Blue Stone Town: Cherry Blossom Fall Battle!

The worlds inside and outside the gate were entirely different.

The courtyard was large, a training ground paved with bluestone slabs. Cherry trees had been planted all around it.

Pink and red cherry blossom petals drifted down in the wind. Dozens of red paper lanterns hung from the eaves and treetops, their red light shining on the falling blossoms and filling the training ground with an air of danger.

Petals fell silently, forming a thin layer on the bluestone ground.

A man stood in the middle of the training ground.

He wore dark gray martial arts robes. He was tall and powerfully built, and stood with a steady posture.

His gaze had been calm, but the moment he saw Giyu enter, his eyes filled with greed and desire.

His gaze was frighteningly intense, fixed on Giyu.

Giyu stopped at the edge of the training ground and placed his right hand on the hilt of the Nichirin Blade at his waist.

His ice-blue eyes pierced through the falling blossoms and lantern light, locking onto the man in the middle of the ground.

"You're the man-eating demon."

Giyu's voice was quiet but cold, carrying clearly across the ground.

The corners of the man's mouth slowly stretched into a grin full of hunger and excitement.

"To be honest,"

the man began in a deep, resonant voice,

"I really want to kill you right now, and then... eat you."

He ran the tip of his tongue over his lips, his gaze growing even hotter:

"It's strange... there's something about your flesh and blood that draws me in. I can't describe it."

"My instincts tell me that as long as I eat you, I can gain greater power and... go one step further!"

"I can reach that position!"

He took a step forward, and the oppressive presence of his massive frame instantly doubled. The cherry trees around him seemed to tremble with him, and more petals came fluttering down.

"As long as I eat you... no, it's certain! If I eat you, I can definitely step into that realm!"

His voice turned from low and deep to almost frenzied. The calm in his eyes vanished completely, replaced by greed and ambition.

Giyu, meanwhile, remained where he was, his breathing seeming to stop for a moment.

His pupils contracted slightly. He could clearly see Tetsusai, and... the Chinese character rotating in the other man's eye—

Lower Rank One!

The Twelve Kizuki, first among the Lower Ranks.

You've got to be kidding!

Giyu's heart gave a heavy thud in his chest.

Lower Rank One... why would a demon of that level appear in a little place like Blue Stone Town?

Just to eat?

"Hee hee..."

The man let out a low chuckle.

"Be honored, young swordsman. Remember the man who's sending you into my belly—"

He bowed slightly in a cold ceremonial gesture, then suddenly raised his voice, full of pride and cruelty:

"Lower Rank One, Tetsusai, at your service!"

The moment the words left his mouth, a heavy demonic aura erupted, sweeping a skyful of cherry blossoms toward Giyu!

Almost at the same moment Tetsusai announced his name, the attack came!

Tetsusai's towering figure blurred where he stood. The next instant, the bluestone slabs beneath his former position exploded with a boom, sending broken stone and cherry petals flying together!

His body had already crossed dozens of meters and appeared in front of Giyu!

So fast!

Giyu's pupils abruptly contracted.

A heavily muscled fist, its skin gleaming darkly, rapidly expanded before his eyes!

Before the fist even reached him, the fierce wind from the punch made his cheeks ache and stopped his breathing for a moment, yanking the red haori behind him violently backward!

I can't dodge!

There's no time to dodge at all!

Giyu's right hand tightened on his sword hilt in an instant!

"Water Breathing: First Form: Water Surface Slash!"

The sky-blue Nichirin Blade flashed from its sheath with a whistle!

Giyu didn't meet the blow head-on. As he drew his sword, he drifted backward with the wind of the punch, his blade tracing a smooth arc.

Clang—!

A tremendous metallic crash rang out!

Fist met blade, sending sparks flying!

Giyu's arm shuddered violently, the web between his thumb and forefinger instantly going numb. An enormous force traveled through the sword, far more than he could possibly deflect!

He grunted, unable to stay on his feet, and was sent flying backward!

Crash! Crash! Crash!

He smashed through three wooden lantern poles in succession. The red lanterns fell to the ground, their flames flickering.

