Faced with the elite demons rushing in like a tsunami, Giyu Tomioka, standing on the rooftop, showed no sign of panic; instead, a glint of eager anticipation flashed in his eyes.
"A thousand? That's quite a lot."
Giyu gripped the crimson Red Nichirin Blade in his hand and muttered to himself:
"Perfect timing! I've been watching others practice their swordsmanship at the Hashira Meetings and have memorized quite a few moves, but I've never had a chance to try them out!"
Let's test the results today.
"Boom--!"
Giyu one hand wielding the Red Nichirin Blade, Giyu charged head-on into the densest horde of demons!
His movements were like a dragon swimming into the sea!
Giyu Tomioka plunged headlong into the horde of demons. This time, he didn't use his signature Water Breathing. Instead, he flicked his wrist and casually unleashed a sword technique that left Muzan on the high platform stunned!
He's the only member of the Demon Slayer Corps who has mastered the Transparent World to its maximum level, and he usually likes to sit in a corner, observing others in a daze!
Over the past two years, Giyu has already learned various Gyomei Himejima Breathing Style, Sanemi Shinazugawa Kyojuro Rengoku Kanae Kocho Tengen Uzui teacher!
Of course, Giyu usually has to practice his own Water, Sun, and Moon Breathing techniques, and when he gets home at night he has to deal with those two troublesome little devils, Kanae and Shinobu Kocho. Where would he find the time to specifically practice other people's Breathing Style?
So Giyu never seriously practiced those Breathing Style he had casually learned!
However, Giyu Tomioka's base stats are just too high, too abnormal!
This is like a max-level character casually grabbing a basic skill book from the beginner village and throwing it around. By relying solely on brute force and overwhelming strength, they can unleash terrifying destructive power comparable to a nuclear bomb attack on the ground using these half-baked, pirated moves!
"Die, Water Hashira! Your head and Muzan's blood essence are mine!!"
The hundred or so demons charging at the front had ferocious faces; some brandished bone knives, while others spewed out clouds of acid...
Giyu shifted his stance, leaving a blur as he cut into the formation. Gripping his Red Nichirin Blade, he mimicked Sanemi Shinazugawa's usual striking posture, unleashing a powerful, sweeping backhand attack.
"Wind Breathing - First Form - Dust Whirlwind - Slash!!"
"Boom--!"
In an instant, a cyan-red tornado blade, fifty meters long, roared out directly from the tip of Giyu's blade!
Wherever the wind blades passed, the air was violently distorted!
The demon charging at the forefront was instantly sliced into minced meat by the blue and red wind blades!
Giyu Tomioka, who had just unleashed his strike, glanced at the vacuum zone cleared in front of him, and while dodging forward, he still had the leisure to mutter to himself:
"Hmm, Shinazugawa's techniques are indeed very effective at clearing out weaker enemies!"
"I don't know why, but every time I exert myself, I have this urge to curse out loud!"
"..."
Before he finished speaking, Giyu's feet did not stop moving in the slightest!
On the suspended corridor to the left, nearly a hundred more evil spirits roared and pounced down at the same time!
"Don't be afraid! That last strike was definitely a long-prepared, hidden technique. Kill him while he's catching his breath!!"
Using the momentum from his earlier sword swing, Giyu leaped more than ten meters into the air, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly. Following the posture he remembered Kyojuro Rengoku had used when swinging his sword, he slashed straight down at the corridor below.
"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form - Flame Tiger!!"
"Roar--!"
With a roar, a giant tiger, its body swelled to over twenty meters long and engulfed in red flames, pounced from Giyu's blade!
The raging tiger opened its blood-red maw and rampaged down the long corridor!
Before Giyu could catch his breath, the agile demon, skilled in speed and surprise attacks, seized the moment he landed and surrounded him from both above and below!
"He unleashed two wide-range sword techniques in quick succession! He must be running out of oxygen! Everyone, attack together and tear him to shreds!!"
