Blue Stone Town: Steel Bone Fist Seal!

Facing Giyu's thrust, the smile of admiration and greed finally vanished from Tetsusai's face.

"Heh... looks like chat time is over."

Hummm—!!!

"Bzzzz~~~"

Dark golden arcs of electricity suddenly burst across the surface of his body, which was as massive as a small mountain!

The arcs rapidly gathered around his clenched fists.

The muscles beneath his skin bulged, and even his bones creaked softly. His entire arm swelled a size larger, looking as though it had been cast from metal, with a heavy appearance and a dark sheen.

The fist seal rotated slowly, distorting the air around its edges and giving off a ruinous aura that made the heart tremble.

Giyu's pupils contracted sharply.

A deadly sense of danger washed over him like a bucket of ice water dumped on his head, making every hair on his body stand on end!!!

I can't take it head-on! Absolutely not!!!

"Flowing Dance!"

At that deadly moment, Giyu forcibly twisted his body, changing his thrust into a sideways glide. He tried to use Water Breathing's most agile footwork to dodge the terrifying punch.

The sky-blue blade light turned with him, slashing toward Tetsusai's waist and ribs.

But Tetsusai's lips curled into a cruel grin.

"Too naive."

The dark golden fist seal, which had been pushing forward at a crawl, suddenly accelerated!

Clang—!!!

The instant the dark golden fist seal met the sky-blue blade, a visible ring of warped, dark golden ripples burst outward!

"Urrghhh—!!!"

Giyu let out a muffled groan as an overwhelmingly forceful vibration traveled up the blade and hilt, burrowing savagely into his arm and stabbing deep into his bones!

Crack... crunch...

A faint but distinct cracking sound came from his right forearm, followed by piercing pain.

Fine cracks appeared across the sky-blue Nichirin Blade, over which a dim blue watery light flowed, and spread rapidly!

"What?!?!"

Unconcealed shock filled Giyu's ice-blue eyes.

Tetsusai's wild laughter rang out:

"Hahahaha!!! Feel that? This is true power!!!"

"[Steel Fist Seal] shatters whatever it touches, and crushes any bones it hits!"

"Your blade, your bones—they're nothing but fragile toys before me!!!"

Before he had finished speaking, Tetsusai's left fist followed, likewise wrapped in dark golden arcs and a fist seal, and drove straight toward Giyu's stomach!

This punch was even fiercer, sealing off every escape route.

Giyu gritted his teeth and endured the excruciating pain of the cracked bones in his right arm. Pushing his Breathing Style to its limit, he quickly brought his left hand to the hilt.

Gripping the blade with both hands, he pushed Water Breathing's defensive and force-dispersing techniques to their utmost.

"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"

"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Twisting Whirlpool!"

The blade light became layer upon layer of endlessly revolving tides and whirlpools, seeking to overcome strength with softness and use a continuous succession of skillful movements to neutralize the fist seal that could smash mountains and rocks.

But the overwhelming power of the Steel Fist Seal was far beyond anything he had imagined.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Every collision between the fist seal and the blade light sent a ring of dark golden ripples bursting outward.

With every block, the bones in both his arms groaned as if they were about to shatter, and the cracks grew worse and worse.

The taste of blood in his throat grew stronger, and blood kept seeping from the corners of his mouth.

What made his heart sink even further was that, with every collision, the cracks in his Nichirin Blade widened and deepened. The light on the blade rapidly dimmed, as though the entire thing could shatter at any moment.

"It's useless! Useless!!!"

Tetsusai laughed wildly, his fists like a blacksmith's hammers. Each punch was faster and heavier than the last, and the dark golden fist seals almost joined into one, completely engulfing Giyu's figure.

"No matter how powerful your Breathing Style or how skilled your swordsmanship, before absolute power, you're just struggling in vain!!!"

Giyu struggled to hold out amid the tsunami of fist seals. His steps began to falter, and his breathing fell out of rhythm.

The wounds on his body multiplied. Wherever the wind from the punches grazed him, his skin split open, and even his ribs began to break. Every breath hurt like hell.

Blood stained his dark blue uniform red and spattered darker spots across his red haori.

No... if this keeps up...

Despite the agony and crushing pressure, Giyu's mind remained frighteningly clear.

