The technique of connecting the water prison was finally dispelled by the three Mist Hidden Upper Ninjas.
Fresh air poured in, scattering the Mist Hidden Technique that had turned scarlet within.
Several greedy gasps, accompanied by a strong scent of blood that assaulted the senses, crashed into the perception of everyone watching this graduation assessment.
"Excellent!"
"Congratulations, you have successfully passed this graduation assessment and preliminarily obtained the temporary right to use the Seven Ninja Swords."
Yagura Karatachi watched with a calm expression as seven figures, leaning on ninja swords, appeared in his sight as the mist dissipated. His words, devoid of any emotion, reached the ears of the seven.
As for the over a hundred children's corpses in the blood pool, their deaths gruesome, Yagura didn't even have the desire to look at them.
Just as his teacher had told him...
The weak are only fit to be whetstones for the strong's advancement.
As soon as Yagura announced the end of the assessment, the seven figures, who had already pushed themselves to their limits, collapsed to the ground.
The seven, kneeling or standing, stared intently at Yagura on the high platform. While gasping for air, they silently recovered chakra within their bodies, racing against time.
They knew that the real assessment still awaited them.
As expected.
Upon seeing the state of the seven, a stiff, rare smile flickered across Yagura's indifferent face.
He glanced down at the seven names on the list that were not crossed out, and temporarily drew a dashed line between these seven individuals and the names of the ninja swords in their hands.
Great Sword: Samehada – Juzo Biwa
Severing Sword: Kubikiribōchō – Zabuza Momochi
Lightning Sword: Kiba – Raiga Kurosuki
Long Sword: Nuibari – Kushimaru Kuriarare
Explosion Sword: Hiramekarei – Jinpachi Munashi
Dull Sword: Kabutowari – Jinin Akebino
Twin Swords: Shibuki – Suigetsu Hozuki
"Not bad!"
"You seven are the juniors who have adapted best to the assessment rules in recent years!"
"As a reward for your excellent performance, you have thirty minutes to rest, and later..."
"Ninjas who also wish to become members of the Seven Ninja Swords will challenge you for the ownership of the swords."
Yagura's smile flashed and disappeared, and he looked at the seven below with some anticipation.
"A friendly tip, these challengers are all ninjas who lost in previous ninja sword contention battles."
"The reason they lost before was mostly because they felt their strength was insufficient and voluntarily gave up their swords, waiting for another opportunity."
"They are very clever."
"It is obviously easier to seize swords from Genin with Chunin-level strength than from ninjas of the same level."
"But at the same time, you are also very lucky!"
"Because what you are about to face is a challenge initiated by a group of failures."
Yagura took out a transparent hourglass from his pocket.
"The moment the sand runs out is when the challenge begins!"
"This ninja sword contention challenge..."
A hint of cruelty flashed in Yagura's eyes as he gently flipped the hourglass in his hand.
"Has no rules!"
...
Mangetsu Hozuki, who was large in stature, stared at the hourglass in Yagura's hand and grinned with his sharp-toothed mouth at the six people beside him.
"I think Samehada suits me!"
Juzo Biwa scraped the edge of the Kubikiribōchō in front of him with his finger, a hint of undisguised affection showing on his cold face.
"I also like the feeling of chopping people with this large sword!"
"I'd be reluctant to let others use it!"
Kushimaru Kuriarare chuckled and swung the long Nuibari in his hand a few times.
"I still think the scene of dissecting a body into countless pieces with chakra threads is much more elegant than simply chopping off heads!"
"The seniors would like this kind of death, wouldn't they?"
Jinpachi Munashi shook Shibuki, which was covered in unactivated explosive tags, and glanced dismissively at the Nuibari in Kushimaru Kuriarare's hand.
"Hmph!"
"A weapon used by women for embroidery, how can it be as stimulating as an explosion!"
"A magnificent explosion is the romance of true men!"
"I will use this explosion sword to blow those cowards who dare to challenge me to pieces!"
Kushimaru Kuriarare's face contorted as if he had eaten something foul. He turned his head and rolled his eyes at this seemingly rude fellow.
"So barbaric!"
"Killing is killing, can't you leave some dignity for others?"
Jinpachi Munashi gave him a ferocious smile.
"Dead people don't need dignity!"
"How can you, someone who likes dismemberment, say such a thing?"
Kushimaru Kuriarare, wearing a black and white patterned mask, his eyes turned cold, and the Nuibari in his hand twitched slightly.
The short, stout Jinin Akebino tapped the hammer and axe he held in his hands, interrupting their debate on killing methods with a dull clang.
"Don't you think it's a true enjoyment to crush their self-righteous defenses head-on and let them die with despair on their faces?"
Suigetsu Hozuki, with his spiky hair, separated the twin swords Shibuki and grinned at the six.
"Shibuki, which can attack from close or long range, can be used for offense or sneak attacks, suits me very well."
"So, shall we cooperate?"
A ferocious smile appeared on all seven faces simultaneously.
Mangetsu Hozuki slammed the Great Sword Samehada heavily onto the ground, looking with murderous intent at the more than a dozen Mist Hidden Chunin who appeared outside the arena.
"Fourteen, I thought there would be many more who dared to come and die!"
"It's quite annoying to use the lives of these lesser individuals to witness the rise of us Seven Ninja Swordsmen!"
...
"Is this witnessing history?"
Orochimaru, who had been attracted by the explosion from Shibuki, floated in the air and sighed meaningfully as he watched the seven ninja swords fighting in formation against over a dozen Mist Hidden ninjas below.
"To select the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in this manner, it is indeed fitting for the Village of the Bloody Mist!"
After glancing at the seven ninja swords who had already gained the upper hand, Orochimaru chuckled, and his body turned into a wisp of breeze, entering the Mizukage's office.
Yagura, who was watching the battle below, looked around in confusion but found nothing.
"Who?"
Yuki, who had been sensing the ninja sword selection from afar with his eyes closed, suddenly sensed the abnormal airflow in the office. He abruptly opened his eyes and let out a fierce shout towards the empty Mizukage's office.
"Heh!"
"I've been discovered? Truly worthy of being the Third Mizukage!"
Orochimaru chuckled, shook his head, and sighed as he revealed himself before Yuki.
The Third Mizukage's pupils contracted, and he suddenly stood up from his seat.
"Someone from Konoha?"
"You are the Sannin, Orochimaru?"
"To dare to trespass into the Mist alone, what great courage!"
"There is no alliance treaty between the Hidden Mist Village and Konoha. Aren't you afraid of death by trespassing into my office?"
Orochimaru fumbled in his pocket and took out an invitation, which he tossed towards the Third Mizukage.
"I am afraid of death, of course!"
"However, to prevent the Hidden Mist from missing a grand event, I had to make this trip myself."
"I must say, it's really not easy to reach the Hidden Mist Village by crossing the mist-shrouded sea!"
(If I were to drag out the battles of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, I could have written at least two to three more chapters. But after writing for so long, I felt it was pointless to dwell too much on a few minor characters, so I simply cut it out. It's enough to clarify the time of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's appearance. Therefore, let's fast-forward directly to the battle of kings!)