Will and Conviction

At his words, Ryōken nodded fiercely at once, afraid Hatake Sakumo might think he was unwilling.

"I obtained this secret samurai technique, Flash, from a down-and-out samurai family while carrying out missions in the Land of Iron in my early years. After improving it, it evolved into this move. As for its name, I usually call it Flash. Call it whatever you like."

"You've mastered the Sword Drawing Technique, so learning this move should be a little easier for you."

Hatake Sakumo's smiling expression suddenly turned serious. "Before I teach you, let me ask you a question."

"Why are you so determined to become stronger?"

His voice shook the soul, as though it were echoing directly beside Ryōken's ears with an endless roar.

At those words, a trace of confusion appeared in Ryōken's eyes. Scene after scene from the past surfaced before him: the mediocrity of his previous life, the constant anxiety before he had been able to refine chakra, the respect everyone had shown him after he won the championship, and his helplessness before Tsuki Uchiha.

Then he calmed down. Only a brilliant gleam flashed through his eyes as intense resolve burst forth. He answered decisively, "To take control of my own fate, and to protect the people I want to protect. And for that, I need to keep becoming stronger and keep working hard."

"Ah." Hearing those words, Hiwa Hyuga could not help cupping her face in both hands. Her little face abruptly flushed crimson, delicate and radiant, as she instinctively inserted herself into his words and drifted into dreamy thoughts.

A sharp glint flashed through Hatake Sakumo's clear pupils. He nodded inwardly. He believed that under such circumstances, no one could deceive him, and someone with such convictions could never be some insignificant spy.

"You're not bad." Hatake Sakumo nodded noncommittally. "Do you know what my conviction is?"

As he spoke, he stroked the short blade White Fang in his hand and gazed in the direction of Konoha Ninja Village. His eyes brimmed with deep attachment as he said solemnly, "My comrades and my village are my convictions. Anyone who dares harm either of them will have to step over my corpse first."

His gaze suddenly sharpened, like a drawn blade revealing all its edge.

Just then, a fierce gust swept through, carrying down dozens of withered leaves in a fluttering swirl.

His sharp gaze swept forward, and the falling leaves seemed to be sliced apart by invisible blades. They split in two, then four, then eight, becoming a sky full of fragments in an instant.

The gleam in his eyes shone brilliantly as he gave Ryōken a piercing look, its meaning self-evident.

"Blade Intent."

Ryōken understood what he meant. However, he had never intended to do anything harmful to Konoha, so his conscience was clear. He met Hatake Sakumo's gaze without retreating in the slightest.

At the same time, he marveled inwardly. As expected of the White Fang of Konoha—his mastery of the blade had reached the pinnacle. He had actually comprehended Blade Intent.

Blade Intent was equivalent to Sword Intent. From intent to the subtle realm, one step further led to Blade Intent.

Once it reached the level of intent, it was no longer merely something illusory. To a certain extent, it could already affect reality.

Just as before, Hatake Sakumo had easily sliced apart the leaves through Blade Intent.

And Ryōken was walking down that very path.

Sword Intent was a use of spiritual will. Vast and imposing, it could exert intense mental pressure on an enemy, but it possessed no actual destructive power.

Sword Intent, however, could grant attacks greater destructive force. Once mastered, a single slash could extinguish a person's life force without even striking them, and could even obliterate their soul.

That was also why Ryōken had been able to quickly break the genjutsu during the practical examination.

Genjutsu caused hallucinations by disrupting the flow of chakra within the body.

And everyone knew what chakra was composed of.

At its root, it still caused hallucinations by affecting the mind.

Therefore, Ryōken could affect the chakra in his body by erupting with Sword Intent, restoring it to normal and thereby dispelling the genjutsu.

Of course, Sword Intent at this level could not withstand high-intensity genjutsu such as Kotoamatsukami and Tsukuyomi, which almost directly affected the soul.

As for whether Sword Intent could resist them, Ryōken still did not know.

Hatake Sakumo gave Ryōken a deep look, said no more, then turned and walked to the edge of the lake, forming hand seals with both hands.

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Pillar."

The ground immediately trembled and the lake's surface churned. Ten earthen pillars of varying heights burst from the water one after another, pushing against the waterfall's current and rising upstream, standing firmly in place.

Hatake Sakumo clapped his hands and smiled faintly, as though nothing had happened. "Starting today, you'll train beneath the waterfall's raging current. When you can withstand the tenth wooden stake and slash five hundred times, you'll be able to use Flash at a basic level."

As he spoke, he tossed the small bottle from earlier to Hiwa Hyuga and added, "Apply this all over Ryōken's body, and it will take effect."

Finally, he took out a scroll and tossed it to Ryōken before vanishing from sight. As the ANBU captain, he was still very busy. During the previous month, it had mostly been Shadow Clones guiding Ryōken.

From afar came his faint voice.

"This contains the training method."

Ryōken caught it and was about to open it when he suddenly noticed that Hiwa's face had turned red all the way to her ears. He could even see faint steam rising from the top of her head. Curious, he asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Holding up the little bottle, Hiwa Hyuga lowered her eyes shyly and said softly, "Lord White Fang told me to apply it to your body..."

Her voice grew quieter and quieter.

Ryōken could not help laughing helplessly at the sight. He took off his shirt, revealing his muscular upper body, then pointed to his torso and said, "He meant apply it here. What's going through that little head of yours?"

"Ah..."

At those words, Hiwa Hyuga's little face turned even redder.

Ryōken ignored her and began reading the scroll in his hands.

This move, Flash, emphasized ultimate speed and ultimate chakra flow. It also contained an extremely profound chakra shape transformation.

As he read on, Ryōken could not help feeling bitter. Sure enough, there was no such thing as reaching the heavens in a single step.

No matter how powerful this move was, with Ryōken's current chakra and physique, he simply could not use it.

Even after training, he would only be able to wield it at a basic level.

After a long while, Ryōken finally raised his head, put away the scroll, and walked over to Hiwa Hyuga, who had already recovered. Extending an arm, he smiled. "Let's begin now."

"Okay."

Hiwa Hyuga nodded and tilted the jade bottle slightly. Several drops of blazing white liquid, flickering with arcs of electricity, fell onto Ryōken's upper body.

"Hiss—"

The moment the white liquid touched him, Ryōken froze for an instant. Then his entire body began convulsing violently, as though he had suddenly come into contact with high-voltage electricity.

Tiny arcs of electricity could actually be seen flickering across his bare upper body.

Seeing how much pain Ryōken was in, Hiwa finally snapped out of her daze. She hurriedly took out the small brush Hatake Sakumo had left behind and spread the liquid evenly across his body.

Only then did Ryōken feel a little better, though his body still twitched from time to time, making Hiwa frown tightly.

It took nearly ten full minutes before the numbness brought on by the electrical current gradually faded.

A trace of wariness flashed through his eyes as he struggled to sit up. The moment he circulated the chakra within his body, however, he abruptly discovered that his chakra seemed to be flowing much faster and had become far more abundant. Faint white specks even dotted his pale blue chakra, and it had become much more responsive to his control.

At this sight, a flash of delight appeared in Ryōken's eyes. Gritting his teeth with the expression of a man marching calmly to his death, he clenched his clothes between his teeth and muttered indistinctly, "Come on."

At once, many more drops of liquid fell.

"Ahhh!"

His miserable howl echoed throughout the valley.