Promoting the Konoha threat theory, and talking about the Hidden Mist Belt!

Hozuki Shingetsu looked at the six members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist with a smile.

Based on his performance in the original work, it can be roughly estimated that Might Guy, at the level of a normal genin, after opening the Eight Gates and the Gate of Death, fought the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist ten years later and achieved a result of four deaths and three escapes.

Considering the special circumstances of a fight to the death, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist can be roughly considered to be two Kage-level members when they team up together under normal circumstances.

If these six people joined forces, they would probably be roughly equivalent to a normal Kage like Rasa. In this situation, it wouldn't be easy for Hozuki Shingetsu to defeat them using only Mirage and Steam Blast without relying on the Six-Tails.

After all, as people who had followed Hozuki Gengetsu, they knew the characteristics of this combination technique very well, and in terms of information, Hozuki Shingetsu was already at a disadvantage.

"In that case, we have no choice but to offend you."

The hot-tempered Raiga said something, then took out his Raiga, and began to attack with the twin blades clashing together.

During the Blood Mist Rebellion, he and Juzo Biwa were entangled by Touhiko Tachibana and did not go to the main battlefield.

Therefore, he did not witness everything that happened that night. He was only told afterwards that Ren was defeated and Hozuki Shingetsu became the Six-Tails Jinchuriki and won the final victory.

Regarding Hozuki Shingetsu's ability to become the Six-Tails' Jinchuriki at the young age of thirteen and defeat Ren, there were those in the village who admired him, while others were indifferent.

Black Hoshira is one of them.

In his view, Hozuki Shingetsu took a shortcut to become the Six-Tails Jinchuriki with the help of the Uzumaki clan, and only then did he acquire this Kage-level ability.

Raiga Kurosuki, having trained diligently since childhood and received guidance from Lord Gengetsu Hozuki, became one of the first Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, spending his days with his swords.

How could he possibly be psychologically at peace when his hard-earned strength was surpassed by someone else overnight?

However, due to the prevailing circumstances, he couldn't say anything before.

But in this battle, since Hozuki Shingetsu has personally said that he won't use his tailed beast form and that he will go berserk if he can't defeat him, then don't blame him for showing his true strength!

"If you were to use the power of a tailed beast, then our hopes would be slim. But since you've become so arrogant, then the opposite is true!"

"How can your few months of training compare to the swordsmanship I've honed over the past ten years, and the spirit I've painstakingly cultivated?"

That's why Raiga Kurosuki couldn't wait to jump out and lead the charge after the battle began.

"Thunder Escape·Thunder Fang!"

Rai-katana and fangs intertwined above his head, when suddenly a bolt of lightning struck Hozuki's crescent moon.

Looking at Hozuki Shingetsu, who had been struck by lightning, Kurosuki Raiga felt no joy. For some time now, a faint mist had spread from the forest, completely enveloping the area!

"How impatient! He attacked before even finishing his sentence. But if we define this battle as a real fight, it seems quite normal?"

Hozuki Shingetsu remained standing in the same spot, smiling as he looked at the crowd before him. The lightning strike seemed to have had no effect on him whatsoever; even his hairstyle remained perfectly intact.

The miniature water-oil clone still faced everyone with that comical expression, seemingly mocking the attack from before.

The six people in the mist looked around warily, then formed a circle back to back, facing outwards to guard against the attack of the water-oil clone.

As the first generation of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, formed by Hozuki Gengetsu, they naturally knew Hozuki Shingetsu's famous ninjutsu very well. They knew that as long as they were within the range of the mist, everything they saw was an illusion, and the real Hozuki Shingetsu was nowhere to be found.

brush!

The water and oil clones descended from the sky, landing precisely at the center of the circle formed by the six people standing back to back. Looking at their unsuspecting backs, they smiled.

Woo!

The next moment, six ninja swords of different shapes and sizes suddenly appeared from all directions and slashed at the clone.

There were clearly six ninja swords, but only one sound of air being cut was heard in the air, which shows how fast the swords were swung!

Clearly, this was an elaborate trap designed to lure the clone in!

Despite the overwhelming onslaught, the water-oil clone maintained its comical appearance and managed to escape from this seemingly inescapable crisis by sheer speed.

Before it has transformed into water vapor, and whose entire body is composed of water and oil, its speed is far beyond what ordinary people can imagine.

After escaping the group's attack, the clone smiled and disappeared into the mist, relying on its speed advantage to continuously ambush the group.

Under this intense exercise, the clone's size quickly began to expand, gradually reaching its limit.

"Thunder Burial - Feast of Thunder!"

Raiga Kurosuki planted his Raikou, Kiba, into the ground. His chakra, combined with his ninja tools, transformed into blue lightning that continuously struck the expanding clone, hoping to cause it to explode prematurely.

boom!

Amidst the deafening roar, a phantom figure, with outstretched arms embracing the sun, slowly dissipated.

As the temperature drops rapidly, the miniature version of the water-oil separation reappears.

