"What astonishingly perfect swordsmanship! Could a samurai really be this strong? What a perfect body! Is this what the Uchiha are like?"
Orochimaru's gaze brimmed with envy and greed, shifting from disdain to interest.
The Uchiha Clan, with their perfect eyes—what a wonderful body!
In that moment, Orochimaru firmly resolved to get his hands on a Uchiha corpse for research!
Baiyu demonstrated his astonishing talent with the blade in his hand.
"Lord Orochimaru, we can't afford to delay. Let's go!"
Yakushi Kabuto said, his face deathly pale after being poisoned.
The wound had caused him a great deal of trouble; even the Mystical Palm Technique couldn't heal it.
They were still being pursued, and Kabuto feared Orochimaru would lose his temper and keep tangling with the enemy.
A large group of Anbu were right behind them. They couldn't afford to fight for long.
"Let's go. Next time we meet... I'll definitely be back!"
Orochimaru looked at Baiyu with reluctance and choked out those words, his face twisted with frustration. With Yakushi Kabuto supporting him, he didn't even bother retrieving the Kusanagi Sword. A cloud of smoke billowed up before them, and the two vanished.
When the other three guards saw Orochimaru leave, they gave up surrounding Uchiha Itachi and tried to escape.
In the end, Uchiha Itachi seized his chance. One of the guards, slowed by his injuries, was turned into a pincushion by Shuriken.
The fighting stopped, and the surroundings fell quiet again. The chaotic scene bore witness to the fierce battle that had just taken place.
"Are you all right?"
Uchiha Itachi hurried over and steadied Baiyu, who was swaying on his feet.
"I'm mostly fine. The snake venom has just left me paralyzed."
A bitter smile crossed Baiyu's face. His chakra was completely depleted.
For the first time in his life, he'd become the Lucky One, and the rewards from his draws had been a windfall.
His strength had leaped forward!
Three ten-pulls had yielded nothing, but among the seven treasures he won, an S-rank gold reward had instantly made him proficient in an entire school of swordsmanship. Baiyu was now a true swordsmanship master.
"Draws really are addictive!"
Baiyu shook his head. Five years of training couldn't compare to a single moment spent drawing.
That one moment had saved him decades of training.
"The Swordsman's Dignity! A swordsman's training demands that they move forward without hesitation. There are no shortcuts."
As Baiyu felt lost, the special item he hadn't used earlier, "Swordsman's Dignity," suddenly changed.
It pulled him back from straying off course.
His Sword Heart steadied.
Then the item vanished from the system space.
Coming back to himself, Baiyu finally looked at Uchiha Itachi beside him.
"You've got almost no chakra left. Let's find somewhere to rest."
Uchiha Itachi had fought four opponents alone without losing ground, but even his terrifying strength couldn't overcome the toll of battle.
"All right. While I was clearing the battlefield, I found something Orochimaru dropped."
Itachi held out a long sword gleaming with a cold light.
The Kusanagi Sword!
The legendary weapon had been in Orochimaru's severed right hand, which Baiyu had cut off.
"Since you picked it up, it's yours by right..."
Baiyu glanced at it. During the fight, he had envied Orochimaru for having the Kusanagi Sword.
After the battle, that feeling gradually faded.
No matter how good the weapon, it couldn't make up for superior swordsmanship.
One of the legendary weapons in the Naruto World had been gathering dust in Orochimaru's hands.
"You cut off his hand, so it was your spoils to begin with."
Uchiha Itachi shook his head, refusing to accept it.
In the end, Baiyu took the Kusanagi Sword and smiled. "You can have Orochimaru's hand! You fought brilliantly too!"
Uchiha Itachi had fought four people by himself and used genjutsu to hold the enemy in place for a long time, creating a huge opening for Baiyu.
"But..."
Uchiha Itachi hesitated, but at Baiyu's insistence, he finally accepted Orochimaru's severed arm as his spoils.
After dealing with the battlefield, Baiyu led Itachi to a secluded corner where they could rest.
Uchiha Itachi recovered his strength and chakra while Baiyu kept watch outside and gathered some herbs to suppress the snake venom.
