Although Akaba had been on the same team as Sakumo, this was his first time stepping into the Hatake Clan.
Their clan wasn't large—only a dozen households and a single martial arts dojo.
Before he even entered the dojo, he heard the clang of steel inside.
Stepping through the entrance.
Sakumo and Nightdance were locked in combat at the center, while several children from the Hatake Clan sat around the training hall, all about seven or eight years old.
Kakashi Windseer turned his head upon hearing footsteps and spotted Akaba. Surprise flashed across his face.
That lazy slug actually slithered out of his den!
"Hey, dual-wielder!"
Akaba made his way toward Kakashi Windseer, the kids parting automatically as he passed.
Clang, clang, clang—
The two short blades danced like wind—each strike lacked power, yet they pressed so heavily on Gekko Nightdance that he couldn't launch a single counterattack.
The strength of dual-wielding lies solely in relentless offense.
Gekko Nightdance was quick, but against someone with equal speed like Sakumo, he clearly couldn't keep up.
After several more exchanges, he collapsed from exhaustion first.
At this point, Windseer spoke tonelessly: "If you've something to say, spit it out."
"Uncle Windseer," Akaba asked awkwardly, rubbing his hands together, "I wanted to ask—how can I become faster?"
"Train more. Run more."
Windseer replied bluntly.
"Is there… uh… a more exclusive method?"
Training? That much I already know.
If Akaba were willing to put in the work, he wouldn't have come here looking for easy ways out.
Windseer tilted his head and fixed him with a look that said, *Are you serious?*
He gestured to a nearby child: "Yijun, tell him how you train daily."
"In the morning I run twenty laps around Konoha, do a hundred mountain climbs in the morning, five hundred sword swings in the afternoon, and another fifty laps around Konoha at night."
The child answered brightly.
As Akaba listened, his face grew increasingly stiff.
He looked down—the kid couldn't be older than six or seven, probably just starting at the Ninja Academy.
And yet, such a tiny child endured a training load this brutal.
Yijun then whispered softly: "Because my physical base is weak, this is actually the minimum required training."
"I see."
Though his heart screamed bloody murder, he still forced a smile onto his face.
This schedule was terrifying!
Noticing the children's stares, Akaba's smile had already frozen in place.
"The art of Taijutsu has no shortcuts. Even if you're born a genius, mastery still comes only through hard work."
Windseer said indifferently.
"Big brother, are you going to train with us together with Nightdance-niisan?"
Yijun asked curiously.
"No, no, don't misunderstand me!" Akaba immediately waved his hands.
To train alongside these kids—and be the first to collapse from exhaustion—would be totally humiliating for someone his age.
"Hmph."
Windseer gave a faint scoff.
Based on his understanding of Akaba, getting this guy to work diligently was harder than climbing to heaven.
"Uncle Windseer, could I perhaps borrow some of your clan's less important sword technique scrolls?" Akaba suggested.
"What do you plan to trade for them?"
Kakashi Windseer didn't refuse. Those were sword techniques of his clan—though not particularly valuable, they shouldn't be lent out freely either.
"Silent Killing Jutsu."
Akaba said quietly.
"Hm?" Kakashi said, slightly surprised.
This was a signature technique of Kirigakure, rarely seen outside—it amazed him that Akaba knew it.
"I previously learned the Mist Jutsu. Using it, I created my own Mist Phantom Scene, and eventually figured out the principles behind their Silent Killing Jutsu."
Akaba explained.
Kakashi thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
The Silent Killing Jutsu wasn't swordplay, but it was still extremely valuable. Especially against mist ninja, knowing this technique significantly increased one's chances of survival.
"You train on your own."
Kakashi stood up and led Akaba toward the clan's library house.
After ascending to the upper floor of the martial arts hall and turning a corner, they reached a small room. Kakashi performed several hand seals, dispelling the jutsu on the door before opening it with a key.
When he turned on the lights inside, rows upon rows of bookshelves came into view.
Akaba took a deep breath.
A clan's foundation wasn't merely about wealth or strength—it lay in lineage, and above all else, accumulated knowledge.
Just from this single room full of books, the Hatake clan fully deserved its name.
"You may freely browse the books on the first two shelves."
"These books aren't just about swordsmanship—they also include practical methods for physical cultivation and enhancing bodily strength, dating back to the Warring States era (a historical period in ancient China known for constant warfare). You should take a look at those too."
Kakashi said indifferently.
In his opinion, for the Sakuma clan, these books held even greater value than those techniques.
"Thank you, Uncle Windseer. I'm looking at sword techniques mainly to expand my understanding."
Methods for physical cultivation and enhancing physique?
I've already got a System for that!
The training downstairs had terrified him deeply—he wasn't really the type who'd stick with intense training himself.
"As you like it."
Kakashi didn't bother persuading further.
With someone's personality already set, many things couldn't be forced.
Besides, Akaba wasn't suited for taijutsu anyway, nor was there any real need to pursue such marginal physical training when his body wasn't weak to begin with.
Of course, things weren't quite that simple either.
Akaba had come to the Hatake clan hoping to find shortcuts for improving speed and to borrow some swordsmanship manuals.
If bloodline could reduce the points required for inheritance, perhaps reading sword manuals might similarly lower the point cost for learning sword techniques?
On the exchange list, there weren't many sword-related options.
One was Zabuza's cleaver sword technique.
The other was [Three-Blade Style].
Zabuza's sword style was crude, rated only C-rank, and required a special weapon—making it unnecessary to ever consider exchanging for it.
What Akaba wanted to reduce points for was [Three-Blade Style].
It cost 300 points—somewhere between B and A rank. After all, it was merely the skill of wielding three blades simultaneously, without including specific moves like "Ghost Slice" or "Hundred Eighty Wind".
