After his training in Thunder Breathing came to an end, Uchiha Bing set off for the location of another trainer.
This was recommended by Maeda Hideki, a comrade from his generation, who was also a retired Grade Kano Swordsman and a trainer specializing in Wind Breathing.
Before he left, Maeda wrote a personal recommendation letter, and Uchiha Bing clutched the recommendation letter, speeding along the way like the wind.
The Wind Breathing trainer did not live very far away; starting from Yamada’s courtyard, crossing a few mountains, at a Ninja’s pace, it took only half a day to arrive.
This was a small wooden cabin built on the edge of a cliff, with no courtyard walls to block it on any side.
The wind at the top of the mountain poured in without obstruction, blowing Uchiha Bing’s uniform rustlingly.
He stood at the door and knocked, but no one was there.
Walking around to the back of the house, he saw a middle-aged man squatting at the edge of the cliff, holding a withered branch in his hand, staring blankly at the sea of clouds below the cliff.
“Senior Maeda Hideki asked me to come find you.” Uchiha Bing handed over the recommendation letter.
The man reached out and took it, didn’t even look at it, tucked it straight into his bosom, and then continued to stare blankly at the sea of clouds.
Uchiha Bing stood quietly to the side, silently circulating Thunder Breathing.
After a moment, the man stood up and turned around.
Only then did Uchiha Bing see his full appearance: his limbs were intact, lacking no arms or legs, and there wasn’t even a scar on his face.
You must know that even the fastest former Sound Hashira broke a leg when he retired, and Maeda Hideki, who also practiced Thunder Breathing, lost an eye, an arm, and a leg even more.
The man in front of him practiced Wind Breathing.
Wind Breathing was not known for defense, relying instead on speed and explosion.
In front of the Twelve Kizuki, its fault tolerance rate was much lower than that of Water Breathing.
How on earth did he retire completely unscathed?
The man seemed to see through his doubts, grinned, and patted his own leg.
“Are you thinking, why is this guy missing no arms or legs?”
Uchiha Bing did not deny it.
“I was lucky and retired early.”
His tone of speaking was very casual, as if he were talking about how strong the wind was today.
“Some of the swordsmen of my generation died on Fujikasane Mountain, some died at the hands of the Lower Moons, and some rose to become Hashira only to be killed by the Upper Moons.
I was lucky and never encountered the Twelve Kizuki before retiring.”
He turned around, facing the sea of clouds below the cliff.
The sound of the wind filled his sleeves, blowing his hair into a mess.
This man’s standing posture was different from other swordsmen; his center of gravity was not firmly planted on the ground, but slightly leaning forward, as if he could be blown away by the wind at any moment, yet could also rush out by borrowing the wind’s force at any moment.
His breathing rhythm was completely different from Maeda’s.
Maeda’s breathing was explosive, with every breath seeming to accumulate the strength for the next strike, whereas this man’s breathing was constantly changing—sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes deep, sometimes shallow.
The rhythm of every inhalation and exhalation varied unpredictably just like the wind.
“You’re the one who came to learn Wind Breathing?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve read Maeda’s letter.
He said you are a Water Breathing swordsman and also learned the basics of Thunder Breathing from him.
What do you think Wind Breathing is?”
“Speed, explosion, and omnipresence.” Uchiha Bing replied based on his impression of wind in nature.
The man turned around, and the withered branch in his hand tapped Uchiha Bing on the forehead—with extreme speed, completely failing to see how he made his move.
“How do you feel the attack speed of Wind Breathing compares to Thunder?”
Uchiha Bing blinked.
He thought about it and then said, “It seems to be quite a bit faster than Thunder Breathing’s striking speed.”
The man nodded.
“Not bad, you still have some comprehension.
Although Thunder Breathing is widely recognized as number one in speed among all Breathing Styles, that only refers to movement speed in footwork.
As for swordsmen who practice my Wind Breathing, they can likewise claim to be the number one Breathing Style in terms of striking speed.”
“Striking speed?”
Uchiha Bing was puzzled.
The man drew the nichirin blade from his waist and instantly slashed out countless times, the blade shadows blurring so much they couldn’t be seen clearly.
He sheathed his blade and turned his head to ask.
“How many strikes did I just execute?”
This person’s action speed was indeed very fast.
Just now, even with Uchiha Bing opening his eyes as wide as possible, he couldn’t clearly see how many strikes were swung.
However, since he asked, he had to answer.
“Legend has it that the legendary swordsman Tsugikuni Yoriichi once encountered the Demon King and slashed out over 1,500 strikes in an instant.
Since Wind Breathing is a tradition passed down from Tsugikuni Yoriichi, I suppose it shouldn’t be too far off.
I guess you slashed out over 200 strikes.”
The man originally wanted to show off his skills, but upon suddenly hearing Uchiha Bing’s rumors about Tsugikuni Yoriichi, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of inferiority while simultaneously yearning for it.
“Tsugikuni Yoriichi, the source of Breathing Styles?
To actually be strong to such an extent.”
The man gave a bitter smile and then said, “It’s not as much as you think, I only struck out around a hundred times.”
Uchiha Bing’s heart tightened.
Based solely on this high-frequency attack sword technique, even if placed in a high-martial world, it could more or less forge a reputation like the Wild Wind Fast Sword.
“Sir, I haven’t asked for your name yet.
I am Uchiha Bing.” Uchiha Bing began to introduce himself.
The man let out a long sigh.
“Maeda was right, you really are an impatient person.
Just call me Kazama.”
Uchiha Bing stayed in the wooden cabin on top of the cliff.
Wind Breathing didn’t have so many complex moves and systems; there were only three core forms—First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter, which uses body rotation to create a whirlwind to scatter enemies, concentrating on a single point to cut them down.
Its attack range is wide and lethality is average, making it suitable for clearing out foot soldiers;
Second Form: Claws-Purifying Wind, a move uniquely created by the Wind Hashira.
The user swings the nichirin blade to release four wind blades, but the difficulty of getting started is relatively high;
Third Form: Clean Storm Wind Tree, a tornado-style high-speed rotating slash with extremely fast speed, suitable for dealing with a single formidable enemy.
Kazama taught very casually, demonstrating it once and then letting him practice on his own, occasionally speaking up to correct him, spending most of his time squatting by the cliff edge watching the clouds.
Wind Breathing itself was not very difficult to learn, but using its core forms was quite difficult.
After all, the moves used in Wind Breathing were solid wind blades slashed out with a sword, not the so-called special effects of other Breathing Styles.
Fortunately, Uchiha Bing’s physical fitness could keep up.
After all, people in the Ninja World naturally had 130 trillion cells, whereas ordinary adult humans on Earth only had 36 trillion cells, making the difference in physical fitness several times over.
A few days later, Kazama sat by the cliff edge watching Uchiha Bing execute the fluid sword forms of Wind Breathing.
“Wind Breathing suits you quite well, but you don’t need to completely abandon Water Breathing either.
With the coordination of Water Breathing, the explosive power of Thunder Breathing, plus the high-frequency burst of Wind Breathing, combining these three Breathing Styles of yours, I think you can come up with your own set of combo techniques.”
“Thank you for these past few days.” Uchiha Bing sheathed his blade.
Kazama did not answer, waving his hand toward the sea of clouds below the cliff as a farewell.