Unity of Man and Blade

Beichen Haotian had no particularly detailed plan for this journey through the Ninja World, but his first destination was clear—the seaside.

For the past few years, Beichen Haotian had mostly trained his saber techniques underwater. Four years had passed, and he had conquered every pond, river, and lake around Konoha. Swinging his blade underwater was no different from swinging it in the air anymore, so he wanted to use the vast, boundless ocean to improve his strength.

The immense pressure beneath the sea could not only force his saber techniques to reach the realm of Unity of Man and Blade as quickly as possible, but also temper his physique and awaken Armament Haki.

Beichen Haotian's clothes were exceptionally eye-catching and finely made, drawing plenty of attention wherever he went. The world of Naruto was rather chaotic, with ninja villages constantly fighting one another, and even the civilian world was far from peaceful.

Most lords treated their subjects poorly, so there were quite a few bandits in the civilian world. As a ninja, Beichen Haotian naturally would not keep to roads used by ordinary people. He usually took the most secluded yet shortest routes. Thorny undergrowth, steep cliffs, wild beasts, and venomous insects could stop ordinary people, but they had little effect on ninjas.

Beichen Haotian carried his saber on his back, a bottle of wine in his right hand and a roast chicken in his left. He ate as he walked, occasionally breaking into strange little tunes, looking utterly carefree.

Suddenly, more than twenty bandits carrying all sorts of weapons rushed out from the woods by the road. Their clothes were ragged, but their faces were vicious as they surrounded Beichen Haotian.

"Kid, hand over everything valuable you have, or we'll kill you," said a bandit wearing a brown shirt and long trousers.

Beichen Haotian froze. Had they taken him for a samurai, or some young noble wandering around with a sword?

"Hahaha, interesting. You actually dare rob a ninja?" Beichen Haotian said mockingly.

When they heard that Beichen Haotian was a ninja, many of them immediately showed hesitation and fear. Ninjas were not opponents ordinary bandits like them could handle.

"Hmph, even if he's a ninja, how strong can someone so young be? Brothers, if we don't get some business soon, we won't even be able to afford food. Are you willing to go big? If we pull this off, the wealth on a ninja will be enough for us to stop being bandits. From then on, we'll eat and drink like kings!" The bandit in brown revealed a greedy, crazed expression.

The other bandits were stirred up. After struggling for a moment, they began to look tempted, and their grips on their weapons tightened.

Fine. It was my first day traveling, and I was in a good mood, so I wanted to spare them. But they had to come knocking on death's door. They can't blame me now. Perfect—just a little over a dozen away from Thousand Man Slayer.

The saber on his back seemed to sense Beichen Haotian's killing intent and trembled slightly. Its blade slid a little from its sheath, releasing a strange red glow that seized the soul.

Beichen Haotian reckoned that once he entered the realm of Unity of Man and Blade, a mere thought would be enough to make his saber leap from its sheath on its own.

His right hand gripped the hilt. With a metallic ring, the Tang Saber left its sheath. More than half of the blade had already turned blood-red, looking deeply sinister. Staring at it for too long seemed enough to stir the killing intent in one's heart.

Beichen Haotian slashed several times through the air. He did not use Chakra, yet the air was compressed into blades of wind. As if stained by the saber, those air blades turned pale red.

The pale-red air blades flew toward the bandits. The bandits paled in shock, either dodging or trying to block with their weapons. Unfortunately, they had underestimated Beichen Haotian's strength. These attacks were not something people without Chakra could withstand.

For a moment, blood sprayed into the sky. More than a dozen bandits had their throats sliced open, their blood erupting like mist. Their heads did not fall off, but their bodies toppled stiffly to the ground. The remaining bandits were terrified at the sight. Their greed and courage were utterly crushed, and they fled in every direction.

"Hmm, Thousand Man Slayer has just been achieved. I'll spare them." Sheathing his saber, Beichen Haotian devoured the roast chicken in a few bites and drained the wine in one gulp. Then, with several leaps, he vanished into the distance at astonishing speed. Compared to his current speed, his earlier pace had been nothing more than a leisurely outing.

Four days later, Beichen Haotian sat by a window in the finest restaurant of a small coastal city. Rice, seafood, fish, and a pot of sake sat on the table. Leaning against the window, he ate while watching the scene outside with interest.

When he had done missions in the past, he had always come and gone in a hurry, without any time to stop, rest properly, or enjoy himself.

Most of the people walking along the three-meter-wide narrow street were ordinary civilians. Occasionally, he saw Rogue Ninjas, as well as Genin and Chunin wearing Land of Water forehead protectors. These people strutted arrogantly down the street, and pedestrians generally kept far away from them.

Eating while observing the people of this world was rather interesting. After eating his fill and paying the bill, Beichen Haotian left the restaurant and rented a small boat, asking it to take him to the nearest uninhabited island.

Two hours later, he had agreed on a schedule with the boatman: he would come to the island once every month. If he saw Beichen Haotian, he would take him away; if not, he would leave anyway. Of course, Beichen Haotian paid him a very generous fee, which was why the captain agreed so willingly and happily.

After arriving at the small island, which was only a few kilometers across, Beichen Haotian set up camp and entered training. He took off his coat and shirt, bared his upper body, grabbed his saber, and jumped into the ocean, swimming toward the seabed. When he reached around eighty meters below the surface, he clearly felt the crushing pressure.

"Good, this is the place." A thought stirred in Beichen Haotian's mind. A faint glow of Chakra emerged from beneath his feet, and using the counterforce, he easily stood on the seafloor. Saber in his right hand, he began swinging it again and again, sending ripples through the depths.

