In the Naruto world, at an abandoned training ground on the outskirts of Konoha.
"9998, 9999..."
A young man wearing a Konoha Forehead Protector and a short-sleeved shirt with long pants swung the long sword in his hand. Sweat covered his sharply defined face.
He was young, around thirteen, and about 1.6 meters tall. The sword in his hand was one meter long.
"10000!"
The boy counted silently. He had finally completed ten thousand sword-drawing drills.
"Congratulations, host Uchiha Shiraha. Beginner mission complete. Sword Saint Cultivation System fully activated! Reward: Basic Draw Technique."
A clear system notification rang in Uchiha Shiraha's mind, and a bright smile spread across his exhausted face.
Five years after crossing over into the Naruto world, Uchiha Shiraha had become a war orphan of the Uchiha Clan.
His parents had both been elite jonin, but they had died in the Third Shinobi World War before Shiraha crossed over.
In the third year after his arrival, a system notification had appeared in his mind. The system was here!
Iai was a school of Japanese swordsmanship, also known in China as Iaijutsu. It was a technique that had existed for thousands of years, since ancient times, but the Japanese had learned it and renamed it Iai.
Since the Japanese had popularized it, the system had named it Iai Slash.
But Shiraha was used to calling it Draw-Sword Technique.
The system divided Iai Slash training into three stages.
The initial stage was the ten thousand sword-drawing motions he had just completed.
Each draw had to meet two standards: the sword and the motion. Only a draw that met both standards would be recognized by the system.
The motions were Koiguchi no Kiri, Nukitsuke, Kirioroshi, Chiburi, Zanshin, and Noto.
There were few ninja in the village who used long swords, so they usually had to be custom-made.
After becoming a ninja, Shiraha had spent his savings on a custom-made long sword, about one meter in length, that met the system's requirements.
The standard motion required him to draw the long sword from its sheath at his waist as quickly as possible and slash horizontally, while making sure the sheath didn't fall.
Iai-do emphasized both drawing and sheathing the sword, but at first the system only required the draw to meet its standard.
When he'd first started practicing, Shiraha had been just over ten years old.
Counting the time he'd spent training and learning ninjutsu, it had taken him three years to graduate from the Ninja Academy.
In his second year after crossing over, Shiraha had mastered the pair of One-Tomoe Sharingan his predecessor had awakened.
That ability had allowed him to graduate from the academy a year early.
At first, Shiraha had planned to train in ninjutsu. After all, ever since arriving in this world, he'd been curious about those flashy techniques.
But despite his natural talent, his attempts to learn ninjutsu had been... disastrous.
In the end, he'd given up on ninjutsu and focused on training in the swordsmanship from the system.
Once he completed the system mission, the Basic Draw Technique reward melded into Shiraha's mind.
"After all those nights and days of training! This draw feels like an instinct etched into my bones."
An ordinary katana had gained a soul in Shiraha's hands.
Shiraha's eyes gleamed. He gripped the hilt with one hand and steadied the sheath with the other.
"Clang!"
A flash of cold light streaked past. As the sword slid back into its sheath, the enormous tree, more than three meters wide, toppled in front of him.
This system reward seemed to have just helped me pull together everything I've learned... and my strength has risen to a new level because of it.
Had I broken through a bottleneck?
"Ding! Beginner mission: Draw your sword one hundred thousand times. Reward: Thunder Breathing Method."
The system's voice rang out again.
The second-stage mission had arrived.
With constant practice, his draws had gradually grown smoother.
As he practiced, he'd gone from managing one successful draw every few minutes, to every few dozen seconds, then every few seconds. Now it took considerable effort to complete one draw per second.
After mastering the standard motions, he'd gradually learned to combine them seamlessly, until he could draw and slash from any position!
One draw per second now meant the time it took to draw, sheathe, and draw again.
Drawing a sword wasn't just about completing the motion. It also involved a shift in mindset. Only with a steady state of mind could he deliver a keen strike.
The measure wasn't the speed, but the power of that single strike.
By pushing his speed to the limit, Shiraha could draw his sword in 0.1 seconds.
But the next strike would be sluggish.
