Chapter 454: The Power of Two Ninja Blades

As Muzuki swung his lightning-imbued blade, a flash of brilliant purple electricity bloomed before Kakashi’s eyes.

Swish!

Boom!!

Kakashi, who had been moving at high speed, suddenly stopped. It wasn’t that Kakashi wanted to stop, but rather that Muzuki’s slash was imminent, and Kakashi had no choice but to swing his blade in defense beforehand.

The purple electricity collided with the yellow lightning dragon, and almost instantly, the lightning dragon was split in two and dissipated into the air.

Kakashi desperately stimulated his Chakra to block it, but the power of the purple electricity exceeded the limits of what he could withstand; even using all his strength, he could only hold it back for a second.

Bang!

The next moment, Kakashi’s body flew backward at high speed and slammed hard into the ground.

This result was somewhat unexpected for Kakashi.

It wasn’t that he didn’t think Muzuki had the power to finish him off in an instant, but rather that Kakashi hadn’t expected Muzuki to test his strength in this manner.

In the past, whenever Muzuki conducted tests, he would always give them enough room to maneuver before making a move.

After all, if Muzuki were to strike directly with his full power, his disciples would be defeated instantly, making it difficult to achieve the desired results from the test.

Just as Kakashi was feeling puzzled, he stood up and suddenly noticed the changes in his surroundings.

Where there had originally been a dense forest, there were now only rows of tree stumps; slightly higher slopes had been leveled, and the ground was littered with chopped trees and debris.

“That slash just now had such a terrifying attack range.” Kakashi was shocked.

Muzuki’s slash had essentially given this forest a buzz cut; it exceeded Kakashi’s understanding of Lightning Release sword techniques.

Kakashi hadn’t imagined that a Lightning Release sword technique could possess such power and cause such an effect.

In his understanding, Lightning Release sword techniques were supposed to be strong in single-target combat and burst damage, but this strike from Muzuki made Kakashi realize that his knowledge of Lightning Release sword techniques was still too limited.

“What I resisted just now must have been only the aftermath.” Kakashi inwardly marveled at the strength of Muzuki’s control.

With his current strength, he could not resist such a powerful slash head-on. If the main force of that slash had been directed at him, not only would he have been unable to block it for even a second, but he would also have been cut to pieces.

“The intensity of the Nature Transformation barely reached the minimum requirement.” Muzuki nodded slightly.

If Kakashi’s Nature Transformation intensity hadn’t been sufficient, he wouldn’t have been able to block even the aftermath for a second.

“Continue attacking me. This time, you can only use sword techniques; you cannot use Breathing Technique or Chakra.” Muzuki stated the requirements for the test.

Kakashi brushed the dust off his clothes, adjusted his breathing, and prepared to step forward, gripping the White Fang Short Blade.

Since reaching the Constant State of Breathing Technique allowed him to maintain a relatively focused breath at all times, Kakashi had to manually deactivate it if he wasn’t allowed to use Breathing Technique.

Kakashi focused his gaze, lunged forward, and slashed toward Muzuki’s chest; the short blade streaked through the air like lightning, without holding anything back.

Clang!

A metallic ringing sounded as Muzuki drew the katana Shisui had given him from a scroll with lightning speed, blocking the incoming blade.

Failing the first strike, Kakashi didn’t change his expression and immediately shifted his tactics, gripping his short blade tightly and thrusting it rapidly toward Muzuki’s heart, perfectly illustrating the saying, “An inch shorter, an inch more dangerous.”

However, Muzuki seemed to have completely seen through Kakashi’s moves, holding his blade horizontally in front of him and blocking Kakashi’s attack perfectly once again.

Kakashi understood this was a test, so he abandoned defense entirely and attacked with all his might, aiming every strike at Muzuki’s vital points, like an unceasing rainstorm.

However, it was as if Muzuki had activated some kind of precognition cheat; no matter how Kakashi attacked, Muzuki blocked it calmly, giving Kakashi the feeling of fighting against himself while in the Transparent World.

But Kakashi, fighting Muzuki, was very clear that Muzuki was also not using Breathing Technique or Chakra, but was battling him using pure sword skills.

In fact, this wasn’t the first time Kakashi had encountered such a situation; back before White Fang committed suicide, he would personally train Kakashi in sword techniques.

Simulating a battle between a sword technique beginner and a powerful swordsman who had carved out a fearsome reputation on the battlefield—if Kakashi hadn’t deeply admired his father, he probably would have been crushed into reclusion.

But now, Kakashi could no longer be considered a beginner; after years of training and practical combat experience, his sword skills could definitely be called proficient.

Even so, facing Muzuki, Kakashi felt as if he had returned to his days as a beginner.

Snap!

The back of Muzuki’s blade struck Kakashi’s palm, knocking the White Fang Short Blade from his hand.

