〖Sixth Month〗

You immerse yourself wholeheartedly in swordsmanship training.

Now, even if you suppress your power and keep your strength below that of an average person, you can still defeat the so-called masters of the sword dojo.

Even those top-tier kendo practitioners, revered as masters, are no longer insurmountable mountains in your eyes.

However, you still feel that your mastery over strength and development of potential can't quite match theirs.

You activate your Tenseigan and carefully observe your own body under the boost of Ocular Power.

You find that the glow representing your potential development, though much brighter than before training swordsmanship, only reflects about 20% of your potential being tapped.

Yet, even with this less than 20% potential, while desperately suppressing your strength, you can still compete with masters who have unlocked over 80% of their potential...

You think this is because you possess two powerful bloodline abilities, plus many Kekkei Genkai, which push your body's potential far beyond that of ordinary humans.

However, the glow representing your potential may not fully represent your true grasp of the Realm of Intent.

You realize

only by fighting at full strength on equal footing can you truly develop your potential!

Or, by suppressing your power even further and repeatedly overcoming stronger opponents as a weakling, you can improve potential even more...

But both methods are hard to achieve:

Currently, there's no opponent in the shinobi world who can let you unleash your full power freely for training. At Six Paths level, in this world, you either kill instantly or get killed, so proper training is impossible.

Another method is to use your clone to split your strength. This works for short-term practice of techniques, but over time, bad habits cause you to overlook subtle flaws, leading to misjudgment and bottlenecks in your progress.

For now, your only choice is to continue suppressing your power and spar with sword masters, accumulating enough foundation in swordsmanship to eventually burst forth with power...

...

〖Sixth Month〗

You keep honing your techniques and Realm of Intent by relying on the strength of the sword masters from the Land of Iron.

Even though you haven't found a new sword master to challenge, you use your clone constantly to seek weaknesses in your own techniques and sharpen your touch.

At this point, your understanding of swordsmanship matches that of those recognized as masters in the Land of Iron.

These masters generally have no chakra training; they rely on well-trained bodies of ordinary people combined with swordsmanship and their Realm of Intent strength to rival elite Jonin-level shinobi!

This clearly shows the importance of Realm of Intent for boosting strength and developing potential...

Meanwhile, you have also gained insight into your own swordsmanship Realm of Intent — to forge yourself into an indestructible sword!

...

〖Seventh Month〗

You try abandoning your physical sword.

Instead, you adapt your soft fist and steel fist styles to blend with swordsmanship, turning your hands and feet into blades, and challenge the major dojos once again.

When you defeat all the major dojos bare-handed, your understanding of swordsmanship surpasses that of the Land of Iron's sword masters who can rival elite Jonin!

Currently, even when suppressing your body's strength, speed, and endurance to human levels, your adapted bare-handed sword techniques can still unleash strength far beyond elite Jonin!

You decide to head to the Land of Iron's capital city, aiming to challenge Mifune and other top swordsmanship practitioners there.

...

〖Eighth Month〗

You find that the sword masters in the capital emit a much brighter glow of potential than the outside masters.

Their potential development is basically around 85% to nearly 90%.

This level is no longer something an average Jonin can reach.

No wonder — the Land of Iron is a country of warriors who do not prioritize chakra training and even somewhat resist it, yet they maintain neutral power!

Though chakra training develops potential rapidly, allowing quick use of various ninjutsu, swordsmanship also develops potential, though much slower.

But once developed, it grants strong power even in normal conditions.

Plus, it doesn't consume lifespan.

Therefore, although the Land of Iron lacks top-tier experts, their average strength far surpasses the shinobi villages...

With your suppressed power, your self-created "bare-handed swordsmanship" can no longer defeat the sword masters here; at best, you can draw even.

Only when you wield your iron sword again can you beat them.

...

〖Ninth Month〗

You continually train with the strongest sword practitioners in the Land of Iron's capital, finally perfecting your bare-handed swordsmanship enough to defeat them.

At the same time, your understanding of sword intent surpasses before.

Some even consider it an honor that you would challenge them after defeat.

They say that your grasp of swordsmanship now qualifies you to challenge Mifune and other top swordsmen of the Land of Iron — those known as Sword Masters...

You observe yourself and find the glow from within growing brighter, roughly indicating about 30% of your potential unlocked.

But the current average masters in the Land of Iron are no longer enough to inspire breakthroughs.

You decide to perfect your techniques further before challenging the Sword Masters.

...

〖Tenth Month〗

You interrogate Black Zetsu again, but gain nothing.

Not only that, Black Zetsu fully believes you are from the Ōtsutsuki clan, responsible for capturing the traitorous branch family, and stubbornly refuses to say a single word about the Divine Tree or Kaguya.

Giving up on interrogation, you head to the outskirts and split your power into your clone.

You spar with your clone repeatedly, polishing your techniques.

Eventually, believing further refinement won't bring improvement, you return to the Land of Iron and challenge the Sword Masters.

...

〖Eleventh Month〗

At first meeting the Sword Masters, you're shocked by the glow they emit.

Each shines comparably to Might Guy, some even stronger—ordinary bodies standing shoulder to shoulder with elite Jonin-level power.

Once you look beyond the ninja world, you realize it never lacks those willing to train hard and eventually succeed.

Paths other than ninjutsu for self-improvement also exist...

Except for the Eight Gates technique, surpassing 100% human limits, these masters stand at the pinnacle of taijutsu training!

After initial defeats, you quickly adapt to the Sword Masters' understanding of swordsmanship and Realm of Intent and integrate it into your bare-handed swordsmanship.

Before long, relying on your mortal body, you defeat Mifune—the strongest among the Sword Masters—with your bare-handed swordsmanship.

...

〖Twelfth Month〗

Although you have defeated all the sword experts in the Land of Iron using your self-created "bare-handed swordsmanship," you find the glow inside you, representing potential unlocked, still hasn't reached 40%.

While sparring with your clone, you constantly ponder how to break through.

The ninja path has reached its end for you; becoming a god is an irreversible path.

Apart from those, you've found another path.

You believe it can be called swordsmanship, or more broadly, martial way—

Through constant training of spirit and body, you develop your potential and perfectly master yourself.

But now, even with swordsmanship taken to its limit, your potential development still doesn't exceed half.

Your body's foundation is too strong.

Methods that allow ordinary people to reach their limits simply aren't enough for you.

Where exactly do you start?

At this moment, Mifune finds you and says he will introduce you to the Sword Saint!

Sword Saint?

This is a name you've never heard before during your time as a shinobi...

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