At the critical moment!!
"Bite--"
In the stillness of the surrounding time, a somewhat incongruous frame of imagery suddenly flashed by.
Tanjuro Kamado!!
That sickly person, who coughed all day and looked like he could barely lift a bucket of water, stood quietly in the snow.
Before Tanjuro stood the arrogant and domineering Upper Rank Seven — Yaoshi.
The scene from that time replayed vividly in Giyu's mind.
There are no complicated opening moves, and no fancy special effects.
Tanjuro simply took a light breath, then swung his sword.
"Yes, that's the one..."
A terrifying glint suddenly flashed in Giyu's bloodshot eyes.
That is the purest and most fervent primordial power in the world!
"Master, I'm sorry."
Giyu offered a half-hearted apology in his heart.
"Water Breathing is indeed useful, but with these disgusting things flying all over the place, I guess I'll have to switch schools for now."
There was no time to think about whether this body, which had been practicing Water Breathing for many years, could withstand it.
Driven by his terrifying obsession, Giyu's body moved on its own.
He forcibly severed the Water Breathing circuit!!
His chest bulged high, and his lungs emitted a hissing sound.
Air rushed in.
But what I inhaled was no longer that cold, moisture-laden air.
Instead, it resembled lava that had just erupted from a volcano!
"Glug... Glug..."
The blood boiled completely at that moment.
Every cell in my body was burning and exploding like crazy under this unreasonable and violent Breathing Style!
The muscle fibers emitted a tearing, agonizing scream.
But what followed was a terrifying force far exceeding human limits, which swept through every part of the body like a tsunami.
"Boom!!"
A deafening explosion.
The ground beneath their feet was instantly melted into a smoking, scorched earth by the intense heat and immense force.
"Whoosh--!"
Giyu Tomioka transformed directly into a proud, crimson fire dragon.
With the blazing light of a wildfire, it savagely tore through the space in front of it at supersonic speed.
It moved so fast that it left a long, distorted afterimage in the air due to the high temperature.
And at this time...
The Gyokko in mid-air was still excitedly twisting its little arms.
"Go! Gnaw him to pieces! That's my greatest achievement!"
Gyokko's hoarse voice hadn't finished shouting yet.
The poisonous fish at the very front, with its serrated mouth, was just one centimeter away from the throat of the fish, Sakonji Urokodaki.
"Bang!"
A dull, loud thud.
The poisonous fish that was about to be caught was completely caught off guard; its entire body vanished in mid-air, leaving behind only the unpleasant smell of grilled fish.
A figure engulfed in flames, like a god descending to earth.
He stood imposingly in Sakonji Urokodaki was unable to get up.
The strong wind blew up his unusually colored haori.
Giyu was panting heavily, blood gushing from the corner of his mouth due to ruptured blood vessels.
But in his deep blue eyes was a kind of madness that burned everything.
He gripped the hilt of the Nichirin Blade tightly with one hand.
The gentle, serene, and ever-flowing azure-blue sheen that originally clung to the blade evaporated instantly upon contact with air.
Instead, it took its place.
It was an extremely dazzling solar flare!!
The firelight Giyu Yi Yong's cold face, making him look like a demon from hell.
"What... what the hell is this?!"
Gyokko's smile froze instantly.
He felt the terrifying heat wave scorching his face, and his two small hands instinctively covered his eyes. A fear that rose from the depths of his bones made his whole body tremble.
Giyu ignored the oddly-looking clown.
He slowly raised the Nichirin Blade, its tip pointing at the overwhelming army of poisonous fish swarming down from the sky.
He murmured the name he had forgotten for so long in his heart.
"Sun Breathing-- "
With a sudden flick of the wrist and a burst of power from the waist, the entire arm traced a perfect arc.
" --Dance!!"
All of a sudden.
The sky changed color.
The ring of fire, so hot it distorted the surrounding space, exploded with a deafening roar, centered on Giyu!
This wall of fire possessed a terrifying, destructive power, capable of burning the heavens and destroying the earth, like an ancient behemoth that had awakened, opening its gaping maw capable of swallowing everything.
"Pfft--!"
When those ten thousand strange fish, carrying deadly poison, encountered this ring-shaped wall of fire...
There wasn't even time for a scream; the procedures were skipped.
The venom vaporized instantly, burning away flesh and bone in a flash.
They were like moths drawn to a steel furnace, instantly burned into a vast expanse of black ash flying everywhere.
The scene was absolutely terrifying!!
Flames shot straight into the sky, burning a bright, gaping hole through the pitch-black night sky above Mount Sagiri!