(A/N):
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The shoreline turned into chaos.
Not wild chaos. Directed chaos.
Kazuma's voice carried over the crashing tide.
"Rotate barriers! Second seal formation, now!"
Uzumaki shinobi responded instantly.
Chains of chakra burst from their palms, spiraling outward to bind Mist attackers mid-stride.
Explosive tags detonated in calculated waves, disrupting formation and breaking momentum.
But then—The sea surface flashed crimson.
Leo reappeared. Not with thunder. Not with spectacle.
Just movement too fast for eyes trained on chakra alone.
One Mist shinobi blinked—His head was no longer attached to his body.
Another formed seals—A sword materialized in Leo's hand from nothing, its arc clean and indifferent.
Three bodies fell before their blood even hit the water.
"Where is he?!"
One of the Six remaining Swordsmen roared, spinning violently with blade raised.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Leo vanished again.
Appeared behind a cluster of Mist genin attempting to regroup.
A single step forward.
-Splash!
Five collapsed. He was not dueling elites.
He was erasing numbers. Cutting supply. Shattering morale.
Kazuma saw it and understood immediately.
He isn't fighting for glory.
He's thinning the war. The fight is for them to finish.
Meanwhile—A Mist shinobi lunged toward an Uzumaki chūnin whose barrier seal had just faltered.
Blade descending.
No time to react—From the Uzumaki's shadow—Two radiant blue eyes opened.
-Gleam
"...."
The Mist shinobi froze mid-swing.
A clawed hand emerged from darkness.
Then a figure stepped fully out.
Sleek. Monstrous. Aura vibrating with hunger.
Beru.
The Mist shinobi barely gasped before his torso split open in a blur of claws.
Swish!!!
"...."
Across the battlefield—More shadows rippled.
From beneath fallen bodies. From beneath living feet.
From beneath the sea itself where silhouettes stretched unnaturally.
One.... Five.... Ten....
Fifty....
Shadow soldiers rose in silence.
Their forms varied—some armored, some monstrous, some draconic in outline.
Blue eyes glowing like cold stars.
Mist shinobi staggered backward.
"What jutsu—?!"
One tried to stab a shadow soldier.
His blade passed halfway through—Then the shadow's hand solidified.
Crushing his throat.
Beru moved like a predator unleashed.
He leapt from water to water, carving through Mist ranks with elegant brutality.
Meanwhile—The Six Swordsmen finally coordinated.
"Forget the fodder!"
"Find him!"
They tightened formation, scanning constantly, blades poised for a synchronized strike.
Leo appeared again—This time within their outer circle.
One swordsman lunged instantly.
-Swish!
Leo sidestepped without looking, his blade sliding through another Mist shinobi's neck mid-motion.
The Swordsmen turned—He was gone again.
Reappeared near the flank.
Another genin fell.
Their numbers dropped visibly.
Panic began spreading.
The Mist shinobi were trained killers.
"...."
"...."
"...."
But this—This felt like being hunted by something that chose when you died.
Shigure and Raizen stood at mid-field, chakra trembling.
Inside them—Isobu rumbled low.
"We warned you."
Saiken hissed clearly agitated.
"This is not a battlefield. This is a culling."
The sea churned violently now as shadow soldiers pushed Mist forces back toward open water.
Uzumaki chains wrapped around retreating shinobi.
Explosive seals detonated beneath their feet.
Above—Clouds darkened.
Not from Ghidorah. Just from pressure.
The Six Swordsmen gathered back-to-back now.
Breathing heavier. Blades slick with seawater.
One muttered through clenched teeth.
"This is no summoner."
Another spat blood.
"This is something else."
At that exact moment—Leo appeared directly above them mid-air.
Looking down. Expression calm. As if evaluating livestock. Or an entertainment.
And then—Leo descended slowly, boots barely disturbing the mist that hovered over the water.
No chakra flare. No hand signs. Just gravity acknowledging him.
The six remaining Seven Swordsmen tightened their circle instantly.
"...."
"...."
"...."
They did not blink. They did not breathe deeply.
They had already lost one.
And the battlefield behind them was collapsing. Now it was personal.
Blades rose. The Six Blades
Samehada pulsed hungrily in its wielder's grip, scales twitching as if tasting the air.
Kubikiribōchō rested massive and silent, its chipped edge promising resurrection through blood.
Hiramekarei shimmered, ready to shape chakra into devastating bursts.
Kiba crackled violently, twin lightning blades screaming for release.
Shibuki hissed with explosive tags layered across its surface.
Nuibari glinted needle-thin, wire already taut and invisible in mist.
They moved in perfect synchronization.
No hesitation. No pride.
Just execution. Kiba struck first.
Lightning exploded outward in a blinding X-shaped arc meant to slice space itself.
Simultaneously, Hiramekarei expanded in a chakra hammer form from above.
Shibuki detonated mid-swing, explosive tags igniting to engulf Leo in concussive force.
Nuibari's wire whipped silently through the mist, aiming to pierce and bind.
Kubikiribōchō swung low, targeting legs for instant disablement.
Samehada lunged straight for Leo's chest, devouring chakra before it could even be used.