His Blood Demon Art... concentrates its power on a single point, with terrifying penetrating and destructive effects... ordinary force-dispersing techniques barely work... and the blade is nearly done for...

A trace of resolve flashed in his eyes, and he forcibly drew another breath.

I'll risk it all!!!

At last, an uppercut from Tetsusai at a particularly tricky angle caused a fatal pause in Giyu's defense.

The cracks in his right arm, his massive expenditure of stamina, and the injuries to his internal organs slowed him by one hundredth of a second.

And that instant was enough for Tetsusai.

"Got you! Game over!!!"

A vicious light burst from Tetsusai's eyes, and the last of the power he had been holding back erupted with a boom!

The dark golden arcs all over his body suddenly flared several times brighter and surged into his right fist.

Giyu clenched his teeth. His blade groaned under the strain, and its rippling water-like pattern shone brighter than ever before.

Dark golden and sky-blue light collided violently between the two of them!

Time seemed to slow at that moment.

Giyu saw the savage grin on Tetsusai's face, a mixture of cruelty, excitement, and absolute confidence.

He saw his own face reflected in Tetsusai's pupils, covered in blood but as stubborn as ever.

He saw the spiderweb-like cracks on the Nichirin Blade in his hand suddenly widen and spread...

Then—

Clang—hummm—!!!

It was a heartbreaking burst of sound, mixed with the high-pitched hum of countless metal fragments vibrating.

Fragments of the broken blade flew everywhere along with shattered specks of light from its pattern, like blue stars and tears, heartrendingly beautiful.

Some fragments grazed Giyu's cheek and arms, leaving fresh streaks of blood, but he felt nothing.

His gaze froze on the broken blade in his hand, only half of it remaining.

The shattered scene was reflected in his ice-blue pupils, where rare shock and a trace of bewilderment had frozen.

"Hahahahahaha—!!!"

Tetsusai's wild, triumphant laughter was almost deafening, full of a victor's arrogance and scorn for the weak.

"See that?!?!"

"That's the difference between us!!!"

"Your trump card, your pride—they're not worth a damn before me!!!"

Amid his laughter, Tetsusai opened his fist into a palm, dark golden arcs circling his hand, and struck the motionless Giyu's stomach hard with its remaining power!

Boom—!!!

Dark golden light exploded against Giyu's stomach.

Giyu's eyes flew wide, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints.

An indescribably terrifying force penetrated his muscular defenses, stabbed deep into his stomach, then shook violently and spread out!

"Guh... gwaah—!!!"

He could no longer hold it back. A huge mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs sprayed from his mouth, turning into a miserable cloud of bloody mist in the air.

Both feet left the ground, his body arched backward, and he was hurled away at high speed like a ragged sack!

Crack! Crack! Crash!

He smashed through three wooden pillars supporting the eaves in succession, sending splinters and roof tiles flying everywhere.

Finally, his back slammed heavily into the thick bluestone courtyard wall at the edge of the training ground with a sickening thud.

A web of cracks spread across the wall, centered on him.

He slid down the wall and collapsed limply onto the ground, stirring up dust and fallen cherry blossoms.

Giyu tried to push himself up, but the moment his arm moved, agony swept through his entire body.

Every breath brought a tearing pain, and more blood welled from his mouth.

His vision began to blur, and Tetsusai's unrestrained laughter by his ears seemed alternately distant and close.

My blade... broke...

My body... won't move...

Am I... going to lose...?

Frustration, anger, regret... and a profound sense of helplessness surged up like a tide, nearly swallowing him.

He struggled, digging his fingers deep into the dirt and petals on the ground, but he could no longer stand.

Tetsusai slowly withdrew his fist, and the dark golden arcs all over his body gradually subsided.

With a victor's stride, he walked unhurriedly toward Giyu, who lay slumped at the foot of the wall, covered in blood.

His boots stepped over the broken blade fragments on the ground with soft crunching sounds.

"It's over, Giyu Tomioka."

Tetsusai looked down at him, his eyes burning with ravenous hunger and satisfaction,

"Your journey ends here."

"But rest assured, your flesh and blood, your potential, everything you have will become a stepping stone on my path to greater strength."

"I'll savor you properly, along with that unwillingness to admit defeat of yours... hahahaha!!!"