The blade turned into a wisp of smoke, swirling around Matsumoto Rangiku.

She gently waved the hilt and gave a soft shout, "Haineko: Sanctuary!"

The Zanpakuto instantly turned into a cloud of ash just as the steel wire was about to land on Matsumoto Rangiku.

The thick cloud of ash formed solid walls of ash, blocking the steel wire outside!

This sudden turn of events stunned everyone who was watching.

Smoke Release? Or something else?

Sakumo Hatake admitted that he was a bit confused.

Clearly, the sword had seemed to turn into a wisp of smoke at the beginning, but then it changed its form again.

What kind of ability is this, exactly?

Sakumo Hatake naturally couldn't figure it out.

Matsumoto Rangiku's Zanpakuto is a wind-type Zanpakuto. When released, the blade turns into a cloud of ash, and it can even use all the surrounding sand as combat power!

Although he couldn't understand it, there was no denying that this sword was another Ninja Blade comparable to a Kekkei Genkai!

Sakumo Hatake's guess was right! If there's one, there's two!

This faction really didn't just have one Ninja Blade with a Kekkei Genkai ability similar to Ice Release!

There might even be more!

When the Mist ninja saw this scene, they felt as uncomfortable as if they had a mouthful of excrement.

The one who felt even worse was Kuriarare Kushimaru.

The layout he had meticulously designed for so long was actually resolved so easily?

Just by drawing the sword and using the Ninja Blade's special ability, she had easily parried his lethal strike!

Kuriarare Kushimaru looked at his Nuibari, which had accompanied him for many years, and for a moment, it didn't feel as appealing anymore.

To kill someone, he had to meticulously plan for a long time, and he couldn't even let the enemy notice.

The person in front of him just had to draw her sword, and the Ninja Blade's special ability could help her resolve the predicament.

Especially this kind of ability like a Kekkei Genkai; it was truly enviable!

Rustle—

Suddenly, there was movement from the ash wall, and Kuriarare Kushimaru stared at it intently. His internal warning system was on high alert.

The ash wall suddenly went "bang," and before Kuriarare Kushimaru could react, it transformed back into a fluid state.

Matsumoto Rangiku's voice came from within: "Cat Dance!"

As her voice fell, the cloud of ash seemed to receive an order and began to spin rapidly.

Whoosh—

A gray tornado formed instantly, and the steel wires that Kuriarare Kushimaru couldn't retract in time were instantly shredded when they touched the tornado!

Not good!

Kuriarare Kushimaru didn't have time to worry about the damage to his Nuibari and immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to escape the gray tornado.

He looked down at his Ninja outfit, which was already tattered just from being caught in the aftermath, and a chill rose in his heart.

He couldn't help but exclaim, "What terrifying cutting power!"

Seeing that she had lost her target, Matsumoto Rangiku dissipated the tornado and turned back into a state of smoke.

Then, she gently waved the hilt forward. "?"

This inexplicable action left Kuriarare Kushimaru confused.

Just then, a whistling sound suddenly rang out behind him.

Kuriarare Kushimaru turned his head sharply; a wisp of smoke had arrived behind him without him knowing.

The next second, it took the shape of a katana and slashed fiercely at him!

Kuriarare Kushimaru's pupils dilated in shock; the sudden attack left him with no time to perform any escape maneuvers, and he could only watch helplessly as the cloud of smoke fell!

The stinging sensation on his face from the scraping wind foretold the power of this smoke.

Sshh—

The next second, the cutting force wrapped around the smoke completely tore Kuriarare Kushimaru apart!

Dead, he's dead?!

The Mist ninja watched Kuriarare Kushimaru's miserable state and couldn't help but swallow hard. Their hearts trembled.

One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, the user of the Nuibari, Kuriarare Kushimaru, just died like this?

This was a figure standing among the top combatants of their Hidden Mist Village!

Even ordinary Jonin from other Ninja villages would have to turn and run if they saw him!

Yet such a formidable figure was killed so easily by that woman!

What was even more terrifying was that there were five other figures of the same level standing here!

For a moment, the Mist ninja all started to think about retreating.

They were also filled with a lack of confidence in the other Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Sakumo Hatake didn't think as complexly as the Mist ninja; after all, he was just a spectator this time.

He didn't feel much about Kuriarare Kushimaru's death. He might even applaud.

You have to understand, his mission this time was to harass all of the Hidden Mist Village's actions in the Land of Whirlpools.

Although there were unexpected turns of events, it could be considered that he had completed the mission in a roundabout way.

Moreover, with the Hidden Mist Village's strength weakened, they wouldn't have the heart to harbor ideas about Konoha anymore.

This was good news for Konoha.

But the bad news was that the Land of Whirlpools seemed to have been occupied by a mysterious and powerful faction.

Sakumo Hatake currently didn't know this faction's attitude toward Konoha.

But having such an entity in his backyard was like a ticking time bomb planted in Konoha, and one always had to worry about when it might suddenly detonate.

Right now, the best result would be to let this mysterious faction and the Hidden Mist Village keep each other in check!

Sakumo Hatake felt this plan was very feasible.

Although this mysterious faction was very strong, and it sounded like there were even stronger characters who hadn't appeared yet.

But as one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, the Hidden Mist Village had countless Ninjas; even if they just piled on with numbers, they could trade a few.

And if this mysterious faction held the Land of Whirlpools, the Hidden Mist Village wouldn't be so easy to attack.

With Konoha meddling in the middle to maintain the two sides' strength in a balanced state, that would be the best result for Konoha!

However, this matter still needed to be discussed with Hokage-sama before making a decision.

He kept this matter and the information about Matsumoto Rangiku in his mind, noting her ability to easily kill an Elite Jōnin.

Although in Sakumo Hatake's view, that special Ninja Blade accounted for a large part of this strength.

After all, even if it were someone else, if they didn't know the information about Matsumoto Rangiku, they would suffer a significant loss.

But being able to perfectly wield such an ability was also a form of strength.

On the other side, facing everyone's gaze, Matsumoto Rangiku didn't care; instead, she stretched and said casually, "Finally, I can call it a day."

Although she had killed the enemy, she had no intention of helping her teammates at all.

By nature, she wasn't the type to love working; she would slack off whenever she could.

Moreover, she didn't think they needed her help.

"Ah, that's right, Lord Soul King seemed to have said to bring this Ninja Blade back."

Suddenly remembering Lord Soul King's instructions, Matsumoto Rangiku hurriedly picked up the Nuibari, which had almost sunk into the sea along with Kuriarare Kushimaru's corpse.

Sakumo Hatake's eyes narrowed. Lord Soul King, who is that again?