Water has no fixed shape!
At the same time.
Mount Sagiri, a secluded and serene place shrouded in mist year-round.
The atmosphere became so heavy, reaching a historical low.
"I won't eat it!!"
"I won't drink either!!"
"I definitely won't go out to train!!"
"Leave me alone!!"
"Let me rot quietly here, stink, and become a lump of organic fertilizer that nobody recognizes!"
A clear, angry roar filled with despair and grief came from the small wooden hut that once belonged to Giyu Tomioka.
Outside the door.
Sakonji Urokodaki, the legendary Cultivator trained two generations of "Water Hashira," was holding a steaming bowl of salmon and radish, exuding an enticing aroma.
His face showed deep confusion.
Kanae Kocho and Shinobu Kocho behind him also looked helpless.
Ever since that troublesome guy, Giyu Tomioka, left behind a mess and went off to Tokyo to have some fun.
Then, Sabito completely entered her "self-isolation and slacking off" mode.
She locked herself in her room, refusing to see anyone or eat anything.
The only thing I do every day is look in the mirror with an extremely resentful gaze and examine my unfamiliar body.
Then, bursts of impotent rage erupted, filled with a deep despair for this damned world.
"Well..."
Sakonji Urokodaki longest-serving member, sighed.
He taught countless students throughout his life.
There are people like Giyu Tomioka, who are exceptionally talented but a bit dim-witted.
There were also ordinary children, like the others, who perished early in the Final Selection.
But he swore he had never encountered a situation as tricky as this, one that left him completely at a loss as to where to begin.
A top-notch swordsman was transformed overnight into a helpless young girl.
This is no longer within the scope of "psychological counseling".
This is... a life-changing transformation.
"Mr. Urokodaki, perhaps... we could go in and try to persuade her?"
Kanae Kocho looked at the closed door, her face filled with a gentle expression of worry.
"It's useless."
Sakonji Urokodaki shook his head, his voice, hidden beneath the Tengu Mask, filled with weariness.
"A mental illness requires a mental cure."
"We are not the ones who can untangle her knot in her heart."
"It was herself."
After he finished speaking, he placed the bowl of salmon and radish outside the door, then turned and silently left.
Inside the room.
-The rabbit was lying on the tatami in an extremely ungraceful posture, sprawled out on its back.
Her hands, which once could easily wield a heavy Nichirin Blade, were now weakly clutching a small round mirror.
The mirror reflected a face she utterly loathed, a face she found completely unfamiliar.
My skin has become smoother.
Her cheeks became rounder.
Even that hideous scar, because of the overall softness of her facial features, made her appear... less fierce.
What she found most unacceptable was those eyes.
Those eyes, once sharp and imposing like a hawk's,
At this moment, it seemed as if it were covered with a layer of mist, becoming watery, crystal clear, and full of... innocence.
"Oh shit..."
She muttered a curse under her breath, then, with all her might, smashed the mirror against the wall.
"I've become a woman..."
She buried her face deep in the blanket, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
An unprecedented sense of grievance and helplessness overwhelmed her like a tidal wave.
She remembered what that bastard, Giyu, had said before he left.
You can't do it.
You are very weak right now.
"Don't go out, you'll only cause trouble."
Although she was so angry she almost died on the spot, she knew in her heart that everything that dim-witted guy said was true.
She's just a useless piece of trash now.
He's a complete and utter piece of trash, barely able to lift his Nichirin Blade.
How could she possibly seek revenge after all this?
What's the point of talking about protecting your companions?
She can't even protect herself!
Just when she was being tormented by this boundless despair to the point of suffocation.
A delicate aroma of salmon and radish, so enticing it made her DNA tremble, wafted in through the crack in the door.
"..."
The Sabito's nose, rather uncooperatively, twitched.
She hasn't eaten for two whole days.
"Gurgle..."
Her stomach made an honest, protesting sound.
Hateful!
What time is it?! You're still thinking about food!
She punched her stomach hard.
However, that aroma, like a persistent demon, kept tempting her already empty stomach.
Final...
Reason succumbed to appetite.
She struggled to get up from her makeshift bed, like a cat caught doing something wrong, and tiptoed to the door, gently opening it a crack.
Outside the door, the bowl of salmon and radish, exuding a sinful aroma, lay there quietly.
Her throat bobbed uncontrollably.
Then, with lightning speed, she brought the bowl in and slammed the door shut.
She leaned against the door, shoveling large mouthfuls of food from her bowl into her mouth.
Tasty...
It's so delicious...
Just as she wolfed down the last piece of radish and was about to drink the soup clean,
She saw it.
There was a note pressed under the bowl.
Above is Mr. Urokodaki's familiar, vigorous handwriting.
