The Former Flame Hashira's Request and a Polite Refusal

"Become stronger?"

Upon hearing Giyu Tomioka's rational, almost cold, reply,

Shinjuro Rengoku was stunned for a moment, then burst into another hearty laugh.

"Haha!! What a complete monster!!"

"He has already reached a level that even the previous Pillars could not attain, yet he can still maintain such clarity!"

Shinjuro grabbed the huge red gourd next to him and poured a full bowl of sake into the large bowl in front of him.

The strong aroma of wine instantly filled the wooden corridor.

Then, he pulled out a slightly smaller wine cup from somewhere, pushed it in front of Giyu, and poured it to the brim without any hesitation.

"Come! Have a drink with this old man!"

"Just for your composure and calmness, you must drink this glass of wine today!"

Looking at the bowl of murky liquid in front of him, emitting a pungent odor,

A hint of obvious resistance finally appeared on Giyu Tomioka's perpetually icy face. (-_-)

"Mr. Rengoku, I refuse."

"Why?"

Shinjuro's hand, holding the sake bowl, froze in mid-air, and he raised an eyebrow.

"You look down on my wine?"

Alcohol makes people sluggish!

"Even a moment's deviation in reaction time means death when facing Muzan Kibutsuji."

He raised his head and looked at Shinjuro seriously:

I must remain absolutely alert at all times.

Faced with this blunt and somewhat jarring answer, Shinjuro was stunned for a full three seconds.

"Your personality is really like a cold and hard piece of wood."

Shinjuro shook his head helplessly, tilted his head back and gulped down the strong liquor in the bowl, letting out a satisfied sigh.

"But that's precisely why you've survived until now and become so strong!!"

"Absolute self-discipline, absolute clarity!!"

There was a moment of silence on the wooden corridor.

Shinjuro did not press the matter further, but turned his head and looked towards the sunlit courtyard.

There,

The boy with golden-red hair, Kyojuro Rengoku, was shirtless, gripping a wooden sword tightly in both hands, and frantically practicing slashing at the air.

"Ugh!! The nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-eighth time!!"

"Ugh!! The nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-ninth time!!"

"Even if my hands are severed, I will burn the will of fire to the very last moment! Hmm! The ten-thousandth time!!"

With each swing of his sword, Kyojuro would unleash a furious roar.

Sweat streamed down his well-defined muscles, glistening with a vibrant sheen in the sunlight.

Shinjuro watched his son sweating under the scorching sun, a complex emotion flickering in his once sharp, eagle-like eyes.

There was relief and pride, but more than anything, there was a deep worry from an elderly father about his son's future after losing his strength.

"Giyu."

What do you think of Kyojuro?

Giyu followed Shinjuro's gaze.

He looked at the boy who radiated astonishing heat and volume, remained silent for a moment, and then gave a very fair assessment.

He looks very energetic.

Giyu paused, then added,

"The sound was also very loud."

Upon hearing this extremely simple and honest evaluation, Shinjuro's lips twitched violently twice.

Holy crap, I asked you to evaluate his swordsmanship talent and willpower, and you're praising his spirit and loud voice?!

But Shinjuro knew full well that arguing with this taciturn man was pointless.

He took a deep breath and turned around.

"Giyu, I'm going to swallow my pride and ask you for a favor today."

Shinjuro stared into Giyu's eyes and said, word by word:

"Let's adopt Kyojuro as our Tsuguko!! Let him stay by your side and receive your guidance!!"

Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise finally appeared on Giyu's usually impassive face.

"Mr. Rengoku, this is against the rules."

Giyu shook his head slightly and refused without hesitation.

"Flame and water, their Breathing Style are not interchangeable!!"

"His personality is as fiery as fire; forcing him to learn Water Breathing will only ruin his original talent."

"I didn't let him learn Water Breathing!"

Shinjuro interrupted Giyu somewhat impatiently.

He looked at his empty left sleeve, a hint of bitterness in his eyes.

"I'm a useless old man now!!"

"Although I have given him all the sword technique manuals, the highest level of swordsmanship cannot be learned simply by reading books!"

"He needs a true master who has reached that level to guide and hone him in real combat!"

"And you are the only person I have ever seen step through that door in my entire life."

Shinjuro's tone was almost pleading, revealing the tenderness of a father.

"This kid is too straightforward, like a ball of fire that only knows how to charge forward!!"

"If we don't let him witness true, absolute power, sooner or later he'll burn himself to ashes on the battlefield while protecting others!!"

"I'm begging you, please make him your Tsuguko, and keep a close eye on him for me!!"

Faced with such a heavy and fatherly entrustment from a retired veteran,

Anyone in this situation would likely be moved by such sentiment and would agree even if they had to force themselves to.

However, Giyu Tomioka's personality meant that he wouldn't say those nice, empty words.

He's stubborn and inflexible.

"I refuse!!"

Giyu left no room for negotiation.

Shinjuro was stunned, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes.

Giyu met Shinjuro's gaze, his deep blue eyes swirling with a chilling solemnity.

"We don't have much time left."

"I don't even have the strength to protect myself, let alone the qualifications to teach others."

"Muzan Kibutsuji is a true monster."

"My top priority now is to find a way to kill him completely."

He looked at the sweat-drenched boy in the courtyard, his tone stiff yet conveying a respect that belonged to swordsmen.

He has his own way of doing things!

"The successor of the Flame Breathing technique needs no one's shadow to over them!!"

Shinjuro listened to these words and remained silent for a long time.

He knew that Giyu was right.

This kid's rationality always trumps all his emotions.

"But!"

Giyu suddenly changed the subject.

He stepped down from the wooden walkway and onto the grass in the courtyard.

