บท 19: Breathing techniques

" hmm it's no reason I was just trying to determine whether the seals I placed here are working, " Izanami said she kept her eyes on the teacup as she leisurely drank her tea.

' huh what seals ' Luna in bewilderment but before she could even ask that question the place they were seated began to be covered by a barrier and moments later many cakes began to fall on them.

" Huh, what the hell is this madness "asked Tunade in surprise. If they were not protected by the barrier all of them would be covered in cakes.

The hashiras all grouped as they surrounded Luna to shield her from any enemies. It was their instinctive response in a place of danger. Although Luna is quite capable of taking care of herself, too much protection is never a bad thing.

But suddenly Izanami who was drinking her tea snapped her fingers making the cake storm stop completely. Even the ones that were in mid-air stopped. " Tsk it seems like the seal was messed up by someone over the years "she grumbled as she drank her tea.

Luna, who was the first to get her bearings back, cautiously touched a cake that was stopped in mid-air and her eyes widened in surprise. " This is all an illusion, " she said in shock.

"Huh, "everyone said in unison as they heard her words. Even Izanamai was surprised at her words.

But unlike others, she was surprised that Luna managed to identify this as an illusion. Although it may not seem like it she is a master of illusions so the seals that produce illusions are her best works. Is she getting sloppy in her seals?

'No that can't be it ' she denied that thought immediately. Although she placed these seals centuries ago and they have seemed to lose most of their effects, it still doesn't change the fact she is a genuine seal grandmaster.

' No, that's wrong. I think I broke through that threshold long before I created these seals. ' she thought as she thought of many possibilities.

' could Luna simply have the talent to look through the illusions, no if she had that ability she may have already seen my original appearance. So it has to be something that has to do with just plain illusions, wait could it be…' Izanami suddenly thought of a very terrifying but absurd idea.

" Hey Luna, how do you preserve the world when you use total consecration? " Izanami asked in a serious tone.

"Huh Oh um when I enter the total consideration world usually loses its colour. " Luna answered her in a flustered tone.

Hearing her answer, the other hashira's had a confused expression. The world loses its colour that sure didn't happen to them. Sure in total concentration they will lose sight of others but even so they didn't experience something like that.

"Hahahahaha finally, finally someone else managed to master that technique "Izanami burst into laughter. Her serious expression was long gone.

" Hey, would you mind explaining this to us, not everyone here understands what you are talking about after all" Tsunade said in a bit of annoyance. She felt that she was being left out from hearing an amusing story.

" hahaaha hahahaa ahem sorry about that, what was your question again? Oh right, you guys have no idea about breathing techniques. " Izanami coughed a little to calm herself. Well, she couldn't help it. The technique Luna used was one of her best friend's special moves. She was a bit sentimental.

" Well Tsunade, although I doubt you have much knowledge about this subject so I will start from the beginning.

Breathing techniques are a type of Kenjutsu. As you might be already aware we need to breathe the air for our body to function. When we run for a mile straight we sometimes feel out of breath. Do you know why, " Izanami asked Tsunade.

Tsunade, hearing the question, thought for a few minutes. In her mind, various possibilities came. Such as not having enough air or blood circulation slowing down. And ultimately she asked, "Is it because the human body is wasting a huge amount of air we breathe? "

"Yes, the human body wastes more than 60% of the air we breathe. 'So what would happen if I could drop the percentage of air we take? 'This is the thought that led me to create the breathing techniques.

For weeks I studied how our blood circulates in the human body and modified my breathing pattern to take in more air and drop the waste percentage. Of course, I couldn't suddenly make the percentage drop to 0% right off the bat. With trial and error, I slowly managed to reduce it to 35% and that's when I made a shocking discovery.

I found out that every time I breathe I can also inhale some natural energy. And each time I managed to reduce the percentage more the more natural energy I could inhale. Due to my special constitution, I could control the natural energy without turning myself into stone but for your ordinary person that is a death sentence.

This made me develop a branch of breathing techniques that are enhanced by someone's chakra. This led to the creation of the chakra-enhanced breathing technique. And if you must know this breathing style is the one every Hashira used as a foundation to create their own breathing style.

So any questions? " She asked after ending her explanation.

" Yes, why did you react like that after saying something about a total concentration technique? What does that even mean? " Tsunade asked.

"Oh that's well as you heard earlier breathing techniques make someone absorb a little amount of natural energy. And the more natural energy you are able to control the more in strength you grow.

And the total concentrate state is something you could achieve after taking in natural energy. While not as ridiculous as the sage mode, this state also allows one to achieve a greater perception and improved senses. And although this isn't said out loud to become a Hashira one must achieve the total consecration state.

And Luna here achieved something that even your normal couldn't achieve. She managed to tap into the advanced technique of Universal Perception. This is an advanced perception that allows the user to observe the world in its true form. So no illusions can be effective against someone like that.

During the time I have lived in this world, I have only seen three people who are able to achieve this state. One is my best friend while the other is my niece. And finally, we have little Luna here. " Izanami said as she looked at Luna's shocked face with a smile.