Naruto: The Age of Ninja Swords Begins in Kumogakure

Chapter 110 Three Slashes and a Flash

"This is the result of my research on those two Kusanagi swords. It's a pity that I haven't fully figured out the secrets inside. You'll have to figure out the rest yourself."

Kusayama Ichiro took out a scroll that he had prepared long ago, feeling both regret and anticipation.

I spent a year studying those two Kusanagi swords, but I only figured out some of the surface-level mysteries. As for the deeper aspects, I still had no clue.

You can't understand it until you reach that level.

"Thank you, Master. I will definitely study it thoroughly and forge a legendary sword that will be passed down through generations."

Tamura Hiroshi raised his hands and carefully took the scroll.

He knew his own limitations perfectly well, and he was relying entirely on external aids to forge his sword, especially the X-ray vision ability of his white eyes.

Without this, he could only forge swords of the best quality at best.

Unfortunately, traditional casting methods rely entirely on experience and intuition, with better ones using chakra for sensing.

The ability to sense chakra is far inferior to that of the Byakugan at a subtle level, which is why traditional swordsmiths improve so slowly.

Master Caoshan's previous disciples all mastered the skills of a great property after the age of thirty, and their learning time exceeded twenty years.

My mastery of the craft this year was entirely due to a stroke of luck; in the future, I still need to hone my skills in the real art of knife making, which means making more knives.

Of course, he had other ideas for forging the legendary sword, namely Yin-Yang Escape, especially Yin Escape.

"When are you leaving?"

Kusayama Ichiro asked a question, knowing that the child wouldn't stay long.

"I still need to forge two more ninja swords in three days."

Tamura Hiroshi also needs to forge two more ninja swords, one for Fukai and one for the Third Raikage.

Next, the Third Raikage will have to forcibly seize the Nine-Tails' parts; the stronger he is, the better.

"You will come with me to the General's residence in three days!"

Kusayama Ichiro did not forget his promise: as long as the child could forge an unparalleled masterpiece, he would take him to see Admiral Mifune and witness the realm of man and sword as one.

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Tamura Hao was overjoyed. He was indeed looking forward to the mastery of the sword and man, and the Admiral Mifune himself had many unique skills, so he could learn from him.

After exchanging words with his teacher, Kusayama Ichiro, Tamura Hiroshi went back to rest and had a hearty meal.

"How long until the Chunin Exams in Konoha begin?"

After eating and drinking his fill, Tamura Hao, while enjoying the massage service from Uzumaki Vanilla under the watchful, gritting gaze of Uzumaki Kushina, asked a question.

He wasn't completely oblivious to outside news; he knew a great deal about it.

A few months ago, the Ninja World War was temporarily suspended again, and all the major ninja villages took this opportunity to catch their breath. The previous fighting was too intense, and the losses were considerable, so they needed to take a break.

At this time, Konoha suddenly sent invitations to the Chunin Exams to all the ninja villages. Although he didn't know what Konoha was planning, Tamura Hiroshi prepared to take the opportunity to go to Konoha and find a way to contact Lord Danzo directly.

After the information about the Land of Whirlpools came out, the guy who had been in contact with me never called me again. He was really too lazy.

With someone like that around, how could Lord Danzo have killed Hiruzen Sarutobi and become Hokage?

We must obtain Lord Danzo's private contact information so that we can proactively report some key information to him and ensure that he always remembers us.

"There are still two weeks left."

Uzumaki Yuye replied that she also wanted to take this opportunity to visit Konoha.

"You were right back then. Hiruzen Sarutobi had already been paving the way for his own future, planning to cultivate a commoner fourth generation into a puppet to protect the interests of his own faction."

The chosen person is Minato Namikaze, a genius, about your age, who already possesses Jonin-level combat power.

A year ago, a red-haired girl appeared at the Konoha Ninja Academy. She should be the new Nine-Tails Jinchuriki they found.

Minato Namikaze has been actively approaching that clansman, seemingly trying to create a relationship similar to that of an aunt and uncle.

Speaking of another piece of information, Yu Ye's face turned cold. Those people were too despicable.

"A girl from the Uzumaki clan? What's her name?"

Tamura Hao was stunned. He hadn't expected that even though he had abducted Uzumaki Kushina, Sarutobi Hiruzen had still found someone else, and it was also a woman.

Is it because Konoha is so powerful, or is it just the inertia of the plot?

"Call it Ninth Rank! Whirlpool Ninth Rank!"

