Before he could react, Lei Dou felt a massive torrent of complex information suddenly flood his mind.
Countless swordsmanship techniques for applying force, muscle memories, and angle corrections awakened in an instant, as though they had always existed deep within his memories.
At the same time, his muscles seemed to have been stimulated by an electric current, involuntarily adjusting into the optimal state for exerting force.
Hayate was still lamenting his prospects. With this boy's aptitude, even if he keeps training, Chunin is about as far as he'll ever get.
Oh well. His parents were ordinary ninja, after all. With those genes, mediocrity is only natural!
He was trying to think of a tactful way to comfort Lei Dou when he suddenly saw the boy flick his wrist and thrust the wooden sword forward with seemingly casual ease.
Since Shimozuki Hayate stood directly in front of Lei Dou, he experienced that thrust more vividly than anyone.
In his vision, the formerly clumsy wooden sword vanished in an instant, leaving only a sword tip gleaming with cold menace, aimed straight at his throat.
At that instant, Hayate's pupils contracted sharply, as though that single thrust was all that remained in the world.
So fast!
And the way Lei Dou held his sword now was worlds apart from before. If Hayate had to describe it in one word, it would be-
Steady!
Rock steady. So steady that it sent chills down his spine!
It was clearly nothing more than the most basic straight thrust, yet in Lei Dou's hands, it carried the air of a master. His body made not a single unnecessary movement.
The wooden sword sliced through the air with a faint, piercing whistle. Had it been a proper steel ninja blade, it might already have let out a bloodthirsty ring.
Hayate froze completely, his mouth hanging slightly open, unable to close it for a long while.
"This... how is this possible..."
Was this really only the boy's second time handling a sword?
Just a few seconds ago, he was like a duckling learning to walk. He couldn't even hold the sword steady.
How had he grasped the very essence of basic swordsmanship in the space of a single breath, as though possessed by a sword saint?
And... his movements were even more flawless than the textbook examples!
Hayate knew that even if he demonstrated it himself, he probably could do no better. There wasn't a single flaw to find.
Could this boy be one of those legendary born swordsmen?
With such terrifying instincts and talent for swordsmanship, perhaps only the Konoha White Fang, who had once made even the Sannin give way, could compare to him in all of Konoha's history!
At that thought, wild joy instantly flooded Hayate's formerly disappointed face.
After so many years of obscurity, was the Shimozuki clan finally about to welcome a true, peerless genius?
"Ha ha ha ha! Heaven has blessed our clan!"
"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!"
Suddenly, Hayate shouted like a madman and lunged up to Lei Dou, clamping both hands onto the boy's young shoulders with astonishing force.
"Lei Dou! You... you were born for the sword!"
Lei Dou, who was still savoring the feel of that last thrust, jumped in fright. Why had Hayate suddenly become so worked up?
Didn't I just learn a few basic moves?
Was that really worth getting this excited over?
"You only watched once, and you mastered basic swordsmanship to such a flawless degree! You even did it better than I did!"
"Lei Dou, with talent as astonishing as yours, I can say with certainty that the future of the Shimozuki clan will be completely rewritten because of you!"
Huh?
Those couple of moves I just did deserved that much praise?
Lei Dou himself hadn't felt anything particularly special. The movements had simply come naturally.
His body was like a precision machine, automatically executing the optimal commands. Every move felt as natural as eating or drinking.
Was this the power of the active skill, Great Sage?
Only then did Lei Dou belatedly feel a thrill of excitement that made his scalp tingle.
And this was only thirty percent of the damaged version's power!
How ridiculous would the fully restored version be at one hundred percent? Learning an S-rank forbidden jutsu in a second?
With this cheat, even if I could only use thirty percent of its power each time, I could easily pass myself off as a so-called peerless genius!
No!!!!!
This wasn't just genius. This was a monster that would drive geniuses to despair!
"Lei Dou, let's strike while the iron is hot. I'll teach you Konoha Style: Swordsmanship right now!"
At those words, Lei Dou's heart skipped a beat, and a little worry crept in. Does this active skill have a cooldown? Did that last use drain all its energy?
After all, this skill still had the "damaged" debuff!
But Shimozuki Hayate was already impatiently beginning his demonstration.
"Watch closely. This is the essence of Konoha Style: Swordsmanship!"