Giyu's back slammed into the bluestone railing, and a metallic taste of blood rose in his throat.

But his sword hand remained steady. Using the force of the impact, he flipped over and landed on one knee, his ice-blue eyes fixed on Tetsusai as the demon slowly withdrew his fist.

That was just a probing attack, and it was already that powerful!

Lower Rank One is far stronger than I expected!

The impact had shaken Kanzaburo, the Kasugai Crow, off Giyu's shoulder. He flapped anxiously in the air and shrieked:

"Lower Rank! It's Lower Rank One!"

"Giyu! No! You can't beat him!"

"I'll get reinforcements! Hold on! You have to hold on!"

He knew staying would only get in the way, so he immediately beat his wings and shot into the night sky as fast as he could to summon reinforcements from the Demon Slayer Corps.

He had to get the message out!

Tetsusai didn't give chase. He simply stood where he was, watching with interest as Giyu awkwardly steadied himself.

Then he looked at the spot where his fist had met the blade.

A very faint white mark was rapidly fading there.

"Oh? You actually took one of my punches, and even made me... hurt a little?"

Tetsusai raised an eyebrow, his interest growing.

"Your sword is sharp!"

"You're good at deflecting force, too!"

"Water Breathing? Just as I thought, you're different from those small fry."

He twisted his neck with a sharp crack, the greedy grin on his face widening:

"Even better! The tougher the prey, the chewier its flesh, and the more power it brings!"

Using his Nichirin Blade for support, Giyu slowly straightened.

Lower Rank One's strength, speed, and bodily toughness were all far beyond his own.

The gap was frighteningly wide.

But...

He drew a deep breath. The shock in his eyes quickly vanished, replaced by icy resolve.

A Demon Slayer's duty was to slay demons.

No matter how powerful the demon, there was no reason to retreat.

As long as his blade could still cut, as long as he still had strength, then—

Fight!

Giyu took a deep breath, drawing a large amount of oxygen into his lungs.

His chest rose and fell visibly with each breath, and faint white mist emerged from his nose and mouth.

He forcibly suppressed his fatigue and pain, concentrating completely and focusing all his senses on Tetsusai ahead of him.

The rippling water pattern on his sky-blue Nichirin Blade seemed to come alive, flowing with a cool light.

"Come on,"

Giyu said, holding his sword across his body. His voice was calm, but carried the resolve to cut through anything.

"Round two."

A trace of surprise flashed in Tetsusai's eyes, only to be replaced by even greater excitement.

"Interesting! It's been a long time since I've seen it... the courage to swing your sword even when you know you can't win!"

He burst out laughing, his laughter echoing across the empty training ground and shaking cherry blossoms down like rain.

"Let's see how long your water can hold out against these iron fists of mine!"

Before he finished speaking, both figures moved at once!

This time, Tetsusai didn't charge in at that astonishing speed. Instead, he advanced on Giyu with steady strides, one step at a time.

He walked slowly, but with every step, the bluestone ground trembled slightly, leaving a cracked footprint behind.

Giyu didn't retreat.

He attacked first!

"Water Breathing: Third Form: Flowing Dance!"

His figure suddenly grew indistinct. His footwork was quick and unpredictable as he moved swiftly around Tetsusai, his flashing blade striking from all manner of tricky angles!

Yet Tetsusai's reactions were astonishingly fast.

He didn't even need to move far. He simply turned slightly, tilted his head, raised a hand, or blocked with his forearm.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Crisp impacts rang out in rapid succession.

Giyu's slashes were either easily blocked by Tetsusai's dark-skinned arms, throwing off showers of sparks and leaving only faint white marks;

or narrowly dodged, the blade cutting empty air and stirring up only a few cherry petals.

"Too slow."

Tetsusai gave his flat assessment and, after blocking the seventh slash, drove his right fist straight out!

The wind of the punch howled, tearing through the air!

"Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"

Giyu abruptly changed the course of his sword, the blade moving like a soft tide as he tried to draw the fist off target.

