Chapter 75: This Is My Escape Route

"Only two left."

Kiyosuke spoke.

Only Jinpachi Munashi and Fuguki Suikazan remained.

At this point, Fuguki Suikazan had been pushed into a corner by Might Duy. His body was far too bulky.

His attacks came with tremendous force, but his movements were too slow. He couldn't land a hit on Duy, and instead, he had taken quite a bit of damage himself. Samehada couldn't absorb Duy's chakra either, and the injuries on Fuguki's body were only growing.

As for Jinpachi Munashi, the relentless explosions from earlier had died down. Now, they only happened occasionally—likely because there were very few explosive tags left in his Blast Sword: Shibuki.

Without the tags, the Shibuki was just a heavy chunk of metal. It did have a last-resort technique that could drag the enemy down with the user, but unless absolutely necessary, Jinpachi would never use it.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

Fuguki Suikazan panted heavily. He couldn't fend off Duy's attacks, and his body was reaching its limit.

Coughing up blood, he gripped Samehada tightly by the tail and muttered,

"Looks like it's time to use that technique."

Kiyosuke watched him and said, "Samehada's attacks are all about wide, powerful swings—nothing that'll beat Duy-san. But if I remember right, there should be a backup method."

He rubbed his chin. He remembered that Kisame Hoshigaki had once used Samehada to transform into a half-man, half-shark hybrid. That had to be one way to use the sword's powers. As Samehada's original wielder, there was no reason Fuguki couldn't do the same.

And just as he suspected, Fuguki made his move. The tail of Samehada suddenly extended a long spine that pierced through his palm. Yet he didn't show a hint of pain.

Samehada began to shrink, while Fuguki's body swelled rapidly. The massive blade gradually disappeared into his limbs and torso, vanishing completely. During this transformation, his body underwent a dramatic change.

Where once stood a man, now stood a monster.

His already massive frame grew even larger, bursting past three meters tall and expanding in girth. His clothes shredded from the pressure—though, oddly enough, his pants held up just fine. From his back grew a dorsal fin like a shark's, while his head merged seamlessly with his shoulders. Behind his ears, gill slits opened.

His hands and feet developed webbing. Bony spines sprouted from his elbows and knees. His skin turned a sickly shade of dark green, hideous to behold.

The hair that had once been tied back now exploded outward, hardening into long, sharp quills. Spikes also emerged all around his chest, leaving no part of him looking remotely human.

If Orochimaru had seen this, he'd probably have done everything in his power to capture Fuguki alive—for research purposes.

The others were stunned by his transformation.

"Samehada can actually fuse with its user?!" Torifu exclaimed. "That's one unique technique."

He had never seen anything like it.

"What a massive pufferfish!" Kiyosuke shouted.

Kisame was half-man, half-shark—but this guy? He was half-man, half-pufferfish!

Both looked freakish, sure, but at least Kisame had a rugged charm. After a while, you might even find him kinda cool. But Fuguki? This transformation was just plain ugly.

Jinpachi Munashi caught sight of Fuguki's monstrous form and cursed under his breath. He ignored the bugs flying toward him, hoisted the Shibuki onto his shoulder, and bolted.

Fuguki didn't care that his teammate was abandoning him. He just growled,

"Since you've all forced me into a corner, it's time I show you my ultimate move!"

As he spoke, his body swelled even further, transforming into a spiked sphere. Venom began to drip from the countless spines covering him.

An urchin?!

Kiyosuke's face darkened. Even in the past, he knew how terrifying pufferfish toxins could be. Their ovaries, liver, kidneys, eyes, and blood all contained deadly poison. If handled improperly—or accidentally ingested—it could mean anything from severe poisoning to instant death.

Though… he had heard they were quite tasty…

Tetrodotoxin, the toxin in pufferfish, was one of the most lethal neurotoxins known in nature. Victims could become paralyzed and lose the ability to breathe, left helplessly watching themselves die. It was truly horrifying.

He said in a grave voice, "Captain Torifu, be careful. That guy's venom might be pufferfish toxin. If anyone gets injured and poisoned, there's no antiserum."

Torifu understood how dangerous that was. He nodded, shrinking down as he watched Fuguki barrel toward them—shockingly fast despite his size.

"In that case… Shibi!"

Shibi nodded. "Secret Technique: Insect Sphere!"

A swarm of black insects surged forward like a living cloud, latching onto Fuguki's body and gnawing away.

But in seconds, every insect dropped dead—poisoned.

"I'll handle this! Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A barrage of shuriken rained down, embedding into the massive spiked orb—but they couldn't pierce his defenses.

"Flame Wall!"

With a swing of his arm, a wall of fire erupted. But Fuguki quickly dove into the water at their feet. He darted through it at incredible speed, leaving only a blurry shadow behind.

Suddenly, he burst out from behind Kiyosuke.

Torifu reacted instantly, swinging his staff and batting Fuguki aside.

Kiyosuke flinched but didn't freeze. He responded immediately.

"Fire Fist!"

A giant flaming fist shot forward, but Fuguki spat out a torrent of liquid that doused the flames instantly. Laughing wildly, he shouted:

"This is my escape route! So long, you Leaf bastards!"

Everyone: "…"

"Should we chase him, Captain Torifu?" Kiyosuke turned to look.

Torifu glanced at Shibi.

From the collar of Shibi's jacket, a bug flew out. He said, "We can follow them. I've planted insects on both Jinpachi Munashi and Fuguki Suikazan. We can track them—and maybe even find their base."

"Then let's move."

Torifu nodded. "Shibi, clean up the battlefield. No rush—we've got a lead."

Shibi immediately set his insects to retrieve the bodies. The swords of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen were also neatly gathered.

The corpses were sealed inside scrolls. The swords, however, were left unsealed.

But not long after, they vanished on their own.

Torifu explained, "The Mist's swords are special. They come with a recall scroll. When the wielder dies, the blade is automatically summoned back. Looks like Fuguki's already made contact with Kirigakure. Cancel the pursuit—we're pulling out."

If Fuguki had contacted Kirigakure, that meant a large Mist force might be on its way. With so few allies on hand, they didn't stand a chance against a full Mist platoon.

Retreating was the wisest choice. They had already eliminated five of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—an enormous victory.

After this, the pressure on Konohagakure from the Mist would lessen significantly.

Time to fall back.

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