"The moves aren't complicated. There are only ten forms in total, but if you can truly master them as a whole, your close-combat ability will make a qualitative leap!"
[Beep-scanning] [Advanced swordsmanship demonstration detected. Active skill: Great Sage※ requesting analysis activation again]
Hearing that delightful notification, Lei Dou's eyes flashed, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
This one was in the bag!!!!
These ten foundational forms of Konoha Style: Swordsmanship did not include Shimozuki Hayate's signature Dance of the Crescent Moon. That move was a finishing technique that combined chakra with swordsmanship.
It required solid shadow clones to execute.
Lei Dou was still a Ninja Academy student who hadn't even received his forehead protector. Shimozuki Hayate would have to be out of his mind to teach him a B-rank ninjutsu that was both immensely draining and risky!
With a forbidden jutsu like the Shadow Clone Technique, even a slight mistake in allocating chakra could put the caster out of commission first.
But these ten foundational sword forms were genuinely useful material that he could safely teach Lei Dou.
At the same time, Hayate was doing this to confirm whether that stunning thrust had merely been a flash in the pan.
If Lei Dou could learn this advanced swordsmanship at the same terrifying speed, even if he only grasped the basics, it would prove that he was a genuine swordsmanship prodigy!
Ten moves were neither many nor few.
To accommodate the "beginner," Shimozuki Hayate deliberately broke down and slowed his movements, explaining every move's methods of applying force and every detail of its variations.
The entire lesson took less than ten minutes.
Once the demonstration was finished, Hayate withdrew his sword and stood upright, looking at Lei Dou with burning anticipation.
"Come on, your turn! Don't be nervous. Take your time!"
At those words, a composed smile appeared on Lei Dou's face.
That confidence wasn't blind. It came from what had happened the instant Shimozuki Hayate finished demonstrating the final form.
The system's heavenly voice had sounded right on cue.
[Analysis complete] [Congratulations, host. New skill successfully learned: Konoha Style: Swordsmanship (incomplete version)]
Almost simultaneously, another enormous torrent of information swept through Lei Dou's brain.
Every detail of Konoha Style: Swordsmanship was etched into his neurons as though it were an innate instinct.
The progression of each form and the killing intent behind every variation seemed to have been refined countless times, carved into Lei Dou's mind as deeply as chisel marks.
Even his muscles developed the illusion that he had practiced this swordsmanship for decades.
Raise the hand! Take the stance!
Lei Dou's very first thrust nearly made Shimozuki Hayate's eyes pop out.
That incredibly fierce, murderous thrust carried such force that it surpassed even the demonstration he, the teacher, had just given.
Perfect!
As perfect as a work of art!
That opening form alone completely crashed Shimozuki Hayate's brain.
Although Konoha Style: Swordsmanship was hardly a top secret, the ninja in all of Konoha who could truly bring out its essence were exceedingly rare.
There were only a handful at most, and every practitioner was registered with the Anbu. There was no possibility of the art having slipped into unknown hands.
With Lei Dou's background as an orphan, he absolutely had no way to gain access to this swordsmanship beforehand.
And yet now!
Right before his eyes, the wooden sword in this boy's hand danced like a roaming dragon, executing Konoha Style: Swordsmanship form after form with effortless fluidity.
The transitions were so smooth and the movements so precise that every detail seemed meticulously calculated. He performed them even more perfectly than Hayate himself.
This was no beginner. It was as though he had been possessed by an old grandmaster who had devoted decades to the sword!
Such talent-the ability to copy swordsmanship after a single glance and then surpass it!
Hayate searched his entire memory and could not find another person like him.
Perhaps he was even more... terrifying than the Konoha White Fang, whose very name had once struck fear into his enemies!
Whoosh!
As the final form concluded, the wind stirred by the wooden sword let out a piercing whistle.
That finishing strike was so breathtaking that Shimozuki Hayate nearly lost his grip on his own wooden sword and let it fall.
Lei Dou withdrew his sword, calm and composed, and turned to look at the petrified Shimozuki Hayate.
"Lei Dou... you... you're going to surpass the Konoha White Fang!!"
Hayate's voice trembled, his overwhelming excitement stripping away his composure.
Our Shimozuki clan was finally going to rise, just like the Hatake Clan had back then, with one man carrying the glory of the entire clan!
