Fusion of Hatake Sword Style

As Sakumo announced the start of the battle, the two drew their wooden swords and charged at each other, the training ground filled with the rhythmic clatter of wood striking wood.

This time, Shangguan Yue did not rely on overwhelming force; he reined in all his senses, suppressing his strength to match that of his opponent.

The intense exchange allowed Shangguan Yue to absorb experience, deepening his insight into Basic Swordsmanship.

Stabbing, slashing, lifting, hooking, chopping, sweeping, picking, hacking, pressing, carrying, as well as wrapping around the head and body—he grew increasingly proficient, though he was slowly being forced into a corner by his opponent.

After all, with equal strength and no external power used, Shangguan Yue was no different from anyone else, save for having a slightly superior physique.

The little ones behind them saw Hatake Taro pressing the attack against Shangguan Yue, jumping up and down as they cheered, "Go, Brother Taro! Go, Brother Taro!"

Shangguan Yue met all changes with constancy, retreating as he fought, until he had successfully recorded the technique, at which point he stopped suppressing his physical strength.

Hatake Taro felt his hand growing increasingly numb, and the situation began to shift; although Shangguan Yue's swordsmanship remained quite clumsy.

However, he could not overcome the sheer force, and the tide slowly turned until Shangguan Yue was the one pressing Hatake Taro, a classic case of breaking ten thousand techniques with raw power.

Hatake Taro was beaten back step by step until his arm could no longer support the katana, which flew straight out of his hand.

Refusing to accept defeat, Hatake Taro picked up the katana again, struck a pose, and shouted, "White Blade, strike!"

Hatake Taro's katana was wreathed in white light, faint sparks of lightning flickered over his body, and he lunged forward like a bolt of lightning to strike at Shangguan Yue.

Shangguan Yue raised his sword to parry, and with a loud "clatter," his wooden sword snapped; Shangguan Yue retreated a step as Hatake Taro's wooden sword slammed into the ground.

"What kind of ninjutsu is this? His physical strength and speed have increased several times over."

As Hatake Taro charged again, Shangguan Yue reached out a hand, and a wooden sword flew into his grasp.

"Holy crap, how did he do that? That was so cool."

"I don't know, but wait, isn't that my sword? How did it fly over there?"

"..."

The onlookers were stunned by this display, and as Shangguan Yue crouched slightly, he declared, "Draw-Sword Strike."

The two crossed paths, and Hatake Taro immediately dropped to one knee. Both their wooden swords were broken, but the difference was that a gash had been cut into Hatake Taro's chest.

"Ah? Brother Taro, are you alright?"

"Cough, cough, I'm fine."

Hatake Taro pushed away the little ones crowding around him, looked at Shangguan Yue, and said with lingering resentment, "You are strong. I lost."

"No, in terms of swordsmanship, I lost. I still need to learn the blade from you all properly."

Shangguan Yue's humility won the favor of the Hatake Clan, and subsequently, several other members of the Hatake family stepped forward for friendly sparring.

Shangguan Yue gained a great deal this time, developing a deeper understanding of the Hatake Sword Style. Once the fighting concluded, he took his leave.

"Brother Sakumo, I'll train at home for a while and come back after some time."

"Very well, Yue. There is no shortcut to swordsmanship; you must build a solid foundation."

"Understood, thank you, Brother Sakumo."

Shangguan Yue did not return to his own home this time, turning instead toward Tsunade's place.

"Chuuni, tell me, can I gain Luck Points by having my Shadow Clones defeat those students?"

"You can. They are all extensions of your own power."

"Then why didn't you say so earlier?"

"You didn't ask."

"You!!! Fine, keep that in mind for next time."

Before long, Shangguan Yue received the memories of his Shadow Clone dissipating, and in those memories, he saw everyone spreading rumors.

"Why hasn't Shangguan Yue been acting out lately?"

"Yeah, I haven't seen him challenge anyone in a long time. Could it be that he's scared?"