Hearing the incessant wailing in his ears, Giyu remained expressionless as his wrist began to tremble violently at an incredibly high frequency of hundreds of times per second!
Although he didn't have any gunpowder beads, he simply used his unreasonable sword-swinging speed to force the Red Nichirin Blade to violently rub against and collide with the surrounding air!
"Sound Breathing - Fifth Form - String Performance!!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Rumble--!"
A series of deafening sonic booms and thunderous roars exploded within a ten-meter radius around Giyu!
Giyu transformed into a rapidly spinning crimson blade wheel, crushing directly through the encirclement of over a hundred evil spirits!
The terrifying high-frequency sound waves spread wildly in all directions. Any evil spirit that came within 30 meters of him would have its eardrums and internal organs shattered in an instant. More than a hundred hideous ghost heads exploded one after another into a cloud of blood mist!
Giyu landed on a suspension bridge ahead after breaking out of the sonic boom zone. On the other side of the bridge, more than thirty demons, each over four meters tall and covered in black scales, were charging towards him with heavy steps!
Giyu took a deep breath, his muscles suddenly swelled, and he slammed his right foot into the suspension bridge, shattering it. Gripping the handles with both hands, he delivered a powerful downward slam into the very center of the suspension bridge.
"Stone Breathing - Third Form - Stone Skin!!"
"Thump--!"
This impact was like a meteorite from outer space crashing head-on into the suspension bridge!
A shockwave, visible to the naked eye, propagated wildly along the suspension bridge, causing it to explode!
The thirty-odd demons on the other side, which even cannons couldn't penetrate, had just rushed to the middle of the suspension bridge when they were hit head-on by this shockwave!
"Crack--Bang!!"
More than thirty evil spirits, along with the entire 100-meter-long suspension bridge, were instantly shattered by this heavy blow, turning into a torrential downpour of flesh and wood chips!
"Call..."
Standing on the edge of the broken suspension bridge, Giyu Tomioka sheathed his Nichirin Blade, glanced down at the small tear in the cuff of his haori sleeve caused by the sonic boom, frowned almost imperceptibly, and sighed:
"Uzui's moves are too flashy, and the frequency of his sword swings is too fast, which makes it easy to tear my sleeves. I'll have to ask Kanae to sew them up for me when I get back. Mr. Himejima's moves are powerful, but he has to stomp his feet hard every time he exerts force, which wears out my shoe soles too much."
"It seems that other people's Breathing Style are just for casual play. When it comes to serious use, it's best to use your own Breathing Style."
Sanemi Shinazugawa, Kyojuro Rengoku, Tengen Uzui, and Gyomei Himejima: "..."
The remaining six hundred or so evil spirits around them were now all deathly pale with fear, their legs trembling. Their previously boiling desire was replaced by a chill that penetrated to the bone. Their screams of collapse echoed throughout the entire Infinity Castle.
"Holy crap! Stop! Just stop!! Didn't the master just say that this expressionless human below is the Water Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps?!"
"Holy crap! Is it Water Hashira, Wind Hashira, Flame Hashira, Sound Hashira, or Stone Hashira?!"
"Report! This human on the other side is an absolute powerhouse, cheating! How could he possibly have mastered all the Breathing Style of the Demon Slayer Corps' Pillars?! How the hell are we supposed to fight him? We wouldn't even be able to fill his teeth!!"
"Waaaaah, I don't want to be one of the Twelve Kizuki anymore! Nakime, please open the door!"
P. S.: Learning various Breathing Style was just to pad the word count and indirectly portray Giyu's high talent; it was almost useless later on!
After all, no other Breathing Style can compare to Sun Breathing!
The Water Breathing is a result of Giyu's transformed talent;
The Moon Breathing is "the bright moon rising over the sea," because the Water Breathing has transformed!
Therefore, in Giyu's hands, Water Breathing and Moon Breathing are not much weaker than Sun Breathing; the only difference is the emphasis!