“Your sword skills are barely enough.” Muzuki said after sheathing his katana.

Although Muzuki hadn’t practiced swordsmanship much before obtaining One Thought Cut, relying entirely on the small rewards dropped by Kakashi, after obtaining the mastery-level One Thought Cut, Muzuki actually possessed a level of swordsmanship that ordinary people would find impossible to reach in a lifetime.

This was one of the things Muzuki liked about the Teacher System; reward abilities came with a certain level of corresponding knowledge to prevent the user from being unable to utilize them.

The fact that Muzuki could master seven Chakra Nature Transformations so quickly was thanks to this feature.

In normal training, one would need an extremely high level of swordsmanship to cultivate One Thought Cut to the mastery level, but with the system, Muzuki had reversed this process, gaining swordsmanship experience because of obtaining the mastery-level No Thought Strike.

Although it couldn’t be compared to someone who had trained diligently from the ground up, it was indeed very convenient.

Kakashi picked up the dropped White Fang Short Blade, feeling a slight sense of anticipation in his heart; Muzuki had once personally said that the Lightning Release sword technique he was going to teach next was not inferior to the Golden Skyline.

To say that Might Guy’s strength relied entirely on the Golden Skyline was clearly biased; the Eight Gates and Rock Breathing were the true core, but the Golden Skyline had indeed given Might Guy a significant boost.

Kakashi had lost several battles to Might Guy’s Golden Skyline; it was an impeccable and powerful Taijutsu.

Although Might Guy’s strength had undergone a qualitative change due to his comprehension of the Rock Breathing Chakra Mode, making it impossible for Kakashi to surpass him in the short term.

But having a Lightning Release sword technique that could rival the Golden Skyline at least gave him something to look forward to, so he wouldn’t have to keep feeling troubled by the Golden Skyline.

“Let’s leave this place first.” Muzuki led Kakashi to change locations.

Although he had chosen a secluded location, the commotion just now had been a bit too loud, so to avoid being disturbed, Muzuki needed to pick a new, better spot.

At this time, the Byakugan’s long-distance vision function was very useful; no matter how strong a sensory Ninjutsu was, it could only sense Chakra, whereas the Byakugan actually used eyes to see, observing things more comprehensively and in greater detail.

“The Lightning Release sword technique I am going to teach you is the One Thought Cut, an unparalleled slash unleashed by concentrating all one’s strength in a state of no thoughts and no desires.” Muzuki first provided a brief introduction.

Kakashi listened very carefully; although the name was a bit strange, that wasn’t the point—as long as it was strong enough, that was all that mattered.

When the formal instruction began, Muzuki provided Kakashi with an epiphany.

Without the epiphany and the teaching boost, Kakashi would not be able to learn the One Thought Cut at his current level.

That was why Muzuki said it was barely learnable; it required the system’s skill boost, otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to learn it.

Because they were on the battlefield, Muzuki didn’t teach for too long; after a few hours, he brought Kakashi back.

On the way back, Muzuki used Appraisal to check on Kakashi, and the One Thought Cut hadn’t even appeared on Kakashi’s skill list, meaning he hadn’t practiced enough to gain even a single point of proficiency.

This was within Muzuki’s expectations; when Might Guy practiced the Golden Skyline, he also had to train bitterly for a long time before entering the door, and even today, he hadn’t reached the proficiency level yet. Powerful skills were indeed difficult to master.

Returning to Konoha alone, walking through the bustling streets that were just as he remembered, and returning to his empty home, Shisui suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of melancholy.

The uncle who had taken care of him when he was young was gone, Muzuki was not there, and in the current Konoha, he was the only one among Muzuki’s disciples.

However, Shisui was not a person who dwelt on such sentiments; the melancholy came and went quickly, so Shisui cleaned the house and began to train.

He wouldn’t be separated from Muzuki and the others for too long; after the Jonin examination was over, he would leave Konoha.

After dinner that evening, Shisui did not continue training but instead went to Uchiha Fugaku’s home.

Of course, he wasn’t looking for Uchiha Fugaku; Shisui was there to see Uchiha Itachi.

Shisui hadn’t forgotten his responsibility to guide Uchiha Itachi; to prevent Uchiha Itachi from becoming the heartless rogue Ninja of the future, he had to instill some positive thoughts in Uchiha Itachi.

Uchiha Fugaku was very happy about Shisui’s arrival; although he was in the rear and didn’t know the title of “Shisui the Body Flicker,” that single skirmish where Shisui and Obito fought had earned plenty of face for the Uchiha.

“How long do you plan to rest this time you’re back?” Uchiha Fugaku asked with a smile.

He assumed that Shisui’s entire squad had returned to the rear for rest.

“If nothing goes wrong, I will return to the battlefield the day after tomorrow.” Shisui thought for a moment and replied.

