Cultivating Thunder Breathing, Riding the Wind

To become stronger, one can never do without money and time.

In the way of the sword, this has always been the golden rule.

Create joy with heart, but if you have no money, you can't play for squat.

If you can't even afford a sword, what is there to practice?

Make money!

Baiyu's mind was currently filled with nothing but this thought. With a divine artifact in hand that he couldn't use, he felt an unbearable itch.

For the time being, the Kusanagi Sword had to be kept on the shelf due to the lack of a proper scabbard, making it unusable for daily training.

Lacking a suitable blade, Baiyu decided to craft a wooden sword.

With his many years of experience in handling blades, it was an easy task.

After finishing the wooden sword and its scabbard, Baiyu felt he should prioritize improving his overall strength, as mere sword-drawing would not contribute much to his growth.

Completing a million draws would take several months.

He decided to focus his current efforts on the Thunder Breathing Method and the Wind Riding Sword Style to elevate his strength as quickly as possible.

The Thunder Breathing Method is a form of breathing and respiration technique.

In the cultivation of the sword, due to differing philosophies, it is mainly divided into two paths: Sword Intent and Sword Technique.

The school that prioritizes Sword Intent emphasizes nurturing momentum through the sword, using that momentum to reach the divine.

These people are the "conscious" show-offs. They love to posture, intimidate, and put on airs.

The school that prioritizes Sword Technique believes in winning through ingenuity and reaching the divine through method.

These people are essentially the "get it done fast" crowd. They value speed and aim to resolve battles within three seconds.

On the road to pursuing the ultimate realm of the sword, countless people have sacrificed their lives.

The Sword Intent school focuses on grasping the true essence of the sword, forging oneself into sword momentum, and eventually cultivating that momentum into a domain, becoming the sword itself, starting the first step of cultivation through respiration.

The Sword Technique school focuses on breaking through the path of slaughter, studying the essence of the sword, pouring one's emotions into the blade, shattering the heavens with a single strike, and mastering the sword as a person, pushing technique to its absolute limit.

One focuses on internal cultivation, the other on external cultivation.

Both schools have their own merits, but since human energy is limited, most people choose only one.

Baiyu first broke through as an external Sword Master, honing his sword technique to the level of a Sword Master.

The breathing method focuses on the internal, forging the body as if it were a sword.

Starting with respiration, one gradually expels impurities from the body, enhancing physical constitution and strength.

As cultivation progresses, one gradually gains control over the muscles and bones of every part of the body, transforming them into a part of one's own sword path.

When the muscles and bones of the entire body are tempered to a certain degree and can be skillfully controlled, one gains a special ability—Burst.

For every type of breathing method, the form of this burst differs.

The Thunder Breathing Method, as the name suggests, is related to thunder and lightning.

In the images Baiyu saw among the A-rank purple items, there was a youth named Zenitsu who used this breathing method to manifest thunder out of thin air.

Every attack was accompanied by flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder.

Baiyu covered the windows, posted a note on the door indicating he was out, closed the door, and sat cross-legged in the room.

"According to the essentials of the Thunder Breathing Method, the first step is meditation..."

Baiyu followed the knowledge in his mind, casting aside all distracting thoughts.

He began by inhaling slowly, and once his chest was filled with air, he closed his eyes and counted silently, only stopping when he could no longer hold his breath.

Finally, he slowly exhaled the turbid air from his chest.

"The first breath, between one hundred counts..."

Every inhalation and exhalation had to be extremely slow, with the airflow being fine and subtle, only succeeding when there was no sound of breathing at all.

He started again, repeating the previous movements, silently reciting and breathing step by step.

A night passed...

A full day passed...

It was not until the third day that Baiyu suddenly opened his eyes. He had not eaten anything for three days, yet he felt a flow of energy circulating in his abdomen, offsetting the sensation of hunger.

"It's a preliminary success!"

A look of joy appeared on Baiyu's face. The beginning of the Thunder Breathing Method involves converting breath into thunderous energy to temper the body, polishing it to be stronger.

The first step is to master the essence of the breath, allowing one to enter the breathing state anytime and anywhere without needing to meditate each time.

Slowly stretching, Baiyu sniffed the air, catching a foul odor.

"The smell in the room... it's so foul! A pungent stench..."

