Nemesis of Spirit Bodies

The art of combat is a breathtaking dance composed of countless slaughters.

Splattering blood into blooming, scarlet, and beautiful flowers, the longsword swept past without a single drop staining the blade.

This is the art of the sword.

Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Rice Soul.

Building upon the First Form, the speed is pushed even further, completing several slashes in an instant; the attack speed is as dense as rice stalks, reaching the pinnacle of velocity.

The three rogue ninjas had no time to react before their heads were severed.

"First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"

Uchiha Shiraha flashed once more, grazing past Yomi's shoulder.

Did you see my movements clearly?

Uchiha Shiraha stopped in the distance, recalling the previous strike; he had clearly aimed for Yomi's neck, yet it had only grazed his shoulder.

Is Moryo inside him?

"How troublesome. At this point in time, does Moryo still reside within Yomi?"

Uchiha Shiraha muttered, having only a vague impression of Yomi's actions at this moment.

He had not expected that Moryo would still be possessing Yomi.

"To this extent, you cannot die! Get up!"

From the depths of the palace, a massive voice echoed; the true Moryo was speaking.

What was on Yomi was merely a portion of Moryo's power.

At this moment, Moryo had not manifested by possessing Yomi.

Yomi also looked at the three men; although their heads had been severed, the power of Lord Moryo within them remained, so they would be fine.

"Hurry up and get up! Being this useless, how can you serve Lord Moryo!"

Yomi cursed, as the three men had been lying on the ground for a long time, acting as if they were truly dead.

"Heh ;-), the poison is working."

A system notification echoed in Uchiha Shiraha's mind; the three rogue ninjas had brought him over thirty thousand draws.

Each was worth over ten thousand, roughly the strength of a Jonin, nearing the level of an Elite Jonin.

At this level, they would be pillars of strength in any village.

Some low-tier rogue ninjas had become this powerful instantly under the augmentation of Moryo's power.

This is the power of a demon!

However, Uchiha Shiraha possessed something specifically designed to restrain demons.

Spirit Poison.

A concoction specifically for poisoning ghosts and monsters.

Since it works, I must complete the third stage of the sword-drawing mission during this task, Uchiha Shiraha secretly planned, watching Yomi's figure.

Why hasn't this guy left yet? Is he staying here just to let me hack him?

At this moment, Uchiha Shiraha was practically begging for Yomi to go summon the Ghost Army so he could harvest sword-drawing experience like cutting vegetables.

Uchiha Shiraha formed hand seals again, his movements rapid, extending his right hand into a cool, dashing pose.

Heaven did not give birth to Uchiha Shiraha, and the path of the sword would be as long as an eternal night.

"Sword, come!"

A longsword leaped out from thin air, floating and stopping before Uchiha Shiraha.

A rising star, a swordsman who stands supreme.

One sword, one set of green robes.

One man, one departed soul.

Wind Control, rise!

"Follow the wind!"

Sweeping Blade, his body light as a floating swan, ethereal and traceless.

A gust of wind blew, and heads littered the ground behind him.

Four more fell, their bodies turning into fine dust and ash.

Falling into the mud, ground into dust, Under the gale, no corpse remains intact.

All the mangled remains turned into fertilizer to nourish the earth.

"This... how is this possible? What kind of monster! A monster!!!"

A rogue ninja was rendered completely senseless, his body possessed of monstrous power, yet he shrieked that others were the monsters.

He had been incredibly arrogant about the power he possessed, only to find that he couldn't even survive a single strike from someone else.

Since when did Konoha have such a powerful ninja?

"White Fang! The White Fang has been resurrected!"

A forty-year-old rogue ninja from Sunagakure collapsed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably, his will to fight utterly shattered.

The White Fang of Konoha had once cast too great a shadow over the Sunagakure ninja.

He himself had decided to defect after surviving a battle against the White Fang, choosing not to participate in the Second Shinobi World War between Sunagakure and Konoha...

After wandering for so many years and staying away from the Land of Fire for so long, he never expected to witness such terrifying swordsmanship.