He also gathered some wisteria flowers to take back to the village.
Wisteria flowers were the main ingredient used to make poison for spirits and monsters.
They were common on the island.
As he worked to suppress the snake venom, Baiyu relied on his knowledge of poisons and decided to fight poison with poison.
He prepared an even more potent poison to devour the snake venom, then planned to detoxify himself.
A poison master could also become a doctor.
It was only after this experience that Baiyu truly realized how important his mastery of poisons was.
Without that ability, this mission would have been certain death.
"Baiyu, what are you doing here?"
Suddenly, Shisui's voice rang out. Baiyu looked over and saw Shisui watching him from a short distance away.
"We ran into Orochimaru, but we couldn't stop him. We only managed to kill two of his guards."
Baiyu answered.
A hostile intent emanated from Uchiha Shisui. He didn't believe Baiyu.
"Where's Itachi?"
Shisui asked again, his killing intent growing stronger, almost impossible to conceal.
Baiyu instinctively gripped the Kusanagi Sword at his waist. Shisui gave him a very dangerous feeling.
Having mastered a school of swordsmanship, Baiyu's senses had become sharper.
His five senses had grown stronger, making it easier to notice anything unusual.
"Shisui?"
Hearing the commotion outside, Itachi emerged from the hidden cave.
When Shisui saw Uchiha Itachi, his expression finally relaxed.
"I'm glad you're both all right."
Shisui lowered his guard and concealed his killing intent.
The tense atmosphere dissolved, and in an instant, they were once again exchanging friendly greetings.
Baiyu kept his face cold. It wasn't that someone had used the Transformation Technique to impersonate Shisui.
Shisui had truly shown hostility toward him just now.
"Is Uchiha Itachi that important to the team? Shisui cares about him so much. Could it have something to do with Fugaku?"
Uchiha Shisui's attitude had just revealed some information.
Thinking of Fugaku's position as clan head, Baiyu suddenly realized one very likely possibility.
"Is Itachi the next Uchiha Clan Head Shisui is grooming?"
Uchiha Itachi was the clan head's eldest son and a prodigy whose reputation in the Uchiha Clan was second only to Shisui's. Since he was younger, there were signs his reputation would gradually surpass Shisui's...
If things followed the established timeline, Uchiha Itachi's reputation would eventually eclipse Shisui's.
In another year, Uchiha Itachi would be promoted to jonin. A year after that, the Third Hokage would recruit him into the Anbu. One year later, he would become Anbu Captain.
An absurdly rapid rise through the ranks.
Realizing this, Baiyu understood why Shisui valued Uchiha Itachi so much.
At first, Itachi had exposed Shisui for concealing an S-rank mission, yet Shisui had never called him to account.
Baiyu had been puzzled by it. Now he understood some of the reason.
"Shisui's goal is to groom a worthy successor, and Uchiha Itachi is the one he's chosen for now. He's changing Itachi's habits through gradual influence."
It made perfect sense. A person's background and identity determined their actual standing to a great extent.
Baiyu was an orphan who had lost both his parents. Even with decent talent, the upper echelons saw him as nothing more than a tool.
In the eyes of the powerful, every clan member and every ninja was a pawn in their game.
Uchiha Itachi was different. He was the clan head's eldest son and the future heir to the Uchiha Clan.
Even if Itachi betrayed the Uchiha and slaughtered the entire clan, he would still be the noblest of the Uchiha bloodline.
Baiyu stared expressionlessly at Itachi, noticing the faint lines around his mouth.
Those lines were like a mark passed down through generations of Uchiha Clan Heads, transferred from Uchiha Fugaku's face to Uchiha Itachi's.
"A world that is utterly realistic, yet so loathsome!"
Baiyu understood the world's cruelty and how insignificant life was.
Only the sword in his hand could bring him comfort.
"At heart, a swordsman must remain pure. And I like that purity too."
Baiyu worried that his own heart might become like theirs.
A swordsman had to keep their heart calm while training,
and the Uchiha were too caught up in turmoil.
Before you continue