Butterfly Mansion
Giyu Tomioka sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, shirtless, with his Nichirin Blade resting horizontally on his knees.
"Breathe--"
With each rise and fall of Giyu's chest, three distinct energy vortexes actually began to boil within a three-foot radius around him!
Red! White! Blue!
Three mutually exclusive Breathing Style intertwined, collided, and swirled around his body!
"Boom--!"
A dazzling stream of three colors unleashed a devastating energy storm in the quiet room!
Gravity in the quiet room seemed to completely fail at this moment, and countless wood chips were suspended in mid-air!
"Drink!!"
Giyu's eyes snapped open!
In the depths of those deep blue eyes, the left eye reflected the blazing ring of the sun, while the right eye shimmered with the cold, silvery light of the full moon!
He's trying to merge!
As long as we can get past this step!
However--
"Click... click--!"
Just as the red, white, and blue energies were about to merge!
"Bang--!"
An extremely terrifying recoil force exploded from Giyu's heart!
The violent tri-colored cyclone instantly dissipated, slamming violently against the surrounding walls, causing the entire mansion to shake three times!
"Pfft--whoosh..."
Giyu let out a muffled groan, his body swayed slightly, and a wisp of white steam escaped from the corner of his mouth.
The wood chips, suspended in mid-air, instantly lost their gravitational pull and fell to the ground with a clatter.
The quiet room fell silent once more.
Giyu slowly raised his right hand, glanced at his slightly reddened palm, and a faint trace of regret flashed across his usually calm and handsome face.
It failed.
Once again, we're stuck at this final hurdle.
To be honest, with his physical strength, swordsmanship, and mastery of the Sun, Moon, and Water Breathing Style, Giyu Tomioka has long since reached the Supreme Realm of Pinnacle of Humanity.
Even if it were Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the legendary swordsman who made Muzan question his existence four hundred years ago, resurrected through Yoriichi Tsugikuni, Giyu would still be fully capable of going toe-to-toe with him. In fact, by skillfully switching between three different Breathing Style, Giyu could even surpass Yoriichi in terms of the comprehensiveness of his moves.
The problem is, there's absolutely no way forward!
That invisible barrier couldn't be broken by swinging a knife ten thousand more times a day or eating two hundred more radish and salmon rice balls.
That's a constraint etched deep within the genes of humankind, a carbon-based species!
This is like in a game, Giyu has already maxed out his experience bar to 100%, but then the system pops up a cold message telling him:
"Sorry, the version is not updated; ascension to immortality is prohibited."
If Giyu could take this step and completely integrate the Three-Color Breathing Style into a higher-dimensional power, even if Muzan Kibutsuji grew ten heads, Giyu could still subdue him with one hand.
Unfortunately, the world has welded that door shut.
Unless one can find a heaven-defying opportunity to break the cycle of life and death, relying solely on closed-door training, even if one practices for another hundred years, it is absolutely impossible to make any progress.
"That's enough."
Giyu exhaled a breath of stale air and casually grabbed the clothes next to him and draped them over his shoulders.
Although I didn't ascend on the spot, my current stats are still good enough to bully that cowardly Trash Boss, Muzan Kibutsuji.
What's more, he also holds the trump card that Tanjiro Kamado used to specifically kill Muzan.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Just as Giyu finished fastening his belt, a series of light footsteps echoed from the outer corridor.
"Splash--"
The paper sliding door was opened by a small, slender, fair hand.
"Oh dear~ Mr. Giyu, what earth-shattering project are you undertaking in your room in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"
Accompanied by a sweet and charming teasing voice, Shinobu Kocho, carrying a tray, stepped across the threshold with a smile.
It has to be said that the manager of the Butterfly Mansion clearly came tonight with some kind of ulterior motive.
She was wearing a smooth, light purple silk loungewear.
Her short hair, mostly jet black with mysterious violet tips, was pulled back and she still wore her signature blue-purple butterfly hair accessory.
As she knelt before the low table, the collar of her slightly loose purple loungewear opened slightly.