In this moment, he fell into despair.

He raised a kunai and plunged it directly into his own heart.

But with the power of Moryo within his body, how could he die so easily?

Even with the kunai embedded in his heart, he still stood up, swaying unsteadily.

"The power of Lord Moryo grants one the ability of eternal life!"

Yomi shouted, and the man who had committed suicide rose once more, instilling great confidence in the group.

"Go, awaken the Ghost Army!"

Moryo's telepathic command reached Yomi's ears; through the two probes just now, Moryo had discovered the uncanny nature of Baiyu.

For the first time, he felt fear.

There was actually someone in this world capable of dissolving his power.

Moryo sensed that the power he had injected into his several avatars was being neutralized by a special substance, eventually fading away entirely.

"I must reclaim my physical body! I must reclaim it! Only then can I restore my true power and become a god. The mortals before me are nothing but ants in the face of a god."

For the first time, Moryo experienced the emotion of fear; this restraining power made him deeply wary.

Baiyu continued to deal with the remaining rogue ninjas, and catching a glimpse of Yomi sneaking away out of the corner of his eye, he revealed a faint smile.

I've been holding back my strength for so long precisely because I was afraid of accidentally killing you!

If I lose your army of ten million immortals, how am I supposed to farm experience?

After Yomi departed, a cruel smile appeared on Baiyu's face. He returned the Kusanagi Sword to its sheath, rested his right hand on the Forward-Blade Sword, and flicked the hilt with his left hand.

Using this technique for the first time, Baiyu still felt a bit unpracticed.

"Thunder Breathing, Third Form: Thunder Swarm - Iai Battojutsu!"

Advanced Iaijutsu meant greater speed, greater destructive power, faster accumulation of force, and the addition of sword qi, all combined into one.

Streaks of lightning circled the scabbard, natural arcs of light constantly condensing upon the blade.

As he gathered energy over time, the arcs grew increasingly brilliant, and blue ripples began to appear on the scabbard at his waist.

This was a variation of the third form of Thunder Breathing, used by Baiyu for the first time.

It was also his strongest move to date.

Once he fully mastered Thunder Breathing, he might be able to gradually comprehend new forms, from the Fourth Form to the Seventh and beyond.

Under the infusion of chakra, the terrifying aura contained within the scabbard grew ever more intense.

Moryo sensed that something was wrong and ordered the remaining ten rogue ninjas to attack in unison, unleashing a variety of ninjutsu in an instant.

Like fireworks blooming, Water Release, Fire Release, and Earth Release followed one after another.

Countless combination attacks were executed with exceptional skill.

Obstructing his vision, restricting his limbs, suppressing his escape routes—all sorts of experienced combat tactics were directed at Baiyu simultaneously.

This was a feast of ninjutsu, a perfect display of coordination.

Under Moryo's command and amplified by his immense power, their chakra seemed limitless...

At this moment, Baiyu smiled.

A swordsman is a wanderer who dances on the edge of a blade.

His favorite scene was that moment of tragic beauty—a counterattack launched in the face of imminent destruction.

This was the blooming of art!

Death is like the wind, always by my side.

"Iai!"

The moment the countless ninjutsu attacks reached the tip of Baiyu's nose, a beautiful arc of blue light flashed from his waist, and every attack disintegrated instantly.

The ninjutsu had not yet arrived, but the sword qi had already struck!

I'll let you run thirty-nine meters first, and my forty-meter sword qi will follow right behind.

Overtaking them in a curve, he intercepted and severed all the rogue ninjas at the waist in one fell swoop.

The rogue ninjas, bisected by the sword qi, had not yet fully expired; under Moryo's power, they retained a sliver of life, extending purple-red tentacles as they prepared to fuse back together.

"This kind of thing is truly troublesome. Who would like tentacles? How perverted! Such disgusting purple-red tentacles."

Baiyu drew his Forward-Blade Sword, coated it with poison once more, and ended their lives one by one.

I wonder why the First Generation Shrine Maiden would create such a thing? With so many branching tentacles, it should be impossible to keep track of them all, right?