Kushina Uzumaki, who had remained silent until now, spoke up, expressing her disgust at Konoha's actions and her concern for that clansman.

"Ninth-Rank Whirlpool!"

Tamura Hao, having mentioned that name before, asked, "Did you manage to win over Minato Namikaze?"

"I don't know!"

Uzumaki Yuye shook her head. After all, that was Konoha, and the information they could gather was very limited.

"They should have graduated by now. I wonder if they'll participate in this Chunin Exams."

Tamura Hiroshi is really looking forward to it, especially to Minato Namikaze.

In his opinion, Minato Namikaze is more like the protagonist than Naruto Uzumaki. Naruto's strength and charisma rely entirely on cheat codes and unreasonable talk-no-jutsu, which creates a sense of disconnect.

However, Minato Namikaze's strength was the result of genuine training. He possessed such power at a young age and even fused with the Nine-Tails inside the Shinigami's belly, mastering the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. His strength had already surpassed that of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

That's a true genius!

He looked forward to meeting Minato Namikaze.

……

Over the next three days, Tamura Hao forged a pair of ninja swords for Fukai, reforging the original pair of swords he and Yotsuki A had used, incorporating many precious materials, especially chakra-conducting metals.

Then came a heavy spear, three meters long, with a handle as thick as a goose egg, perfectly suited to the Third Raikage's physique, which he named the Spear of Hell.

In terms of design, it is inspired by Cu Chulainn's Death Thorn Spear from the Fate series, essentially a longer and thicker version of the oversized Death Thorn Spear.

I wonder if this thing will carry the great karma of the Lancer's Luck E, but even if it does, I think the Third Hokage's strongest shield should be able to withstand it.

At the appointed time, Tamura Hiroshi followed Kusayama Ichiro to the general's residence.

The current commander of the Land of Iron is Mifune, a top-tier samurai who has mastered the unity of man and sword. He is the strongest in the Land of Iron and the number one samurai in the present day.

"Is he the future you've been talking about so many times?"

In a hall, Mifune sized up the boy kneeling beside Kusashi Ichiro.

"He truly is the future, a brighter future than I had anticipated."

Kusashi Ichiro was extremely satisfied with this disciple, even amazed by him. His talent and aptitude far surpassed his own, and even his talent in swordsmanship was far superior.

After just one year, he had nothing left to teach the child, and even had to rely on his personal connections to invite several kendo masters to teach him.

"The fact that you were able to bring him here proves that you have already forged an unparalleled masterpiece. To achieve this in just one year, even if you used some external means, is still extremely astonishing."

Mifune was also amazed. He had talked to Kusaya Ichiro about the boy several times, and Kusaya Ichiro had always praised him highly.

It is at least rare in the world in terms of sword forging, and perhaps in the future it will be possible to forge a famous sword that will be passed down through generations.

Each of these legendary swords is a masterpiece, known to the world.

Although his own Kurosawa was the most powerful and supreme weapon, it was still far inferior to a famous sword.

For hundreds of years, no new legendary swords have appeared, which is a major reason for the gradual decline of their samurai.

"The unity of man and sword is a mysterious state, which I cannot explain clearly. You need to experience it for yourself."

Turning the conversation to the main topic, Mifune could see the boy's longing—a longing for the highest realm of swordsmanship.

He naturally wouldn't mind giving pointers to a junior who was so passionate about pure swordsmanship.

The state of perfect harmony between man and sword is too profound to be expressed in words.

"Please enlighten me, Lord Mifune!"

Tamura Hao stood up and bowed, eager to witness the level of man and sword becoming one.

Over the past year, he has been practicing sword Zen through sword forging, gaining some understanding of the essence of the sword, but still not understanding much, especially the state of oneness between man and sword.

He had seen this state of perfect harmony between man and sword in his previous life when he watched Naruto; it seemed to be one of Mifune's character traits.

He longed for this level of skill; if he could learn it, his own strength would definitely improve further.

"Come with me!"

After saying a few words, Mifune got up, picked up Kurosawa from the sword rack, and walked outside.

Tamura Hiroshi and Kusayama Ichiro followed closely behind, arriving at a wide open space.

Looking at the countless knife marks on the stone slabs under his feet, Tamura Hiroshi knew that many battles had taken place here.

Countless samurai were already watching the battle from the surrounding area, most of them wearing full armor, while only a few, like Mifune, were dressed in casual clothes, clearly indicating their unusual status.

