Wind Slash (Please Vote)

In the end, Hozuki Muyue's quote for this [Wind Blade: Piercer] was—

5 million ryō!

"Phew."

Araki secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "Good thing it's just pocket change in Shinobi World currency."

The Kisame Squad's haul from the pirate hideout was worth around 13 million ryō in total. Araki and Zabuza each received 4 million, while Kisame took an extra million.

However, in order to buy a chakra-conducting weapon, Araki had borrowed some money from Zabuza in advance.

Unlike Kisame, who needed to spend money on high-level ninjutsu to raise his strength as quickly as possible, Zabuza truly had few places to spend such a substantial little fortune.

Well, that was not quite right. It was not that there was nowhere to spend it, but that spending it directly was not cost-effective. Given his mission record, he had not unlocked permission to purchase high-level ninjutsu. And without comprehending chakra nature transformation, there was little point in buying high-level ninja tools.

Hadn't young Kakashi forcibly used the [White Fang Short Blade] while lacking sufficient strength? Not only had he failed to kill his enemy, but the legendary ninja blade had been cut in half.

So, at Araki's request, Zabuza agreed to lend him the money.

Naturally, in exchange, Araki needed to guide Zabuza's swordsmanship training.

Araki found that quite easy. Zabuza's strength and speed were both decent enough; he only needed to reveal a few principles of the [Silent Killing Technique] in advance and let him figure them out himself.

Still, Araki actually felt that Zabuza was not particularly suited to that [Kubikiribōchō]. [Silent Killing Technique] emphasized speed, agility, and silence. A crude weapon like the [Kubikiribōchō] looked far less suitable for assassination than the [Nuibari].

So whether he should have Zabuza change his fighting style, or let him choose another ninja blade in the future, Araki had yet to decide.

After all, Zabuza was a genius who would possess the strength of a card in the future!

He was worth putting some thought into planning for.

After cheerfully paying up and leaving, Araki had 5 million fewer ryō in cash and a sheathed longsword at his waist, its outer layer wrapped in dark green sharkskin.

Although his wealth had been wiped out overnight, he felt quite pleased.

"[Wind Blade] is such an awful name. [Wind Sword] sounds much cooler!"

After renaming his new weapon, Araki planned to find Yasuo and test it out.

Consciousness Space.

The elegant man with the high ponytail shouted "Hasaki" and charged Araki like a raging gale.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

With the [Wind Sword] in hand, Araki was finally no longer easily blown away by the gusts flowing along Yasuo's blade.

Wrapped in a thin chakra blade, the [Wind Sword] cleaved through the wind surrounding Yasuo's longsword with every strike and clashed directly against his blade.

After a fierce close-range exchange, Yasuo, unable to gain the advantage, withdrew. Riding the wind, he was even more agile and swift than Araki.

Of course, Araki would not let Yasuo come and go so freely. He immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to chase after him, only to see Yasuo flick his blade and send a roaring tornado rushing straight at him.

But this move could no longer do much to Araki. Gripping his sword with both hands, he slashed with all his strength, sending a slightly smaller whirlwind howling forward to meet it.

[Whirlwind Slash]!

Although Araki was still far inferior to Yasuo in his control over the wind, while the two wind tornadoes tore at each other, Araki had already caught up to Yasuo again.

Yet in that brief moment, by the time Yasuo reappeared in Araki's sight, his entire appearance had changed dramatically.

An incomparably powerful wind pressure enveloped him, even blurring his figure slightly. A layer of dazzling emerald light covered the longsword in his hand as well.

He looked like a sovereign commanding endless gales, radiating destruction and razor-sharp killing intent.

"What is this? You can use Riven's ultimate too?!"

Whoosh!

Araki had not even seen Yasuo move, yet Yasuo had already appeared before him out of thin air. The emerald longsword traced a beautiful arc through the air, seemingly intending to split him in two.

Clang!

Araki's reaction was not slow either. He raised his sword to block. Though the [Wind Sword], wrapped in a blade of wind-nature chakra, was not cut apart, Araki's body could barely withstand the fierce and overwhelming wind pressure around Yasuo.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

As they continued exchanging blows, Araki could only retreat again and again.

What was even more fatal was that the [Grace of the Wind] buff constantly swirling around Araki to accelerate him was directly dispersed by the powerful wind pressure around Yasuo.

After all, both were wind in essence. Suppression between the same attributes was simply that unreasonable: the winner took everything, and the loser got nothing.

Without the acceleration effect of [Grace of the Wind], Araki was far slower than Yasuo. Their evenly matched encounter quickly turned into a one-sided beating, then into a pursuit-and-escape battle.

But Yasuo, now seemingly the Wind God, did not give Araki many chances. He quickly predicted the trajectory of Araki's Body Flicker Technique and sent him flying with an emerald fan-shaped [Wind Slash].

When Araki opened his eyes again, he was speechless. He had thought changing to a new weapon would bring at least some improvement, but instead he had been beaten even more badly.

If his previous losses to Yasuo had mostly come down to technique, then Yasuo today had completely relied on brute-force suppression, crushing all of Araki's resistance with wind control far stronger than his own.

"Damn, I didn't expect Yasuo to have a second-stage form! This time it was Riven's Wind Slash. What will come out next time? Could it be Yone's Sealed Fate?"

Araki scratched his head.

"Could it be that he wandered for too long and learned swordsmanship from many other schools? Compared to him, Himura Kenshin and Asuna feel a little underpowered! Still, having more skills is a good thing. The more wool there is, the more I can fleece. No loss, no loss!"

After comforting himself, Araki looked at his current real-time information on the title page.

[Name]: Araki (Yachiru)

[Realm]: Sword Heart Initial Clarity / Sword Intent: Wind (Beginner)

[Sword Skills]: Combo Technique (Stardust Splash), Charge Technique (Flash Thrust), Draw Technique (Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu), Dragon Cry Flash, Wind-Slaying Sword Technique (Whirlwind Slash, Wave-Severing Ring Cut)

[Other]: Chakra Refinement Technique, Clone Technique, Transformation Technique, Body Flicker Technique, Water Style: Substitution Technique, Wind Style: Gale Palm

"I've only mastered two Wind-Slaying Sword Techniques? But this [Wave-Severing Ring Cut] was clearly a move I created myself. Is it grouped together just because the underlying principle is wind control?"

Araki was somewhat dissatisfied with his progress in fleece-gathering. "This Book of Sword Masters does not even have any sort of hint function. Maybe I should try imitating Yasuo's actions next. I wonder if that would help me comprehend the Wind-Slaying Sword Technique?"

Thanks to Cui Hualing for the monthly ticket!

Please bookmark and vote!