Naruto: I have Ten Skill Bars

A small forest outside Konoha.

The usual spot.

Shigure arrived with his ninja sword in hand. This place had long become his private training ground—isolated and peaceful. No one ever came here.

He unsheathed the blade and casually tossed the scabbard aside.

Thunk!

It slammed into a nearby tree trunk, embedding itself deep into the wood.

With his current physical strength, even a careless toss like that carried a force exceeding a thousand pounds. By now, Shigure's physique was easily ten times stronger than the average shinobi.

In terms of raw power alone, he might even give Captain America a run for his money.

Sword in hand, Shigure walked to the center of the clearing. The grass here had long been worn away, leaving behind a barren stretch of gravel and dirt—scarred by countless hours of relentless training.

Above him, the moon cast pale silver light, stretching his shadow across the rocky ground.

He exhaled slowly, focusing his thoughts.

"Alright… let's see if Calculation can really take me where I want to go."

[Great Sage: Would you like to activate Accelerated Thinking?]

Huh? Accelerated Thinking?

Shigure blinked. "Is that… a new ability?"

[Great Sage: It is not new. This function was damaged previously but has now been restored.]

"Tch. Then why didn't you say so earlier?"

[Great Sage: Understood. I will report all future restorations immediately.]

Honestly, having to manually request these features was getting annoying.

Shigure sighed. "Alright, then. What exactly does this ability do?"

[Great Sage: As the name implies, it enhances perception speed up to a thousand-fold. Additionally, it improves cognitive processing and supports the development of new skills.]

A thousand times?

Just imagining it felt surreal.

To others, a flash of light might come and go in an instant. But to Shigure, with Accelerated Thinking enabled, he could see every detail—every particle, every movement—like time had slowed down just for him.

[Calculation Initialized.]

[Beginning preliminary analysis based on host's intention and existing skill set.]

[Current skill focus: Konoha-ryū Sword Style – Elemental Integration]

"Alright," Shigure muttered. "Let's do this."

Apparently, he didn't need to do anything right now?

[Great Sage: The host may continue practicing Konoha-style swordsmanship. At the same time, attempt to infuse elemental chakra as much as possible. All data gathered will be analyzed in real time to accelerate the calculation process.]

"Finally. Something straightforward," Shigure muttered, and gripped the hilt of his sword.

As he flowed through the forms of the Konoha-ryū Sword Style, something shifted.

With Accelerated Thinking activated, his awareness expanded.

Every movement felt cleaner.

Every transition smoother.

Even his chakra—normally a conscious effort to mold and control—responded instantly.

Without hesitation, he began infusing chakra into his blade.

Blue light flared to life across the edge.

A subtle crackle of electricity flickered along the steel.

Lightning chakra.

He had done it.

He'd actually done it on the first try.

A feat that would have once required weeks of practice now felt natural.

[%]

[%]

[%]

[%]

The calculation progress began to spike.

Faster than before. Sharper.

Even Shigure was surprised.

"Huh. So this is how it's supposed to feel..."

He continued moving, weaving his sword forms together while maintaining the elemental infusion.

But as he attempted to apply the elemental transformation mid-swing, the chakra flow broke.

The lightning dispersed.

Maintaining elemental chakra during active sword combat wasn't so simple after all.

And that made sense.

If it were easy, elemental swordsmanship would already be common in the shinobi world.

Still, that failure triggered something unexpected.

[Calculation speed increased.]

"...Seriously?"

Shigure was speechless.

My failure actually helped?

Apparently, the system was using even his mistakes as learning data.

But he wasn't about to quit there.

With Accelerated Thinking still active, his mind clicked into overdrive.

He could feel it—like he was on the verge of grasping something deeper.

He tried again.

Second attempt.

This time, the lightning-infused chakra remained stable throughout the swing.

The blade gleamed with energy, slicing through the night air with a sharp crack of displaced pressure.

But it came at a cost—chakra consumption surged dramatically.

"Damn… the drain is no joke."

Still, he was smiling.

Because this meant it was possible.

He had taken the first step toward creating a new form of chakra swordsmanship—elementally-enhanced kenjutsu.

And with the Great Sage's calculations, it wouldn't just be possible.

It could become something legendary.

From the first form to the tenth, Shigure pushed his body to its limit.

But by the time he reached the fifth form, he could no longer maintain the chakra infusion.

His breathing had grown ragged. The sheer chakra consumption was far beyond what he had anticipated.

Swordsmanship alone was manageable.

But the moment he combined it with chakra nature transformation, the demands on his reserves became monstrous.

Sure, the strikes carried a flashier edge… but the power they produced?

It didn't feel worth the cost.

Shigure furrowed his brows as he wiped sweat from his forehead.

"So this is why elemental swordsmanship isn't a thing in the shinobi world…"

The energy it took to hold chakra nature mid-strike wasn't just difficult—it was inefficient.

The damage output didn't scale proportionally.

It was flashy but wasteful.

No wonder no one invested in this kind of sword art. If the return doesn't match the effort, it's just another flashy trick—not a reliable combat style.

[Calculation complete.]

[Combined Skill: Konoha-ryū Sword Style – Elemental Integration]

[Calculation based on host's conceptual intent complete.]

[New skill generated: Breathing Swordsmanship]

Breathing… Swordsmanship?

The moment the prompt appeared, Shigure's mind was flooded—like a dam breaking.

A surge of memory, instinct, and insight washed over him all at once. Techniques, stances, and forms he hadn't practiced but somehow knew—as if his body remembered what his mind hadn't taught it.

It felt… real.

His fingers tightened around the hilt of his ninja sword.

"Did it… really work?"

His expression sharpened.

He stepped forward, inhaled deeply, and then—cut.

The air sang.

A distinct flow, like wind swirling around a waterfall.

First Form – Surface Slash!

His strike looked clean—but what happened next stunned even him.

A wooden stake five meters ahead split cleanly in half—a surgical cut.

Yet his blade had never touched it.

That was chakra.

That was attribute chakra—amplified, focused, and released through breath and motion.

"Unreal..." Shigure whispered.

Then he continued.

Second Form – Chariot!

Third Form – Flowing Dance!

Fourth Form – Striking Tide!

Fifth Form – Rain of Mercy from the Dry Sky!

Sixth Form – Twisting Whirlpool!

Seventh Form – Shizuku Wave Stab!

Eighth Form – Takitsubo!

Ninth Form – Flowing Spray!

Tenth Form – Flowing Life!

And finally—

Eleventh Form – Nagi!

Shigure's movements flowed from one technique into the next.

Each stance… each breath… each cut…

It all felt right.

But something was off.

After the fifth form, the power began to drop off.

The latter techniques, while elegant, lacked the punch of the early ones. They didn't hit as hard. They didn't cut as deep.

They were incomplete.

[Great Sage: Calculation is not yet complete. Current version approximates memory only. You may continue recalculating to refine and enhance power until the full potential is restored.]

So it wasn't a finished product yet—just a rough draft.

Incomplete calculations... incomplete breathing.

Shigure nodded to himself.

"In that case... it's time to bring in the skill bar."

He immediately slotted Breathing Swordsmanship into his passive skill column.

The system's skill bar would begin accumulating experience with every movement, every breath, every form.

And once it did?

The Great Sage would be able to recalculate again—this time refining the forms until they were exactly as he remembered them.

He smiled to himself.

"It's not perfect yet. But it will be."

Soon.

...

TN:

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