The Spirit-Slaying Nemesis

The art of combat was a beautiful dance composed of countless killings.

Blood splashed into a profusion of gorgeous crimson flowers. The long sword swept past, without a drop of blood touching it.

That was the art of the sword.

Thunder Breathing: Second Form—Rice Soul.

Building on the First Form, it was even faster. Several slashes landed in an instant, striking as densely as stalks of rice, reaching the ultimate speed.

The three rogue ninja hadn't even reacted before their heads were severed.

"First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"

Baiyu flashed again, passing close by Yomi's shoulder.

"Did you see my move?"

Baiyu stopped in the distance. Recalling his attack just now, he had clearly aimed for Yomi's neck, yet his blade had only grazed his shoulder.

Was Moryo inside him?

"What a nuisance. Is Moryo still possessing Yomi at this point?"

Baiyu muttered. He only had a vague recollection of what Yomi did around this time.

He hadn't expected Moryo to still be possessing Yomi.

"At that level, you won't die. Get up!"

A booming voice came from deep inside the palace. The real Moryo was speaking.

Only a portion of Moryo's power was inside Yomi.

At that moment, Moryo hadn't appeared by possessing Yomi.

Yomi looked at the three men, too. Their heads had fallen off, but Moryo's power remained within them, so they would be fine.

"Get up, now! You useless wretches—how can you serve Lord Moryo like this?"

Yomi cursed them. The three men had been lying on the ground for ages, as if they were really dead.

"Heh ;-), the poison's working."

A system notification sounded in Baiyu's mind. The three rogue ninja had earned him more than thirty thousand sword-draws.

Each had contributed over ten thousand, roughly the strength of an elite jonin.

At that level, they would be pillars of any village.

Some insignificant rogue ninja had become this powerful in an instant, thanks to Moryo's power.

That was the power of demons!

But Baiyu had something that specifically countered demons.

Spirit Poison.

A potion made to kill ghosts and monsters.

"Since it works, I have to clear the third stage of the sword-drawing mission this time."

Baiyu made up his mind, watching Yomi.

Why wasn't that guy leaving? Was he staying here so I could cut him down?

At this point, Baiyu couldn't wait for Yomi to summon the Ghost Army, so he could mow them down and rack up sword-drawing experience.

Baiyu formed Hand Seals again, moving his hands quickly. He extended his right arm in a dashing, alluring pose.

If Uchiha Shiraha had never been born, the way of the sword would have languished in darkness for all eternity.

"Come, sword!"

A long sword appeared out of thin air, flew over, and stopped in front of Baiyu.

A rising star. A swordsman who stood alone above all others.

One sword, one figure in blue.

One man, one lost soul.

Wind Control, rise!

"Let the wind carry you!"

Sweeping Blade. His figure drifted like a wild goose, ethereal and elusive.

A gentle breeze swept through, leaving heads scattered behind him.

Four more men fell, their bodies crumbling into fine gray ash.

Falling into the mud, crushed to dust,

beneath the rushing wind, not a single corpse remained whole.

The remains became fertilizer for the earth.

"Th-this is impossible! What kind of monster is he? A monster!!!"

One rogue ninja was completely dumbstruck. He possessed a monster's power, yet was calling someone else a monster.

He had been swollen with pride over the strength he'd gained, only to find he couldn't withstand a single move from this man.

Since when had Konoha had a ninja this powerful?

"The White Fang! The White Fang has come back to life!"

A rogue ninja from Sunagakure, in his forties, collapsed to the ground, trembling all over and utterly bereft of fighting spirit.

The White Fang of Konoha had left a terrible shadow over Sunagakure.

It was after fighting the White Fang that he'd decided to defect, unwilling to take part in the Second Shinobi World War between Sunagakure and Konoha.

After wandering for so many years, so far from the Land of Fire, he still had to witness such terrifying swordsmanship.

At that moment, he was overcome with despair.

He raised his Kunai and plunged it into his own heart.

But with Moryo's power inside him, how could he die so easily?

With the Kunai still lodged in his heart, he staggered back to his feet.

"Lord Moryo's power grants us eternal life!"

Yomi shouted. Seeing the man rise again after killing himself gave the group a huge boost of confidence.

"Go. Awaken the Ghost Army!"

Moryo's voice reached Yomi's ears. After testing Baiyu twice, Moryo had realized there was something strange about him.

For the first time, Moryo felt afraid.

There was actually someone in the world who could dissolve his power.

Moryo sensed that the power he had infused into several of his vessels was being neutralized by some special substance, until it gradually disappeared.

"I have to get my body back! I must reclaim it! Only then can I restore my true power and become a god. Before a god, mere mortals are ants."

For the first time, Moryo experienced fear. He was deeply wary of this power that could counter him.

Baiyu continued dealing with the remaining rogue ninja. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yomi sneak away and smiled.

I've been holding back all this time because I was afraid of hitting you by mistake!

Without your army of millions of undying soldiers, how am I supposed to farm experience?

After Yomi left, a cruel smile spread across Baiyu's face. He sent the Kusanagi Sword home, rested his right hand on the Forward-Blade Sword, and used his left hand to flick the end of its hilt.

It was his first time using this technique, and he was still a little unpracticed.

"Thunder Breathing: Third Form—Mosquitoes Gather into Thunder—Iaijutsu—Draw-Sword Technique!"

Advanced Iaijutsu was faster and more powerful, gathered force more quickly, and added sword energy, among other things.

Arcs of lightning circled the scabbard, naturally forming flashes that gathered along the blade.

As he gathered energy over time, the arcs grew brighter and brighter, and blue ripples appeared around the scabbard at his waist.

This was a variation of the Third Form of Thunder Breathing, and Baiyu was using it for the first time.

It was his strongest move so far.

Once he had fully mastered Thunder Breathing, perhaps he could gradually grasp new forms, from the Fourth Form to the Seventh Form and beyond.

As chakra poured into it, the terrifying aura contained in the scabbard grew ever stronger.

Moryo sensed that something was wrong and ordered the remaining ten rogue ninja to attack together. All kinds of ninjutsu erupted in an instant.

They bloomed like fireworks—Water Release, Fire Release, Earth Release—one after another.

Countless combinations of attacks, executed with extraordinary finesse.

They blocked Baiyu's vision and movements, restricted his options for dodging, and used all kinds of well-practiced attack patterns to strike at him at once.

It was a feast of ninjutsu, a flawless display of teamwork.

Under Moryo's command, bolstered by tremendous power, their chakra seemed limitless...

At that moment, Baiyu smiled.

A swordsman, a wanderer dancing on the edge of a blade.

His favorite sight was a desperate, exquisite counterattack in the moment between life and death.

That was art in full bloom!

Death was like the wind, always by my side.

"Iaijutsu!"

The moment countless ninjutsu attacks were about to touch Baiyu's nose, an exquisitely beautiful blue arc flashed from his waist. Every attack shattered at once.

Before the ninjutsu could land, the sword energy had arrived!

You could run thirty-nine meters ahead; the forty-meter blade of sword energy would still catch you.

It overtook them on the bend, slicing every rogue ninja in half before they could get away.

The rogue ninja, bisected by the sword energy, hadn't quite died. Moryo's power kept a sliver of life in them, and they reached out with purplish-red tentacles, trying to fuse themselves back together.

"This stuff is such a nuisance. Who would like tentacles? What a pervert! Those purplish-red tentacles are so disgusting."

Baiyu drew his Forward-Blade Sword and smeared poison on it again, ending their lives one by one.

I wonder why the First Generation Shrine Maiden created something like this. With so many tentacles branching out, surely she couldn't keep track of them all?