Horitake hoisted the Ubuyashiki siblings onto a branch. "Hold tight. Don't fall."
The siblings, shaken, obeyed like startled quail.
Once calmer, Kiriya thanked him. "Mr. Horitake, thank you for saving us."
Horitake waved it off. "No trouble."
Gazing at the churning earth below, Hinaichigo's face darkened. "Mr. Horitake, is this the Earth-Diving Demon's doing?"
"Yes. It's aiming to wipe us out."
Hinaichigo fretted. "We've alerted the Corps, but reinforcements won't arrive soon. We must hold out until a Hashira comes."
Before she finished, the sinkhole shifted. The swirling vortex moved toward their refuge, threatening the wisteria trees. Roots snapped, and the trees wobbled.
The siblings panicked, as did the others.
"It's relentless…" someone muttered.
Horitake stayed calm, directing them. "Don't panic. Spread out to other trees. The sinkhole's slow. Stay careful—don't fall."
With his command, the group found resolve, scattering to safer trees, away from the vortex.
"Mitsuri!" Horitake called.
"Yes, Lord Horitake?"
He handed her the siblings. "Take them to another tree."
Mitsuri, concerned, asked, "And you?"
Horitake drew his Nichirin Blade, eyes gleaming. "I'll face the demon. If I can, I'll end it here."
The vortex reached their tree, roots cracking loudly. It teetered, unstable.
Mitsuri, balancing the siblings, looked worriedly at Horitake. He gave her a reassuring nod.
"Be careful, Lord Horitake," she said, leaping with the siblings to another tree.
From there, they watched him anxiously, as did the others.
The wisteria tree collapsed, crashing onto the churning earth. Too massive to be swallowed, it lodged atop the soil.
Horitake stood steady on the fallen trunk. Facing the surging vortex, he sneered. "Hiding and scheming? Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Chidori!"
Raising his blade, he unleashed Thunder Breathing. Purple lightning crackled around him, channeling through his arms into the blade. The weapon glowed, electricity coalescing.
The Nichirin Blade blazed, its light like a thousand chirping birds.
The onlookers gaped, awestruck.
Through Spirit Vision, Horitake pinpointed the demon at the vortex's core. Standing on the trunk, he thrust his Chidori downward, targeting the demon's location.
The screeching Chidori, wreathed in purple lightning, pierced the earth.
A scream echoed from below, accompanied by a subterranean flash.
The vortex stilled. The ground calmed.
From afar, Mitsuri whispered, "Is it over?"
It wasn't.
Horitake's Spirit Vision revealed the truth. Chidori had obliterated half the demon's body, but the soil had shielded its head. The demon sank deeper, regenerating swiftly.
Horitake, blade in hand, turned, expression grave.
The ground rumbled again.
The onlookers tensed, but this wasn't a sinkhole. A massive arm of compressed earth burst from the ground, followed by another, then a head, torso, and legs.
A towering, ten-meter-tall rock-and-soil giant emerged.
Mitsuri paled. The others, terrified, nearly fell from their trees. They'd never faced such a monster.
Unlike them, Horitake grinned. "If you'd stayed hidden, I'd have struggled. But now? You won't escape."
Spirit Vision revealed the demon inside the giant, safe from sunlight, controlling its form.
The giant roared, stomping toward Horitake.
He dodged with Thunder Breathing, arcs of electricity trailing him. The giant's foot crushed the tree, snapping it.
It turned, spotting Horitake on the fallen torii. Enraged, it charged, swinging a massive fist.
Horitake evaded, reappearing on the giant's shoulder. It swatted at him, but he dodged again.
The onlookers realized the giant's strength was immense, but its speed and agility couldn't match Horitake's.
Mitsuri and the others relaxed slightly.
Dodging wasn't Horitake's style. With a flash, he landed on a distant wisteria tree, facing the giant.
The giant, seizing the distance, plunged its hands into the earth, compressing a three-meter-wide boulder. It hurled it like a shot put.
Horitake stood firm. "Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Chidori!"
Purple lightning flared on his blade. With a swing, he shattered the boulder into fragments.
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