Swordsmanship Class II

"When I wish to cut something before me, I care not whether it be steel or Steel Skin—all will crumble beneath my blade."

"Even if my blade has no edge."

Nara Dan returned the Zanpakutō to Retsu Unohana.

"Of course, this is a difference in essence."

"Essence is meant to be comprehended, not learned."

"So, to help you better understand what I call Swordsmanship."

"Your learning must begin with Perception."

Breath?

The students present couldn't quite grasp it—it touched on a blind spot in their knowledge entirely.

Aside from creatures with lungs, do other things have breath?

Nara Dan seemed to answer the question in their minds.

"Not only do creatures with lungs have breath—all things, every single one, possess breath."

"The secret to cutting what you wish to cut, and leaving untouched what you do not wish to harm, lies here."

"Perceive the Breath of All Things."

"With the cloth before me just now, I avoided its breath, so even a sharp blade striking it had no effect at all."

Nara Dan picked up the cloth again.

"But if my aim is to sever its breath."

"Then."

"Clang!"

A sound like metal clashing rang out. In everyone's eyes, Nara Dan's fingers formed a hand blade, moving at the same unhurried pace, striking toward the cloth in the air.

And the moment the unsharpened hand blade crossed paths with the cloth—

Everyone seemed to glimpse a sliver of piercing white light.

Then, when they looked back at the cloth, It had already split in two, both halves drifting slowly down to the floor.

"This is the power of severing the Breath of All Things."

"If you can sense the breath of all things, you can easily cut them with the blade in your hand, or with anything else."

"This is