Six angles. Six kill vectors.
For a normal kage—Certain death.
The explosion swallowed Leo.
-BOOMMMM!!!
Water burst outward in a circular shockwave.
Mist was obliterated in a white flash.
The shoreline trembled.
For half a second—
Silence.
"...."
"...."
"...."
The Swordsmen did not celebrate. They waited.
Because something felt wrong.
The lightning arcs were still crackling.
But—Samehada began screaming.
Not roaring. Screaming.
Its scales recoiled violently. The wielder staggered.
"What—?!"
The smoke cleared. Leo stood there. Unmoved.
The lightning had carved lines into the air around him—But not his body.
Hiramekarei's chakra mass hung suspended inches from his shoulder.
Frozen.
Shibuki's detonations had erupted—Yet the shockwave bent around him like a stone in a river.
Nuibari's wire hovered mid-air—Unable to advance.
Time had not stopped. But momentum had.
Leo's eyes gleamed faintly black. Not Sharingan red. Not Rinnegan ripple.
Just depthless black.
He stepped forward.
And the suspended attacks shattered.
Hiramekarei's chakra construct imploded backward, knocking its wielder off balance.
Nuibari's wire snapped.
Shibuki's delayed explosion detonated behind its own user, launching him across the water.
Kubikiribōchō's swing met Leo's palm.
The massive blade stopped. Cracked.
And split in two. The swordsman holding Samehada tried again, forcing the blade forward.
Samehada refused. It recoiled violently from Leo's presence.
-Ahhhh!!!!
The wielder screamed as the blade tore free from his grip and flopped uselessly into the sea.
Kiba's lightning intensified.
Its wielder roared and lunged straight for Leo's neck.
Leo stepped inside the strike.
Too close for blade leverage.
His hand rose. One precise strike to the ribs.
The sound was dull. The lightning died instantly.
The swordsman's body folded inward unnaturally as he collapsed into the water.
Three left standing. Fear finally entered their eyes.
"Together—!" one shouted.
They tried again. But now they were reacting.
Not hunting. Leo moved once more.
This time—They saw it.
Not teleportation. Not body flicker.
Just acceleration beyond perception.
Kubikiribōchō's wielder lost his head mid-blink.
"Wh__!"
Shibuki's wielder tried to detonate again—His arm was gone before the thought finished.
Nuibari's needle thrust toward Leo's eye—Leo caught it between two fingers.
Twisted. And drove it clean through its owner's throat.
Silence returned.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Water lapped gently around floating bodies.
Six legendary blades—Broken.
Discarded. Or sinking.
Leo stood alone on the water surface.
Around him—Shadow soldiers tore through the remaining Mist forces.
Beru's claws gleamed crimson.
Kazuma and the Uzumaki pressed the advantage mercilessly.
Shigure and Raizen stared in horror.
Inside them—Isobu spoke softly.
"That is not shinobi."
Saiken murmured.
"That is something the world has accepted."
Leo glanced toward the two jinchūriki.
Not with hostility. But with evaluation.
The battle—Was already over.
The sea had gone quiet. Not because the battle had ended.
But because something older than war was now looking at it.
Leo's gaze shifted. Not toward the broken blades.
Not toward the fleeing Mist shinobi.
But toward the two figures standing rigid upon the water's trembling surface.
Shigure Karatachi. Raizen Shibuki.
"...."
Inside them—Two ancient beings recoiled.
The moment Leo's eyes settled on them, the chakra within their bodies churned violently.
Isobu growled low.
"Do not provoke it."
Saiken's voice trembled faintly.
"That gaze… it sees beyond flesh."
Shigure swallowed hard.
"Come out," he muttered inwardly. "If you want freedom, help me now!"
Raizen clenched his fists.
"We release you. Just crush him!"
The beasts' responses came instantly.
"Fool."
"We are not suicidal."
Isobu's massive presence pressed inward rather than outward.
Saiken withdrew deeper into Raizen's seal.
"Run."
The hosts felt it clearly.
The tailed beasts—who raged against cages, who sought dominance—were refusing.
They were afraid.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Leo stepped forward across the water, each step sending out gentle ripples rather than explosive force.
His eyes changed. Not dramatically.
No flare. No ripple. Just depth.
Blackness layered with something unseen.
Through that gaze—He saw them. Not the flesh. Not the seals.
But the chakra cores within.
Three Tails. Six Tails.
Bound. Restless. Watching him in return.
For a fraction of a second—The ocean seemed to tilt.
Then his eyes returned to their usual calm crimson.
The black depth vanished like it had never been. He stopped a few paces from the two jinchūriki.
They tensed visibly.
"...."
"...."
Chakra flickered around them defensively.
Leo smiled. Not mockingly. Not cruelly.
Friendly. Almost amused.
"You don't have to fight," he said gently.
The words struck harder than any attack.
Shigure blinked.
"…What?"
Raizen's breath trembled.
"You… you killed the Seven Swordsmen."
Leo shrugged lightly.
"They attacked."
The wind brushed across the water between them.
Behind Leo, shadow soldiers dragged the last remnants of Mist resistance into silence.
