An Astonishing Blade

"Did you understand?"

"I think I understood, but then again, I'm not sure..."

Uchiha Izuna said weakly.

Tanaka Ichiro was on the verge of tears.

I've already understood everything, how can you still not get it...

"Then I'll demonstrate it for you one more time."

And so, Tanaka Ichiro didn't know how he survived the next fifty minutes.

He only knew that after those fifty minutes passed, he felt as if his soul had been ripped out; his gaze was vacant, his hands trembled, and he had long since lost track of where he had thrown his ninja sword.

"This is the essence of swordsmanship, but it is merely the surface."

Sheathing his blade and standing tall, Uchiha Kei looked as if he were possessed by a god.

"Then, Teacher, what is the deeper level like?"

Uchiha Izuna's eyes had been shining with excitement for a long time; he felt as though a path unlike any he had known before was slowly unfolding before him!

"As for the deeper level, you aren't able to grasp it yet, but you can take a look anyway. It won't do any harm."

Uchiha Kei's hand slowly reached for the hilt, and an aura, restrained to the extreme, began to rise steadily.

"Clang!"

The crisp sound of the blade leaving its scabbard drew everyone's attention.

"Swish."

As the blade cleared the scabbard, he gripped the hilt with both hands.

He raised the sword, brought it down in a slash, and sheathed it.

It was done in one fluid motion, without the slightest hesitation.

"Hum!"

The world itself seemed to emit a low hum.

Under the incredulous gazes of the crowd, a blade aura that seemed to appear out of thin air slashed toward Tanaka Ichiro at high speed.

This blade aura tore through the resistance of the air and shattered the barriers of space, flashing with an extreme, brilliant white as it struck the stunned Tanaka Ichiro with unstoppable force.

"Boom!"

A massive roar reached everyone's ears, and swirling dust shrouded every corner of the valley.

As the dust gradually settled, the onlookers could see nothing else; their eyes were fixed only on that straight, upright figure and the stunning blade aura from just moments ago.

Indeed, the blade aura had not dissipated.

The pure white light stood like a physical object, crystal clear, rooted in the center of a massive crater.

As for Tanaka Ichiro, he had long since been reduced to scattered dust under the sheer power of that strike.

"Did you see anything?"

Uchiha Kei turned back calmly and looked at Uchiha Izuna.

"Gulp."

Uchiha Izuna swallowed hard.

See...

See what?

Draw, raise, slash...

Then hum...

Then boom...

What else was there?

"Take your time. The way of the blade is no less inferior to the way of the ninja."

In truth, this was the first time Uchiha Kei had used his swordsmanship with his full strength.

Although the vast majority of this strike came from the enhancement provided by Uhijini.

But the most important part of the blade was the understanding of the way of the blade itself.

Uchiha Kei turned his head to look at the battlefield.

While he was busy tormenting Tanaka Ichiro, the murderous Tanaka Clan had been wiped out by Uchiha Madara and the others.

At this moment, the only ones left on the field were those known as the White Bone Clan.

"Benefactor, thank you for saving the White Bone Clan!"

White Bone Momotao knelt on the ground, and the surviving clansmen behind her knelt down as well.

"Just a small favor, it's nothing."

Uchiha Kei waved his hand dismissively.

With the help of Uchiha Kei and his four companions, the White Bone Clan tearfully buried their fallen kin.

After a long period of labor, White Bone Momotao respectfully invited the five of them into a wooden hut.

"Benefactors, thank you once again for saving the White Bone Clan."

"It's nothing. It's good for these lads to get some exercise."

Uchiha Kei looked toward Madara and the others.

Only through slaughter could one grow rapidly; in this battle, everyone except Uchiha Izuna had undergone significant changes.

Even the kind-hearted Hashirama could not hide the lingering ferocity in his eyes.

White Bone Momotao pondered for a moment, steeled his heart, offered an apology, and hurried out of the hut.

"Madara, how do you feel about this battle?"

