What Are Rokushiki? What Is Haki?

"Hey, Mitsuri- neechan, where did Nezuko and Tanjiro go? I haven't seen them for the past two days."

Mumei raised his head and shifted his Kohaku -like gaze from the battle between the Tornado and the Agni to the Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji, beside him.

Ever since she heard Sakonji Urokodaki tell the story of the brother and sister that day, she felt a deep sense of empathy.

Nezuko has become a demon, but Tanjiro is by her side and is doing everything he can to find a way to turn her back into a human. Ikoma had told him that he would definitely find a way to turn her back into a human.

Given their similar experiences, it's hard not to Mumei some concern for Nezuko.

Especially since the two are quite close in age; she is thirteen years old this year, Nezuko is fourteen.

Upon hearing the question, the latter stared with wide, emerald-green eyes, bent down, and revealed a very warm and cheerful smile.

"They were sent to Shinobu-nee's Butterfly Mansion for treatment~"

She also took a liking to the incredibly cute little girl, and then asked expectantly, "Mumei, you don't know the Breathing Technique yet, do you? Would you like to be my stepson? I can teach you the Love Breathing!"

The term "stepchild" refers to a Demon Slayer Corps member personally trained by a Pillar. Usually, the Pillar would choose a highly talented child who has a high chance of becoming a Pillar in the future.

"But I don't know how to use that kind of soft sword that's like a whip. If I had to choose a Breathing Technique, I'd prefer to learn Shinobu Kocho's Insect Breathing."

The Mumei declined her offer, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"How so."

Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji looked quite disappointed, muttering, "Shinobu-neechan's sword techniques rely heavily on various poisons."

"But I feel that the agility and high-speed thrusts of Insect Breathing are enough even without the poison, and it's very suitable for someone like me who doesn't have enough strength."

Mumei voiced his observations, thinking to himself, "Besides, my future opponents won't necessarily all be monsters with super healing abilities like demons."

Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji chuckled, "But Shinobu-neechan already has a stepson~"

"Does not being a stepson preclude one from learning Insect Breathing?"

The Mumei woman asked, her pretty face filled with confusion.

"Sure!"

At that moment, Shinobu Kocho approached from somewhere, her smile conveying a sense of composure and gentleness.

"Kanao learned Flower Breathing, which is perfect. I haven't passed on my Insect Breathing yet. Would you like to come to my place tonight to take a look?"

"Want!"

Mumei's eyes lit up with delight as he thanked her, "I love your 'Butterfly Dance: Teasing' the most! Your movements are truly as light and graceful as a butterfly. Thank you, Sister Ren!"

"It seems Mumei really likes butterflies, that's wonderful."

"I have lots of butterflies there, and since you're Mr. Mitsui's daughter, with your talent, you might even create a unique 'Butterfly Breathing' technique in the future!"

Shinobu Kocho took the Mumei girl's delicate white hand and chuckled, which made Mitsuri Kanroji pout her pink lips and say unhappily, "Actually, soft swords aren't that hard to learn."

"Alright, come join us tonight too. It feels like it's been ages since we went to a hot spring together."

Shinobu Kocho was like a perfect older sister, soothing her hurt and disappointment with gentle words.

[Duang!]

Just as the three women were chatting, a series of clanging and crackling sounds suddenly rang out from the other side.

The Samurai sword in Laskey's hand was wreathed in flames like flowing water, and turned into a red light that stopped in front of the throat of Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku.

"First Form: Unknowing Fire"

The former uttered a single, unhurried word, bringing the intense sparring session to a fiery close, before swiftly sheathing his blade.

Thank you for your guidance!

Kyojuro Rengoku seemed completely undeterred by his defeat. Instead, he laughed loudly and confidently, "As expected of Mr. Mitsui, impressive!"

"You can strengthen your strength training. Since the Flame Breathing technique is based on overwhelming force, you need to ensure you have enough suppressive power."

Laskey stated his suggestion in a calm tone.

"Thank you so much!"

Kyojuro Rengoku bowed again, then sheathed his Nichirin Blade and returned to the Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima, smiling, "Your turn."

"Amitabha."

The latter put his hands together, chanted a Buddhist prayer, then flicked his prayer beads and stepped forward, stopping in front of Laskey.

"Is it finally his turn?"

Laskey looked with great interest at the burly monk who was even taller than himself.

He had short, neat black hair, a prominent long scar on his forehead, wore a black Demon Slayer Corps uniform underneath, and a brown haori with the words "Namo Amitabha Buddha" written on it. He also wore a circle of crimson prayer beads of various sizes around his neck and on his wrists.