"That might actually be it."

"I think he got beaten up so badly he's too afraid to go out, haha."

"Shh, keep it down, Shangguan Yue is coming."

"Why do these people love to wag their tongues so much?

It seems being a celebrity really does have its annoyances. Forget it, let the main body worry about it; I'd rather go flirt with some girls."

Shangguan Yue watched in the memories as his clone went about his usual business, wandering between various women, and he felt nothing but annoyance.

"I'm busy as hell every single day, and you're out here causing trouble for me?

Don't let me go to school next time only to have a pile of girlfriends rush at me and pin me down!

Though, why does that sound so exciting?

Pah, pah, pah! I am a man of integrity; I should just let things take their natural course. After all, I can't really control him anyway."

"Actually, regarding the Shadow Clone, you could..."

"Shut up, Chuuni."

"You..."

"I said shut up!"

"Oh~"

"I've noticed that when I actually need you, you're nowhere to be found, but when I don't, you're incredibly diligent about popping up!"

"..."

"Playing hide-and-seek again."

Shangguan Yue curled his lip and continued his grand undertaking of challenges. Today, he had successfully recorded five people from the Hatake Clan.

Whether they were apprentices, genin, or chunin, Shangguan Yue didn't waste a single word before getting to work. It wasn't until the dead of night that he finally felt satisfied, looking at the notification.

Challenge successful. Obtained Hatake Clan: Lightning Style Chakra Activation Technique, Sword Style: White Blade, and 26 years of Basic Swordsmanship.

Each person had dropped a little bit of Basic Swordsmanship, which added up to 26 years. As for the sword style, there was only White Blade, the power of which varied depending on the user's strength.

If you reached the Kage level, it would be an S-rank technique; as for whether it could reach SS-rank, it was hard to say, as its upper limit was uncertain.

White Blade: A strike that condenses all of one's strength, pursuing a one-hit kill. A single-blade style.

Lightning Style Chakra Activation Technique: An A-rank ninjutsu that wraps Lightning Style chakra around the body to increase physical vitality, while also significantly improving a ninja's speed, strength, and reaction time.

Shangguan Yue was already very satisfied with these gains, especially now that he possessed 26 years of Basic Swordsmanship—even longer than Hatake Sakumo.

The only thing was that his insights might not be as formidable as Hatake Sakumo's, after all, he had only challenged genin, chunin, and even apprentices.

Currently, Shangguan Yue's Basic Swordsmanship had reached B-rank, meaning that in terms of Basic Swordsmanship alone, it could already achieve the power of a B-rank ninjutsu.

"Now that I have the Hatake Sword Style, the Uchiha Style Swordsmanship, and the Lightning Style Chakra Activation Technique, I wonder what I can fuse them into.

Although these all seem quite good, their upper limits are unpredictable. I might as well take a gamble; at worst, I'll just start over.

It's just sword styles and ninjutsu, after all. Out with the old, in with the new."

Shangguan Yue opened the Cultivation Room, dragged the Hatake Sword Style, Uchiha Style Swordsmanship, and Lightning Style Chakra Activation Technique, and tossed them into the Smelting Furnace.

Confirm consumption of 200 Luck Points to perform technique deduction?

"Damn, that much? Confirm. That leaves me with only a little over 100. It seems the resources at the Ninja Academy aren't enough; I need to get out of the school."

Immediately, the memories of these three ninjutsu in Shangguan Yue's mind vanished. Seeing that the countdown was only one day, he was stunned.

"Chuuni, didn't the last one take a long time? Why does this one only take one day?"

"That was because your God-Slaying Art was not from this world, so understanding and deducing it took longer. Techniques from this world only require one day."

"Fine then."

Shangguan Yue rubbed his hands together, his face full of anticipation. These two sword styles could be considered among the best in this world, and with the addition of the Lightning Style chakra mode, he was drooling just thinking about it.

"This really makes one look forward to it."