Sabito took a deep breath, stood up from the stone pier, put the fox mask back on, and then turned around to look at Giyu.
His eyes changed; the grievances and frustration from before vanished, replaced by an almost scorching fighting spirit. His flesh-colored hair shone like a dancing flame in the sunlight.
"Giyu, let's have a fight!"
His hands were pressed tightly against the hilt of his Nichirin Blade at his waist.
Giyu looked at him but didn't say anything.
He didn't really want to fight. Sabito was clearly emotionally charged, and fighting in this state could easily result in him accidentally injuring his opponent.
But Urokodaki spoke up, "Go ahead, but stop when you've made your point."
Since his master had spoken, Giyu could only nod.
He bent down and picked up the spare sword from his knee. This sword was the standard training sword of Mount Sagiri. The blade was lighter than his own Nichirin Blade, and the center of gravity was also slightly off. Holding it in his hand, it felt a little unfamiliar.
He cracked his knuckles as he flexed his wrists, and walked step by step toward the center of the training field.
The Sabito was already waiting there. The two stood facing each other, dozens of meters apart, and the atmosphere gradually became tense.
Kanae and Shinobu quickly ran to the edge of the training field, found a safe spot with a clear view, and clung to the tree trunks, their eyes glued to the ground.
Urokodaki stood at the entrance of the Dojo, arms crossed, his gaze calmly fixed on the two boys in the arena beneath his Tengu Mask.
The afternoon sun was shining brightly, turning the sandy ground of the training field white, making it hard to open one's eyes.
The chirping of cicadas came from the distant mountains and forests, one chirp after another, hissing as if counting down to the upcoming battle.
"--Clang!"
Sabito gripped the hilt tightly with both hands, and the blade slowly emerged from its sheath, its deep blue surface gleaming with a moist luster in the sunlight.
His breathing began to adjust, gradually shifting from a normal rhythm to the long, powerful rhythm unique to Water Breathing, poised to unleash its power.
Giyu held the scabbard loosely with his left hand and rested his right hand lightly on the hilt, his posture appearing quite casual.
But the Sabito knew that wasn't the case at all.
He knew Giyu too well; the more relaxed a person was, the more dangerous they often were, like a calm deep pool with turbulent undercurrents.
"I'm going to go!"
The Sabito let out a low growl.
The words had barely left his lips when a flash of light pierced the air!
"Water Breathing - First Form: Water Surface Slash!"
The deep blue blade flashed as fast as lightning. In the instant it made its move, Sabito completed three strikes. Three arcs of light intersected as it pounced towards Giyu. It was fast, accurate, and ruthless, without the slightest hesitation.
Kanae's heart tightened, and she gripped the tree trunk tightly.
She had been practicing Water Breathing for a month, and could barely use the First Form, but she could never reach this speed. The three slashes appeared almost simultaneously, and the afterimages left by the blades formed a deep blue light curtain that dazzled the eyes.
Shinobu didn't even dare to blink. She didn't even see Sabito draw his sword; she only saw a deep blue light pressing down on Giyu.
But Giyu in the arena simply turned his body slightly, raised his right hand, and held his sword, still sheathed, in front of him.
"Clang!"
The first strike struck the scabbard with a dull metallic clang, and the deep blue water exploded violently, splashing up tiny sparks of light.
With a slight twist of his wrist, Giyu's scabbard slid down, grazing the blade of the second strike. The deep blue blade light was deflected by him, slashing fiercely at empty air, leaving a shallow groove in the sand.
The third strike was already upon him, almost within reach.
Giyu took a half step back with his left foot, his body almost leaning backward. The blade grazed his chest, the fabric fluttering backward in the strong wind with a soft rustling sound.
Three moves, all missed.
The Sabito didn't stop at all; with a slight shift in its footing, the blade spun rapidly back to its starting position.
"Second Form: Water Wheel!"
His body suddenly spun around, the blade flashing in a perfect circle, the deep blue arc like a giant Water Wheel, crushing towards Giyu.
"--Clang!"
A pale blue blade leaped from its sheath like a bolt of lightning tearing the sky. The air hummed slightly as the blade was drawn, the sound of its extreme speed.
Giyu gripped the sword with both hands, raised it above his head, and slashed down at the deep blue Water Wheel.
"--clang!!"
The two blades clashed with a deafening sound, and azure and deep blue light exploded at the point of impact, stinging the eyes.
A powerful shockwave spread outwards, stirring up the sand and dust on the training ground and creating a ring of billowing smoke, a hazy gray expanse.
Kanae and Shinobu instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes, squinting as they peered inside.