Baiyu hurriedly stood up and opened the windows and the door to ventilate the room.

The Thunder Breathing body-tempering process did not cause any black impurities to appear on his body, but his skin had been completely renewed, delicate and breakable, smoother and fairer than that of a young girl.

Breathing to temper the body!

The fine wrinkles caused by years of sleeping in the wild had vanished from his handsome face, leaving it fair, rosy, and sharply defined.

He was once the most handsome man in Konoha, and now, he was the most handsome man in the Land of Fire.

"A few degrees more handsome! I was already better looking than Shisui, and if I keep training like this, I'll be more handsome than Shisui and Itachi combined!"

As Baiyu washed up, he gazed at the face in the mirror, unable to help but fall into a trance.

His handsome features radiated an air of aloofness.

A killer of beauties!

That handsome face was like a natural genjutsu.

Anyone who caught a glimpse would be instantly captivated.

"The body-tempering effects of Thunder Breathing are so obvious; if I practice other breathing styles, could I become even more handsome?"

Baiyu thought to himself as he tidied up the room.

After airing out the house, Baiyu stepped outside and bought some ingredients at the market to comfort his stomach, which had been empty for three days.

By the time he headed out again, it was already noon.

Under the scorching sun, outside Konoha.

Baiyu closed his eyes and walked quietly along a small path.

Under the influence of Mind's Eye, he could clearly perceive everything ahead without needing his sight.

"Two groups of people are following me. One of them is a familiar fellow, likely from the clan. The other three... they seem like strangers. Are they ninjas sent by the Third?"

He had discovered these few tag-alongs the moment he stepped out of his house.

Baiyu had been considering whether to kill these guys to count toward his mission quota.

In the end, he decided to abandon the idea.

One must cast a long line to catch a big fish; killing these tails would directly block the path to negotiating with the leaders of both factions.

It wasn't worth it.

Baiyu was short on money and desperately needed a source of income; having someone deliver it was even better.

Regardless, he planned to focus his recent training on breathing styles and the wind-based swordsmanship.

He was no stranger to the wind-based swordsmanship.

It had once brought him endless joy.

It was a character he loved to play, summoning wind and rain in the canyon, always the center of attention.

Every appearance was accompanied by endless greetings.

A source of joy beloved by every League player.

Double the happiness.

But when truly practicing the swordsmanship inherited from Yasuo, Baiyu encountered great difficulties.

Yasuo's sword path was not like the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu of Himura, which belonged to a unique school of sword techniques.

Instead, it was a hybrid style that combined sword techniques with sword intent.

Baiyu could currently perform the wind-based swordsmanship, but what he displayed was a world apart from the Wind-Chasing Sword Master.

His sword lacked the wind.

"Without the 'Hasagi,' how can I feel the 'Sorye-ge-ton'? How can I be happy?"

Baiyu thought with a bitter face. The other two profound mysteries of the Wind-Chasing Sword Master, Sweeping Blade and Wind Wall, required an even deeper understanding of the wind's trajectory.

The simplest was Sweeping Blade.

Baiyu could strike the pose, but he couldn't truly glide over a long distance.

It was like the difference between a seamless dash and a stuttering one.

Joy that came in fits and starts.

A Sweeping Blade without the wind had no soul.

Therefore, Baiyu planned to go to the windiest place in Konoha to practice his wind-based swordsmanship.

Only where there is wind can one capture the trajectory of the wind.

Holding this thought, Baiyu took a wooden sword and followed the forest path toward a great canyon.

The Valley of the End!

A tourist attraction jointly created by Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.

Konoha had even built statues of the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara there.

It was quite a distance from Konoha, so few people came to visit.

Most regarded it merely as a memorial site.

Baiyu coated his soles in chakra and, with a few leaps, ascended to the top of the Uchiha Madara statue's head.

His eyes, which had remained closed since he left the house, suddenly snapped open as he shouted toward the front:

"Face the wind!"

He swung his wooden sword, but the space before him remained utterly calm.

Though a light breeze brushed past his ears, Baiyu felt absolutely nothing.

His form was flawless.

Yet, it was worlds apart from the swordsmanship of Yasuo.

His eyes began to ache from staring, yet he still could not perceive the trajectory of the wind...

In that instant, Baiyu felt as though he had been deceived.

How, exactly, was one supposed to see the wind!!?