Book of Sword Masters

Araki—full name Araki Yachiru—was a name he had given himself.

After all, the body he had transmigrated into was an orphan, so he could choose whatever name he liked.

As for why he had chosen that name, especially the Yachiru suffix, that had something to do with Araki's previous life.

In his previous life, Araki had been an illustrator who worked across music, manga, and gaming circles. He had been somewhat well-known.

To put it specifically:

Whenever he posted a hand-drawn character illustration on a forum, the comments below would never be fewer than a thousand posts.

Most of them were praise, calling him things like a "soul artist."

After all, only a soul artist could truly draw a character's soul! Such a powerful statement!

Then, by accident, he fell asleep while drawing through the night. When he woke up, he found himself lying at the entrance of the Kirigakure Ninja Academy.

Of course, a gentle and beautiful older sister had told him that, and she had even enrolled him along the way.

When registering his name, Araki's mind had yet to fully catch up, so he casually gave a name that felt somewhat familiar. Thinking back on it later, it was probably related to what he had been drawing before transmigrating.

Fortunately, he had not named himself Dio.

Only after moving into the Ninja Academy dormitory did Araki have time to investigate whether anything unusual had come with his transmigration.

After all, in the world of the Hokage, without a cheat ability, one's birth truly determined one's fate.

Fortunately, when he closed his eyes and emptied his mind, a book gleaming with golden light emerged in his thoughts of its own accord.

"Isn't this the sketchbook I treasured?"

As an illustrator in his previous life, Araki would draw the finest portrait he could for characters he especially loved, then collect them all. He had even given this collection of countless exquisite characters a name: the [Book of Sword Masters].

That was right. Araki had always been especially fond of characters who wielded blades and swords.

"I never expected you to come with me too."

Araki looked at the [Book of Sword Masters] in his mind and sighed softly.

"So then, how am I supposed to use this? Is it a summoning technique like the [Super Beast Imitating Drawing]?"

Thinking of those world-destroying characters in his sketchbook, Araki trembled with excitement.

He tried opening the [Book of Sword Masters] and saw his own name on the title page.

[Name]: Araki (Yachiru)

[Swordsmanship Realm]: None

[Mastered Sword Techniques]: None

[Other Abilities]: None

"Uh, three Nones. That is a brutally straightforward evaluation!"

Araki's mouth twitched as he carefully searched every corner of the page, but found nothing resembling a plus sign.

"Hmm, so it isn't a stat-point cheat. Bad review! I should've named this sketchbook the [Book of Deep Blue]."

After muttering that, Araki turned his gaze to the next page. If he remembered correctly, the character he had drawn on the first page was—

She was a girl dressed in a red-and-white knight-style combat outfit. A long, thin braided lock looped in a half-circle behind her chestnut hair. Set in her delicate, fair oval face were a pair of eyes shining like brown gemstones, above soft peach-pink lips, making her look exquisitely perfect.

"As expected, Asuna!"

Araki shouted within his Consciousness Space.

At that moment, as though she had heard Araki's call, the page bearing Asuna's portrait lit up with golden radiance. After a flash of blinding gold, a girl dressed exactly like the one in the drawing appeared before Araki.

"So it really can summon her!"

Araki was stunned. He stared blankly, not knowing what to say to Asuna upon their first meeting.

Or would she suddenly ask me, "Are you my master?"

Araki thought to himself.

Just as he was struggling over it, Asuna moved.

She slowly drew the rapier at her waist and said with a serious expression:

"This may be a game, but it isn't something to be taken lightly."

"What does that mean?"

Araki was confused. That sounded like one of Asuna's lines, but what did she mean by saying it now?

Yet Asuna said nothing more and charged at him.

"Meteor!"

Asuna called out the name of her skill, and her forward rush abruptly accelerated. The pressure bearing down on him made it feel as though a meteor truly were falling straight toward his head.

Squelch!

Pain shot through Araki's chest, and his vision went dark as he was kicked straight out of the Consciousness Space.

He rubbed his chest, which bore no wounds yet still felt oddly cold, while his mind raced.

"After I called Asuna's name, she materialized, then started chasing me down to cut me apart? What kind of setting is this? Is this the Book of Self-Abuse?"

Araki grumbled inwardly.

Though he said that, as a veteran illustrator, Araki had already formed a few simple guesses about the mechanism of the [Book of Sword Masters].

"Does it teach skills through combat? Or will I obtain Asuna's sword techniques after defeating her?

"Either way, I stand no chance as I am now. I don't even have a weapon. I'll have to try again after the academy teaches us how to extract chakra. Maybe I can use ninjutsu to gain a clever advantage!"

With something to look forward to, Araki slept exceptionally well.

Things indeed did not exceed his expectations. After learning to refine chakra, Araki could already exchange a few moves with Asuna during their second encounter.

"Good, I've improved!"

Araki was secretly thrilled. Moreover, he discovered that as long as he fought Asuna, he would gain some insight into the skills she frequently used.

For example, with Meteor, that charging sword technique, Araki had now grasped some of the force-generation techniques behind it. This also allowed him to firmly rank among the best in his class.

After all, they were all civilian children. How could their combat experience compare to Araki's?

When their strength, speed, and chakra reserves were not greatly different, Araki—who was constantly beaten down by Asuna—naturally had greater combat ability.

As for the bloodline ninja clans of Mist Village?

Sorry, but they treasured their clansmen's lives. They would never send their people to die in a graduation examination with, at best, a fifty percent pass rate.

After learning the Three Body Technique, Araki felt that he finally had some confidence in defeating Asuna.

After all, the Substitution Technique and Transformation Technique were both godly tactical skills!

Thus, he entered the Consciousness Space again and confidently shouted at the [Book of Sword Masters]:

"Come out, Asuna! Let us fight to the death!"

As his voice fell, the [Book of Sword Masters] shimmered with golden light.

When the radiance faded, the chestnut-haired girl in red-and-white knight attire stood silently before Araki. Without a word, she drew her sword and thrust!