Naruto: I have Ten Skill Bars

[Passive Skill: Breathing Swordsmanship]

[First Sequence Completed]

Shigure swung his blade again. This time, the flowing sound it produced was noticeably louder.

The wave of energy created by the motion surged forward like a current, tearing through the air.

Crack!

It effortlessly sliced through a tree branch.

Though the "flow" produced by manipulating the elemental nature of chakra wasn't incredibly fast, the cutting force generated by the high-speed oscillation was devastating.

[Calculating...]

[% Progress...]

With just one breath cycle completed, the calculation progress ticked up a few percent.

Not much, but good enough—Shigure didn't need to waste any more time manually working through the calculations. From here on, the Great Sage and the passive skill bar could handle it.

"One full cycle takes three minutes, and each one increases calculation speed by a bit..."

"That means I can complete one full calculation in just a few cycles!"

According to the Great Sage, once the calculation is complete, it should boost the strength of at least one or two sword forms.

To finish optimizing the remaining five sword forms, he'd need to run the full calculation four more times.

That's about a few hours—less than a day.

Nothing to worry about.

Each cycle of breathing training also enhanced his chakra attributes, physical strength, and speed.

Clearly, this skill offered more than just sword techniques. At this point, Breathing Swordsmanship was more akin to a type of ninjutsu than anything else.

Shigure was very satisfied.

He really appreciated how the Great Sage handled all the processing.

Of course, since the current calculations were tied up with breathing optimization, he couldn't use it for anything else just yet.

Still, that was fine. He had his priorities straight.

Originally, he'd considered calculating each sword form separately. Technically, each form could be treated as its own skill.

But starting the calculation from the sixth form onward would've been faster, though far less effective in the long run.

Instead, by completing a full-system calculation, not only would the newer forms be perfected, but even the earlier ones would be enhanced overall.

That would make the entire sword style much more refined.

Naruto version of breathing swordsmanship—achieved!

He'd successfully adapted breathing techniques into a ninja-compatible form.

"With this level of swordsmanship, I really need a proper ninja blade."

Shigure glanced at the sword in his hand. It wasn't bad, but it clearly couldn't bring out the full potential of his breathing forms.

"I'll need to get up early tomorrow and visit Konoha's largest ninja tool shop," he muttered. "Either find a top-tier blade or get one custom-forged."

He looked up at the moonlight.

"Stayed up late again…"

When he finally got home, he collapsed into bed and fell asleep instantly.

The Next Morning

Shigure woke up feeling overflowing with energy—his chakra reserves were bursting.

They'd tripled overnight.

If measured against the standard of a regular ninja, his current chakra was about 350 times greater than the average.

It was a monstrous amount—probably rivaled only by the legendary members of the Senju clan in Konoha's history.

Even Naruto, heir of the Uzumaki clan, might fall short compared to this raw chakra pool.

Shigure couldn't help but grin.

After washing up and eating breakfast, he headed out early.

Soon, he arrived in front of Konoha's largest ninja tool shop. He paused to take in the store's appearance but hadn't entered yet.

Just then, someone fiddling with ninja tools outside the entrance turned to face him.

Shigure froze for a moment.

'...Tenten?'

It was Tenten—a well-known kunoichi of Konoha. The richest woman in the entire village, if you asked around. Her fighting style? Unmatched among kunoichi. Why?

Because every single weapon she hurled… was basically money.

Even if Tenten could retrieve most of her thrown weapons, the sheer volume of gear she carried around was ridiculous. If anyone deserved the title of Konoha's Richest Woman, it was her.

"Hey, kid—looking to buy some ninja tools?"

Tenten gave Shigure a glance. He was a bit taller than her, but his face still had that unmistakable childish look.

She didn't recognize him, and as someone familiar with most of Konoha's Genin, that stood out.

He probably wasn't a ninja.

Still... he was kind of cute. She couldn't help but reach up and casually adjust her hair.

"Yeah," Shigure said confidently. "I'm here to buy a ninja sword."

"...A ninja sword?"

Tenten stared at him like he'd just announced he wanted to buy a summoning contract.

It was one thing for a non-ninja to shop for basic tools. But a ninja sword?

Even among actual Genin, very few could wield one properly. Just being able to use kunai proficiently was already a major milestone.

"You're not even a ninja, are you?" she asked, squinting at him.

"I haven't graduated yet," Shigure replied casually. "I'm a student at the Konoha Ninja Academy—Gekkō Shigure."

He purposely emphasized the "student" part. After all, ninja tools weren't something ordinary civilians could buy on a whim.

"...Gekkō Shigure? From the Moonlight clan?"

Tenten raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm... Even if you're in the Academy, why a ninja sword? You're not even a Genin yet. Do you even know how to use one?"

She looked at him with a mix of curiosity and doubt. Handsome or not, this kid seemed a little clueless.

After all, ninja swords weren't toys. They required proper training. And the Gekkō clan—while having some ties to swordsmanship thanks to Gekkō Hayate—weren't exactly known for producing top-tier swordsmen.

Not only had he not graduated yet, but he was also aiming for a sword style most Genin never touched.

Typical overconfidence.

As someone a bit older, Tenten felt it was her duty to talk some sense into him.

"Look, fighting with a ninja sword might look cool, but if you don't have the talent, it's better to forget it—"

But Shigure smiled faintly. "That's none of your concern, is it? Whether I can use it or not is my business. I just came here to buy a sword."

Tenten froze for a moment.

She'd meant it as a kind warning. But the kid didn't seem to appreciate it.

With a sigh, she set down the ninja tools she'd been sorting.

"Why are all you kids like this? Not even graduated and already acting so full of yourselves!"

"I'm telling you this for your own good!"

"There are only a few ninja in all of Konoha who can fight with a sword. You think swordsmanship is easy?"

"You probably can't even throw a shuriken properly, and now you want to wield a blade?"

Shigure gave a soft sigh.

"…You people really don't like making money, huh?"

"Hmph! Even if I sold you a ninja sword, you'd probably just hurt yourself. Then we'd get blamed, and our shop's reputation would take a hit. Not worth the profit…"

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a shuriken zipped through the air—so fast it barely made a sound—and shot past Tenten's ear.

Thunk!

It embedded itself deeply into the wall behind her with a crack.

The force behind it was staggering.

The shuriken had buried itself completely into solid wood.

Tenten stared.

"That speed…"

She turned and examined the wall—there was a spiderweb of cracks around the impact point. The weapon had pierced in so deep, she couldn't even see its edges anymore.

"That kind of force…"

For someone who looked so scrawny, he had monstrous strength.

He might even rival Lee in raw power...

Tenten slowly turned back to face Shigure, a newfound seriousness in her eyes.

"…Who is this kid?"

...

TN:

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