Senju Nawaki

The next morning, at eight o'clock, Beichen Haotian slept in a little later than usual and was in an excellent mood. Before going to bed the previous night, he had roughly counted the people he had killed and discovered that he had reached a gratifying number.

One hundred and three people.

Although Beichen Haotian had not participated in most of the battles during this campaign in the Land of Rain, he had killed around seventy enemies by hunting Rain Ninja and taking part in the final battle. That was acceptable, considering that his strength was still limited. Adding in those he had killed on previous missions, he had already surpassed a hundred people, achieving the Hundred Man Slayer milestone—the initial threshold for using the secret technique.

The new Blood Battle Breaking Army Saber Technique created by Beichen Haotian had been based on the Blood Battle Breaking Army Saber Technique passed down through his family for generations. After being refined by his family over countless generations, this saber technique could be used both for individual combat and for slaughter on the battlefield. Its simplicity concealed a viciousness within, and it did not rely on many variations. Instead, it followed the path of suppressing others through strength and momentum.

In his previous life, Beichen Haotian had made his way through One Piece using his family's saber technique. After fifteen years of tempering, his saber technique had reached perfection, and he could absolutely be considered a powerhouse in the One Piece World.

The new Blood Battle Breaking Army Saber Technique did not merely contain techniques. It also contained methods of using the blade in conjunction with Haki, as well as ultimate moves. More importantly, it held the secret behind Beichen Haotian's title in the One Piece World—the Asura Great Swordsman.

That secret came from fighting his way up step by step from the lowest ranks of pirates, giving him a unique understanding of killing intent and bloodlust. After killing ten thousand people, Beichen Haotian had grasped a unique secret technique while drinking and dancing with his blade beneath the moonlight—the Sin Forged Blade Technique.

The Sin Forged Blade Technique was an evil and strange secret technique that used intangible killing intent as its source and bloodlust as its guide. It had three stages. The first stage was the Hundred Man Slayer, the second was the Thousand Man Slayer, and the third was Slay All Life. In theory, the more people one killed, the harder and sharper one could temper the blade. Furthermore, after killing more than a thousand living beings, the blade would gain a special ability.

Beichen Haotian sat cross-legged, the gleaming silver Tang Saber resting across his knees. Both hands were clasped over the blade as if taking its pulse. Soon, a faint blood-colored mist rose from his body and began flowing into the blade through his fingers.

Before long, thin blood-colored lines began spreading across the silver blade from the hilt to the tip, like tiny snakes writhing along its surface. Beichen Haotian suddenly opened his eyes. A faint bloody mist rose within his pitch-black pupils, and an invisible killing intent shrouded the entire area.

A Kunai appeared in Beichen Haotian's right hand. He slashed his wrist, and bright-red blood dripped onto the blood-colored lines. Strangely, the blood did not flow freely. Instead, it merged into those thin lines, making the sight chilling to behold.

After shedding roughly fifty milliliters of blood, Beichen Haotian stopped the bleeding and placed both hands on the blade again. An invisible force probed toward the blade. It was blocked everywhere else, but when it reached the blood-colored lines, the force was absorbed into them—or, more accurately, swallowed.

After a quarter of an hour, Beichen Haotian felt that his Observation Haki had weakened slightly, which meant that his spiritual power had diminished a little.

When he picked up the blade again, there was no visible change apart from a thin blood-colored line running through its center. Yet compared with before, Beichen Haotian felt a familiar connection, like two people who had known each other becoming friends. The distance between them had been drawn much closer.

When Beichen Haotian picked up the blade again, it felt even more comfortable in his hand. In his previous life, he had already reached the state of Unity of Man and Blade. This could be achieved through constant blade training or through slaughter. Of course, using both methods at once was the fastest.

Once he was finished, Beichen Haotian remembered something. Since the war had temporarily come to an end, he planned to visit Tsunade during this period and see whether she was willing to teach him the Monster Strength Fist.

As long as he learned the unique Chakra circulation method of the Monster Strength Fist, the power of his blade would become terrifying with a single strike. He would not even need to coat it in Chakra to shatter metal and jade with ease.