He was going to take the Jonin examination tomorrow, and according to the experience of Kakashi and the others, the results would be out a day later, so Shisui planned to return to the battlefield the day after tomorrow as soon as the results were out, regardless of whether he was promoted or not.

“The main purpose of my return is to participate in the Jonin examination, so I won’t be staying for long.”

A look of surprise flashed across Uchiha Fugaku’s face; if he remembered correctly, Shisui was only eight years old now. If he successfully passed the examination, Shisui would become an unprecedented eight-year-old Jonin.

The record for the youngest Jonin, which Kakashi had broken not long ago, would be broken again by Shisui.

“Itachi, you really should learn from Shisui; this is the kind of genius that our Uchiha Clan should be proud of.” Uchiha Fugaku praised him to his face without hesitation.

The young Uchiha Itachi didn’t understand the content of the conversation between Shisui and Uchiha Fugaku, nor did he understand what a Jonin meant, but he still nodded obediently.

Because compared to Obito, Shisui looked very intelligent and wouldn’t say things that were hard to understand.

“It’s not certain whether I can pass the examination; if I don’t pass, you shouldn’t try to emulate me.” Shisui smiled and patted Uchiha Itachi on his little head.

Shisui was calm and quiet most of the time, but now he would occasionally make small jokes.

“With your ability, Shisui, the probability of passing is high.” Uchiha Fugaku had already foreseen the new topic of conversation among the Ninja in a few days.

“It’s not easy to make mistakes if you approach it cautiously.” Shisui shook his head and said.

He did not underestimate the Jonin examination; after all, both Might Guy and Obito had failed the examination, and only Kakashi had passed to become a Jonin.

“As for the written part, it’s hard to improve in a short time; it depends on long-term accumulation. However, I can give you some pointers on your Fire Release through practical combat.” Uchiha Fugaku thought for a moment and said.

As the head of the Uchiha Clan and captain of the Konoha Police Force, Uchiha Fugaku was actually very busy, with many matters to deal with.

However, whether he had time depended on the person; if it was Shisui, one of the futures of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Fugaku could squeeze out his limited free time to help Shisui improve.

Shisui’s original idea was to casually handle Uchiha Fugaku and then take Uchiha Itachi out for a walk to provide some guidance.

But Uchiha Fugaku was overly enthusiastic, and Shisui found it hard to refuse.

After all, Uchiha Fugaku had treated him well; although it might have been related to his Ninja talent, the kindness Uchiha Fugaku showed him was undeniable.

“Then, I’ll trouble you.” Shisui finally agreed.

Then, Uchiha Fugaku took Uchiha Itachi and Shisui to a nearby open space.

Shisui was, after all, a Ninja who had fought against the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and was about to be promoted to Jonin; Uchiha Fugaku wouldn’t underestimate him too much.

If he didn’t want to sleep on the street tonight, he certainly couldn’t fight in his home courtyard.

“Itachi, stand to the side and watch carefully; don’t wander close.” Before the fight, Uchiha Fugaku instructed.

He was confident that he wouldn’t harm Uchiha Itachi no matter what, but he wasn’t so sure about Shisui.

Then, Uchiha Fugaku looked at Shisui and said, “Shisui, don’t hold back; feel free to use your full strength.”

Shisui thought for a moment and directly entered the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode.

Uchiha Fugaku was, after all, the head of the Uchiha Clan; although he hadn’t heard of any particularly impressive combat achievements, Shisui felt that Uchiha Fugaku’s strength should be above that of two members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Shisui wanted to test what kind of role his Flame Breathing Chakra Mode would play in a battle against such a strong opponent; besides, Fugaku had taken the initiative to tell him to use his full strength.

Shisui pushed his breathing to the limit, drawing a large amount of oxygen into his body and converting it into power.

The moment Shisui entered the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode, his Chakra began to drain at an extremely fast rate, and at the same time, Shisui felt the changes occurring in his body.

The strengthening of his physical body was just a side effect; the true uniqueness of the Flame Breathing Chakra Mode lay in its ability to strengthen Fire Release Nature Transformation and significantly enhance the power of flames.

“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”

Shisui pressed his hands together, instantly converting all the Chakra gathered in his throat into Fire Release Chakra, and then exhaled it in one breath.

The raging flames, transformed from the Fire Release Chakra, rapidly formed a huge fireball and smashed toward Uchiha Fugaku.

Uchiha Fugaku, who had just finished forming his hand seals, was left with a question mark.

As a fellow Uchiha, Uchiha Fugaku had also been preparing to start with the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, but he hadn’t expected Shisui to be able to perform the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique without hand seals; he had practiced for so many years and still couldn’t manage to perform it without seals.

Shisui’s performance truly left Fugaku both surprised and puzzled.