"This Steam-Exploding Danger is just as difficult to deal with as Lord Huan Yue's... It seems this guy has indeed received Lord Huan Yue's true teachings..."

As Kurosuki Raiga gazed at the nimble figure of the clone, a hint of reminiscence flickered across his face, but it vanished almost immediately.

He knew that the most urgent task was to find Hozuki Shingetsu's true form, otherwise they would be worn down to death by that clone. The others present also understood this, and immediately used their methods to detect Hozuki Shingetsu's location.

Because the mist of a mirage can block the senses of sensory ninjutsu, they can only try their best to sense it using physical means, such as...

"Exploding Blade Ninja Art: Hair-Piercing Strangulation Death!"

Muri Jinpachi wielded a giant blade the size of an adult, constantly twirling the Exploding Blade: Spray in the mist.

As the blade flipped, countless explosive symbols slid off the sword and spread across the entire area due to inertia.

"burst!"

Wu Li raised his index finger and gave a soft shout, followed by a deafening roar!

With such a massive chain of detonating tags, plumes of dust rose into the sky, making it impossible to distinguish east from west.

Under the explosion of this type of explosive tag, which is similar to the multiplicative explosive tag, even a tailed beast would inevitably suffer injuries.

However, judging from Munari Jinpachi's expression, it was clear that he did not expect to win by relying on this explosion.

"Interesting... They're trying to pinpoint our location by using the dust wave from the explosion to shake us?"

Hozuki Crescent's voice came from an unknown place, sounding strong and undamaged.

Whoosh!

Amidst the dust storm, countless thin, indistinct lines shot out, intertwining in mid-air and connecting with the ground, trees, and boulders, forming a rope network spanning hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye. Knowing the mirage's enormous size, Su Xianquan deliberately widened the gaps in the steel wires to ensure coverage of this area.

"Long Sword Ninjutsu: Earth Spider Seam!"

Kushimaru swung his long sword, Sewing Needle, heavily.

As he moved, the steel wires scattered throughout the air and underground moved continuously, "scanning" the area like a laser array in a game.

"found it!"

Sensing that the steel wire had stopped at a certain point, the millet seed ball immediately realized that this was the location of the mirage and pointed it out.

As he spoke, Kusagi no Yaijin instantly appeared in mid-air over that area, brandishing his blunt sword, Kabuto-giri, and brought it down heavily!

boom!

As if an invisible barrier had been opened, a visible ripple spread out from the air.

Along with the ripples, a giant clam appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, before everyone's eyes.

Seeing that he had not yet broken through the mirage's defense, Tongcao Yeren picked up the hammer that was connected to the blunt sword by a chain, his blood rushing to his head, and with all his strength, he slammed it hard against the back of the sword.

boom!

With this blow, the mirage could no longer withstand the damage and turned into a wisp of smoke, dissipating into the air.

At the same time, the fog dissipated, and Hozuki Shingetsu's true form finally appeared before everyone.

"Using this method to solve mirages...that's really good..."

There was no response to Hozuki Shingetsu's praise; instead, there was only a fierce and incomparably powerful figure!

Taking advantage of the commotion, Suigetsu Hozuki had already quietly crept up to Hozuki Shingetsu's side. Now, like a steamroller, he charged forward, brandishing Samehada!

Despite Suigetsu Hozuki's previous obsequious behavior, it doesn't mean he'll disappear in this battle.

On the contrary, as a ninja, he knew that to gain the approval of his superiors, words were just icing on the cake, while strength was the key!

Therefore, he was even more determined to leave a deep impression on Hozuki Shingetsu in this battle!

"The battle is over!"

Seeing Hozuki Shingetsu get close to Suigetsu Hozuki, the group breathed a sigh of relief.

As people who had once followed Hozuki Gengetsu, they naturally knew that when using the Steam Explosion Technique, the user would be in an extremely weak state due to the large amount of water and oil being drawn from their body. Therefore, if a ninja skilled in swordsmanship were to get close to them in this state, the outcome would be predetermined.

However, just when everyone assumed that Hozuki Shingetsu would activate his tailed beast transformation and dodge the attack, Hozuki Shingetsu smiled calmly at the fierce onslaught, as if he had expected this situation.

"Are you too happy too early?"

As he spoke, the crimson color on Hozuki Shingetsu's body flashed by, and he effortlessly caught Samehada as it rushed towards him with both arms raised.

The towering Suigetsu Hozuki stared in disbelief at the scene before him, unable to comprehend how Hozuki Shingetsu, in his extremely weakened state, could withstand his attacks.

"Do you really think that besides the Steam Burst, my only other ability is the Tailed Beast Transformation?"

Hozuki Shingetsu's scarlet eyes opened and closed slightly as he chuckled softly:

"Steam Explosion Power? It's just a limiter to my strength."

Chapter 109 Searching for Nagato Uzumaki

During the long year of peaceful training, Hozuki Shingetsu not only learned the Steam Explosion Technique, but also naturally did not slack off in his training in the Water Release Chakra Mode.