Where is your weapon?

"Here."

Stone Hashira · Gyomei Himejima reached behind his back beneath his haori and pulled out a meteor hammer and a broad axe connected at both ends by a thick, long iron chain.

"This is your Nichirin Blade?"

Laskey raised an eyebrow in surprise. The previous pillars all carried a Samurai sword, but this guy was so unconventional.

"Yes, it contains an extremely high concentration of Scarlet Sand Iron, making it more effective against demons. The only problem is that it's quite heavy. Amitabha."

Gyomei Himejima gave a brief explanation, but his words left the Pillars watching from afar speechless.

"It's not just heavy, it's ridiculously heavy. I can lift it, but it's completely unusable for combat. What a magnificent weapon."

Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui couldn't help but complain.

"Is that so? In that case, there's no need for you to Imitation Magic my 'Stone Breathing'."

After a few breaths of consideration, Laskey, to the astonished gazes of the crowd, tossed the Samurai from his waist to Mumei, then left empty-handed. "I've been fighting in your style all along; now it's time to show you my fighting style."

"???"

A bunch of large golden question marks appeared on the tops of those pillars.

"Is he planning to fight Brother Himejima?" Mitsuri Kanroji could hardly believe her own words.

"It seems so."

Iguro Obanai frowned and said, "Has Mr. Mitsui's consecutive victories over eight of us made him so arrogant?"

"No, Father's unarmed strength is even stronger than his sword skills~" After saying that, Mumei winked playfully.

But no one believed her; they just thought it was a child's blind worship of his father.

As for Gyomei Himejima, the person involved, he first exchanged a glance with Laskey, and after confirming that the other party was not joking, he did not say anything more.

"Then let me witness your extraordinary skills, Amitabha."

As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately took the initiative to attack. Since Mitsui Hayato had conceded the first strike in the previous airport battle, there was no need for him to be coy.

The Stone Hashira's arm solidified instantly as it exerted force, its muscles bursting and knotting together.

The next moment, the iron chain in his hand trembled and shook, and the meteor hammer and broad axe were swung out with a bang, tearing through the air along the way and making two loud explosions.

"First Form: Serpentinite Bipolar!"

However, his 'Stone Breathing' didn't seem to have the flashy elemental effects of other Breathing Technique; it only left a faint layer of gray mist on the weapon.

However, its momentum was in no way inferior to the latter; the howling sound that caused the air to vibrate fully demonstrated the powerful sense of force of this move.

Faced with such a powerful attack, Laskey simply raised his right hand, and as he clenched his fist, a layer of black, metallic sheen appeared out of thin air on his skin.

[Thump!!]

The next moment, the pitch-black fist smashed the meteor hammer, producing a sound like a striking bell, and then the fist turned into a palm, slapping away the broad axe on the other side.

This scene stunned everyone except for the Mumei one.

Laskey ignored the pillars' feelings, stomping his foot and shattering the ground beneath him as he charged forward, leaving trails of afterimages behind him.

"Fourth Form - Volcanic Rock, Rapid Conquest!"

Although Gyomei Himejima is blind, he can still clearly perceive Laskey's movements through vibrations within a certain range.

Although he was equally incredulous, he reacted swiftly, twisting the chains with both hands to make the flying meteor hammer and broad axe spin, hurtling towards Laskey's back at incredible speed.

"Shigan!"

As Laskey closed in on his opponent, he ignored the whooshing sound behind him and flicked his right index finger out like a bullet.

[When!]

However, the super-fast Shigan at such close range was precisely blocked by the Stone Hashira with the straight chains between his hands, and the chains were very tough, showing no signs of breaking.

But Laskey's Shigan didn't end there; instead, it spread out in front of him like a shotgun, covering his opponent from head to toe.

In Setsuna, fingers and chains engaged in a fierce and intense battle, with rapid clanging sounds erupting throughout the arena.

"Such keen perception."

When Laskey saw that the opponent could not be penetrated by the water shield covering his entire body with just a slightly thick chain, he realized that the Stone Hashira's mental perception had completely reached the level of 'Observation Haki'.

"Shave!"

Suddenly, Laskey vanished from his spot in a blur, dodging the meteor hammer and axe blade that were about to hit his back, and then instantly reappeared behind Gyomei Himejima.

"What?"