It not only accentuated her exquisite, porcelain-doll-like face,
It perfectly outlines her seemingly petite and delicate figure, yet with an astonishingly full bust and a slender waist, creating a stunning contrast!
If someone with slightly weaker willpower had come here, they probably would have stood at attention on the spot with a nosebleed.
Shinobu skillfully placed the tray on the low table and gently pushed a cup of clear, bright green hot tea and a small dish of butter cookies in front of Giyu.
"Here, Mr. Giyu, have a taste. These are freshly baked desserts from the kitchen, and I also have a special calming and soothing tea that I made especially for you."
Giyu looked at his sister-in-law, who was smiling broadly, and nodded calmly.
"Thank you. You're still up so late. Did you come back from Mount Fujikasane?"
Giyu picked up the cup of warm tea, brought it to his lips, and took a small sip.
The tea was slightly bitter at first sip, but then a sweet sensation followed, sliding down the throat and into the stomach.
Giyu's brow twitched almost imperceptibly, but he didn't think much of it.
Having lived in the Butterfly Mansion for several years, Shinobu would occasionally concoct some bizarre dishes such as Wisteria -flavored miso soup and mint-flavored radish stewed salmon. A cup of tea with a hint of floral aroma was already a perfectly normal drink for her.
"Yes, I rushed back to report to you, the mastermind, as soon as I came down the mountain!"
Shinobu Kocho rested her rosy cheeks on her hands, elbows propped on the low table, her upper body leaning slightly forward, her beautiful amethyst eyes fixed on Giyu:
"Mr. Giyu, you didn't see it with your own eyes! Tanjiro's performance in the core area of Mount Fujikasane was absolutely horrific!!"
Shinobu picked up a small cookie, took a small bite, and gestured with relish:
"That Lower Rank demon, after absorbing the potion, clearly surpassed the Upper Rank level in terms of fighting power!"
"And then what happened?"
"Tanjiro utterly humiliated that arrogant little spider in a single exchange, leaving him questioning his very existence?!"
"The most terrifying thing is the crimson Heat Haze that coil around his blade! You absolutely cannot imagine that those Heat Haze could actually ignite the demon's Blood Demon Art in reverse!"
At this point, Shinobu burst out laughing, her chest heaving as she laughed, her eyes curving into charming crescent moons.
"Later, Tanjiro bowed and apologized to the person while roasting Lei like a whole roasted lamb for a full ten minutes!!"
"Do you think Tanjiro has some kind of psychological problem?!"
"When Mr. Shinazugawa and I were peeking from the tree, Shinazugawa eyes almost popped out of his head!"
After listening to Shinobu Kocho's analysis of the battle, Giyu Tomioka, sitting opposite her, showed no surprise whatsoever.
He was like a seasoned veteran who had read the entire script long ago; he put down his teacup and slowly began to speak:
"An expected result."
"If we can't even handle a near- Upper Rank that's been forced to grow faster with external help, then all the extra training I gave him over the past year at Mount Sagiri will have been for nothing."
Shinobu Kocho blinked her big eyes, leaned forward again, and tilted her head curiously to ask:
"Oh? So, even the fact that Heat Haze can evolve by absorbing the blood of evil spirits was part of Giyu- san's plan?"
"I don't know the specifics, but I know very well where his limits are."
Giyu picked up a small biscuit, put it in his mouth, and chewed it. A wise light shone in his deep blue eyes.
"Tanjiro possesses the perfect Demon King's Blood, yet also a resilient human soul and a constitution naturally suited to the Sun Breathing..."
"Given all these factors, killing a Lower Rank across realms is nothing to him..."
Giyu paused for a moment,
"Moreover, the real audience tonight has never been you and Shinazugawa, but Muzan Kibutsuji lurking in the shadows."
Shinobu Kocho's eyes lit up. "Muzan?"
"That's right."
Tonight is just to give him the first dose of warning, to instill fear in him, to make him wary...
"And Tanjiro... his future is limitless!"
"When the time is right, let Tanjiro reveal his ability to overcome sunlight..."
"So..."
"Muzan will go mad, the final battle is about to begin!"