. I told you not to get careless. Attack together and finish him quickly."
The squad captain spoke to the only teammate left beside him.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
The fact that he could beco one of the captains of the two assault squads ant his strength was naturally among the best of them.
His battle experience was the sa. With practiced ease, he spat out a massive current of water, forming a barrier that wrapped around the space surrounding Zoro.
"Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!"
The teammate beside him ford hand seals the instant the Water Release appeared and unleashed Lightning Release.
Lightning rged continuously into the water, forming a blue, hemispherical prison of water and electricity that trapped Zoro inside.
"Don't waste ti. Hurry up, eliminate the target, and retreat."
The squad captain spoke to his teammate.
Zoro's strength had exceeded his expectations.
And there was still Minato Namikaze, who could break through the poison mist at any mont. Once he escaped that trap, they would truly beco defeated dogs waiting to be slaughtered.
"Right."
The two of them had never intended to waste much ti on Zoro, which was why the ninjutsu they used was ant to restrain him.
A combined technique from two special jōnin—surely even another special jōnin could not break free instantly.
That was what they thought.
But just as they turned and took a single step, the teammate beside the captain let out a miserable scream.
"Ah!"
The shriek sounded like a pig being slaughtered, making the squad captain shudder.
He turned toward the sound and saw that one of his teammate's legs had sohow been cleanly sliced off.
"This… this is impossible?!"
The squad captain began to doubt reality. Like he had seen a ghost, he looked back.
The water-lightning prison was still there, making him quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
But what happened next made his heart rise again.
Several invisible blade-shaped slashes easily broke through the water-lightning prison. As if guided by a precise GPS lock, they struck the teammate collapsed on the ground.
The teammate's screams stopped abruptly.
In a sense, it also freed him from his suffering.
"Ah… is this kid a monster?"
Seeing those abnormal invisible flying slashes, the squad captain fell into despair. He could only rely on instinct to dodge the dense barrage of attacks.
This was Zoro's swordsmanship.
One-Sword Style: Sanjūroku Pondo Hō
By drawing his sword at high speed, he released a "flying slash" to attack his target.
Because no one in the entire shinobi world could use such a technique, the elite Kumogakure ninja could only be baffled when faced with these strange, invisible cuts.
"Is this Wind Release? Or sothing else?!"
The squad captain hid behind a large boulder, gasping heavily. His body was drained of strength, his face pale.
His whole body was stained scarlet. Ragged wounds bled continuously, and despair covered his face.
Compared to Wind Release, this attack was quieter and harder to detect, yet its power was terrifyingly abnormal.
"Tell . How did you know we would pass through here?"
Just as the squad captain was sinking into despair, an indifferent voice appeared beside his ear.
He looked up and saw the boy they had looked down on earlier crouching atop the boulder, calmly looking down at him like a god of death.
"Tch. Are you joking? You think I'd tell you?"
The squad captain spat a mouthful of bloody foam at Zoro, staring at him mockingly as though looking at a clown.
He admitted he was no match for Zoro, but he was not the kind of ninja who would betray his village's intelligence.
Kumogakure might have many flaws, but at the very least, they were far more united than Konoha.
"Fine. Then I'll ask it another way. Soone in Konoha leaked the information to you, didn't they?"
A chill surfaced on Uchiha Zoro's face.
He did not believe these weaklings could truly hold back Minato Namikaze.
Of course, calling special jōnin "weaklings" was probably sothing only Zoro would do.
The Kumogakure captain's eyes trembled almost imperceptibly.
Then, undisguised madness and mockery spread across his face.
"Hahaha! Keep standing above everyone, then. Enjoy what little ti you have left—because just like Konoha's White Fang, you'll die at the hands of your own people."
Uchiha Zoro narrowed his eyes.
At that mont, the distant sound of explosive tags detonating suddenly rang out.
His expression shifted slightly.
As if noticing Zoro's attention had been diverted, the squad captain below—who had looked terribly weak monts ago—suddenly erupted into motion.
"Nintaijutsu: Lariat!"
The Kumogakure squad captain concentrated all his Lightning Release chakra into his hand. Blue arcs of electricity ford a hand blade as he stabbed violently toward Zoro's neck.
Closer.
Closer!
Closer!!
Watching himself get nearer and nearer to Zoro's neck, the squad captain's pupils trembled and shrank wildly. The cruel smile at the corner of his mouth grew wider and wider.
"Pfft!"
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