By the lakeside, The Genie sank his waist, holding the Kusanagi Sword at his left side. His right hand gripped the hilt as he took the stance of a swordsman ready to draw.
Inside his mind, Orochimaru focused completely, his attention fixed on every change in the body.
In The Genie's words, the wide range of weapons in the shinobi world was more "many but shallow." Still, it wasn't like this world lacked skilled swordsmen. There were powerful techniques here too.
Like Hatake Sakumo, who made the Konoha-style swordsmanship famous as "White Fang." Or Senju Tobirama, who mastered the deadly Flying Thunder God Slash…
Orochimaru thought he knew a little, and now he couldn't wait to see what kind of swordsmanship came from another world.
"Water Breathing…"
The Genie clenched his teeth as his mouth drew in a strong breath. In front of him, a swirling current of air appeared, rushing endlessly into his throat.
In an instant, Orochimaru felt his own chest swell, his lungs greedily pulling in air.
"Thump, thump, thump…"
His heartbeat pounded like a war drum. From the lungs as the source, each drop of oxygen-filled blood raced through his body like charging soldiers.
Orochimaru could feel his physical strength rising at an incredible speed.
From the outside, Orochimaru's body looked as if it had swelled, every vein on his pale skin showing clearly.
He wanted to breathe out, but his body was being controlled by The Genie of the lamp.
And The Genie kept inhaling, forcing a brutal rhythm into the body, carving the habit of "breathing techniques" into it.
Breathing techniques were the foundation of swordsmanship. Every Isshiki strike needed the power that came from them.
Now, Orochimaru started to understand why The Genie's words had sounded so frightening.
This training clearly wasn't something that could be mastered overnight. The body needed time to adapt, a process that could take years.
And yet he was being forced to cover in minutes what would take others years. The pressure on his body was unimaginable.
Shortcuts really weren't easy.
Just when Orochimaru thought the oxygen would burst him open, his body moved.
Then came a flood of continuous sword strikes like mountains crashing and waves surging.
"Water Breathing, First Form: Straight Slash!"
"..."
"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Twisting Whirlpool!"
"..."
"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flow!"
…
Chakra flowed into the Kusanagi sword. Strike after strike, over and over, until the calm lake was stirred into roaring waves.
On the shore, the two who were openly watching exchanged glances. In each other's eyes they saw the same shock—though Kakashi's was even deeper.
Coming from a long line of knowledge, Kakashi had a deep grasp of swordsmanship in Konoha, and even across the whole shinobi world.
In his mind, or rather in the common view of all ninja, swordsmanship was just a killing tool, no different from shuriken throwing, ninjutsu, or explosive tags.
Close combat? Use taijutsu and kunai.
Long-range sneak attacks or interference? Use shuriken or explosive tags.
Against large groups? Use ninjutsu to clear the field.
Ninjas had countless tricks, using every kind of attack where it fit best.
Kakashi always saw the Third Hokage as the perfect example of a shinobi, because no matter the enemy, he could always find the right way to strike.
But today, he was seeing another standard on a different path.
The swordsmanship Orochimaru displayed went against the norm of the shinobi world.
Close combat? Take my blade!
Long-range harassment? Take my blade!
Against a group? Take my blade!
How could swordsmanship be treated as something so limited!
In Orochimaru's strikes, Kakashi saw a complete system of swordsmanship.
Before this, all he had ever seen were just sword moves.
Even his own father was only a ninja strong in close combat with a blade, not a true swordsman.
"So strong," Guy muttered under his breath.
He didn't have Kakashi's knowledge, so he couldn't tell how Orochimaru's swordsmanship differed from others, but there was one thing he could clearly see.
Orochimaru's swordsmanship was tight and controlled. Not a shred of chakra was wasted in his movements—every bit of power was gathered into the sword.
If Guy could learn that kind of control, it would greatly help his taijutsu.
He scratched his head, wondering if Orochimaru-sama might still need a student.
Well... even if he didn't, it was fine. If Guy worked hard enough, he was sure he could win him over.
…
"Inhale… exhale…"
"Inhale… exhale…"
— ¶ —————————————————————
His body was slowly adapting, and his sword moves were getting sharper.
With a sword in hand, the world was his!
As someone experiencing it firsthand, Orochimaru's understanding went deeper than Kakashi or Guy's.
A sword style pushed to its peak was truly extraordinary. The genie's words hadn't been an exaggeration at all—in fact, he had held back.
Orochimaru could feel that, with the flow of the breathing technique, the Kusanagi Sword carried not only chakra but also another special kind of energy.
It was this energy that raised the power of the sword techniques to a new level, enough to let him stand toe-to-toe with Kage-level fighters before the move even finished.
At this point, after some ninjutsu lessons, his chakra reserves were only at Chunin level, and his natural body strength was barely that of a Jonin.
And yet, with that kind of "hardware," he could clash with a Kage for a short while. The "Water Breathing" was simply unbelievable.
So, once he had fully memorized the sword moves, Orochimaru split his focus, putting part of his mind into probing the energy within the Kusanagi Sword, hoping to uncover its hidden power.
But the moment he touched it, a wave of calm, gentle intent instantly wrapped his mind and pulled his awareness along a path toward its source.
It was like he had fallen under a genjutsu. He couldn't even focus on sword training anymore, his thoughts slipping further away.
If it went on, Orochimaru's consciousness would be completely erased.
"Heh..."
The genie let out a mocking laugh, booming like thunder inside Orochimaru's mind, snapping him out of his daze in an instant.
"So close. Just a little more and I would've scored my first host kill achievement—and the funniest kind, too."
Ignoring the genie's teasing, Orochimaru asked in shock, "The energy on this blade... could it be natural energy?"
"Maybe."
The genie's answer was vague. "But it's not the same as what you're imagining."
Orochimaru fell silent, sinking into deep thought.
Just as the genie said, the energy on the Kusanagi Sword was related to natural energy, but not the same as the kind from Ryuchi Cave. It was incredibly pure, without the slightest trace of impurity.
That was why he hadn't recognized it right away.
Impurities weren't always a bad thing. Though they caused bodily mutations, at least they allowed people to use senjutsu.
But this... just a brief touch had nearly drowned his mind in nature itself. It was something humans simply couldn't control.
Still, swordsmanship from another world had given him a new idea.
They used their swords to carry natural energy... so could he also use an external object to handle natural energy?
Orochimaru was itching to try it.
"No need to go that far. There's still one last move you haven't tested." The genie smirked. "If you can pull it off, you might get a chance to use natural energy too."