Naruto: I Roamed the Ninja World as a Woman

Chapter 160 Iaijutsu and an Initial Exploration of the Path to Immortal Arts

Mifune, the current admiral of the Land of Iron and leader of the samurai, was once defeated by Hanzo of the Salamander.

However, the situation is different from that of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha.

Mifune was able to survive Hanzo's clutches.

Simply because Hanzo the Salamander was also a samurai, I admired his fearless belief and his will to protect his comrades.

Because of this pure appreciation.

Hanzo not only gave the antidote to Mifune, but also pointed out his weakness in swordsmanship.

This behavior transformed the two, who were originally enemies, into someone with a somewhat illegitimate master-disciple relationship.

Before setting off, Ayane Amamiya had already gone to the Anbu's database to find out where Mifune was staying.

The girl didn't hesitate and immediately set off with the yellow soil overnight.

It was just after nightfall.

The two easily arrived at the capital of the Iron Country.

As the general who commanded all the samurai, Mifune's residence was very close to the daimyo, right next to the daimyo's mansion.

Ayane Amamiya made no attempt to hide her feelings.

Following the principle that "the shortest distance between two points is a straight line," the girl stepped on the roof tiles, intending to pass directly through the air above the daimyo mansion.

Seeing this, Huang Tu hesitated slightly: "This isn't a good idea—"

The girl was taken aback: "What?"

She was a beat slow to react before she realized what was happening.

Not all ninjas are like me, showing no respect for powerful figures like the daimyo.

Just as he was about to speak, a steady voice suddenly came from below: "Ninjas upstairs, please come down and speak!"

Ayane Amamiya looked down.

It came to me without any effort at all.

The person who spoke was none other than Mifune, who was carrying a samurai sword!

The other person was wearing a layered light armor and had bandages wrapped around their head, and seemed to be on patrol.

The girl jumped down from the rooftop with a confident air: "Lord Mifune!"

Huang Tu had no choice but to follow along and emerge from the shadows into the courtyard below, where he greeted them.

"It's an Iwagakure ninja—"

Mifune glanced at the yellow earth, then carefully examined the ninja sword at Ayane Amamiya's waist. He paused slightly, then said in a deep voice, "Oh, and there's another friend from Amegakure. May I ask what brings you two here so late at night?"

If it were anyone else, daring to act so furtively in the daimyo's residence, they would naturally suffer the consequences.

But the ninjas of Iwagakure and Amegakure—

We should ask first.

Ayane Amamiya took out a mission scroll and a letter from her bosom.

Instead of rushing in to ingratiate herself, she adopted a businesslike tone: "By order of Leader Hanzo and the Third Tsuchikage, I am heading to the Land of Iron to pursue the escaped Iwagakure ninja!"

After saying that, he handed over the letter.

"This is a letter from Leader Hanzo to Your Excellency. Please take a look."

Mifune took the letter, glanced at its contents in a few seconds, and immediately understood the whole story.

"So it was a joint mission between Amegakure and Iwagakure."

Mifune's expression became much more solemn. After thinking for a moment, he agreed, "As long as it's within my capabilities, Mifune will definitely cooperate fully."

He had some understanding of the ninja world.

Knowing that "Jinchūriki" is a hot potato, it's easy to attract some evil spirits.

Therefore, Mifune himself did not want to see Old Purple linger in the Land of Iron for too long, thus affecting his own innocent bystander situation.

Upon hearing this, Huang Tu silently breathed a sigh of relief.

Ayane Amamiya handed over the mission scroll she was holding: "This contains information about a rogue ninja. We need Lord Mifune's help to find his whereabouts in the Land of Iron."

"Jinchuriki Lao Murasaki————"

Mifune examined the portrait, remained silent for a long time, and then asked, "Gentlemen, may I make a copy of this portrait?"

Huang Tu nodded and said on his own initiative, "No problem."

Mifune replied, "In that case, I will definitely give you two friends an answer within two days."

He acted decisively, showing no sign of shirking responsibility or hesitation.

This instantly warmed Huang Tu's heart, and he thought to himself, "Dad was right again! The relationship between Amegakure and the Land of Iron seems to be closer than we imagined!"

Then Mifune said, "My two friends, you can stay at my house for the next couple of days while we await further news."

He paused, then turned his gaze to Ayane Amamiya, his tone somewhat strange: "In addition, Hanzo-senpai said in his letter that he hoped I could guide your swordsmanship training."

Ayane Amamiya was taken aback.

Upon receiving the letter, I discovered that it was indeed true.

Hanzo hadn't mentioned this to me before I came!