These were all spectators; after all, it was rare for a general to personally take action.

"Give it your all, I won't hold back!"

Silently drawing his sword, Mifune stared intently at the boy opposite him.

To achieve the state of perfect harmony between man and sword, one must go all out.

Tamura Hao remained silent, taking out Big Meow and Little Meow from the sealing technique on his arm armor. No hand seals were formed, but lightning crackled on his body and the sword.

This is the result of his training over the past year. Relying on his powerful chakra control, he has mastered the Chidori Speed ​​to the level of no seal.

Just like the chakra armor, it doesn't require hand seals; it relies purely on the control of chakra to complete the task.

As for the electric light flashing on the blade, it is another extended application of Chidori, the Chidori Blade.

It was developed with the help of Fukai, who is even trying to incorporate the Ultrasonic Lightning Blade into it, which will inevitably further boost its cutting power.

"Ninjutsu?"

The few figures in plain clothes watching from the sidelines frowned. As samurai, they hated ninjas the most.

The opponent's method appeared to be ninjutsu, but no hand seals were observed.

This move caught the eye of Mifune on the other side. Was this the kind of swordsmanship concept that Kusaya Ichiro had mentioned before?

After Tamura Hao and others stabilized their Chidori Speed ​​and Chidori Blade, he decisively attacked, appearing directly in front of Mifune in a flash. He swung his twin swords, one slashing and the other thrusting, while his Super Strength Technique amplified his power.

After a year of honing his skills with a hammer, he has upgraded his superhuman strength technique to superhuman strength art. Although it doesn't reach the level of Tsunade, it greatly enhances the body's explosive power compared to his previous simple techniques.

Faced with this combined attack, Mifune swiftly swung his sword to deflect the horizontal slash of the large cat's blade, and then swung his sword to meet the thrust of the small cat's blade.

Before it could even make contact, the little cat's blade swiftly turned and stabbed at another spot.

Mifune then changed his tactics, and after fighting for a while, he finally understood the boy's swordsmanship. He then began to counterattack and instantly gained the upper hand.

While exchanging blows, Tamura Hao carefully observed Mifune's swordsmanship movements and the trajectory of his chakra flowing through his meridians and acupoints.

At the same time, sense the opponent's sword aura, and use that aura to sense Mifune's state of perfect harmony between man and sword.

That's right, he named that kind of aura "the aura of a sword," which sounds more fitting.

Mifune's swordsmanship was far superior to Kusaya Ichiro's, much sharper and more ruthless, as if it could cut through anything.

Or rather, it contains an intention that can sever everything.

"Is this the secret to the unity of man and sword?"

Tamura Hiroshi seemed to be deep in thought, while continuing his attacks.

"His speed is actually on par with that of a general!"

The onlookers were quite surprised, realizing that the boy's explosive speed had reached the level of a general, or at least not much slower.

You must know that he was the strongest among their warriors, and now his burst speed is almost being caught up by a young boy.

How is that possible?

Amidst the incredulous gazes of the crowd, the two continued their exchange, but the number of times their blades clashed decreased, becoming a pure clash of sword techniques, and even more dangerous, as they attacked each other's weaknesses.

At this point, it comes down to who is faster and who can change their moves more quickly; being even slightly faster can lead to victory.

Mifune's performance was a genuine display of his own explosive power, while Tamura's was like he was using a cheat code.

He pushed the Sharingan and Byakugan powers borrowed from Kaguya to their limits before he could see Mifune's sword light clearly. At the same time, he used Chidori to stimulate the explosive speed and reaction speed of his body's muscles and bones, so that he could temporarily fight against Mifune.

The lightning-attribute chakra that has undergone nature transformation is far more efficient at stimulating the body's speed than pure chakra, which is why Tamura Hiroshi was able to temporarily hold his own against top samurai like Mifune.

But it was only a temporary clash. He couldn't find any weakness in this general of the Iron Kingdom. So far, his blade hadn't even touched the opponent's body. Instead, he had been grazed by the opponent's blade many times, and even his light armor had been cut in several places.

At the same time, the main reason was that Mifune did not have any killing intent. The power of swordsmanship without killing intent is reduced by at least half. Moreover, Mifune did not use any killing moves, but only used the most basic swordsmanship to spar.

Otherwise, Tamura Hiroshi would definitely be instantly killed.

After several minutes of such fierce fighting, Mifune finally leaped back and swung his sword horizontally with both hands.

"Sky-Splitting Slash!"

