The sea breeze, mixed with drifting ice shards, gradually dispersed the sea fog.
Haku, i Terumi, and Kisa stood on the choppy sea, each wearing a different expression.
Initially, i Terumi and Kisa thought they had dealt with the mysterious swordsman. But seeing Haku's solemn expression, their battle-hardened instincts kicked in, and they both looked towards the area where the swordsman had fallen into the water.
i Terumi's face showed confusion, while Kisa's face displayed intense wariness.
At that mont, the waves gradually cald, revealing a figure.
i Terumi's pupils contracted, her beautiful face now displaying a hint of curiosity.
Indeed, curiosity!
In the shinobi world, the status of samurai was quite ambiguous. Although the samurai still managed to hold so influence in the shinobi world and control the power of an entire nation, compared to shinobi, samurai as an ard group were clearly inferior, both in scale and power.
As a result, shinobi held a natural sense of superiority over samurai.
Even though a few samurai with exceptional strength had appeared in the shinobi world, shinobi would only condescendingly give them a decent evaluation.
Because the limits of the samurai were obvious, and a couple of geniuses could not change that fact, the samurai did not pose a significant threat to the shinobi villages.
However, this mysterious swordsman was different.
Not only was his body technique and speed on par with those of elite jōnin, but he also wielded a unique set of chakra-infused sword techniques!
Through observation, i Terumi was shocked to find that the swordsman could use his sword techniques without needing hand seals, releasing a Water Release ninjutsu similar to a B-rank "Water Dragon Bullet Technique."
In other words, the swordsman had mastered a set of sword techniques that could replace hand seals to unleash powerful ninjutsu!
An average person might not realize the significance of this, but i Terumi did. She keenly understood that if such sword techniques were widely adopted, the status of samurai would undergo a monuntal transformation.
Kisa, on the other hand, was more concerned with the present.
The fact that the swordsman survived his "Water Shark Bullet Technique" unscathed was enough to make him wary.
Giyu Tomioka's face remained as cold as ever.
After scanning Haku, i Terumi, and Kisa, he swayed slightly, activating his breathing technique to its peak, and swung his sword at Haku.
Caught off guard, Haku had no choice but to raise his left hand, using the kunai forged from fine steel to block the incoming slash while quickly forming hand signs with his right hand, activating his Ice Release.
Crack!
Instantly, the sound of shattering echoed across the sea.
The people on the fishing boat looked over and saw sheets of ice mirrors appearing on the sea, emitting cold air. However, the ice mirrors were soon shattered by flashes of sword light.
Seeing that Haku couldn't hold on, Kisa quickly ford hand signs and pressed his hands onto the sea: "Thousand Feeding Sharks!"
In the blink of an eye, countless sharks surged from the sea, rushing towards Giyu Tomioka!
Giyu Tomioka was slightly startled but quickly swung his sword at the oncoming sharks.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Haku caught his breath, then instinctively prepared to use Ice Release to assist Kisa in dealing with Giyu Tomioka.
But just as he was about to act, he suddenly rembered Shinji's instructions.
He looked at the battlefield, seeing countless sharks surrounding Giyu Tomioka and keeping him in the center. He thought, "Ti is running out; destroying the anchor point is what matters!"
Making up his mind, he decisively bypassed Giyu Tomioka and, despite his weary body, rushed towards the island.
i Terumi and Kisa both looked puzzled when they saw Haku suddenly break away from the battle and head for the island. However, with a powerful enemy in front of them, they quickly suppressed their doubts and continued their assault on Giyu Tomioka.
Shwip!
After a few leaps, Haku finally set foot on the island.
He panted heavily, observing his surroundings.
The island wasn't large, and he could see its entirety at a glance. Soon, his gaze locked onto a giant boulder on the island.
Boom!
Pushing off the ground, Haku's figure shot towards the boulder.
Underneath the towering boulder, which stood over ten ters tall, was an unassuming cave entrance, with signs that the cave had been artificially carved.
As Haku was about to enter the cave to investigate, he suddenly felt a surge of wind behind him and quickly dodged to the side.
Almost at the sa ti, Giyu Tomioka swung his sword, narrowly missing Haku.
Imdiately afterward, i Terumi and Kisa arrived on the island.
Seeing the strange actions of Haku and the mysterious swordsman, i Terumi could no longer hold back and asked Haku, "What's really going on here?"
Haku quickly replied, "We must defeat him!"
Since it involved the contamination, he couldn't reveal the truth. After speaking, he worried that this powerful demon might say sothing compromising.
However, Giyu Tomioka simply spun his sword in a flourish, saying, "I accept your challenge!"
"!?"
i Terumi and Kisa exchanged bewildered glances.
Although Haku's words were ambiguous, given that the Akatsuki had stationed only one mysterious swordsman at the test site, it made sense that defeating him was part of the trial.
What they hadn't expected was that after they revealed themselves, this mysterious swordsman, who they suspected was the Akatsuki examiner, did not question them at all. Instead, he calmly accepted the fact that he was being ganged up on.
What was even harder for them to accept was that this re swordsman confronted them with such arrogance and spoke in such a composed manner.
Both i Terumi and Kisa were renowned jōnin of the Hidden Mist, well-known throughout the shinobi world.
What gave this man the right to be so arrogant!
Kisa said, "Doesn't matter. He must die!"
i Terumi nodded, deciding that once they had dealt with the mysterious swordsman, she would ask Haku exactly what was going on.
Haku let out a sigh of relief.
He feared that the demon would ntion "anchor point," "alternate world," or other heavily contaminated information. To his surprise, the swordsman cooperated fully, saying sothing cryptic that helped him out of the situation.
"Attack!"
With i Terumi's command, the three of them began their coordinated assault on Giyu Tomioka once more.
In an instant, explosions echoed across the island.
Monts later.
i Terumi, Kisa, and Haku erged from the smoke, each looking disheveled and tense.
In the center of the smoke, Giyu Tomioka stood with his sword, his face still wearing that arrogant expression.
i Terumi asked, "Who exactly is this guy?!"
Kisa's expression was grim. "Our ninjutsu has no effect on him. It's like he's immortal!"
i Terumi continued, "For so reason, he seems to be able to see through my Water Clone Technique!"
Clearly, after several exchanges, i Terumi and Kisa, with their sharp analytical skills, had deduced much of the demon's abilities without Haku having to say a word.
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