After leaving the house, Beichen Haotian headed toward Tsunade's home. Tsunade's residence was extremely luxurious, consisting of a large compound. The surrounding residents were all middle- or high-ranking figures in Konoha. It was said that this compound had once been the residence of the First Hokage, giving it an extremely prestigious status and the finest location.

Knock, knock. Beichen Haotian tapped on the imposing black wooden door, and it soon opened.

The person who opened the door was a brown-haired boy about the same age as Beichen Haotian, whose appearance resembled Naruto's by five or six parts out of ten. The boy wore a warm smile and asked, "May I ask whom you're looking for?"

"I'm here to see Sister Tsunade. You must be Nawaki, right?"

"Beichen Haotian? You're the godbrother my sister acknowledged, right? I heard you're very strong." Senju Nawaki narrowed his eyes, looking unconvinced.

"Strong? That depends on whom you're comparing me with," Beichen Haotian replied calmly out of habit.

"Is that so? Then let's have a match. I refuse to believe you're that amazing. You should know that I'm the grandson of the First Hokage. I'll definitely beat you." A strangely confident smile appeared on Senju Nawaki's face.

Beichen Haotian thought for a moment. Since he wanted to learn Tsunade's signature Monster Strength Fist, he should give something in return. Perhaps he could see whether he could save Senju Nawaki's life.

"Sure, but you don't want us to fight in the street, do you?"

"Uh... sorry, I overlooked that." Senju Nawaki scratched his head apologetically, and all his momentum vanished.

"Come in. We'll go to the training ground and compete." With that, he bounced inside, his personality seeming extremely energetic.

The moment Beichen Haotian entered, he discovered that the residence was truly beautiful. Flowers, grass, and trees were distributed in an orderly yet natural fashion, the pond was tranquil, and the ornamental rocks were elegant. There were simply too few people around. After walking for a while, he barely saw any servants.

"Say, Nawaki, do you and Sister Tsunade live in such a huge compound by yourselves? Why don't you hire some servants?"

"Hire servants? If this compound hadn't been left behind by our grandfather, it probably would have been gambled away already." Senju Nawaki seemed to become angry at the mention of it and replied indignantly.

"Uh... I almost forgot. Tsunade was a huge gambling addict, nicknamed the legendary Big Fat Sheep."

They encountered Tsunade on the way.

"Oh? What brings you here, kid?" Tsunade wore a white nightgown. Her curves were graceful, and she rubbed her eyes as she spoke in her usual blunt manner.

"I came here first to visit Sister Tsunade and little brother Nawaki. Secondly, I want Sister Tsunade to teach me the Monster Strength Fist." Beichen Haotian got straight to the point. Tsunade was an uninhibited person who liked directness, so stating his purpose clearly would work better.

"You want to learn the Monster Strength Fist?"

"Yes. It will greatly increase the power of my saber technique. In close combat, few people will dare to take one of my strikes head-on. It will greatly improve my chances of surviving future battles, and I'll also be able to make greater contributions to Konoha."

"Kid, the Monster Strength Fist isn't as simple as you imagine. It requires tremendous talent and strict Chakra control. In addition, your Chakra has to reach the level of a Jonin. Otherwise, you won't be able to use it more than a few times."

"Let me try. If I work hard, I won't regret it. If I can't learn it in a short time, I'll take a long time—one year, ten years. If I keep going, there will always be a day when I master it."

"All right. Since I like you, I'll teach you."

"Thank you, Sister Tsunade," Beichen Haotian said sweetly. Having to pretend to be a little boy despite being so old, then use such a girlish voice, made Beichen Haotian break out in goosebumps.

"All right, you two are done talking, aren't you? After we get back from our match, let Sis teach you. Come on, come on." Senju Nawaki urged them impatiently.

"What? You two are going to fight? Nawaki, are you looking to get beaten? You only graduated recently. Even with Orochimaru teaching you, you're still no match for Haotian."

"I don't believe it. I can definitely beat Haotian."

"Hmph, you won't even listen to your sister, will you? Are you asking for a beating?" Tsunade raised her hand, walked over to Senju Nawaki, and rapped him on the head.

With a shrill cry, Senju Nawaki crouched on the ground, clutching his head and howling in pain.