What a Kage Level powerhouse meant to a small clan-especially a swordsman with the greatest offensive power-hardly needed explaining.
Lei Dou, who had been waiting for Shimozuki Hayate's assessment, hadn't expected such high praise either.
A second Konoha White Fang?
Lei Dou chuckled inwardly. After twelve whole years of mediocrity, always being overlooked, he had finally bared his fangs today and shown the first glimpse of his edge!
Still, Shimozuki Hayate's offhand remark served as a reminder.
Before, he had been a nobody. No one paid attention to him, so he had been perfectly safe.
But things were different now. Konoha's waters ran deep, calm on the surface but full of hidden currents beneath. At most, he was only a freshly hatched chick.
If he appeared too versatile, too monstrous, some scheming bastard lurking in the shadows might kill him before he could grow into an eagle.
So showing only a single, astonishing talent for swordsmanship was currently his best strategy. As for his other trump cards, he had to keep them firmly hidden.
He couldn't forget that Konoha still had that sneaky old bastard Danzo and that old fox, the Third.
Danzo was an extremist through and through. If that one-eyed bastard set his sights on an orphan like Lei Dou, who had neither backing nor strength, he would certainly drag him into Root and brainwash him into a tool.
And though the Third looked kind, he was no pushover either. If an uncontrollable genius appeared, the Third probably wouldn't truly feel at ease.
Presenting himself as a pure "sword fanatic," a "second White Fang," seemed like just the right persona.
With that in mind, Lei Dou looked at Shimozuki Hayate's face, flushed red with excitement, and obligingly gave him an innocent, radiant smile.
"Really, Hayate? Am I really that good?"
"Of course! As true as can be!" Shimozuki Hayate encouraged him with absolute certainty. "Your talent for swordsmanship surpasses everyone your age in Konoha right now. No, even among adult ninja, there aren't many who can compare to you!"
"Don't be so formal with me anymore. Just call me your big brother! We're family!"
Lei Dou nodded obediently. "Okay! Big brother!"
Hearing him say "big brother" filled Shimozuki Hayate with satisfaction, and he nodded approvingly.
I had to report this to the Third Hokage immediately. Our Shimozuki clan had produced an extraordinary talent like Lei Dou!
I absolutely couldn't let him be buried in an ordinary Genin team.
"Lei Dou, Konoha Style: Swordsmanship actually has an even stronger secret technique, but I can't teach you yet. Your body is still developing, and you need more foundational training!"
"Once you graduate from the Ninja Academy and put on your forehead protector, I'll teach you the rest!"
A stronger secret technique? That should be the Dance of the Crescent Moon, right?
Lei Dou actually felt completely unmoved by it.
In the anime, that move had looked flashy, but its actual results had been painfully unimpressive. It seemed rather weak!
"I understand, big brother! I'll work hard!"
"Good!" Seeing that Lei Dou remained neither arrogant nor impatient, and that his temperament was so steady, Shimozuki Hayate thought even more highly of him.
"Do you want to stay here and practice some more to consolidate what you've learned? If you do, I'll cancel everything else and stay with you!"
Keep going?
He certainly could practice, but Lei Dou's thoughts had already flown home. He couldn't wait to get back and properly investigate that active skill that had suddenly come back from the dead!
Lei Dou raised a hand to scratch his head, putting on an earnest, simplehearted look. "Don't worry, big brother. I'll practice my swordsmanship hard at home, but I promised a classmate we'd go to the bookstore today..."
Shimozuki Hayate showed no displeasure at all. Instead, he nodded with complete understanding. "Mm! Getting along with your classmates and building bonds are also essential lessons for a ninja!"
"Go on! Don't keep them waiting!"
"I happen to have something urgent to deal with too, but you mustn't let your sword training become a halfhearted, on-and-off affair!"
"On the day you graduate, I'll give you a ninja blade forged from chakra-conducting metal. Combined with your swordsmanship, I doubt any Genin in your graduating class will last three moves against you!"
Shimozuki Hayate had originally wanted to say that, with the incredible Konoha Style: Swordsmanship Lei Dou had just displayed, fighting other Genin would already be like a max-level character slaughtering a beginner village.
But!
He was also afraid that excessive praise would make Lei Dou arrogant and complacent, leading him to underestimate other ninja.