The Breathing Style Sarutobi Hiruzen had just practiced was naturally one Tsugikuni Yoriichi had created. Based on the traits of a Perfect Being, it imitated the rhythms of its breathing.
Its most immediate effect wasn't to extend one's lifespan, but to bring one's body closer to the state of a Perfect Being.
"With Tsugikuni Yoriichi's incredible talent, he can really make me imitate the life rhythms of another creature?"
"Or, rather, its biological magnetic field?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen knew, of course, that among the Heavens and Myriad Worlds there were extremely advanced beings,
such as dragons. Even the places they had merely stayed would be enveloped by their magnetic fields, changing the environment there and the genetic structure of the surrounding creatures.
Those creatures would gradually become more like dragons.
"Even worse, those evil gods and heretics can affect you with their life fields just by looking at you—or being seen..."
"Turning you into their followers."
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt the changes within his body.
"But through the Breathing Style, I deliberately brought myself closer to the nature of a Perfect Being."
"The sensations in my body are completely different..."
Before, Sarutobi Hiruzen's body had been like an old machine that needed oil. It still worked, but it inevitably felt a little sluggish.
After completing one cycle of the Breathing Style, however, Sarutobi Hiruzen's body was like a brand-new machine.
Not only had the sluggishness of an aging body disappeared, but his body's efficiency and functioning had been completely renewed.
"Every cell is more lively and vigorous."
"Chakra is easier to refine, and I have more of it..."
"My physical condition has also returned to almost its peak..."
"My reflexes and five senses have clearly improved by a whole level..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen gauged the changes brought by the new Breathing Style.
Unlike the temporary boost to physical strength gained by squeezing energy out of one's cells, Sarutobi Hiruzen could clearly sense
that this improvement was comfortable and natural, as if his body had always been this way.
This was an elevation of his very life essence!
Next, Sarutobi Hiruzen swallowed a few of the Hokage's specially made Military Ration Pills.
"My digestive ability is on a completely different level from before."
"Food leaves almost no waste in my body. This rate of energy absorption is entirely beyond the bounds of humanity."
Sarutobi Hiruzen was a little excited.
"So, at least in terms of the body's level of life, Perfect Beings far surpass humans."
"They even far surpass the humans of the Ninja World."
Of course, these changes weren't permanent. As time passed, the effects the Breathing Style had just bestowed on Sarutobi Hiruzen gradually weakened, until they disappeared.
Sarutobi Hiruzen returned to the state of an elderly man over fifty, whose bodily functions were in decline.
But Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't the least bit discouraged. The Breathing Style's effect wasn't temporary; it would permanently guide the body's evolution in a certain direction.
The Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen were an example. After using the Breathing Style for a long time, they would develop a Demon Slayer Mark and master the Transparent World.
Of course, their life force would also drain much faster, causing the marked swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps to die before reaching the age of twenty-five.
"Some of the Breathing Style's effects remain, even after I stop."
Though he had stopped using the Breathing Style, Sarutobi Hiruzen could still clearly feel the changes in his body.
They were far from the new model his body had become while using the Breathing Style, but it was still like an old machine with fresh oil.
"So once I train until I can maintain Total Concentration Constant..."
"Even while asleep, I'll keep this Breathing Style going."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded, quite satisfied with what he had gained from this Transmigration.
"Then I should be able to sustain that vigorous, abundant physical state..."
"And once I advance further and reach the level of the 'Demon Slayer Mark'..."
"I should be able to permanently maintain the bodily state of a Perfect Being..."
"Complete my body's evolution and become an entirely new species."
Sarutobi Hiruzen thought it over.
"If I can complete my body's evolution and replenish my life force..."
"That would be completely different from what the previous Breathing Styles could do..."
"Then I'll call it Immortal Breathing."
Immortals were undoubtedly an extremely advanced form of life,
and a realm Sarutobi Hiruzen hoped to reach.
The Perfect Beings of the Demon Slayer World naturally couldn't attain it, but that didn't mean Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't in the future.
"It's just that Immortal Breathing, compared with the other Breathing Styles..."
"Its operating method and breathing patterns are dozens of times more complicated..."
Naturally, Immortal Breathing wasn't perfect, either.
"After all, the magnetic field of an advanced creature is far more complex than that of a single element—wind, fire, lightning, or whatever."
"They're on completely different levels."
Sarutobi Hiruzen had noticed that Tsugikuni Yoriichi had looked a little haggard during the few days he spent developing Immortal Breathing.
"Fortunately, the original Sarutobi Hiruzen was also a top-tier learner..."
"But it still took me a week to learn the basics. Reaching Total Concentration will take much longer."
"So there's no way to make Immortal Breathing widespread."
Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't just a Transmigrator traveling alone. He was also the leader of Konoha, so he naturally had to consider the village's development.
"Compared with those Breathing Styles that also strain the body, a Breathing Style that nourishes the body would undoubtedly be more effective for Ninja."
"But there's still a way to solve that problem."
"Looks like you've already learned the Breathing Style, Lord Sarutobi."
The moment they met, Tsugikuni Yoriichi 'saw' the changes in Sarutobi Hiruzen's body and immediately congratulated him.
"That was fast."
"Even I would find it difficult to learn such a complicated Breathing Style..."
Tsugikuni Yoriichi was astonished by Sarutobi Hiruzen's ability to learn.
A Breathing Style that imitated the bodily functions of an advanced creature was on a completely different level of complexity from ordinary Breathing Styles.
Although this Breathing Style was highly adaptable and, in theory, all humans could learn it,
as far as Tsugikuni Yoriichi knew, not a single swordsman in the Demon Slayer Corps had managed to learn it.
Even those who did learn it achieved little, and found it nearly impossible to reach the realm of Total Concentration.
The more difficult and complex a Breathing Style was, the more easily outside factors could interrupt it. But the requirement for Total Concentration Constant was to keep the Breathing Style going at all times.
Fortunately, this Breathing Style was difficult to learn, so Tsugikuni Yoriichi had felt no qualms about teaching it.
If some people became Perfect Beings through this Breathing Style, it would undoubtedly be another disaster for humanity.
"Yoriichi..."
"You have no other flaws..."
"You're just too modest sometimes..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen patted Tsugikuni Yoriichi on the shoulder, the corner of his mouth twitching involuntarily.
Tsugikuni Yoriichi had invented Immortal Breathing in five days, while Sarutobi Hiruzen had taken seven days to learn it.
The difference between them spoke for itself.
Whenever Tsugikuni Yoriichi talked about talent, he always left people speechless.
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