When the smoke cleared and they could see what was happening, they were stunned and their mouths dropped open in surprise.
... The Water Wheel of the Sabito was smashed to pieces?!
The azure blade precisely cleaved the weakest point of the deep blue arc, sending deep blue water splashing everywhere. Under the sunlight, the water refracted into a rainbow of colors, like a sky full of stars, before gradually dissipating into the air.
Giyu's sword stopped three inches above Sabito's head, its blade gleaming coldly, but it did not move any further.
Sabito held his sword up with both hands, his arms trembling slightly. He gritted his teeth, and a thin layer of sweat had appeared on his forehead beneath the fox mask, sliding down his cheeks.
The force of this strike was immense, like the pressure of an entire waterfall concentrated on the blade. The moment it struck, Sabito felt his sword about to bend, and his arm ached so much he almost lost all feeling.
"My breathing... is erratic."
Sabito suddenly realized that in order to withstand the blow, he had subconsciously held his breath, and the rhythm of his Water Breathing had been completely disrupted.
He took a deep breath, jumped back to create distance, gripped the knife with both hands, stared intently at Giyu, and his chest heaved violently.
It's different now, completely different.
Although Sabito knew Giyu was strong—how could someone who became a Pillar at the age of thirteen be weak? —Sabito was only when they actually fought that he truly experienced the despairing gap in their abilities.
For Giyu, water is no longer just a technique; it has become part of his very being, ingrained in his very being.
Breathing, heartbeat, blood flow, muscle contraction—every movement was integrated with the azure rhythm. Every strike was precise, every step incredibly accurate.
And what about myself?
The Sabito gripped the hilt of the knife tightly, its knuckles clicking.
He trained very hard, spending just as much time training as Giyu every day. He knew all ten forms of Water Breathing and could even create some variations based on his own understanding. Among his peers, he was definitely one of the top ones.
But when facing Giyu, he felt like a child who had just learned to hold a knife, clumsy and powerless.
"Continue."
Giyu stood still, the tip of his knife pointing diagonally at the ground, the azure blade reflecting the sunlight, dazzlingly bright, without moving an inch.
The Sabito took a deep breath, suppressing its wavering and frustration. It couldn't retreat, it absolutely couldn't retreat.
He slammed his foot off the sand, his body shooting forward like an arrow, and he hissed:
"Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
His steps became unsteady, his figure swaying from side to side, and with each step he took, deep blue ripples bloomed under his feet, as if he were walking on water.
He transformed into several afterimages, rushing towards Giyu from different angles. This was a high-speed movement technique, using unpredictable footwork to confuse the opponent, find an opening, and then strike a fatal blow.
Giyu simply stepped forward, taking a light step.
Then, the blade flashed.
Giyu's sword was so fast that it left countless afterimages in the air, making it impossible to see the actual blade.
Slashing, chopping, thrusting, and parrying—all the simplest, most basic movements—he executed at an absurdly fast speed.
"--Clang!!"
The sound of collisions, so numerous that it was impossible to count them all, rang out across the training ground, making everyone's ears ring.
The deep blue afterimages and the azure blade light intertwined, weaving a wildly flashing blue net in the center of the training field, the light so bright it was blinding.
Kanae's eyes stung as she tried desperately to make out their movements, but she could only catch blurry silhouettes and couldn't tell who was who at all.
Sparks from the clashing blades occasionally flew out, landing on the sand and burning small black dots that disappeared in an instant.
Ren's mouth dropped open, and she instinctively grabbed her sister's sleeve.
It was too fast; this was not the kind of battle she had ever known.
In her and her sister's training, every move had to be carefully prepared, breathing had to be adjusted little by little, and the form had to be fully executed. But these two people in the arena seemed to have no preparation process for their swords. They could think of something and the sword would go wherever they wanted, with unbelievable speed.
Urokodaki stood at the entrance of the Dojo, his gaze beneath the Tengu Mask becoming focused; he saw things very clearly.
The Flowing Dance of the Sabito is well-executed, with agile movements and highly deceptive afterimages, but the problems are also obvious:
When changing direction, there will be a very, very short pause. Ordinary people may not be able to see this pause, but for a pillar-level expert, this is a fatal flaw.
And the Giyu...
Urokodaki sighed inwardly.
This child doesn't need a particular style anymore.
Those azure blade lights, seemingly casually swung, were each precisely timed to the pivotal moments of Sabito's breathing transitions, each strike hitting the weak points in Flowing Dance. It was as if he could see the trajectory of Sabito's internal energy flow and then anticipate it, waiting there with his blade.
That was Transparent World.