Anya didn't fall asleep, even with her eyes closed. Her mind only became more active.
Since she had now identified flaws in combat, she needed to fix them.
Memories of past battles replayed in her head. The fights against the Seven Pursuers and the Tsuchikage left the strongest impressions.
Should I simulate those again?
The thought appeared in Anya's mind and refused to leave.
Let me try the Division Technique.
Without hesitation, she activated the Division Technique, splitting her soul into eight parts. The strongest became her main soul, while the other seven mimicked the Seven Pursuers. Thus, within her **Shenjing Hai**, a battle from years ago played out once more.
Three years had passed. Looking back now, Anya clearly saw her own shortcomings. Actually, the answer had been handed to her right from the very beginning—her master gave it to her on the first day of training. But due to distractions, her sword skills never reached perfection, making that previous battle so difficult.
Anya ended the Division Technique and began absorbing the essence of the simulated fight. After a long time, her soul split again—this time into two parts, one taking the form of the Tsuchikage.
This familiar battle scenario repeated itself many times over. Through each simulation, the result remained unchanged—the Tsuchikage always won, and her chances of victory were virtually nonexistent.
She wasn't discouraged. Failure didn't scare her—it was failing to learn from it that truly terrified her. Besides the chakra gap between them, the gap in actual combat experience was also obvious.
If she wanted to win, the only opportunity would come the moment the Tsuchikage used Dust Release. Although incredibly powerful, Dust Release had an obvious weakness—it required a preparatory movement. That brief window gave her enough time to counterattack. If she could activate Eternity just as Setsuna closed in—freezing time for an instant—she'd have a shot at a one-hit kill.
But for now, she couldn't pull it off. Using a Dojutsu completely drained her body, and switching between them needed recovery time. Dual-eye Reversal was even more defensive—it was a desperate survival technique.
No good. She had chosen the wrong path—leaning too heavily on the Sharingan wasn't the answer.
Anya finally understood Sasuke's mindset from the original story. After obtaining the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, relying too much on it actually caused him to lose his former advantages.
Victory must come through sword art.
Even the most impregnable fortress could eventually fall! If she couldn't defeat her enemy, it meant her sword techniques weren't sharp or fast enough yet.
How could she break through?
The Tsuchikage excelled in Earth Release, which her Lightning Release could counter. But in actual combat, her lightning techniques were quickly neutralized. What if she combined them with sword techniques instead?
Although the sword arts of the Seven Pursuers followed a twisted path, each wielder possessed overwhelming offensive power far beyond ordinary Jonin. Their long-range attacks, especially the Lightning Sword, had previously given her great trouble. Perhaps integrating her current sword techniques with Ninjutsu might open a new path forward.
However, actual training wasn't possible at the moment, so this remained just a concept.
Wait—if not Ninjutsu, then how about incorporating her strongest asset: soul energy? What would happen if she infused sword techniques with this unique force?
The moment this thought arose, a thunderclap echoed in Anya's mind. That's right—if this sword art could succeed, it would deliver both physical and mental damage simultaneously. Against an opponent like Hozuki Kisaragi, who was immune to physical attacks, the effect would be far greater.
If it weren't for the bandages wrapping his whole body, Anya would've leapt up in an instant to start practicing—damn how bad he wanted to.
But lying down wasn't necessarily a bad option either.
Anya's previously drowsy eyes suddenly lit up, his pupils turning completely black. The spiritual energy of the Division Technique surged forth—one becomes two, two become three, and three give rise to ten thousand—a Daoist principle describing infinite division. The formless spiritual power gathered in the surrounding space.
That he could even pull this off was all thanks to Rin Nohara. If it weren't for the Spirit Control Technique, so many divided souls would have instantly driven Anya insane.
The spiritual forces of the Spirit Control Technique resonated with each other, and under Anya's command, the countless soul fragments began changing shape—becoming sharp, like countless daggers poised to strike downward.
"Fall," Anya mentally commanded.
Thousands of soul blades plunged downward like falling stars, slamming into the ground below. All that showed was a bit of dust kicked up from the floor—then total silence.
Haku seemed to sense something and glanced around, puzzled, then looked toward Anya, who had now opened his eyes.
Anya explained, "It was my soul force. I'm researching a new sword technique. It failed this time, but the core concept is solid. I believe it won't be long before my sword art takes a step forward."
Haku asked, "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Anya thought for a moment and replied, "Bring me three ninja blades."
"Alright."
When Haku returned with three ninja blades, Anya activated the Spirit Transformation Technique, attempting to attach his soul to the blades. As chakra was injected, the blades trembled slightly. Seeing this, Anya poured more soul energy into them.
The ninja blades floated upward as if held by an invisible hand. At this moment, Anya employed the Spirit Control Technique, manipulating the blades through the combined power of chakra and soul force. As Anya's will surged forth, the blades carved a graceful arc through the air, cutting through the air like cold autumn waters—clear and merciless, slamming deep into the wall, half the blade buried in the stone.
Success.
A surge of joy rose in Anya's heart. He tried again with a second blade. Just like before, the two blades, controlled by his soul force, embedded themselves into the wall. It worked. Soul force alone had little impact unless it penetrated someone's body—but when fused with chakra and bound to a blade, it enabled the weapon to move as if guided by invisible hands.
Anya named this new sword technique: [Sword Manipulation Art].
Right now, even though the Sword Manipulation Art could reach enemies from afar, its destructive power was still low—less effective than even a Fireball Jutsu. Its practicality still needed improvement. However, what if he could control tens of thousands at once—like he did with his soul fragments? Then the power would undergo a qualitative leap.
Of course, that was just a thought for now. With his current level of chakra, he couldn't possibly control that many blades at once.
Moreover, these are just ordinary ninja blades. If they were replaced with blades that could absorb chakra, their power would definitely increase by a level. It would be similar to White Fang's White Fang Blade, which is a chakra-infused blade. In White Fang's hands, it was nearly indestructible. Unfortunately, after he passed away, the blade lost its former glory and became dull.
At this moment, Anya found his thoughts unexpectedly drifting to the blades held by the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist. Those blades seemed to be inheritable, each possessing unique effects and high practicality.
He asked Haku, "Do you know where has good ninja blade forging craftsmanship?"
"Crafting weapons?" Haku considered for a moment before replying, "That can only be the Land of the Blacksmiths."
"Is that so?" Anya murmured to himself, "Looks like I should pay a visit there when I get the chance."
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