(first bonus chapter, enjoy ^^)
"Clang!"
The short-hilt sword clashed with the Nichirin Sword.
Veins popped on Roy's arm as he pressed down with all his might!
A vast and powerful force surged from the short-hilt sword into the Nichirin Sword, then assaulted Giyu Tomioka.
A ripple passed through Giyu Tomioka's cold eyes. His arm bent slightly, not expecting Roy's strength to be so great!
It was in no way inferior to the demons he had fought, and even... far surpassed them!
It couldn't help but remind him of a tall figure... the "Stone Hashira," Gyomei Himejima, a man who could beat a demon to death with sheer brute force!
"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Twisting Whirlpool!"
There were only two solutions to brute force. One, overwhelm the opponent with even more ferocious brute force. Two... was the strategy Giyu Tomioka was employing now: redirect the force and use it against the opponent!
He dropped his shoulder, giving up half his body's position, allowing Roy to press the Nichirin Sword towards the ground. He then pulled away, scraping against the short-hilt sword, sending out a stream of sparks, and followed up with a stream of water, slashing at Roy's neck!
"Senior Brother Giyu is scared," Makomo's large, pretty eyes saw it clearly. "He probably didn't expect Eiichiro's strength to be so great."
"That's not fear, it's experience." Sabito rubbed the hilt of his sword, noticing that Giyu Tomioka's movement of redirecting the force and drawing his sword was extremely fluid, completed almost instinctively in an instant. He said in a deep voice, "In the early days, before humans had Breathing Styles, there was no way to contend with demons' strength."
"Therefore, learning to redirect force, and then use that force, became the mainstream method for dealing with demons at the time."
"Giyu is very smart. After realizing he was inferior to Eiichiro in strength, he promptly changed strategies to avoid his sharp edge. This is the kind of performance a qualified 'Hashira' should have."
"Swish, swish—" The bright gleam of the sword was so dazzling it was almost impossible to open one's eyes...
Roy sensed the danger and tilted his head back to avoid it. The Nichirin Sword grazed past his nose, cutting the air. The "stream of water" it produced tore through the air, "whooshing" into the mountain forest and cutting down a thick cypress tree!
"Senior Brother Giyu, I'm on your side!" Shinsuke had been lying on a thick branch of the cypress tree watching the show. Seeing the sword light coming for him, he was so scared his soul nearly flew out. He took a huge leap, scrambled onto another tree, and threw his arms around Fukuda.
"Get the hell off me!" Fukuda dug into his nostrils, applied a reverse grappling hold, and put him in a chokehold. He then looked up...
"Cling, clang, clang...." Amidst the flashing of swords, in just a few breaths...—
Roy, wielding his short-hilt sword, was fighting Giyu Tomioka. In an instant, they had exchanged over a dozen blows!
Sparks flew, and the sound of clashing metal was incessant... Giyu Tomioka's heart was in his throat. He truly hadn't expected the boy to be able to keep up with his rhythm!
This was clearly not the level of a "beginner"!
"Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel!" At a certain moment, Giyu Tomioka saw Roy press in close with his sword again. He flipped his wrist, slashing upwards in a reverse-grip, sending out a circular stream of water that forced him back... Seizing this gap, he took a deep breath, and his aura instantly changed!
"Total Concentration: Constant!" Oxygen flooded his lungs, accelerating combustion... His cardiopulmonary abilities soared, driving rapid blood flow, followed by a violent jolt from his heart, which doubled its beat... In one second...
Giyu Tomioka was like a machine that had been wound up, running on overload!
It must be known that the biggest difference between a "Hashira" and an ordinary member was... whether they could maintain the Breathing Style twenty-four hours a day, non-stop... This was not just a test of cardiopulmonary ability, but also a measure of a person's determination and will.
Sabito narrowed his eyes. "Giyu is getting serious!"
"It's because this Eiichiro guy is too ridiculous," Makomo's pupils rippled as she stared unblinkingly at the boy below. "He's several years younger than Senior Brother Giyu, but he can completely keep up with his rhythm, not falling behind at all."
"Senior Brother Giyu has no choice but to take him seriously!"
Monstrous strength, a formidable physique, superb reflexes, and the ability to adapt on the fly, coupled with his age... Just as Makomo said, Giyu Tomioka didn't know what Gyomei Himejima was like back then, but at the very least... he admitted that at this age, he was far inferior to Eiichiro....
"Hsss—" Giyu Tomioka held his Nichirin Sword level, exhaling a long, hot, white dragon of air from his nostrils... His figure suddenly flickered...
The same "Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust"—but this time, the effect was completely different.
A single point of cold light suddenly thrust towards Roy's face. Giyu Tomioka was truly like a ghost, using Roy's blind spot to close the distance rapidly!
This was the speed and sensory boost that "Total Concentration" gave him!
'Senior Brother is much faster this time... It seems necessary to take a trip to the Butterfly Mansion to speed up development of "Total Concentration: Constant".'
The tip of the sword, gleaming with cold light... was close at hand...
*Puff!* Two suns ignited in Roy's pupils as he looked calmly at Giyu Tomioka.
Giyu Tomioka froze. Before he could understand what was happening, he felt that his thrust towards Eiichiro, along with everything else around him, had been infinitely slowed down. The external manifestation was... he suddenly stopped!
"What's going on?"
"Why did Senior Brother Giyu suddenly stop?"
"Is he afraid of hurting Eiichiro?"
Shinsuke and Fukuda, who had been watching the battlefield, sensed the abnormality. They stopped fighting and flew to the top of the tree, looking down from their high vantage point...
On the tall birch tree across the waterfall, Sabito and Makomo looked down in astonishment, equally baffled...
The former frowned deeply. No matter how he looked at it, Giyu didn't seem like he intended to stop... He looked again.
Roy activated the [Eye of Falsehood], predicting Giyu Tomioka's attack path in advance. He dodged to the side, letting the thrust land on empty air, stabbing towards the nearby waterfall!
*Vmmm...* Ripples spread... When Giyu Tomioka came to his senses again, he had already rushed under the waterfall. His sword was embedded in the rock, and the waterfall poured over his head, drenching him like a drowned rat.
He paid it no mind, letting the waterfall wash over him. He turned his head to look at Roy, his cold eyes rippling...
"Is this a swordsmanship style you created yourself?"
Or perhaps... a domain?
Giyu Tomioka's gaze was burning....
Unfortunately... it was neither.
Roy recalled the conversation he had with his father, Tanjuro, while drinking tea on a snowy night during the New Year. He said honestly, "My father taught me."
Giyu Tomioka's eyes flickered. "Your father is also a swordsman?"
'Slowing down others' movements, capturing their attack routes in advance... a fellow with this kind of "sword skill"... couldn't possibly be unknown.' "But I remember Eiichiro's father is just an ordinary charcoal-seller, right?"
Makomo scratched her head, trying hard to recall. "Did that child Tanjiro lie? Is his father actually a powerful, reclusive swordsman? Or maybe... a retired 'Hashira' like Master?"
Sabito crossed his arms, frowning in thought... His intuition told him that the child, Tanjiro Kamado, didn't seem like the type to lie.
"Perhaps there's an inside story."
His gaze locked onto Roy.
The young man touched his Hanafuda earrings, then raised his sword and slashed towards Giyu Tomioka again.....
He smiled lightly. "No. He's just an ordinary father...—"
"Aside from being a bit frail, he's just the same as yours, mine, his, and everyone else's..."