"Forget it, Sister Tsunade. You can use this opportunity to teach Nawaki a lesson. It's normal for someone his age to have a rebellious streak."

"Tch, you're talking like an old man. You make yourself sound much older than you are. Still, this time, you can teach him a lesson for me."

"We'll see who teaches whom a lesson. I'll definitely beat Haotian," Senju Nawaki said, unwilling to concede.

At the training ground, the two boys stood facing each other and formed the opposing-hand seal.

Senju Nawaki immediately launched his attack, throwing three Shuriken toward Beichen Haotian while charging forward at high speed.

Beichen Haotian could not even be bothered to draw his blade. Senju Nawaki had only recently graduated and had yet to awaken Wood Release, so his strength was merely a little greater than that of an ordinary Genin.

With a light step, Beichen Haotian dodged the Shuriken. Facing Senju Nawaki's punches and kicks, he avoided and blocked them with ease.

The two exchanged punches and kicks for the time it took to drink a cup of tea. Beichen Haotian barely moved his feet, remaining almost where he had started.

"Why aren't you attacking?" Senju Nawaki jumped back, breathing slightly out of rhythm, and demanded an answer.

"I was testing your strength. To be honest, Nawaki, with your current strength, both carrying out missions and going to war would be extremely dangerous."

"That's nonsense. You haven't even really tested me. How would you know?"

"Oh? You still don't believe me? Then let me ask you this: have you ever killed anyone?"

"K-killed someone? What's so difficult about that? What difference is there between killing someone and not killing someone?"

"Of course there's a difference. I'll let you see it today." As he spoke, Beichen Haotian's killing intent surged toward Senju Nawaki. Under his deliberate control, it enveloped Nawaki's body.

Nawaki felt a chill run through him. Countless people, some with savage expressions and others drenched in blood, pounced toward him from before his eyes. Cold sweat poured down Nawaki's body. Driven by fear, he drew his Kunai and hacked wildly at them.

More than a hundred people had died at Beichen Haotian's hands. That was not an especially large number, but he had developed his own unique methods for using killing intent. He perfectly unleashed the killing intent produced by killing a hundred people, making it almost comparable to the Killing Intent Blade Illusion Orochimaru had used against Sasuke and the others during the Chunin Exams.

When it came to using killing intent, Orochimaru was inferior to Beichen Haotian. No one knew how many people Orochimaru had killed, yet what he used was merely a small illusion. Compared with the Sin Forged Blade Technique, it was far inferior.

Suddenly, Senju Nawaki felt a chill at his neck, and all the enemies before his eyes vanished. Beichen Haotian was holding the scabbard against Nawaki's neck.

"You lost," Beichen Haotian said calmly.

"This..." Senju Nawaki seemed unable to believe it.

Removing the scabbard, Beichen Haotian walked away and said, "Nawaki, that was merely an illusion created by the killing intent radiating from my body. People who have never killed anyone or whose willpower is weak are very susceptible to it. I advise you not to rush into missions or go to the battlefield. Follow Lord Orochimaru and train and study properly. Death is completely impartial. It will not treat you any differently."

"I'm the godbrother acknowledged by Lady Tsunade, and you're her biological younger brother. We can be considered brothers. I don't want you to lose your life one day because of blind impulsiveness and overestimating yourself. Think before you act, and consider this carefully. Sister Tsunade, you should also remind Nawaki more often."

To repay Tsunade for teaching him the Monster Strength Fist, Beichen Haotian spoke many heartfelt words to Senju Nawaki. If Nawaki still died after that, no one else could be blamed. It would simply be fate. After all, Beichen Haotian could not follow him around every day. He had matters of his own to attend to.

"Haotian is right. Nawaki, think it over carefully. Carry out your missions step by step, and don't reach beyond your grasp or act rashly." Tsunade rarely wore such a serious expression.

"Come on. Once Sis changes clothes, I'll teach you how to train in the Monster Strength Fist, so you'll have more capital for survival in the future. Don't go around teaching others while getting yourself killed first."

Beichen Haotian was speechless.

Thanks to Zhuhán Wàndāndàn for the recommendation ticket. Thank you for your support!