Chapter 40: I Want the Exploding Tags in Blastsword Shibuki!
The scene fell into a stalemate again.
Yagura's death couldn't change their opposition.
Apart from Zabuza Momochi, who was an outsider to this, both Uehara Naraka and Mangetsu Hōzuki wanted to keep their respective secrets.
Uehara Naraka didn't want Uchiha Obito to find out about Kisame Hoshigaki's betrayal through any channel; he needed Kisame Hoshigaki to act as a spy.
Mangetsu Hōzuki didn't want anyone to know he attempted to kill Yagura, because he came from the Hōzuki clan and wanted to inherit the Mizukage position.
Kisame Hoshigaki swung Samehada (Shark Skin) off his back and said with a light chuckle, "Lord Uehara, if it's necessary to kill them, I should be able to make a move, right?"
"No rush."
Uehara Naraka waved his hand; he first wanted to check the reward for killing Yagura.
Hidden Quest: Eliminate Uchiha Obito's conspiratorial control over Fourth Mizukage Yagura (1/1). Mission Complete. Reward Skill: Cleanse.
Cleanse: Removes all negative effects from oneself. Cooldown 210 seconds. No cost.
Uehara felt puzzled. He had never noticed there were hidden quests. Completing it felt somewhat inexplicable; could killing Yagura also count as eliminating the control?
But the reward of the Cleanse skill could truly be called generous!
From now on, he wouldn't have to worry about encountering Sharingan genjutsu control; situations like Orochimaru and Kakashi being instantly defeated with a single glance wouldn't happen.
Besides this, there were two ordinary side quests.
Side Quest: Defeat the Three-Tails Isobu (1/1). Mission Complete. Reward Skill: Spiked Defense.
Spiked Defense: Enter a defensive stance, doubling Life Energy. During this period, if hit by an enemy's physical attack, reflect half the damage back to the enemy. Defensive stance minimum duration 6 seconds. Cost 40 Chakra. Duration related to chakra consumed. Cooldown 4 seconds.
Because he defeated a turtle, he got a turtle's skill?
Why not just give him a summoning contract directly! However, the existence of Spiked Defense greatly enhanced his taijutsu combat strength!
The reward given by the last quest could be called the most useless skill, because Kisame Hoshigaki beside Uehara Naraka also had similar ninjutsu skills.
Side Quest: Defeat Fourth Mizukage Yagura (1/1). Mission Complete. Reward Skill: Tidal Wave Roar.
Tidal Wave Roar: Summon a tidal wave from beneath one's feet, sweeping over all enemies in front. Skill range related to chakra cost. Minimum cost 100 Chakra. Cooldown 100 seconds.
Isn't this just a Water Release ninjutsu?
Uehara Naraka sighed. Kisame Hoshigaki standing next to him could spit out Water Release ninjutsu capable of destroying dams in one breath; this skill could only be said to be better than nothing.
"Hey, Mangetsu Hōzuki, what do you want to do?"
Zabuza Momochi planted the Executioner's Blade into the ground and said in a low voice, "Only dead men can keep secrets, but these two fellows before us are not easy to deal with!"
"We must keep them here."
Mangetsu Hōzuki held a scroll in his hand and said, "Suigetsu is still in the village. I don't want my younger brother to become a rogue ninja."
"That kid Suigetsu..."
When Zabuza Momochi mentioned Suigetsu Hōzuki, his expression turned a bit unpleasant, because that kid was always clamoring about taking away the Executioner's Blade.
Wasn't that directly stating he wanted to kill him [Zabuza] when he grew up?
If not for having an older brother like Mangetsu Hōzuki protecting him, that tactless Suigetsu Hōzuki would have already been killed countless times!
Kisame Hoshigaki recognized the scroll in Mangetsu Hōzuki's hand and clicked his tongue in admiration, "As expected of the prodigy beloved by the Seven Ninja Swords? Even Samehada in my hands acknowledges you, Mangetsu Hōzuki!"
"Is that the scroll capable of summoning the Seven Ninja Swords?"
Uehara Naraka looked curiously at the scroll in Mangetsu Hōzuki's hand and asked curiously, "How many of the ninja swords can he use now?"
"Based on current observation, it should be four."
Kisame Hoshigaki knew the Seven Ninja Swordsmen like the back of his hand and replied, "Samehada is in my hands, the Executioner's Blade is in Zabuza's hands, the Lightning Swords (Kiba) are still with the previous generation defector Raiga Kurosuki. He can use all of the remaining four."
"Ha..."
Uehara Naraka instantly became interested, "I heard one of the ninja swords is called Blastsword Shibuki, capable of summoning countless exploding tags... Is that sword among them?"
Although Uehara didn't know the mechanism of this ninja sword—it might have inscriptions or a curse mark for summoning exploding tags—its ability alone was attractive enough.
This ninja sword could perfectly complement the Infinite Multiplication Exploding Tags!
Uehara Naraka possessed the Infinite Multiplication Exploding Tags skill; no matter how many exploding tags he had, it actually wasn't quite enough for his usage.
If worse came to worst, could he give it to Konan as a decoration?
Kisame Hoshigaki didn't know Uehara Naraka's thoughts and nodded, "Correct, Blastsword Shibuki's explosive ability is also very troublesome..."
Uehara Naraka's expression immediately turned serious. Crossing his arms, he watched Mangetsu Hōzuki unrolling the scroll and said coldly, "Then have him hand over Blastsword Shibuki! That ninja sword, I like it very much!"
"..."
Kisame Hoshigaki's expression was a bit strange, seemingly recalling the fear of being dominated by Uehara Naraka's exploding tag formation. But now that he was in Uehara's camp, he actually chuckled lightly and nodded, "That ninja sword indeed suits Lord Uehara."
"Unfortunately, it looks like he doesn't want to hand it directly to me!"
Uehara Naraka cracked his knuckles, walked step by step towards Mangetsu Hōzuki's position, and softly instructed Kisame, "I'll take down Mangetsu Hōzuki. Mr. Kisame, you take down that guy Zabuza. No problem, right?"
"Of course."
Kisame Hoshigaki smiled confidently, abruptly tore off the bandages on Samehada, and continued with a smile, "It's best that Lord Uehara is willing to deal with Mangetsu Hōzuki... After all, I don't have much confidence in taking down that genius ninja from the village!"
Among Kirigakure's current three Seven Ninja Swordsmen, although their true strengths had never been compared, they more or less knew in their hearts that in a head-on fight, Zabuza's strength was likely the weakest.
As for Kisame Hoshigaki and Mangetsu Hōzuki, the two rarely interacted. And Mangetsu Hōzuki, only thirteen this year, had never suffered a single defeat to date.
Because Mangetsu Hōzuki never truly fought seriously against enemies in any mission, yet no matter how strong the enemy, he could always defeat them easily.
Therefore, Mangetsu Hōzuki was also known as Kirigakure's most mysterious genius, the prodigy whose true strength could never be known!
As for the opponent Mangetsu Hōzuki was about to face, he was also very interesting.
Kisame Hoshigaki had also never clearly seen how much power Uehara concealed, because whether Uehara Naraka faced Uchiha Obito or the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, he always appeared so confident and composed.
Kisame Hoshigaki turned his head with a grin, looking at the opponent assigned to him, "Over there is a duel between two ninjas whose true power has never been tested. Who are you supporting, Zabuza?"
"Hmph, the person I support... has always only been myself!"
Zabuza Momochi swung the Executioner's Blade and charged towards Kisame Hoshigaki! A civil war among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had begun!
(End of Chapter)
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