Time quietly slipped away amid training, and in the blink of an eye, a month and a half passed. Grueling training was painful—not only physically, but the loneliness took its toll as well. Fortunately, Beichen Haotian had long grown accustomed to it.

Over that month and a half, his physique grew stronger again. Beichen Haotian felt that the results of this month and a half of training surpassed even three months of his former training. The pressure of the deep sea penetrated everywhere, giving his body a far more comprehensive workout than push-ups, sit-ups, running, or other exercises ever could.

At the same time, beneath the pressure of the deep sea, Beichen Haotian's control over his saber grew stronger and stronger. He persisted without pause, spending all his time in the depths except when eating, sleeping, or relieving himself. Fortunately, Chakra protected his body, or he would probably have soaked until his skin turned pale and swollen.

On this day, Beichen Haotian vaguely sensed that his chance for a breakthrough would come today. Unity of Man and Blade—once he reached that realm, his strength would rise dramatically. Many of the ultimate moves from his previous life would also become usable.

To be safe and ensure nothing went wrong, Beichen Haotian chose this day to use the second realm of the Sin Forged Blade Technique to temper his saber.

Beichen Haotian closed his eyes and sat cross-legged, laying the saber flat across his knees. His hands rested gently on the blade. Gradually, a blood-red mist enveloped him. This bloody mist was ten times denser than before, staining both Beichen Haotian and the blade crimson, like an Asura descending from the endless sea of blood described in legends.

The dense blood-red mist surged into the blade, which began to tremble lightly on its own. The remaining silver-white portion of the saber gradually turned blood-red, while an eerie crimson glow radiated from the blade and seized the soul.

As the last trace of bloody mist entered it, the several five-pointed stars on the hilt transformed into vivid blood-red lotus flowers, delicate and sinister. A Chakra blade appeared at the fingertips of his right hand. He drew it across his left wrist, and blood dripped down as the blade began absorbing it. This time, Beichen Haotian lost as much blood as an ordinary person could safely donate.

When the blade had completely absorbed the blood, the crimson glow it emitted began to retract, yet its aura grew increasingly terrifying, as though some monster were being bred within it.

Beichen Haotian opened his eyes and took the saber in hand. He could feel that the sensation of blood connection, as though it were an extension of his own limbs, was not far away.

He sprang up, raced across the sea's surface, and plunged into the ocean. This time, Beichen Haotian dove in a single breath to around one hundred and twenty meters. Powerful pressure wrapped around his entire body, as though he were carrying ten thousand jin.

Raising his hand with difficulty, Beichen Haotian slowly began to swing his saber, practicing the Blood Battle Breaking Army Saber Technique. His movements were incredibly slow, about as fast as elderly men and women practicing tai chi in a park. Even children could easily dodge them.

Yet the light in Beichen Haotian's eyes grew brighter and brighter. The feeling of blood connection, like an extension of his limbs, became increasingly clear, leaving him intoxicated and thrilled.

Finally, after half an hour, an invisible shackle broke open, and he stepped into a new world.

Beichen Haotian's gaze became incomparably sharp, as though countless blades were flying from his eyes. His aura grew more and more condensed, his presence sharper and sharper, until his aura became identical to that of his saber. If a sensory ninja were to probe him, they might think Beichen Haotian was a weapon. That was not an aura a living being should possess.

Slash, Beichen Haotian silently said in his heart.

This time, Beichen Haotian's Tang Saber cut through the seawater. The blade gave off a faint glow, and with a flash of blood-red light, a crimson saber beam tore through the sea and shot into the distance. The crushing pressure of the seawater seemed to have no effect on it at all, and it only dissipated a thousand meters away.

It had to be known that when Beichen Haotian had previously slashed with all his strength at a depth of one hundred meters, he could only cut through five hundred meters of seawater. Now that he had entered the realm of Unity of Man and Blade, a casual slash reached a thousand meters, and he was twenty meters deeper than before.

Why had his strength increased so drastically? Even Beichen Haotian was a little dumbfounded. He perhaps understood that it had something to do with the nature of his Blade Intent. His Blade Intent differed from that of Konoha White Fang. White Fang's was pure speed, using speed to increase the power and lethality of his slashes. Beichen Haotian's, on the other hand, was pure sharpness—the sharpness and dominance of One Slash Breaks All Techniques. His attack speed could not compare to White Fang's.

Beichen Haotian felt that his Blade Intent in this world seemed to have grown somewhat stronger. Could it be because he had cultivated Blade Intent across two lifetimes? He could not be sure, but fortunately, he was not one to obsess over such matters. As long as it benefited him and caused no harm, that was enough.

At the same time, when Beichen Haotian reached Unity of Man and Blade and the Sin Forged Blade Technique broke through to its second level, entering the third realm, he gained a special ability. However, the requirements for using it were rather harsh, and he could not meet them anytime soon.

Having entered the realm of Unity of Man and Blade, the excited Beichen Haotian wanted to strike while the iron was hot and cultivate Armament Haki.

Observation Haki had awakened years ago, and its strength had gradually increased. Armament Haki had now fully met the requirements for awakening, and it was time to cultivate it, but something unexpected interrupted him.

A violent disturbance suddenly erupted from the sea surface above. Explosions sounded one after another, and faint screams could be heard...

Thanks to Wawa, 1, O Book oOo Bug, Dream Destroyed a Hundred Thousand Times, Dracula Li, Eagle Sting, Zhuhán Wàndāndàn, and One Leaf Knows Autumn for the recommendation votes!