However, she still maintained a humble attitude, nodding and replying, "In that case, I'll trouble you, Mr. Mifune."

Mifune's expression immediately became much more natural: "It was nothing."

The next day.

Mifune Mansion, training ground.

Ayane Amamiya drew her sword, Arashi, from its sheath, looked at the samurai in front of her, and prepared to strike.

"My swordsmanship skills actually only consist of two moves."

Mifune explained, "There's a swordsmanship style originating from samurai called Iaido. Its essence is to utilize the momentum of drawing the sword, combined with the Shunpo (instant step) technique, to pierce through the enemy at incredible speed and kill them in one strike!"

Ayane Amamiya nodded slightly.

There was a legend in the Land of Iron that Mifune was the human embodiment of samurai skills, and no ninjutsu could affect him.

That's just bragging, of course.

The fundamental reason is that Mifune's Iaijutsu is too fast.

A slightly weaker ninja wouldn't even have time to form hand seals in front of him.

"As for the other move, it was after being defeated by Hanzo-senpai—"

"A new concept of Iaijutsu that I created myself, which combines chakra."

Mifune looked at the girl before him with a complicated expression: "Of course, you must be a master of chakra swordsmanship, so I won't presume to teach you."

Mifune was quite aware of his own strength.

The only thing he can be proud of now is the old-fashioned samurai swordsmanship.

The girl opposite him looked young—

But Mifune's intuition, honed through countless battles, told him: if he were to truly fight to the death with the opponent, he might not even last a few minutes!

Upon hearing this, Ayane Amamiya thought to herself, "I understand."

Even samurai should embrace the new era!

After all, chakra iaido is still iaido!

After Mifune finished speaking, he slowly assumed the starting stance for the Iaijutsu.

His hand rested lightly on the hilt of the knife, and his aura instantly subsided, as if he had become one with the surrounding environment.

"Sir, please watch closely. This is the purest form of Iaijutsu."

Before he finished speaking, Mifune's figure had already disappeared.

Ayane Amamiya's heart skipped a beat.

With her exceptional perception, she quickly detected the slight fluctuation in the air and calmly dodged to the side.

A streak of silver light grazed the hem of her clothes, and the resulting gust of wind stung her cheek.

When the girl looked closely, Mifune had returned to his original position, as if he had never moved, while a deep trench had been cut into the grass behind him.

Relying solely on physical strength.

It's really not easy to achieve this level of skill.

"What a sharp knife!" the girl exclaimed sincerely.

"The essence of Iaijutsu lies in a single, decisive strike."

"To achieve this kind of one-hit kill," extremely high levels of eyesight and physical strength are required; both are indispensable."

Mifune sheathed his sword, his expression tinged with regret and melancholy: "Unfortunately, all of this is a relic of the past. Against ninjas, especially those skilled in ninjutsu and taijutsu, this level of speed is far from sufficient."

Ayane Amamiya had no interest in listening to his sentiments.

Based solely on what Mifune said, the girl had already grasped the deeper meaning behind Hanzo's arrangement.

Is the goal to hone my body control through practicing Iaido?

She thought of this subconsciously.

After returning to Amegakure from Konoha, she asked Hanzo about her future training path.

There is a control panel on him.

If Ayane Amamiya wants to become stronger, the quickest way is undoubtedly to add points to her stats and upgrade them!

However, finding the right path of cultivation is not entirely useless.

This allows her to acquire achievement points more efficiently through cultivation.

The difference in achievement points between training aimlessly like a headless fly and training with a plan and purpose is enormous!

When faced with this question, Hanzo the Salamander's answer was simple: learn to control yourself.

From controlling chakra, to controlling the body, and finally to controlling the mind and thoughts —

Mifune briefly expressed the old man's sentiments, and then continued, "So I think what Hanzo-senpai asked me to teach you must be Iaijutsu."

1

Ayane Amamiya cupped her hands in greeting: "Please enlighten me, senior."

"Before chakra appeared, there was only one path for a samurai to practice iaido."

That means learning to listen.

Mifune held his katana horizontally in front of his chest, his face serious, and said, "Listen to the breath of the sword to decide the timing of your iaido attack; listen to the breath of the wind to determine the location of your attack; listen to the breath of your own body to unleash the speed of your attack—"

Ayane Amamiya's expression was somewhat subtle upon hearing this.

This statement sounds familiar, doesn't it?

I feel like I've heard this somewhere before —

Meanwhile, Huang Tu, who had been granted permission to listen in on the proceedings by Mifune, was even more confused.

Are samurai things really that mysterious?

No wonder they were eliminated!

Ninjutsu is so much better; every step is explained clearly on the scroll.