"Although I cannot adopt him as my Tsuguko!!"

"But I can practice with him once before I leave."

Upon hearing this, Shinjuro's dim eyes lit up instantly, and a hearty smile once again spread across his lips.

In the center of the courtyard.

When Kyojuro Rengoku saw the legendary Water Hashira who had Upper Rank Moon walking towards him, his muscles tensed with excitement.

"Hmm! Mr. Tomioka! Are you here to check my sword-wielding technique?"

Kyojuro stood ramrod straight, gripping the wooden sword with both hands, his voice booming as if he were reporting military intelligence:

"I've completed 10,000 basic swings! I'm ready to be inspected at any time!"

Giyu stopped two meters away from Kyojuro.

Instead of drawing his Nichirin Blade, he casually broke off a half-meter-long dry branch from a nearby cherry blossom tree.

"Attack me with your best move."

Giyu held the tree branch in one hand, letting it hang casually at his side, as if he had entered a relaxed state without any defenses.

He looked at Kyojuro quietly and added a simple rule.

"If you can make me move even half an inch, you win."

"Hmm! Since Mr. Tomioka says so, then I won't stand on ceremony!"

Kyojuro felt no anger at being slighted; instead, his fighting spirit was ignited.

He took a deep breath, his chest bulging, and a burst of fiery fighting spirit erupted from his body.

In his bright, piercing eyes, it seemed as if flames were truly dancing within them.

"Flame Breathing - First Form-- "

The ground beneath Kyojuro's feet exploded instantly, and he transformed into a red afterimage, charging towards Giyu with unstoppable momentum.

" --Unknowing Fire!!"

The wooden sword tore through the air with a sharp whistling sound, carrying astonishing kinetic energy as it hurtled straight toward Giyu's face!

That's too fast!

The power and speed of this attack have definitely reached the top level of A-Rank swordsman; even ordinary Lower Rank demons cannot avoid it!

However, faced with this unstoppable sword strike, Giyu didn't even blink.

Just a fraction of a second before the wooden sword touched the tip of his nose.

Giyu casually flicked the withered branch in his hand upwards at an extremely tricky angle.

"Snap."

A very soft, crisp sound.

This seemingly insignificant detail, however, acted like a gentle touch that deflected a great weight, instantly shattering Kyojuro's perfect balance.

Kyojuro felt as if the violent force he unleashed had struck an invisible, slippery wall, causing him to veer off course.

The wooden sword's trajectory was forcibly deflected, and the immense inertia propelled Kyojuro's body forward.

The main door is wide open!

Before Kyojuro could recover from his shock...

Giyu's withered branch slid down and gently touched Kyojuro's apple less than a millimeter away.

Giyu's steps did not move an inch from beginning to end.

Absolute crushing victory!!

The center of gravity is half an inch too high.

Giyu retracted the branch, his voice still calm, as if stating some natural law.

"You inhaled too deeply at the moment of exertion, which caused a slight, unnecessary pause in your movement."

"Your sword was a waste of your strength!!"

"You're already dead when you encounter a truly powerful opponent!!"

Being attacked so mercilessly from all sides,

An ordinary teenager would probably be severely discouraged on the spot, and might even begin to doubt his own swordsmanship.

But the person before him was Kyojuro Rengoku.

After a brief moment of surprise, Kyojuro's fiery eyes showed not a trace of defeat.

Instead, it burst forth with an even brighter light than before!

"Hmm!! I see! I've learned something new!!"

Kyojuro nodded excitedly, his voice so loud it could shake the clouds in the sky.

"Mr. Tomioka means that if I lower my center of gravity and adjust my breathing rhythm, I can make the sword faster, right?"

"I understand! I'm going to swing my sword 20,000 times right now to find that feeling!!"

Watching Kyojuro, who was swinging his sword wildly again as if he had been injected with chicken blood, Giyu felt a rare, slight headache.

He had always preferred quiet, but the boy's enthusiasm and loud voice were far beyond what he could easily handle.

"Ara ara~"

Just as Giyu was secretly having a headache,

A gentle, heart-melting voice drifted from the archway in the backyard.

Kanae Kocho and Ruka Rengoku finished their private conversation and were walking towards them with smiles on their faces.

Ruka tactfully stayed in the corridor, while Kanae walked lightly towards Giyu, who was standing in the center of the courtyard.

She immediately noticed the slightly dazed look on Giyu, as if he had been stunned by Kyojuro's high-decibel voice.

A mischievous glint flashed in Kanae's eyes.

She stepped forward and hugged Giyu's right arm, which had only recently been freed.

"Mr. Giyu is truly a responsible and excellent senior!!"

"Not only do you attract the attention of girls, but even the young men of the Rengoku Family are completely captivated by you."

Kanae tiptoed slightly and whispered sweetly in Giyu's ear, her breath warm against his skin.

"But Mr. Giyu looked really cool just now, giving instructions to others with that tree branch."

Feeling that amazing softness against his arm again, and that warm breath that seemed to carry an electric current in his ear,

The unfathomable mastery that Giyu had displayed while instructing Kyojuro vanished instantly.

His ears involuntarily flushed a suspicious red. o(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)o

"I don't..."

Giyu tried to explain that he had just pointed casually and had no intention of showing off.

But his clumsy reaction clearly made Kanae even happier.

"I wonder if, after we return to the Butterfly Mansion tonight, Mr. Giyu would be willing to give me such close, hands-on practical guidance in my room?"

Kanae didn't let go; instead, she leaned even closer to him, her watery purple eyes filled with blatant flirting.

Giyu Tomioka glanced down at the half-dried twig he was holding, then felt the undeniably warm and soft touch on his arm.

His mind, which had been solely focused on slaying demons, was now in complete chaos.