Orochimaru began to take things seriously. The aura he unleashed was terrifying.
Baiyu felt the pressure mount sharply, his whole body tensing.
He waited quietly for Orochimaru to attack.
Having seen Baiyu's bizarre swordsmanship, Orochimaru was very interested.
He pulled a long sword from his mouth with his right hand, apparently intending to test his swordsmanship against Baiyu's.
"The Kusanagi Sword!"
Baiyu's face tightened in surprise as he gripped the shoddy Ninja Blade in his hand.
He wondered whether it could hold up against the Kusanagi Sword.
One of the legendary weapons in Naruto World: the Kusanagi Sword.
Orochimaru's weapon. Baiyu had always wanted to get his hands on it.
"Mandala of Ten Thousand Snakes!"
After summoning the Kusanagi Sword, Orochimaru didn't attack personally. Instead, he opened his mouth, and countless gray snakes poured out.
"How devious!"
Baiyu cursed aloud, but inwardly, he felt relieved.
He wasn't confident he could win in close combat against Orochimaru.
He was still a little short of completing his system mission. These snakes were just what he needed to fill the gap!
Worried about Konoha pursuing him, Orochimaru wasn't using his full strength.
That gave Baiyu a slim chance in his desperate situation.
If Orochimaru summoned Manda outright, Baiyu would have no way to deal with such a colossal summon.
Orochimaru's figure slowly disappeared, hidden among the snakes.
"Battojutsu!"
Baiyu spun around and swept his blade, clearing the snakes around him. Then he leaped into the air, dodging the endless waves of snakes.
Half a second later, he swung again, clearing another patch below and killing a large number of snakes.
Before he could steady himself after landing, Orochimaru appeared behind him, Kusanagi Sword in hand.
"Battojutsu!"
As he cleared the snakes, Baiyu had kept a close eye on Orochimaru.
The instant Orochimaru appeared, he seized his chance and swung.
"Splurt!"
The blade cut into Orochimaru's neck, severing it in one stroke.
"A clone? No, a substitution... Kage Level. The gap in strength is too great! Even the Sharingan can't see through his moves!"
Baiyu realized what had happened, but more than ten snakes were wrapped around his legs.
All he could do was watch as Orochimaru shed his skin and escaped!
He swung again, cutting through the snakes, but one head stayed latched onto his calf.
"These snakes are all venomous, you know."
Orochimaru's voice drifted in and out as he warned him.
Toying with a young Chunin was a lot of fun.
"Five thousand more draws to go!!"
"I'm going all in!!!"
Baiyu gave up on fighting Orochimaru and took several steps back. While Orochimaru wasn't paying attention, he threw the katana in his hand,
Hitting his mark, it cut off the head of the guard ninja, who was frozen in place under the genjutsu.
Blood splattered across the ground.
His situation grew more dangerous by the second. A few seconds later, his legs went numb, a side effect that left them unresponsive.
Yet a smile tugged at Baiyu's lips.
One hundred thousand sword draws!
He'd done it.
That ninja had given him six thousand draws' worth of experience.
"Ding! 100,000 sword draws completed. Reward: Thunder Breathing Method."
"Ding! Advanced Master Mission unlocked: 1,000,000 Iaijutsu. Reward: Iai Style advanced swordsmanship. Note: Every Sword Master has grasped the ultimate secret of swordsmanship through the basic practice of sword and blade."
"Progress: 101,203/1,000,000."
"Ding! Breathing is essential to the practice of swordsmanship. After countless masters refined it, breathing evolved from a way to improve sword techniques into a special method for performing unique techniques. Host, be sure to master it!"
"Thunder Breathing Method is the foundational breathing technique for lightning-based sword techniques. Once you master Thunder Breathing, you can grasp lightning-based sword techniques."
"Ding! Would you like to learn the Thunder Breathing Method?"
"I finally did it! Learn it!"
Baiyu was overjoyed. Ignoring the numbness in his legs, he forced chakra through them and stood up.
Thunder Breathing Method—a step up in ability.
From the vision of that special A-rank purple item, he'd already glimpsed some of the secrets of breathing techniques.
They could transform a swordsman's abilities.
It wasn't chakra. It was a way to control the muscles and blood in the body.
