Water Breathing, Natural Energy

On the surface of the lake, Genie lowered his center of gravity, positioned the Kusanagi Sword at his left hip, and gripped the hilt with his right hand, assuming the stance of a master swordsman.

Within his consciousness, Orochimaru was fully focused, his attention entirely centered on the changes occurring in his body.

In Genie's view, the vast array of weapons in the ninja world was merely a sign of being a jack-of-all-trades but master of none; however, the ninja world was not without ninjas skilled in the sword, nor did it lack powerful sword techniques.

For instance, there was Hatake Sakumo, who earned the title of White Fang through his mastery of Konoha-Style Swordsmanship, and Senju Tobirama, who excelled in the lethal Flying Thunder God Slash...

Orochimaru considered himself somewhat knowledgeable and was impatient to witness the swordsmanship of another world.

"Water Breathing..."

Genie gritted his teeth, a powerful suction force erupting from his mouth. Before him, a visible vortex of air currents surged into his throat, one after another.

In an instant, Orochimaru felt his chest expand as his lungs began to inhale and exhale oxygen with desperate intensity.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

His heartbeat sounded like war drums. With his lungs as the source, every drop of oxygen-enriched blood acted like a charging soldier, accelerating through his veins.

Orochimaru could feel his physical capabilities climbing rapidly.

From the outside, Orochimaru's frame appeared to have expanded, and every capillary beneath his pale skin was clearly visible.

Orochimaru wanted to exhale, but his body was under Genie's control.

And Genie continued to inhale; he was using an incredibly brutal method to brand the habit of breathing techniques into this body.

Breathing techniques were the foundation of swordsmanship, and every move required the immense physical prowess provided by such techniques.

Now, Orochimaru somewhat understood the reason for Genie's dire warnings.

The practice of these breathing techniques was clearly not a matter of a single day; the body needed to adapt, a process that could take years.

Since he was attempting to compress years of progress into a few short minutes, one could only imagine the immense pressure his body had to endure.

Shortcuts, as it turned out, were not so easy to take.

Just as Orochimaru thought he was about to burst from the influx of oxygen, his body moved.

What followed was a continuous barrage of sword techniques, as relentless as a landslide or a tsunami.

"Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!"

"..."

"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool!"

"..."

"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"

Chakra infused the Kusanagi Sword, and form after form flowed in a continuous cycle, whipping the calm lake into a surging frenzy.

The two individuals watching openly from the shore exchanged glances, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes, with Kakashi's being the most profound.

Coming from a family of renown, Kakashi possessed a deep understanding of Konoha's swordsmanship and even the sword techniques of the ninja world at large.

In his view—or rather, the consensus among all ninjas—swordsmanship was merely a tool for killing, no different from shurikenjutsu, ninjutsu, or explosive tags.

In close-quarters combat, if kunai and taijutsu were stronger, one used taijutsu; for long-range harassment or interference, shuriken and explosive tags were effective, so one used those; when facing a large group of enemies, one used ninjutsu to control the field.

Ninjas had a vast array of methods and would use any means necessary, applying each attack method where it was best suited.

Kakashi had always regarded the Third Hokage as the benchmark for a ninja, because no matter the enemy, the Third could always find the appropriate means of attack.

Yet, today, he saw a benchmark for a different path.

The swordsmanship Orochimaru displayed ran contrary to the swordsmanship of the ninja world, and even to the fundamental understanding of what a ninja was.

Close-quarters combat? Take a sword strike!

Long-range interference? Take a sword strike!

Crowd control? Take a sword strike!

How could swordsmanship be such an inconvenient thing!

In Orochimaru's techniques, Kakashi saw an entire system of swordsmanship.

Before this, what he had seen were merely individual sword moves.

Even his father was just a ninja with powerful close-quarters sword skills, not a true swordsman.

"So strong."

Guy muttered to himself.

He lacked Kakashi's breadth of knowledge and didn't know how this differed from the ninja world's swordsmanship, but there was one thing he could see clearly.

The swordsmanship Orochimaru displayed was highly restrained; there wasn't a single shred of wasted chakra in his movements, with all his power concentrated into the blade.

If he could learn this kind of control, it would be of great benefit to his taijutsu.

Guy scratched his head, wondering if Lord Orochimaru was still looking for a disciple.

Uh... even if he wasn't, it didn't matter; if he worked hard enough, he would surely be able to impress Lord Orochimaru.

"Hoo... hah..."

"Hoo... hah..."

As his body gradually adapted, his sword techniques became increasingly proficient.

With a sword in hand, the world is mine!

As the one experiencing it firsthand, Orochimaru's insights and feelings were far more profound than those of Kakashi or Guy.

Sword techniques developed to their peak were truly extraordinary; what the Genie said was not an exaggeration, but rather a modest understatement.

Orochimaru could feel that through the circulation of Water Breathing, the Kusanagi Sword contained a special energy in addition to chakra.

It was precisely this energy that elevated the attack power of his sword techniques, allowing him to contend with Kage-level powerhouses before the technique concluded.

One must realize that after the ninjutsu training session, his internal chakra was only at the level of a Chunin, and his physical constitution barely reached that of a Jonin.

For hardware of this level to briefly contend with a Kage-level powerhouse, Water Breathing was simply incredible.

Therefore, once he had thoroughly committed the sword techniques to memory, Orochimaru began to multitask, diverting a portion of his consciousness to probe the energy on the Kusanagi Sword to glimpse the secret of its power.

However, the moment he made contact, a serene and gentle artistic conception instantly enveloped Orochimaru's consciousness, spreading along the path toward its source.

It was as if Orochimaru had been caught in a genjutsu; he could no longer focus on comprehending the sword techniques, and his mind began to drift into a lost state.

If he had allowed it to continue, Orochimaru's consciousness would have been completely annihilated.

"Heh..."

The Genie let out a scoff, the sound ringing like thunder deep within Orochimaru's consciousness, instantly jolting him awake from his lost state.

"So close, just a hair's breadth away from me achieving the 'Host First Kill' achievement, and the most ridiculous one at that."

Ignoring the Genie's mockery, Orochimaru exclaimed, "Could the energy attached to the blade be natural energy?"

"Perhaps."

The Genie was noncommittal. "But it is likely not the same kind you are imagining."

Orochimaru remained silent, falling into deep contemplation.

As the Genie had said, the energy on the Kusanagi Sword was of the same origin as the natural energy of Ryūchi Cave but of a different nature; it was extremely pure, without a single trace of impurity.

This was why he hadn't recognized it at first.

Having impurities was not entirely a bad thing; although it could cause physical distortion, it at least allowed one to master sage mode.

But this kind—just by experiencing it for a split second, his consciousness had felt lost in nature; it was simply not something a human could master.

However, the sword techniques from the other world provided him with a train of thought.

They used swords to carry natural energy, so could I use external objects to apply natural energy?

Orochimaru couldn't wait to try.

"No need for such trouble, there is still one last move left to test." The corners of the Genie's mouth curled up slightly. "If you can successfully execute it, you will also have the opportunity to use natural energy."