Beru stood motionless, blue eyes fixed.
Leo tilted his head slightly.
"I'm not interested in killing you."
Shigure's jaw tightened.
"You expect us to believe that?"
Inside them—Isobu spoke again, slower this time.
"He is not lying."
Saiken murmured.
"He does not see us as trophies."
That realization disturbed them more than hostility would have.
Leo looked at both hosts carefully.
"You were sent here as disposable weapons."
No accusation. Just fact.
Raizen's expression darkened. Shigure's hands clenched.
"...."
"...."
Leo continued calmly.
"Your villages will call you cowards if you retreat."
"They will call you failures if you die."
He paused.
"But neither of those matter to me."
The ocean breeze carried salt and iron.
"I will not pursue you."
The words were simple.
"You may leave. If you want to..."
The jinchūriki stared at him. Confusion battled instinct.
Behind Leo, Kazuma watched carefully but did not interfere.
The Uzumaki troops held formation.
Shigure whispered inwardly.
"Isobu…?"
The Three Tails responded firmly.
"Go."
Saiken echoed.
"This battlefield does not belong to us."
Leo stepped aside slightly, opening a clear path back toward open water.
A gesture of exit.
No threat.
No arrogance.
Just certainty.
Shigure's breath shook.
Raizen's eyes flickered once more toward Leo's red gaze.
For a brief moment—
They understood something the Seven Swordsmen never did.
This was not a shinobi war.
This was a boundary.
And they had just stepped on the wrong side of it.
Slowly—
Very slowly—The two jinchūriki turned. And began walking back across the sea.
The two jinchūriki had taken only a dozen steps across the trembling water when Leo's voice reached them.
It was not loud. But it did not need to be.
"You two..."
They froze. The sea stilled again.
Slowly, both turned back.
Leo stood where he had left them—calm, hands behind his back, mist drifting lazily around him.
"I gave you permission to leave," he said evenly. "But I did not give you the best option."
Shigure's jaw tightened.
"…What option?"
Leo's red eyes gleamed faintly—not predatory, but knowing.
"A life."
Silence pressed down.
"A life where you are not weapons."
Raizen scoffed weakly.
"That doesn't exist for jinchūriki."
Leo tilted his head slightly.
"It does. In my lands."
Behind them, Uzumaki shinobi watched carefully but did not interrupt.
Leo continued.
"You were born into cages."
"Feared. Used. Discarded."
He took a single step forward on the water.
"I am offering you something Kirigakure never will."
Shigure swallowed.
-Gulp
"…And what do you want?"
"Loyalty."
The word was clean. Direct.
"In return, I give you protection."
"Citizenship. Autonomy."
Raizen's breath hitched.
"...."
"And the beasts?"
Leo's gaze shifted—not to their faces, but through them.
"Isobu."
The ocean beneath Shigure's feet rippled faintly.
Inside him, the Three Tails stiffened.
"Saiken."
Raizen's seal vibrated subtly.
Both jinchūriki's eyes widened.
"...."
"...."
He said their names without hesitation. Without fear.
Leo's voice softened slightly.
"If you desire freedom," he said calmly, addressing the beings within, "I can sever your chains."
The words echoed inside the inner worlds of both hosts.
Isobu's massive eye opened fully.
"Sever…?"
Saiken stirred, sludge-like chakra trembling.
"Impossible."
Leo's red eyes flickered—just briefly—into that deep black again.
"I see the seals. I see the bonds. I see the fear you carry."
Shigure staggered slightly. He could feel it.
Leo wasn't guessing. He was looking directly at them.
"Freedom does not mean chaos," Leo continued. "It means choice."
He raised one hand slightly—not in threat. In offer.
"Serve under me. Become citizens—not tools. Fight because you choose to. And I will not only protect you…"
His gaze sharpened faintly.
"I will protect them."
The ocean trembled lightly.
Isobu fell silent.
"...."
Saiken's voice lowered.
"He speaks like one who stands above us."
Shigure whispered inwardly.
"Can he do it?"
Isobu did not answer immediately.
Then—"He could."
Raizen clenched his fists.
"If we refuse?"
Leo shrugged lightly.
"You walk away. No pursuit. No punishment. But your villages will not change."
The wind passed between them. This was not coercion. This was leverage.
"...."
"...."
Shigure slowly turned to Raizen.
Raizen met his gaze.
For the first time since becoming jinchūriki—They were being asked.
Not ordered. Not deployed. Asked.
Inside them, the tailed beasts spoke one last time.
Isobu griting its teeth even through it knew it couldn't.
"If he lies, we break him."
Saiken could only sigh.
-Sigh
"If he frees us… we owe him."
Shigure turned back to Leo.
"…You would truly let us live as normal people?"
Leo smiled faintly.
"As normal as someone with a tailed beast inside can be."
A small huff of breath escaped Raizen despite the tension.
Leo extended his hand. Not forcefully. Just open.
"Choose."
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(Author's POV)
(A/N)I hope you guys are enjoying the story.
Thanks for reading the chapter!
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And power stone!!!
It will Motivate Me.