Breathing techniques were originally called breath control. They regulated every part of the body, extending its abilities to create a more perfect state for wielding a sword.
After generations of Sword Saints refined them, they could improve a swordsman's physique and allow him to perform legendary sword techniques.
"That world must be centered around the sword!"
The instant Baiyu absorbed Thunder Breathing, images from Demon Slayer flashed through his mind.
But Thunder Breathing only gave him a slim chance. It couldn't change his desperate situation on its own.
"Open the lottery! Ten draws!"
In this crisis, he had no choice but to entrust his life to luck.
The situation had been inevitable from the moment he decided to risk accepting an S-rank mission.
Thunder Breathing wouldn't help him immediately, so he could only use his hundred thousand sword draws for the lottery.
With a single thought, the lottery system opened and the wheel spun.
Time stood still in the outside world while the system ran!
Everything was done in an instant.
"Congratulations! You won: Swordsman's Headband (White), Broken Blade (Green), Better luck next time, Iai Style sword technique · Advanced Iaijutsu (Blue), Swordsman's Dignity (Green), mastery of the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu sword style (Gold), Better luck next time, Iai Style sword technique · Advanced Sheathing Technique (Blue), Small Recovery Potion (Green), Better luck next time."
"Use all items."
"Ding! Failed to use Swordsman's Dignity! Successfully used all other items."
A tattered white headband wound itself around his forehead, and a broken blade appeared in his hand.
Baiyu felt a cool sensation run from his head to his toes. His depleted stamina instantly recovered by twenty percent.
Even his chakra recovered by ten percent.
The recovery potion had worked!
At the same time, an orange-haired swordsman in a red top and white trousers appeared in his mind, demonstrating a flawless set of techniques.
Every move and step of the swordsmanship was etched into Baiyu's mind.
"An entire school? The techniques of a whole school!"
The sudden flood of knowledge nearly shut Baiyu's mind down.
"Ding! Congratulations, host. After observing the complete Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu sword style, you have grasped its ultimate technique: Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki."
Whoosh!
"Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu · Ultimate Technique · Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki."
Baiyu murmured the name, his face brimming with confidence.
This move was Iaijutsu!
His strength had transformed in an instant.
The ultimate technique of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu was a variation of Iaijutsu.
The instant he saw that swordsman perform Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki, Baiyu grasped its secret. He combined it with the Iaijutsu he'd practiced all along, creating his own version of Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki.
With more practice, he could gradually master the rest of the techniques, too.
At that moment, the world seemed to stand still. Baiyu's blade moved faster than the human eye could follow.
The first slash split the air, unleashing a powerful gust that swept up everything around him, living and dead. The second slash spun at incredible speed, generating tremendous centrifugal force. The broken blade became a peerless weapon, slicing through iron like mud.
The ultimate technique of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu: a super-Godspeed draw even faster than Godspeed. It struck before any opponent could, with no opening between the two consecutive attacks.
All the snakes gathered together in an instant. The second slash reduced them to chunks of flesh, which fell to the ground before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.
Orochimaru, hidden among the snakes, was caught in the attack as well. The fleeting flash of the blade gave him no time to shed his skin and dodge.
"What's going on? Why has his speed suddenly increased? His moves have changed, too? This strange force holding me down... a ninjutsu? No! He didn't make any Hand Seals!"
Bound by an immense force, Orochimaru's mind filled with questions.
The slash crushed his heart. A fatal strike.
The boy in front of him was nothing like an ordinary Chunin!
"White Fang..."
A familiar figure slowly merged with the boy before his eyes.
At the last moment, Orochimaru used the fastest escape technique of his life.
"Pfft!"
Orochimaru spat out a mouthful of blood, clutching his right shoulder with his left hand as he used the Body Flicker Technique to return to Yakushi Kabuto.
"Lord Orochimaru! Your arm..."
Yakushi Kabuto ignored the pain as he hurried to Orochimaru's side and cried out.
In that instant, Orochimaru's right arm had been left beside Baiyu.
His hand was still gripping the Kusanagi Sword.
"He gave up his right arm to escape a killing blow... Even with the opponent badly wounded, I still can't kill someone at Kage Level! The gap in strength is too great..."
Baiyu held the broken blade, his expression cold as he watched the two men.
His stamina and chakra were nearly gone. He forced himself to his feet through sheer will.
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