Water has no fixed form.
"It adapts to square shapes and round shapes."
It can be a stream, or it can be a raging wave.
"What you've learned is the Water Breathing."
"Instead, the Stone Breathing."
"..."
Sabito held the note, completely stunned.
Water has no fixed form...
She stared blankly at her slender, pale hands, which seemed utterly powerless.
Yes...
She was constantly angry, complaining, and resisting this new body.
She had been trying to use her past fighting style, which belonged to "stone," to control this delicate body that belonged to "water."
She was wrong.
That's wrong, ridiculous.
What she learned was the Water Breathing.
It's the one who excels at change and understands "overcoming strength with softness"... the Water Breathing!
A surge of electricity shot straight to the top of his head!
Suddenly, a dazzling light, unlike anything she had ever seen, burst forth from her previously dull eyes!
The next day.
Just as the sun was rising.
The Sabito walked out of the room.
She changed into a clean, easy-to-move training outfit and neatly tied her long, peach-colored hair back.
There was no trace of confusion or despair on her face.
Instead, there is a kind of calm and resolute determination—a process of destruction followed by reconstruction.
She walked up to Sakonji Urokodaki in the courtyard, and bowed deeply.
"Teacher."
"I see."
Looking into her eyes, which had regained their fighting spirit, Sakonji Urokodaki finally revealed a relieved smile on his lips beneath the Tengu Mask.
"Go."
"The waterfall is waiting for you."
That day, Sabito stood under the waterfall for twelve hours straight.
Unlike before, she didn't try to withstand the raging torrents of water that were powerful enough to wash away boulders with her body.
She simply stood there quietly, eyes closed, using her body to feel, to listen, and to understand.
Feel the flow of water, the rotation of water, the impact and change of direction of water.
At first, she would be swept away and staggered, looking quite disheveled.
But gradually, her body began to sway slightly with the flow of water.
Her steps became more and more steady.
She was no longer that stubborn rock trying to stop the flood.
She became part of the water flow.
She is water.
One month later.
The moonlight was as clear as water.
On the training field.
Sabito, wielding a wooden sword, stands facing Kanae Kocho, who also wields a wooden sword, from afar.
"Ms. Kanae, please enlighten me."
Her voice was clear and calm, yet carried an undeniable and powerful confidence.
"Please guide me, Sabito."
Kanae smiled, her beautiful eyes filled with admiration and anticipation.
The words had barely left his mouth.
The two of them moved at the same time!
"Flower Breathing - Second Form - Honorable Shadow Plum!"
Kanae's figure transformed into a pink afterimage, unleashing a series of dazzling slashes, like plum blossoms, attacking the opponent from all directions!
However, the Sabito neither dodged nor avoided the attack.
She simply held the wooden sword horizontally in front of her, and her body began to spin rapidly in an extremely bizarre, top-like motion!
"Water Breathing - Eighth Form - Waterfall Basin!!"
The wooden sword in her hand seemed to transform into a massive waterfall cascading from the sky, dissolving and devouring all the attacks aimed at her!
"Amazing!!"
A hint of surprise flashed in Kanae's eyes. She lightly touched the ground with her toes and quickly retreated, creating some distance.
"So, what about this move?"
"Flower Breathing - Final Form - Equinoctial Vermilion Eye!"
Kanae's vision instantly turned blood red!
The whole world seemed to slow down incredibly in her eyes!
She saw every movement, every breath, and even the slightest tremor of "Sabito"!
She found her!
That one and only flaw!
With a speed beyond human limits, she stabbed straight at the opponent's throat!
However, just as the tip of her knife was about to touch the other person's skin...
Suddenly, a confident, victorious smile appeared on Sabito's lips.
"Water Breathing - Sixth Form - Twisting Whirlpool: Modified!"
Her body twisted violently in mid-air at an angle that completely defied the laws of physics!
The wooden sword in her hand was not used to block Kanae's fatal blow.
Instead, it was like a nimble venomous snake that coiled around Kanae's wooden sword, then pulled it into a rapidly spinning small vortex!
"Clang!"
A crisp sound.
The wooden sword in Kanae's hand was knocked away by a clever force.
Sabito's cold blade was already firmly positioned at her throat.
The outcome is decided.
"I lost."
Kanae looked at the "girl" before her, who resembled a goddess of war in the moonlight, and a genuine smile of admiration appeared on her face.
"You not only regained the strength of a 'Pillar'."
"Even stronger than before."
The Sabito sheathed its wooden sword and let out a long sigh of relief.
She raised her head and looked at the bright moon in the sky, her eyes flashing with a cold light.
"Yaoshi..."
"Wait for me."
"Soon, I will personally... kill you!!"