He scanned the shelves and picked up [An Introduction to Swordplay] at random.
Flipping through the first few pages, it started with tales about the origins of martial artists, only gradually moving into actual swordplay discussions.
Enduring the dry prose, he immediately opened his Points Panel afterward.
[Three-Blade Style] remained unchanged.
"The approach isn't working?"
He thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly and reached for another book.
The collection on these two rows of shelves was massive—there was no way he could read all of it. Akaba randomly picked up a few books to flip through.
Another check showed that his points had dropped by five.
Kind of annoying!
He let out a soft sigh. Gaining only five points after reading so many books—free-reading truly was a rough path.
"I should first try finding books on Three-Blade Style or Dual-Blade Style; maybe reading one would skyrocket my points."
Akaba mused inwardly and changed his approach.
Orthodox samurai generally practiced One-Blade Style, with only a few mastering the Dual-Blade Style technique.
Yet during duels, they wouldn't actually use Dual-Blade Style since this fighting method was more suited for battling multiple enemies rather than single combat, especially with tantō short swords.
So, if he wanted to find the Three-Blade Style, he'd have to dig through the weird stuff.
These were often neglected books.
Akaba's gaze swept across the bottom shelf, and soon he spotted a manual on Three-Blade Style swordsmanship.
It was written by a wandering swordsman.
The sword techniques described were quite rough. Just reading the analysis and imagining them in his mind, Akaba could already tell there were many flaws.
Much to his delight, however, the cost of Three-Blade Style dropped by over fifty points.
Effective!
Then, he began scouring through those neglected, fringe materials.
The point cost for Three-Blade Style plummeted straight down—from 300 to 250, then further from 250 to 200, 100...
Finally, it settled at fifty points and refused to drop further.
"It seems just reading isn't enough to fully master it. It's like how I possess the bloodline of the Sakuma clan but still need thirty points to activate it."
Understanding dawned upon Akaba, bringing along some disappointment.
White-reading was genuinely hard—but at least it's not like haggling online where you can't get anything unless you drive the price down to zero.
Adding fifty more points, he finally acquired the Three-Blade Style!
[Three-Blade Style] was complex: wielding three swords without interference while complementing each other effectively. Moreover, the system version didn't just pour all understanding into his head, but also enhanced certain physical instincts required for usage.
Its proficiency was roughly on par with Zoro's current skill level.
Of course, this only applied to skill alone.
In reality, swordsmen didn't solely rely on technique—they also needed blade speed, strength, and formations. Unfortunately, Akaba lacked all of these.
His Physical Strength scored eighty points, but the physical enhancements purchased through points carried no specialty bonuses, leaving all attributes merely average.
Thus, while Zoro could kill someone using the same sword techniques, Akaba might end up getting himself killed during a duel.
"What use do you have for reading these books?"
Kakashi Windseer gave him a puzzled look.
He originally assumed Akaba came here wanting to learn swordsmanship, but now that clearly wasn't the case.
It seemed as though he truly just wanted to "draw inspiration."
"My One Piece character uses the Three-Blade Style, so I came here to draw some inspiration."
Akaba grinned.
"Huh?" Kakashi Windseer fell silent for a moment. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment.
If this guy would just put half this effort into actual training, who knows how far he could go.
Since the other party neither practiced swordsmanship nor excelled in Taijutsu, he gave up the idea of persuading him further.
Oh well, let him be.
"Thank you, Uncle Windseer. I'm done reading. I'll write 'Silent Killing Jutsu' into a scroll later and bring it over."
Akaba bowed slightly.
"Mm, go ahead."
Kakashi Windseer signaled for him \) www .wenku19\.cc/tupian/ \) to 9\.cc/ \) tupian/ \) /first\), 9/ \) cc/ \) /tupian/ \) / u19 \. \) cc/ \) /tupian/ \) $*!*^!\]$$.![](http$\{s?\]}}":}};[to leave first ]{,}·\|!￥...\*（）\{\{\]!\]())?\)\=\+""''[]""?`,.:,;「」∶…\-\—．～｀～\- \),then locked the door]+} \) ,performed Hand Seals, and cast a Sealing Technique before coming downstairs\.
Akaba:$( was delighted\.
Today':;'!?**__†‡§¶¶""' \) '« \) \) \) ￦‐‑–⁃−﹘﹣－⁓～¬⁻ \) s gains weren't just 250 Points\) ,\). More importantly\) ,, it confirmed his suspicion that Points could indeed be reduced through practical means\.
This meant many expenses could be avoided\.
Take \[the Bringer]-of-Darkness Technique\] for example\.
He had already gotten its usage from The Third\. Now\), as long as he drew the corresponding scenes\), he could exchange them at a low cost\.
The higher-level the jutsu\), the more reduction space through this method\.
As for low-level Ninjutsu like \[Body Replacement Technique\]
Their principles )and usages were too simple\. Those Points were basically tuition with no room for discount\.
"Sealing techniques like \[Evil Sealing Method\], \[Five Elements Seal\], or even \[Dead Spirit Seal\] are all recorded in Uzumaki clan Scrolls\. As long as I draw those contents\), I can combine them with the scrolls to exchange at a low cost\."
Akaba felt excited\.
He'd long been eyeing those complex yet powerful Sealing Techniques but hadn't been able to make heads or tails of them before\. After this experiment\) learning them would become extremely easy\.
Of course\,
\[Dead Spirit Seal\] was out of the question\. His life was more important than anything!
Yeah\) he'd learn \[Five Elements Seal\] right after returning home\.
With Sealing Techniques\) he would gain another way to deal with enemies\.
He never minded having more tricks up his sleeve\. You never know when one might come in handy!
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