That was a fatal flaw in combat, a problem he absolutely couldn't afford.
For a boy who'd known nothing to become a capable swordsman in three years wasn't slow at all.
At one draw per second, one hundred thousand seconds equaled 1,666.6 minutes, or 27 hours.
It seemed like it would take just over a day.
But!
This was the fastest he could currently draw and sheathe his sword. It didn't account for the energy it took or how tired his body would get.
"Even if it's hard, all I have to do is keep at it! I managed ten thousand. How far away can one hundred thousand be?"
Shiraha looked at the marker on the system mission panel and silently encouraged himself.
"10000 (complete)/100000 (total)"
"The road ahead is long!"
Shiraha murmured. In three years at the Ninja Academy and two years as a ninja, he'd gone from student to Genin to Chunin.
Some time after the Shinobi World War ended, the villages were recovering, and there was little sign of further conflict.
Shiraha had passed the Chunin Ninja Exams the day before, becoming a qualified cannon fodder of the village.
As a member of the Uchiha Clan, he'd been assigned to the Military Police Force as soon as he was promoted to Chunin.
The clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, had assigned him to a squad.
The next day, while the sun was still asleep, the village lay silent.
Shiraha opened his eyes and glanced at the jonin standing in his room, dressed in the village's green flak jacket.
"Do jonin not know how to knock?"
Shiraha sat up, loosened his grip on the hilt, and grumbled.
It was his first time encountering a Konoha jonin who'd sneaked in. The intrusion had startled him.
The man had appeared beside him without a sound, and Shiraha had no idea when he'd arrived.
Sensing something amiss, Shiraha had grabbed his sword hilt at once.
The little pride he'd felt over his improved strength was now completely crushed.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
Only after gripping the hilt did Shiraha's thoughts settle.
Years of training had taught him to keep his sword by his side at all times.
"Your alertness is good. You don't live up to the rumors about you; you're not as bad as they say."
The jonin spoke warmly. He didn't sound like an arrogant Uchiha, but more like a friendly older brother.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Uchiha Shisui, captain of the Clan Seventh Squad!"
Shiraha froze at the name, then looked at the man again, curious.
The Uchiha's greatest prodigy, the strongest man alive, Body Flicker Shisui?
From before he'd crossed over to after, he'd heard people talking about this name.
In the Uchiha Clan, Shisui was a legend.
In life, he was the Uchiha's legend.
In death, he became the Uchiha's elegy.
The Uchiha Clan's rise and fall were both tied to him.
This was the man who ran through the entire history of the Uchiha Clan's downfall.
"I'm Uchiha Shiraha, a Chunin."
Shiraha released the hilt, stood up straight, and introduced himself.
Uchiha Shisui possessed the legendary eye technique of the Uchiha. He was currently the strongest ninja, at least on the surface.
Everyone in the village and the clan was talking about Uchiha Shisui.
Shiraha was two or three years younger than Uchiha Shisui, but their status was worlds apart.
Still, after gaining the Basic Draw Technique, he had a feeling.
If he caught Uchiha Shisui off guard, he could cut through any part of his body with a single strike.
That was the confidence of Iaijutsu.
When facing an enemy, one strike decided the victor.
Even if the opponent's strength was several levels higher, speed could make up the difference.
Iai Sword Technique was all about two things: speed and surprise.
Even more important was the wielder's confidence.
If you couldn't even find the courage to draw your sword when faced with an enemy, the outcome of the fight was never in doubt.
Because Shiraha didn't belong to this world, and because he'd already died once, that thought would never cross his mind.
A swordsman had already accepted the possibility of death the moment he gripped the hilt.
"So that's what you're relying on?"
Shisui thought to himself. He had carefully observed Shiraha's movements and immediately seen the meaning behind them.
Being a jonin meant more than just having strength.
It also meant having the knowledge and combat experience to match.
Uchiha Shisui was renowned for his intelligence, but his gentle nature, indecision, and naivety would eventually lead to his tragic end.
Shiraha knew that Uchiha Shisui was strong, but he wasn't the future of the Uchiha Clan.
He had no intention of clinging to someone powerful.
He knew perfectly well that his sword was the only thing he could rely on.
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