〖Year Seventeen〗

Your physical potential has been developed to 99%.

At this moment, your soul has finally caught up with your body in strength. Once the final resonance is achieved—soul and body fully fused—you'll be able to step into the realm once reached by the old Sword Saint.

...

〖Year Eighteen〗

You further refined your barehanded sword techniques and, in doing so, ascended to the level of Sword Intent.

Mifune came to visit once again. Having survived the Great Ninja War, he now appeared aged beyond recognition. However, his swordsmanship had barely improved. His potential had only advanced a single step, and his strength was beginning to decline.

Mifune brought with him a young stranger—his new disciple and the future successor of the Land of Iron.

They had come hoping you would pass on your Sword Intent and Breathing Technique.

But you knew both could only be understood, not taught with words. So, just like the old Sword Saint had once done for you, you demonstrated your swordsmanship and instructed the boy to pay close attention to your breathing rhythm.

...

〖Year Nineteen〗

After grasping only a surface-level understanding of your swordsmanship and a crude imitation of your breathing technique, Mifune's disciple realized he could not go any further. He took the initiative to bid farewell and left.

By this time, you had long since withdrawn from worldly affairs.

To you, nothing else mattered except stepping into the old Sword Saint's realm and uncovering the "shackles" he once spoke of.

...

〖Year Twenty〗

You practiced sword techniques through your ant clone on the ground and felt you had exhausted every sword style in existence.

So you combined everything you knew—taijutsu and swordsmanship—fusing them together into one seamless discipline.

In an instant, wind and clouds roared inside the cavern, just like when the old Sword Saint had broken through—but this time, the phenomenon was even more intense.

A gleam burst forth in your eyes as your soul and body finally fused completely. Your potential was fully unlocked.

A translucent sword suddenly appeared in your spiritual world...

Recalling the words of the old Sword Saint, you knew this small sword was the embodiment of your swordsmanship. It could be called the "Ultimate Meaning".

It symbolized that you had reached the pinnacle of the sword path, and from the peak, had taken a step further—this was the product of that breakthrough.

You retracted your presence entirely. At this moment, no chakra, no residual Sage Art energy, nor anything else leaked from your body. Everything was completely restrained.

From the outside, apart from the pair of horns on your head, you looked no different from an ordinary person...

...

〖Year Twenty-One〗

After meeting the old Sword Saint, you realized that the Shinobi World was far vaster than you had imagined.

As the former dwelling place of gods, even after countless wars and erosion over millennia, there were bound to be remnants left behind.

For example: the mysterious Breathing Technique that could only be grasped, not explained... or the rune-engraved broken sword in your hand, as hard as a Divine Tool prototype, yet whose purpose remained unknown...

It became clear—there are countless ways to increase one's strength in the Shinobi World.

And ninjutsu is merely the quickest and most side-effect-ridden method among them.

With the widespread use of chakra, these other methods had been squeezed into the corners of the Shinobi World. It was time to reclaim them...

You stepped out of the cave and discovered that, even without using chakra or any Kekkei Genkai, you could still remain airborne for a time—simply through your perfect control over your body.

You decided to walk along the shores of the Shinobi World, using the ocean's waves to further refine your Sword's Ultimate Meaning...

...

〖Year Twenty-Two〗

You wandered the cliff-lined coasts of the Land of Lightning, listening to the waves crash against the shore, and felt unexpected joy rise from within.

The Sword's Ultimate Meaning within your soul cheered, and the water-nature chakra in your body danced with excitement.

Without realizing it, you used your palm as a sword, standing atop a jagged rock, and began to dance amidst the raging waves.

In that moment, swordlight and ocean waves clashed and raged, creating a towering beam of light that pierced the heavens. The surrounding environment grew increasingly chaotic—natural energy fluctuated wildly. Even ordinary civilians in the eastern part of the Land of Lightning could sense this terrifying power and turned their gazes toward you.

News reached Kumogakure. The Fourth Raikage, suspecting Konohagakure was behind it, hurriedly led a squad to investigate.

At the same time, the newly completed chakra cannon was aimed directly at your location.

Then, during your sword dance, a crystal as blue as the ocean—glimmering like pure water—was drawn out from the waves and began to slowly take shape in midair.

You stared at the crystal.

It was the Rule of Water.

You hadn't expected that, upon reaching the Sword's Ultimate Meaning, you'd be able to so effortlessly draw forth the Rule power you'd long sought from the natural world.

At the same time, people throughout the Land of Lightning were drawn to the scene, their gazes fixed on you. Some were even consumed by greed, rushing toward the source.

Among them were the Raikage and his accompanying team.

You rose into the air, your eyes releasing invisible swordlight that slashed a colossal whale-like beast—emerging from the ocean to seize the Rule of Water—in two.

The Rule of Water entered your body, first circulating through your flesh to temper it, then surging into your soul and merging with your Sword's Ultimate Meaning.

The once-transparent small sword turned deep blue and glided through your mind.

The Rule of Water, newly acquired, had been completely mastered by you. It even fused seamlessly with your Ultimate Meaning.

With your grasp of this Rule power, the chaotic natural energy around you calmed once more. The once-roaring coastline now stood as still as a mirror.

You realized: this Sword's Ultimate Meaning, attained through relentless cultivation, the fusion of body and soul, and the culmination of all sword techniques under heaven—was a force equal to that of Rule Power!

One represented the pinnacle of human will.

The other, the manifestation of raw power.

What you had just accomplished... was to use the will of man to stir the power of nature—drawing it forth from the world itself.

The two forces could not only be fused, but also separated at will. Unlike irreversible Divine Authority, they suited your vision for the future more perfectly.

...

At that moment, the Fourth Raikage arrived.

But with the disappearance of the Rule of Water, he felt a strange emptiness inside, as if he'd just lost something priceless. So did those with him.

With this resentment, they shouted at you—sitting cross-legged atop a reef in quiet contemplation—demanding to know whether all that chaos had been your doing.

You opened your eyes, gave a slight nod, and exchanged glances with the Fourth Raikage. The sharpness in your gaze alone caused his legs to weaken.

With a single leap, you landed back on the coast and proposed a sparring match.

But the Raikage didn't dare.

After a few excuses, he retreated with his men.

You, however, continued gazing in the direction of Kumogakure.

"How incredibly rude..."

...

The next moment, the chakra cannon fired at full power—a torrent of chakra engulfed you.

It was, without a doubt, the most powerful weapon a mortal on this planet could wield!

You didn't doubt it for a second: if the chakra cannon were aimed flat and fired several times, it could wipe any of the Five Great Nations off the map.

But facing this weapon, you simply took a deep breath—

And split the overwhelming chakra flood barehanded.

With one strike, sea and sky were torn apart!

Clouds above were blown aside. A massive wave, a hundred meters tall, surged from the shore. The land beneath your feet cracked open into a gigantic rift stretching east to west across the entire Land of Lightning!

...

You suppressed your aura once more, but felt intensely hungry—so much so that even a rock looked edible. Though your power hadn't diminished, the void left by mastering Rule Power left you starving.

Fortunately, the giant fish you had just cut in half contained rich natural energy in its flesh—likely a powerful sage beast drawn by the appearance of the Rule of Water.

Now, it was your meal.

You gathered natural energy and used Inorganic Reincarnation to carve a massive pot from the rock wall.

Then, you sliced the giant fish into chunks, dropped them into the broth formed by the Rule of Water, and snapped your fingers to ignite the seawater below with your Flame Release.

You cooked the fish.

And in doing so, replenished the emptiness and energy drain left behind by your recent breakthrough...