Mifune once again assumed the starting stance for the Iaijutsu.

He gestured for Ayane Amamiya to come over and then instructed her, "This time, you can place your hand on my body or my katana and feel its breath."

The girl did as she was told.

She closed her eyes slightly, her senses pushed to their limit at that moment.

Only when you get this close do you realize that Mifune's so-called "breathing" is far too abstract.

Perhaps the word "rhythm" would be more appropriate to describe it!

From the touch of her skin, she could clearly sense that the other person's body and the ninja sword in their hand were in a peculiar rhythm.

Ayane Amamiya seemed lost in thought.

She meditated for a moment, then clapped her hands and said, "If it's only this level, I can do it too."

The girl suddenly drew her ninja sword.

Pfft!

A soft sound.

Clear water flowed out, spreading across the blade of the Storm Cutter, condensing and not dispersing.

In the blink of an eye, she entered Water Release Chakra Mode.

Upon seeing this, Huang Tu instantly perked up.

I know this very well!

This smells like chakra!

His bright, piercing eyes immediately turned to a probing gaze.

The girl was oblivious to the loess's watchful gaze.

She gripped her ninja sword tightly, struggling to control her body, mimicking Mifune's rhythm—

Suddenly!

Ayane Amamiya slashed sideways, unleashing a single sword strike!

boom!

A giant wave, several meters high, cleaved out from the tip of the sword and headed straight for the yellow earth!

Earth Escape·Earth Flow Wall!

Huang Tu, who was watching from the sidelines, almost didn't react in time. Fortunately, his hand seals were quick enough, and he managed to raise a wall right in front of his nose.

However, the earthen wall collapsed at the slightest touch.

Huang Tu hurriedly retreated and continued to use his ninjutsu.

After four consecutive cascades of earth, the turbulent torrent before them was finally completely extinguished.

"What the hell?!"

"This guy's a Chunin?!"

Huang Tu wiped the water droplets from his face, his heart pounding, and he immediately gained a completely new understanding of Ayane Amamiya's strength.

"I heard that in the finals, this kid almost lost to a guy named Might Day—"

"Despicable Konoha, they really will stop at nothing to win!" Huang Tu scratched his head vigorously, subconsciously imitating his father Onoki's behavior, always slandering Konoha first.

The three boats were equally dumbfounded.

He rubbed his eyes in surprise, wondering if he had encountered a genius that only appears once in a thousand years?

Not only did he grasp the essence of iaido so quickly, but he also incorporated chakra into it?

But actually, he was overthinking it.

This is simply because Ayane Amamiya's panel also has a very similar purple entry.

[Water Release Chakra Mode - Wave Slash]

This entry was obtained by the girl when she was in Konoha, and she once defeated Minato Namikaze to no avail.

Its specific description is: A unique form formed by the perfect fusion of water-style chakra and taijutsu swordsmanship! In this state, you can unleash torrents at will, giving them both sharp cutting power and the power of a surging wave!

The advancement method for the entry is displayed as unknown on the panel.

After listening to Mifune's explanation, Ayane Amamiya instantly had a guess about the method of advancement.

Entering Water Release Chakra Mode.

She has essentially mastered both "Sword Breathing" and "Body Breathing," enabling her to control the power of each sword strike to its fullest extent.

What's missing is the most abstract "breath of the wind".

But to be honest, that's really too far-fetched.

Ayane Amamiya had been standing there for a long time, searching for a feeling, but not only did she find nothing, she even felt a strange sense of irritation rising within her.

That's why I drew my sword towards the loess soil, to vent my emotions a little.

She voiced all her questions one by one.

"Iaijutsu is very difficult, and many people don't even get started after decades."

Mifune comforted him, saying, "I didn't understand the techniques until I was thirty and had children."

"Actually, I've always felt that this Iaijutsu move is less of a swordsmanship and more of a cultivation of mental state."

He summarized his experience: "To grasp the breath of the wind, you must always maintain a peaceful state of mind and not be anxious in the slightest."

but.

Ayane Amamiya had no time to respond to him at that moment.

Because, the moment she put down the Stormbreaker, a notification suddenly popped up on the panel.

You have completed an inefficient natural energy practice.

[Achievement Points +8 (Title Doubled)]

Upon seeing the warning, the girl was startled, but quickly realized what was happening.

Could it be that Mifune's so-called "listening to the breath of the wind" is actually about the samurai sensing the invisible energy located in nature?

So, ultimately, the advancement of one's Water Release Chakra Mode still comes down to natural energy?

But if it advances to a higher level, what will it be called then?

Sage Art: Water Release Ninja Technique?