Clash × Eyes of Truth
"Bite!"
The Short Blade collided with the Nichirin Sword.
Roy's arm veins bulged as he pressed down hard!
A surge of immense power flowed from the short sword into the Nichirin Sword, then struck towards Giyu Tomioka.
A glint appeared in Giyu Tomioka's cool eyes, and his arm bent slightly. He hadn't expected Roy to be so strong!
He was in no way inferior to the Demon he had fought, and perhaps even... far surpassed them!
This reminded him of a tall figure... "The Stone Hashira" —Himejima Gyomei, a man who could kill a Demon with brute force alone!
"Water Breathing - Sixth Form: Twisting Whirlpool!"
There are only two solutions when facing brute force: one is to overwhelm the opponent with even stronger brute force, and the other is... the strategy that Giyu Tomioka is currently adopting: deflect the force and then use it against the opponent!
He slumped his shoulders, giving Roy half a body length, allowing Roy to press the Nichirin Sword to the ground. With a swift movement, he slashed at Roy's neck, the Short Blade brushing against his short armor and sending sparks flying.
"Senior Brother Giyu is scared," Makomo said, her beautiful eyes wide with understanding. "He probably didn't expect Eiichiro's strength to be so great."
"That's not fear, it's experience." Seito rubbed the hilt of his sword, noticing that Giyu Tomioka's movements as he deflected the force and drew his sword were remarkably fluid, almost instinctively and instantly completed. He said in a deep voice, "Before humans developed Breathing Style, there was no way to contend with demons."
Therefore, learning to deflect force and then use it against the enemy became the mainstream method for dealing with Demon at that time.
"Giyu is very smart. After realizing that he was not as strong as Eiichiro, he changed his strategy in time and avoided his strength. This is the kind of performance a qualified 'Pillar' should have."
"Whoosh—" The dazzling light of the blade almost blinded people...
Roy sensed danger and tilted his head back to avoid it... The Nichirin Sword grazed his nose, slicing through the air, and the resulting "water stream" roared into the forest, cutting down a thick cypress tree!
"Brother Giyu, we're on the same side!" Shinsuke was lying on the thick trunk of a cypress tree watching the show when he saw the flashing blade coming towards him. He was so frightened that his soul almost left his body. He jumped up to another tree and hugged Fukuda tightly.
"Get the hell out of my way!" Fukuda grabbed his nose, then with a swift backhand, he grabbed him by the neck and pulled him up...
"Clang, clang, clang..." The fight raged on in the Light Sword, lasting only a few breaths.
Roy, wielding Short Blade, clashed with Giyu Tomioka, exchanging over a dozen blows in an instant!
Sparks flew, and the clash of weapons continued... Giyu Tomioka's heart leaped into his throat; he never expected the Sun-Earring Boy to be able to keep up with his pace!
This is clearly beyond the level of a "beginner"!
"Water Breathing - Second Form - Water Wheel!" At that moment, Giyu Tomioka saw Roy close in with his sword again. He flipped his wrist, slashed upwards, and created a ring of water that forced Roy back... Taking advantage of this opening, he suddenly took a deep breath, and his aura changed instantly!
"Total Concentration - Normal Level!" Oxygen accelerates combustion in the lungs... Cardiopulmonary capacity surges, propelling blood flow rapidly, followed by a sudden jolt of the heart, doubling its beat... In a single second...
Giyu Tomioka was like a wound-up machine, operating at overcapacity!
It should be noted that the biggest difference between a "pillar" and an ordinary team member is... whether they can maintain the Breathing Style continuously for 24 hours a day... This is not only a test of cardiopulmonary capacity, but also a test of a person's determination and will.
Sabito narrowed his eyes and said, "Giyu is getting serious!"
"It's Eiichiro who's over the top," Makomo's pupils rippled as she stared intently at the Sun-Earring Boy below. "He's several years younger than Giyu, yet he can keep up with him perfectly and not fall behind."
"Brother Giyu has no choice but to take this seriously!"
Superhuman strength, formidable physical attributes, exceptional reflexes, and quick thinking, coupled with his age... As Makomo said, Giyu Tomioka doesn't know what Himejima Gyomei was like back then, at least...
He admitted that at his age, he was far inferior to Eiichiro...
"Laugh...
Giyu Tomioka raised his Nichirin Sword, and a long, Scorching Heat white mist billowed from his nostrils... his figure flashed by...
The same "Water Breathing - Seventh Form - Drop Ripple Thrust" was used again, but this time the effect was completely different.
Only saw -
A cold glint suddenly pierced Roy's face. Giyu Tomioka, like a ghost, quickly closed in on Roy, taking advantage of his blind spot!
This is the speed and perception boost that "Total Concentration" brings him!
Senior brother is much faster this time... It seems necessary to go to the Butterfly Mansion to speed up the development of "Total Concentration - Regular Middle School"...
The blade's tip gleamed coldly... inches away...
Roy's pupils seemed to ignite two suns as he calmly gazed at Giyu Tomioka.
Giyu Tomioka was stunned. Before he could figure out what was happening, he felt his stab at Eiichiro Infinite down everything around him. Outwardly, it meant that... he suddenly stopped!
What happened?
Why did Senior Brother Giyu suddenly stop?
Was he afraid of hurting Eiichiro?
Shinsuke Fukuda, who had been watching the battlefield closely, noticed something amiss, stopped fighting, and leaped to the top of a tree to survey the scene from above...
On the tall birch tree across the waterfall, Sabito and Makomo looked down in surprise, equally bewildered.
The former frowned, seeing no sign that Giyu was going to stop... With another glance, Roy activated [Eyes of Falsehood], anticipating Giyu Tomioka's attack route, and dodged to the side, letting Giyuu's sword fall into empty air, stabbing towards the waterfall not far away!
"Buzz..." Ripples spread out, and when Giyu Tomioka came to his senses, he had already rushed to the bottom of the waterfall, his sword stuck in the rock, and he was soaked to the bone by the waterfall.
He paid no heed, letting the waterfall wash over him, then turned to look at Roy, his cool eyes rippling with emotion.
"Is this Swordsmanship you created yourself?"
Or is it... a field?
Giyu Tomioka's eyes burned with intensity...
Unfortunately... none of them are correct...
Roy recalled his conversation with his father, Tanjuro, over tea on a snowy night during the New Year holidays, and truthfully replied, "It was my father who taught me."
Giyu Tomioka's eyes flickered. "Your father was also a swordsman?"
Slowing down others' movements and anticipating their attack routes—a swordsman with this kind of skill... couldn't be an unknown nobody...
"But I remember that Eiichiro's father was just an ordinary charcoal seller,"
Makomo scratched his head, recalling carefully, "Could it be that Tanjiro lied, and he's actually a powerful swordsman living in seclusion in Ono? Or like Master... a retired 'Pillar'?"
Sabito crossed his arms, frowning and remaining silent... His intuition told him that Tanjiro Kamado didn't seem like the type to lie; "Perhaps there's more to the story."
His gaze was fixed on Roy.
The Sun-Earring Boy touched the Hanafuda Earrings, then raised his sword again and slashed at Giyu Tomioka.
He chuckled softly, "No... he was just an ordinary father..."
Apart from being a little weak, I'm the same as everyone else, including you, me, him, and everyone else...