The latter had not anticipated that Laskey's speed would become so fast. He felt that it had exceeded the limits of human capability, comparable to the Blood Demon Art of those demons, which was a superpower.

[Bang!]

With a muffled thud, Gyomei Himejima was kicked hard in the back, and he flew forward with a groan of pain. But in the process, he heard the 'Mitsui Hayato' utter another strange word.

"Rankyaku!"

The next moment, the Stone Hashira's expression changed drastically. Ignoring the pain in his back, he mustered all his strength to turn to the side, quickly pulled the chain in his hand, and swung his meteor hammer and axe blade around himself, barely managing to complete his move a second before the sharp tearing sound approached.

"Third Form: Stone Skin!"

A dozen gray scratches formed a net, blocking a bright blue crescent-shaped air blade. Although it was blocked, the powerful force contained in the blade sent the Stone Hashira flying again.

"Oh my god, what... what is that?"

Mitsuri Kanroji instinctively covered her mouth with both hands, completely overwhelmed with shock.

Not only her, but also Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku, Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui, and the others, all had expressions of utter astonishment.

He could withstand the meteor hammer and axe blade from Brother Himejima, and instantly appear behind someone. Now, he can even unleash wind Wind Blade that Skybreaker with just his legs?

Is this really something a human could do?

"That's the 'Rokushiki,' a Physical Arts that transcends the limits of human physical ability!"

Mumei then stepped forward, hands behind his back, standing on tiptoe, with a handsome smile, and began to introduce the pillars.

The moment Laskey unleashed the Rokushiki, she knew it was time to confront the Demon Slayer Corps, and she also had a hidden earpiece in her right ear.

"The finger-stabbing technique Father used earlier was the Shigan from the 'Rokushiki,' which gives the fingers bullet-like speed and attack power, making it easy to pierce through metal!"

"The technique that instantly appeared behind the Stone Hashira was 'Shave,' which involves stomping the ground dozens of times at high speed in a short period of time, using the explosive reaction force to achieve super-fast movement!"

"Then the Wind Blade that was kicked out was the 'Rankyaku,' Physical Arts that uses a super-fast and powerful kick to create a vacuum and generate a slash."

Under everyone's gaze, the little girl romantically counted her delicate white fingers, explaining each item one by one.

"In addition, there are 'Tekkai' that can make the body as hard as steel, 'Paper Arts' that can make the body as thin as paper, and 'Geppo' that allows people to walk freely in the air."

Whether by coincidence or not, following the Mumei words, Laskey in the arena demonstrated the actual effects of 'Tekkai', 'Paper Arts', and 'Geppo' in turn during the battle.

He first took the incoming meteor hammer and axe blade with his bare body, without sustaining any injury.

He then released all his strength and, by manipulating the airflow generated by the axe blade and the meteor hammer, easily dodged wave after wave of attacks at the last second.

Finally, he leaped into the air, literally stepping on Formless air, shifting positions amidst bursts of air explosions, and delivered a final punch to defeat Gyomei Himejima, the strongest Stone Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps!

Silence, deathly stillness, except for the occasional sound of the wind rustling through the ground, Ubuyashiki Estate seemed to have fallen into a momentary standstill of time and space.

"Then, can you do that too?"

Shinobu Kocho suppressed the Tornado storm within her and looked at the Mumei, asking him a question.

"Well, I can't, because the prerequisite for cultivating the 'Rokushiki' is to have physical abilities that exceed the limits of the human body." Mumei scratched the back of his head awkwardly and smiled wryly.

"So, Lord Mitsui was able to catch the meteor hammer with his bare hands because he used the 'Tekkai' technique from the 'Rokushiki'?"

The person asking the question was Mitsuri Kanroji, the Love Hashira, because she felt that the effect of the 'Tekkai' was the same as the effect of tensing her muscles.

"No, Father's hands turned black back then, that was Armament Haki ~"

The Mumei smiled sweetly and said, "It's an ability that transforms willpower into armor to enhance the body's defense and attack power. Generally, we can't see Haki, but he uses a technique called 'Hardening,' which condenses Haki to produce that jet-black color."

So, you will too?

"Uh, no, because Armament Haki also requires a certain level of physical strength, but I do Observation Haki!" Mumei quickly replied.

Just as she was about to explain what Observation Haki was, Laskey walked over and looked at the 'Lord' Kagaya Ubuyashiki and all the Pillars present.

"Next, we need to talk inside. It's about how we wiped out Muzan Kibutsuji and the 'Twelve Kizuki,' and also about the World Government."