"Teacher, I am even more certain of my convictions. It is the law of the jungle; only by becoming as powerful as you, Teacher, can one pacify the slaughter between clans."

Madara had killed the most among them, and his words could not mask his intense killing intent.

"Tobirama, what about you?"

Senju Tobirama thought for a while, looked up at Hashirama, and then said, "I think... I think Uchiha Madara has a point."

Senju Tobirama's answer was within Uchiha Kei's expectations.

Although they belonged to opposing factions, Uchiha Madara and Senju Tobirama's definitions of peace were fundamentally the same.

Stop killing with killing, until everyone was too terrified to defy their orders.

Tap, tap, tap...

Uchiha Kei tapped his fingers on the table and looked at the bowl-cut Hashirama.

"And what about you, Hashirama?"

Hashirama looked up, dazed, before lowering his head again.

"Teacher, I don't know how to put it into words."

"You saw the White Bone Clan being slaughtered just now. Among those who died at the hands of the Tanaka Clan, there were old men, children, and women."

"In the eyes of an aggressor, there is no gender and no age. There is only slaughter."

"If this scene were to unfold within the Senju Clan, what would you do?"

Uchiha Kei felt a sense of frustration at his lack of resolve.

After Senju Hashirama died, the First, Second, and Third Great Ninja Wars followed in succession. The level of chaos in the ninja world was no less than that of the current Warring States period.

This was the lingering consequence of Senju Hashirama's benevolent governance.

When he was alive, the title of "God of Shinobi" kept all ninja villages from making a move.

When he was gone, all the accumulated conflicts erupted instantly, with even more severe consequences!

Hashirama's entire body shuddered as the image of the Senju Clan engulfed in flames flashed through his mind.

Blood, severed limbs, screams...

People he knew falling one by one.

And he was powerless to stop it.

"No, that scene must never happen to the Senju Clan! Never!"

"Then what you must do is kill!"

A tangible, suffocating killing intent suddenly enveloped Uchiha Kei as he stared coldly at Hashirama.

"Stop war with war, and you can avoid war; stop killing with killing, and you can avoid killing!"

"Stop war with war... stop killing with killing..."

Hashirama fell into deep contemplation.

Uchiha Kei turned his gaze toward Madara and Tobirama. "You two are different from him. He is too merciful, while you two are too heavy on the killing intent."

"Doesn't a heavier killing intent better suppress the outbreak of war?"

Madara sounded unconvinced.

"Everything must have a limit. If you cross that limit, the results will be counterproductive."

Both of them fell into deep thought.

"As for you..."

Uchiha Izuna had not heard a word of their conversation; he was completely immersed in the memory of that single blade strike.

"Forget it, it's useless talking to you."

Uchiha Kei shook his head.

A moment later, White Bone Momotao walked in, carrying a box.

"Benefactor, we have no way to repay the debt of saving our clan, so we can only offer you our clan's most precious treasure."

"Although it may not mean much given your strength, perhaps they might have need of it."

The box sat on the table, antique and elegant, with a wooden seal affixed to its lid.

"This must be the goal of the Tanaka Clan, right?"

"Correct. This is the secret technique of our White Bone Clan."

Uchiha Kei was somewhat curious. "Judging by how desperate the Tanaka Clan was, this secret technique should be quite powerful. How is it that the White Bone Clan doesn't seem to have any particularly strong ninjas?"

White Bone Momotao's expression darkened, a look of sorrow appearing on her face.

"Benefactor, I will not hide it from you. This secret technique is indeed extremely powerful, enough to allow a genin to grow to Kage-level in a short period."

"Unfortunately, this technique has a limitation: it can only be practiced by males, and our White Bone Clan..."

Uchiha Kei understood. After his observations just now, the White Bone Clan seemed to have an imbalance of yin and yang; he hadn't seen a single male ninja.

He had originally assumed they had been killed by the Tanaka Clan, but it appeared that was not the case after all.