Only use swordsmanship?
Seriously?
Even Shigure couldn't possibly handle every elite Kirigakure shinobi present using only kenjutsu… could he?
Several Hidden Mist jōnin exchanged uneasy glances.
Shigure was a Jinchūriki — and more importantly — someone Mei Terumī had brought back from outside the Village.
Someone like that couldn't just walk into the Mizukage's seat without being tested first.
Even if he was to become Mizukage, they would first need to see his worth.
Without warning—
Shigure took a single step forward.
In the next instant, Body Flicker Technique.
He appeared in the center of the water arena in a blur.
Zabuza and the others instinctively retreated, clearing the space for him.
Shigure stood upon the calm water, expression casual.
"This surface is too calm."
The moment his voice fell—
The reservoir churned violently.
Turbulent waves surged three to four meters high — making it difficult for even veteran Mist shinobi to maintain footing.
Shigure stood atop the peak of a rolling wave as effortlessly as if he were on solid ground — steady, controlled… regal.
"Come."
His voice echoed across the water.
The jōnin who had doubted him slowly closed their hanging jaws.
Then their eyes hardened.
They drew their swords and rushed forward from three directions. They didn't want the swords… they wanted to block his rise.
As jōnin, their strength was nothing to scoff at.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
A massive torrent twisted upward on command, forming a raging water dragon that roared toward Shigure.
A Ninjutsu test.
Shigure simply exhaled — amused.
He slowly raised Zangetsu in one hand.
It had been some time since he used this style. But now? He was stronger than ever.
He breathed in, deeply—
Water Breathing — First Form: Water Surface Slash.
His blade cut forward in a single fluid arc —
SHRRAAASSSH!!!
The Water Dragon split cleanly in mid-air and collapsed into harmless spray.
The two jōnin charging from left and right froze for a heartbeat.
That swordsmanship…
It channeled Water Release through pure kenjutsu.
No signs of hand seals.
Who on earth fights like this?!
Yet there was no time to be stunned.
They thrust their blades — one aiming for Shigure's chest, the other for his shoulder — intending not to kill, but to cripple. A wound severe enough to deny him command.
But—
Shigure raised only his left hand.
Two fingers extended.
CLAMP.
He pinched the first blade effortlessly — and used it as a pivot to stop the second.
Clang! Clang!
Steel screeched.
Both attackers stared in disbelief.
The water beneath Shigure suddenly surged—
SPLASH!
A third jōnin burst upward, blade angling straight for Shigure's jaw.
CLANG!!
Sparks burst outward as Zangetsu intercepted the upward thrust.
Even while blocking, Shigure's black blade didn't budge in the slightest— as though an iron pillar anchored in the storming sea.
"Your strength is too weak."
With nothing more than a subtle flick of his wrist—
BAM! BAM!
He sent both swordsmen on his flanks flying backward, blades torn from their grips.
Shigure stepped forward once.
Zangetsu rose.
His voice was cold and clear.
Water Breathing — Sixth Form: Whirlpool!
He spun—one clean rotation.
The surface of the arena heaved violently as the waters spiraled upward, forming a towering aquatic vortex.
All three jōnin were sucked into the raging current.
The water whipped at their bodies mercilessly, carving fresh cuts into their skin within seconds.
When the cyclone finally dispersed—
Gasps broke across the stands.
Shigure had not used a single Ninjutsu.
And yet the destructive force of his pure swordsmanship rivaled Water Release techniques of the highest level.
"What… what technique is that?"
A bewildered genin stared wide-eyed.
"I don't know…" a chūnin murmured, equally confused.
"I've never seen swordsmanship like that before…"
A jōnin whispered under his breath:
"To blend chakra into kenjutsu like this… What kind of monster-level skill is that…?"
All eyes turned skyward—rainwater cascading down in droplets like silver threads.
Shigure remained unmoving.
The waves obeyed him.
The battlefield obeyed him.
And he still wasn't done.
Water Breathing — Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Three columns of water crashed down like divine judgment.
The jōnin were smashed into the reservoir floor, suppressed beneath the weight of the torrent.
Shigure reversed the blade and sheathed Zangetsu with a soft metallic click.
He hadn't even taken a single step.
Two techniques.
Three elite Hidden Mist jōnin defeated.
The arena was silent—stunned into reverence.
Curiosity burned hotter than fear now.
Water Breathing…?
A breathing method?
A style? A discipline? A weapon in itself?
The defeated shinobi resurfaced, pale and shaken.
Shigure snapped his fingers—
Streams of water instantly wrapped around their injuries like living silk.
Their wounds closed. Their pain vanished.
Only awe remained.
They had witnessed the vast abyss between their blades and his.
A hesitant voice finally broke the silence:
"Lord Shigure… was that really just swordsmanship?"
Shigure faced them calmly.
"Of course. It is a style called Water Breathing—a blade art I developed myself."
Gasps echoed.
"He developed it himself?!"
"To channel chakra with swordsmanship alone…"
Shigure raised a brow.
"Do you want to learn it?"
That question froze the poor shinobi in place—
Then, vigorously, he nodded.
"I—I want to learn!"
Then dozens of voices.
"I want to learn too!"
"Please teach us!"
"Lord Shigure!"
Shigure smiled faintly.
"Anyone may learn. However, before mastering Water Breathing, you must first undergo Breathing Training. If you can endure and master that, report to Oshiro Mumei. He will guide you in Water Breathing swordsmanship."
Cheers erupted.
"If I can master a style like this, I'll become so much stronger!"
"This will change everything for the Village!"
Mei Terumī watched with satisfaction.
The shinobi below no longer saw Shigure as an outsider—
but as a pillar of their future.
Ao couldn't help but murmur in awe:
"In time… this sword style may become a signature of Kirigakure. Coveted across the entire shinobi world."
A symbol of the Hidden Mist Village.
Water Breathing Swordsmanship.
That… sounded very good indeed.
...
TN:
🔟 Pa-treon-com/LordMerlin (Support me! 😊)