On the lake, the Genie lowered his waist, positioned the Kusanagi Sword at his left hip, gripped its hilt with his right hand, and assumed an iaijutsu stance.
In his mind, Orochimaru focused all his attention on the changes in his body.
In the Genie's opinion, the Shinobi World's great variety of weapons was a sign of breadth without depth. But it wasn't as if the Shinobi World had no skilled swordsmen; there were plenty of powerful sword techniques, too.
For instance, Hatake Sakumo, whose Konoha-Style Swordsmanship had earned him the name White Fang, and Senju Tobirama, who specialized in the one-hit-kill Flying Thunder God Slash...
Orochimaru considered himself reasonably knowledgeable, and could hardly wait to see the swordsmanship of another world.
"Water Breathing..."
The Genie's White Fang clenched tight as he drew in a powerful breath. A visible vortex of air formed before him, rushing into his throat in a steady stream.
In an instant, Orochimaru felt his chest swell as his lungs began desperately gulping in oxygen.
"Thump, thump, thump..."
His heart pounded like a war drum. Starting from his lungs, every drop of oxygenated blood surged faster through his body like a soldier charging into battle.
Orochimaru could feel his physical abilities rapidly increasing.
From the outside, Orochimaru's figure seemed to swell by a size. Every capillary stood out beneath his pale skin.
Orochimaru wanted to breathe out, but the Genie was in control of his body.
And the Genie kept inhaling, using an extremely brutal method to imprint a habit known as the Breathing Technique onto this body.
Breathing was the foundation of swordsmanship. Every move depended on the powerful physical abilities that the Breathing Technique provided.
Now, Orochimaru was beginning to understand the Genie's alarming claims.
Learning this Breathing Technique clearly wasn't something that could be done overnight. The body needed time to adapt, and the process might take years.
But he was going to cram several years of progress into a few minutes—or perhaps a dozen. It went without saying how much strain his body would endure.
Shortcuts really aren't that easy to take.
Just as Orochimaru thought he was about to burst from the oxygen, his body moved.
Then came one sword technique after another, as relentless as a landslide and a roaring tidal wave.
"Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!"
"..."
"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool!"
"..."
"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"
Chakra flowed into the Kusanagi Sword. One form followed another, repeating in an endless cycle as surging waves churned across the still surface of the lake.
The two people openly watching from the shore exchanged glances. Both saw the shock in the other's eyes, but Kakashi's was even more pronounced.
Coming from a family with a rich tradition, Kakashi had a deep understanding of Konoha's swordsmanship and even the Shinobi World's swordsmanship as a whole.
In his view—or rather, in the view of all shinobi—swordsmanship was a means of killing, no different from shuriken throwing, ninjutsu, or Explosive Tags.
In close combat, if Kunai and Taijutsu were more effective, then use Taijutsu. For long-range ambushes and distractions, if Shuriken and Explosive Tags worked better, then use those. Against a large group of enemies, use ninjutsu to seize the advantage.
Shinobi had countless methods and stopped at nothing, using every means of attack where it was most effective.
Kakashi had always regarded the Third Hokage as the ideal shinobi. No matter what kind of enemy he faced, the Third Hokage could find the right way to attack.
But today, he had seen an ideal shinobi on another path.
Orochimaru's swordsmanship ran counter to the Shinobi World's sword techniques and even to the usual understanding of shinobi.
Close combat? Take a sword to the face!
Long-range interference? Take a sword to the face!
Facing a group of enemies? Take a sword to the face!
How could swordsmanship be so inconvenient?
In Orochimaru's moves, Kakashi saw a complete system of swordsmanship.
Before this, all he had seen were individual sword techniques.
Even his father was merely a shinobi with powerful close-combat sword skills, not a swordsman.
"That's incredible."
Guy murmured to himself.
He didn't have Kakashi's wealth of knowledge, so he didn't know what made this different from the Shinobi World's swordsmanship. But one thing was clear to him.
Orochimaru's swordsmanship was restrained. Not a trace of Chakra was wasted in his movements; all his strength was concentrated in a single sword.
If he could learn that kind of control, it would greatly benefit his Taijutsu.
Guy scratched his head, wondering whether Lord Orochimaru was looking for another disciple.
Well... even if he wasn't, that was fine. He'd work hard and find a way to impress Lord Orochimaru.
"Breathe in... breathe out..."
"Breathe in... breathe out..."
His body gradually adapted, and his sword techniques grew more fluent.
With a sword in hand, the world is mine!
As someone experiencing it firsthand, Orochimaru's insights and understanding were far deeper than Kakashi's and Guy's.
Swordsmanship honed to its peak was indeed extraordinary. The Genie hadn't exaggerated at all; if anything, he had understated it.
Orochimaru could feel a special energy flowing through the Kusanagi Sword as the Breathing Technique circulated, in addition to Chakra.
It was this energy that raised the sword techniques' power to another level, allowing him to contend with Kage Level fighters until the forms were complete.
After all, having just gone through a session of ninjutsu instruction, he had only as much Chakra as a Chunin. And judging by his original physical abilities, he had barely reached the level of a Jonin.
For someone with such meager attributes to withstand a Kage Level fighter for a short time was unbelievable. Water Breathing was simply astonishing.
So, once he had committed the sword techniques to memory, Orochimaru split his attention. He devoted part of his consciousness to examining the energy on the Kusanagi Sword and probing the secret behind its power.
But the moment he made contact, a tranquil, gentle feeling instantly enveloped his consciousness and began spreading along a path toward its source.
As though caught in a genjutsu, Orochimaru forgot all about comprehending the swordsmanship. His mind began to slip away.
If he let it continue, Orochimaru's consciousness would be utterly extinguished.
"Heh..."
The Genie scoffed. His laugh boomed through the depths of Orochimaru's consciousness, instantly jolting him out of his daze.
"I was so close. So close to earning my first host kill—by the funniest method, too."
Ignoring the Genie's teasing, Orochimaru exclaimed in shock, "Could the energy attached to the blade be Natural Energy?"
"Maybe."
The Genie made no commitment. "But it probably isn't the same kind you're imagining."
Orochimaru fell silent, sinking into deep thought.
As the Genie had said, the energy on the Kusanagi Sword came from the same source as the Natural Energy in Ryūchi Cave, but it was a different kind. It was perfectly pure, without the slightest impurity.
That was why he hadn't recognized it at first.
Impurities weren't entirely bad. Although they could cause physical mutations, at least they allowed someone to master Senjutsu.
But with this kind, merely experiencing it for an instant had made his consciousness feel as though it were lost in nature. It simply wasn't something a human could control.
Still, the swordsmanship of another world had given him an idea.
They channel Natural Energy through their swords. Could I use an external object to harness Natural Energy, too?
Orochimaru was eager to try.
"No need to go to all that trouble. There's one last technique we haven't tested." The Genie's lips curled slightly. "If you can pull it off, you'll have a chance to use Natural Energy, too."
Before you continue