A blade of gleaming white energy flashed out like lightning, sharp and unparalleled, with an incredibly vast attack range covering a 120-degree area in front of it. At the same time, the blade locked onto the boy with the perfect unity of man and blade.

This is one of his most powerful moves, a slash strong enough to rival the Kage of all the major ninja villages.

Faced with this sword aura, Tamura Hao instantly recalled the little cat into a sealing technique, held the big cat sword hilt with both hands, and disengaged the chains connected to the arm armor.

"Three slashes in a flash!"

Just before the blade's energy struck, he pushed the Thousand Birds Divine Speed ​​to a level beyond his own limits, wielding the sword with both hands and slashing three times in a single second with lightning speed. His swordsmanship was smooth and fluid, like flowing water.

Most importantly, it was incredibly fast, completing the attack in a single second; all anyone could see was a burst of blade light.

Don't be fooled by the fact that three slashes per second may not seem fast; it's a full-power burst of energy.

With three consecutive slashes, and the added power of the Thousand Bird Blade, the pale white blade aura was finally cleaved through.

However, he was also pushed back more than ten steps on the ground by the impact of the blade energy, his arms were trembling slightly, and blood slid down the hilt of the blade and was then evaporated by the electric light on the blade.

Yes, he was injured. The skin on his palms was cracked, and his muscles and tendons were aching.

If his bones hadn't been tempered and refined by the Night Moon Clan's secret techniques and medicines, making them inhumanly strong, they would probably have been shattered.

It can only be said that he truly deserves to be called the general of the Land of Iron, the number one samurai!

This single slash is comparable to an S-rank ninjutsu attack; it's not easy to catch.

Of course, the side effects of his three-slash-one-flash technique were not small either. After all, it was a burst of stimulation that exceeded the limits of the body. Even if it was only a one-second burst, the damage was still considerable, and his arms were sore.

Fortunately, he had sufficient life force within his body, and with the circulation of chakra, he managed to recover after a while.

However, he paid no attention to the pain on his body, savoring the feeling of being locked on just now. Was that the power of man and sword becoming one?

"Pure swordsmanship, it shouldn't be over yet, right?"

Mifune, who had been waiting for Tamura Hiroshi to recover, asked a question, expressing his admiration for the move just now.

Just as simple and unadorned as his own Sky-Splitting Slash, the opponent pursued the ultimate burst of speed, unleashing three consecutive slashes in that short second.

It's not just the increased attack frequency; the speed of swinging the sword has also greatly increased.

Increased speed translates to increased slash power, which is necessary to cut through one's own Sky-Splitting Slash aura.

"It's only in its early stages right now, and my chakra control is still lacking. A powerful burst of energy would damage myself."

Theoretically speaking, as my physical strength and chakra control improve, and as my training in the nature transformation of lightning chakra deepens, I can continue to improve, but I don't know where the limit is.

Then comes the cultivation of sword energy, which can be enhanced to unleash continuous sword energy and increase the attack range...

Tamura Hiroshi did not shy away from revealing his idea for this move.

This move was inspired by Sephiroth's Eight-Sword Flash, emphasizing instantaneous bursts and continuous slashes. It is far superior to the pure combos in Sword Art Online and is a true killing move.

"A swordsmanship with great potential!"

After listening, Mifune gave it high praise, saying that if it were improved, it wouldn't be worse than his own Sky-Splitting Slash.

Of course, the Sky-Splitting Slash just now was not his limit, because he did not add any killing intent, which is why the child cut him in three strokes.

As a warrior who fought his way up from the battlefield, he possessed an extremely strong killing intent, which was also a kind of power that he had cultivated and integrated into his swordsmanship.

It can not only enhance the power of sword energy, but also be used in conjunction with sword Zen power to attack the opponent's mental will.

However, this was just a friendly sparring match, and he would only use his normal full strength. Moreover, he could not bring himself to kill a junior who was sincerely seeking his guidance.

"My specialty is the Iaijutsu. I was once defeated by the demigod Hanzo the Salamander in this strike, but I later gained some insights and it became my strongest attack."

Mifune sheathed Kurosawa and spoke earnestly.

After that defeat, he trained hard, hoping to have the opportunity to fight that demigod again.

It wasn't about revenge, but about demonstrating one's beliefs and the results of years of cultivation to that demigod, so that the duel back then could have a satisfactory ending.

This is my strongest attack, and it's not so easy to catch!

(End of this chapter)