Kiyokawa Izumi, who had already become a Hashira, held a certain status within the Demon Slayer Corps, but he had no intention of changing the plot for the time being.
He knew where Upper Rank Six was; with sufficient preparation and by calling upon multiple Hashira, they could surely defeat Upper Rank Six without any casualties.
However, he feared that if things changed too early, it would lead to significant shifts in the future.
For instance, if Hantengu and Gyokko both appeared in the battle at the Infinity Castle—the latter would be manageable, but the former's abilities were so troublesome that if its main body hid within the Infinity Castle, heaven knows where they would find it.
Upper Ranks were different from Lower Ranks, after all.
Quite a few Lower Ranks had been eliminated over the years, which wasn't enough to cause a major stir.
But if it were an Upper Rank, that would be hard to say.
Ultimately, it came down to insufficient strength and lingering concerns, so he had no plans to Move against the Upper Ranks for now.
"Don't hold high expectations for me; my strength is quite ordinary."
Kiyokawa Izumi gripped his wooden sword tightly and spoke softly to Tomioka Giyu, who was not far away.
Just as the words left his lips, he had already launched an attack.
Where had the Official Members nearby ever witnessed a clash between Hashira?
They all halted their physical training and watched intently of their own accord.
'First Form: Night Crows Shadow!'
The distance of less than ten meters was crossed in an instant, and the wooden sword in his hand was thrust out silently; there were no wasted movements, and the Move was not flashy.
Yet, strangely enough, it didn't even make a distinct sound, arriving before the opponent in total silence.
The watching Team Members were all startled; Kiyokawa Izumi had never been this serious when guiding their training.
Back then, they could still barely see his sword-swinging motions.
But now, they couldn't see them clearly at all.
Tomioka Giyu lowered his head slightly, looking at the wooden sword in his hand. When he looked up again, he met those blood-red eyes, his cold face showing no change in expression.
"Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
Flowing as naturally as a smooth water surface, the two wooden swords crossed. A sharp crack echoed as they broke instantly under the collision of immense force.
"Sorry, I didn't control my strength well."
Kiyokawa Izumi retreated decisively and spoke with some helplessness.
At the moment of impact, he hadn't diverted the force in time.
Striking with full power, the fragile wooden sword naturally couldn't withstand the outpouring of terrifying strength.
"As expected, if I really want a satisfying fight, I still have to use a nichirin blade!"
Kiyokawa Izumi slowly drew his nichirin blade. He wasn't among the top-tier Hashira after all; while going all out was no problem, holding back just enough was a bit difficult for him.
Sensing the seriousness on Kiyokawa Izumi's face, he didn't understand why this man was so intent on fighting him. Could it be that he hated him?
Tomioka Giyu couldn't help but wonder this in his heart as he drew his nichirin blade.
The sea-blue nichirin blade shimmered with a beautiful luster under the sunlight, with the words 'demon slayer' engraved on its side.
In the next instant, the two figures closed in rapidly. Their sharp nichirin blades collided and clashed before quickly pulling apart.
The observing members couldn't see much; they only felt that both were incredibly powerful, as they couldn't even track their movements.
But Kiyokawa Izumi, in the heat of battle, was very aware of just how large the gap between them was.
With every collision, he would leave long skid marks on the ground, needing to retreat five or six steps to steady himself.
But the man before him always maintained a very stable stance.
At most, he would retreat half a step or a single step to regain his balance.
It was very strange.
His speed wasn't so fast that the Sharingan couldn't track it, and his strength wasn't so great that it couldn't be blocked even with maximum effort.
In terms of these two attributes alone, he certainly wouldn't rank in the top three among the Nine Hashira.
Yet, for some reason, the fight was extremely difficult.
A defensive posture without any openings gave Kiyokawa Izumi no opportunities.
As for explosive power, at least for now, it hadn't been shown; it was nowhere near as soul-shaking as Rengoku Kyojuro's final Profound Truth.
But this man was unusually steady.
'Second Form: Flash of Interspace - Multi-Recital.'
Kiyokawa Izumi breathed steadily. Having sheathed his nichirin blade, he took a drawing stance.
The muscles in his legs exploded with power instantly, and the dark silver blade became a blur in the sunlight, slashing out silently.
Faced with attacks coming from multiple directions, an ordinary swordsman wouldn't know how to defend, but the experienced Tomioka Giyu merely retreated slightly.
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"
Lowering his center of gravity slightly, like a taut bowstring suddenly snapping, the sea-blue blade transformed into multiple waves, striking in a continuous flow.
In a mere instant, it neutralized the simultaneous attacks from multiple directions.
Not only that, but he also seized the chance to close the distance to Kiyokawa Izumi.
"Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel!"
The momentum shifted from attack to defense in an instant as a circular arc descended quietly, the air driven by the blade's tip tearing at the black haori.
Kiyokawa Izumi had no time to think, only subconsciously raising his blade to parry.
As expected of the Water Breathing that excels in both offense and defense; once his opening was seized, Kiyokawa Izumi knew clearly as he faced the following attacks that he had fallen into the opponent's rhythm.
Attacks fell as dense as raindrops, and he seemed to see an unending flow of water entangling him, leaving him no way to escape.
In less than five minutes, Kiyokawa Izumi was once again suppressed in every aspect.
_________
The competition rules were set, and The competition rules were determined based on the comment with the most likes, and the competition rules are as follows:
I will post an additional chapter for every ten likes on my homepage, and the remaining time is 24 hours from the posting of this chapter.
This also has nothing to do with the specific chapters for energy stones, so I hope we reach 500 quickly.