Bang!
The concrete ground where Major Debes had stood moments earlier exploded into a deep crater.
His massive five-meter-tall body
lunged toward Takasugi Shinsuke like a heavy truck in full throttle, carrying a savage gale that threatened to crush everything in its path.
A bear paw covered in thick black fur, capable of smashing a house apart,
came crashing down at a speed utterly disproportionate to its size.
The fierce gust from the palm sent shattered stones flying everywhere.
Yet the blow struck nothing but air.
Takasugi Shinsuke's figure was like a weightless purple phantom.
Just before the bear paw reached him, he lightly twisted aside by the narrowest margin, not only evading the deadly strike,
but even slipping into Major Debes's blind spot at his flank.
Major Debes's heart tightened slightly.
But as a seasoned fighter, he did not panic.
The muscles around his waist suddenly tensed, and he used Life Return to control his extended bear tail, sweeping it backward like a steel whip as he prepared to turn around.
But Takasugi was even more agile.
Swish!
Purple sword light bloomed like a poisonous mushroom flower in the dark night.
Trailing an eerie violet glow, it struck with precision and viciousness at the joint between Major Debes's shoulder and back before he could fully turn around.
Like Gintoki and Katsura, Takasugi had trained under Yoshida Shoyo.
But after all these years of experience,
his Swordsmanship had discarded all flashy excess in pursuit of utmost efficiency and lethality.
That strike contained pure sword aura and killing intent, enough to cleave through the heavy alloy of a battleship.
Clang—
In an instant, an ear-piercing metallic explosion rang out, as though a blade had slammed full force against a steel wall.
Sparks scattered between the edge of the blade and the