At the same time, he rapidly shifted his footing and slid backward like a fish.

Boom!

Most of the punch's force was deftly deflected, but what remained still churned Giyu's blood and made him stumble as he retreated.

Tetsusai's punches are too heavy!

"Good technique for deflecting force, but it's not enough."

Tetsusai stepped after him, sweeping his left fist sideways like a pendulum to cut off Giyu's room to move, then following immediately with a vicious right uppercut!

The attacks were simple and brutal, but their sheer speed and power formed an airtight barrage!

Giyu's gaze sharpened. In the gap between the two converging fists, he pushed the resilience of Water Breathing to its limit.

"Sixth Form: Twisting Whirlpool!"

His body suddenly spun, the sky-blue blade tracing a spiral. It swept aside the incoming left fist and used its force to shift his position, narrowly letting the uppercut graze past his ribs, the wind of the punch scraping painfully against his skin.

He didn't stop spinning, his sword turning with his body!

"Second Form: Water Wheel!"

A circular wheel of blue blade light slashed at the opening across Tetsusai's chest and abdomen left by his punch!

A sharp light flashed in Tetsusai's eyes. He seemed not to have expected Giyu to counterattack from such a disadvantageous position.

He pulled in his abdomen and leaned back, lowering his left arm at the same time to meet the wheel of the blade head-on with his iron-hard forearm!

Clang—!

Amid the piercing clash, the cloth on Tetsusai's arm was cut open, revealing even darker skin beneath.

A slightly deeper cut appeared, seeping a little dark red blood, but it began to heal in the blink of an eye.

Giyu, meanwhile, was pushed flying backward by the recoil.

"Good!"

Instead of getting angry, Tetsusai was delighted. He licked the blood seeping from his arm, his gaze growing so hot it seemed ready to burn.

"You actually managed to hurt me! Your swordsmanship, your Breathing Style, and the potential in that body of yours... magnificent!"

"If I eat you, I definitely can!"

He held nothing back anymore, his fists suddenly accelerating!

Shadows of fists loomed like mountains, and the wind from his kicks lashed like whips, bearing down on Giyu from every direction.

Every blow carried immense force, pounding shallow craters into the bluestone ground and sending fragments of stone flying hard enough to pierce wooden boards with ease.

Giyu was caught in a storm of attacks.

The wounds on his body kept multiplying.

Fighting at such intensity drained far too much of his stamina and mental energy, and his breathing began to grow heavy.

But Giyu's gaze remained cold and resolute.

Pain, fatigue, and the enormous gap in strength did nothing to shake his will to wield his sword.

The enduring resilience of Water Breathing, combined with his powerful body and his supreme control over his techniques, allowed him to hold on despite his overwhelming disadvantage. Though battered and in constant danger, he still hadn't truly been defeated!

The longer Tetsusai fought, the more alarmed he became.

He clearly had the young swordsman outmatched in strength, speed, and defense, and his opponent's attacks could barely hurt him. Yet he just couldn't take him down!

This kid... he always managed to neutralize his killing blows at the least possible cost, always managed to strike from a tricky angle just as his last burst of strength faded and before the next one came.

That deep-blue gleam of the blade, that steady, drawn-out rhythm of breathing—it seemed to have no end.

"How is this possible... How can such a young swordsman last this long against my fists?"

Tetsusai was both shocked and bewildered, but his attacks unconsciously grew heavier, his fists howling through the air and generating an almost tangible pressure.

Cherry blossoms were torn to shreds by the violent gusts from his fists and the keen force of the sword. Red lanterns swayed wildly, sending light and shadow dancing in disarray.

In the training ground, a burly figure attacked frantically, while a figure clad in deep blue and crimson dodged and weaved through the onslaught. The blue gleam of his blade was faint, but it never stopped.

The battle had reached a fierce stalemate.

Giyu was using everything he had to buy Kanzaburo time, while also searching for that slim chance to turn the tables.

He knew Tetsusai had yet to use his full strength or unleash his true Blood Demon Art.

But he had no choice. He could only keep wielding the sword in his hand until the very last moment.