Himejima Gyomei

A week later, in the woods outside Dongchang Town.

Two yellow flashes streaked through the forest, one far ahead of the other, accompanied by thunderous booms like lightning.

Watching Kuwajima Jigoro struggle to catch up from behind, Kujo Tachibana grinned smugly, then turned around and stopped in his tracks, facing the old man.

In an instant, he unleashed dozens of lightning-shaped slashes!

"Thunder Breathing: Sixth Form—Lightning Flash!"

Seeing the powerful slashes rushing toward him, Kuwajima Jigoro couldn't help but cry out:

"Nan-i!"

"You little punk! You've got no honor! Attacking a man in his forties or fifties!"

As Kuwajima Jigoro spouted the trash talk he'd learned from Kujo Tachibana, he raised the Nichirin Sword in his hand.

In a panic, he managed to block the long blade Kujo Tachibana swung at him.

"Clang..."

"Clang..."

"Clang..."

"Clang..."

The two swords clashed dozens of times in an instant, sparks mingling with golden lightning as they flew between the two men.

Kujo Tachibana effortlessly parried the Nichirin Sword Kuwajima Jigoro swung at him, all while taunting him:

"Can you still do this, old man?"

"Those slashes are so weak, even my great-grandma could block them!"

The veins on Kuwajima Jigoro's forehead began to bulge. He attacked Kujo Tachibana with all his might, swinging his Nichirin Sword with one hundred and twenty percent of his strength.

But in the blink of an eye, Kujo Tachibana could now precisely strike the weakest point of the Nichirin Sword in Kuwajima Jigoro's hand!

With effortless ease, he redirected a force a thousand times greater than his own!

As time slowly passed and his strength began to ebb, the Nichirin Sword in Kuwajima Jigoro's hand grew heavier and heavier.

Looking at Kujo Tachibana, whose forehead was only faintly damp with sweat, Kuwajima Jigoro felt his heart sink!

"Oh no! I really might not be able to beat this kid..."

The little old man before him was panting, yet stubbornly refused to admit defeat.

Kujo Tachibana exerted a little force and knocked aside the Nichirin Sword in front of him, then lightly stepped back several meters.

He smiled and said, "All right, old man. Let's call it a draw and stop here!"

At that, Kuwajima Jigoro finally slid his Nichirin Sword back into its sheath. He glared at Kujo Tachibana, huffing, and said:

"What do you mean, 'let's call it a draw'? If you're not satisfied, we can fight another three hundred rounds!"

Seeing the little old man like this, Kujo Tachibana couldn't help laughing. He thought to himself:

I went easy on you, and you still couldn't beat me!

You can't even handle losing, old man. You really are all talk!

The reason Tachibana thought this wasn't that he'd gotten arrogant; it was simply the truth. Even while holding back a great deal, he could still keep Kuwajima Jigoro on the defensive.

After his fierce battle with Rokuro, Lower Moon Two, Tachibana had grasped the Transparent World and gained complete control over his body.

His explosive power, burst speed, and stamina had all improved tremendously.

And he'd also switched to Thunder Breathing.

Over the past few days, Kujo Tachibana's strength had improved far too quickly!

First of all, the speed and explosive power granted by the lightning attribute of Thunder Breathing—those two things alone had erased Kujo Tachibana's two biggest weaknesses.

With the sixth sense of Sword Heart Clarity and the Transparent World of the Supreme Territory, Kujo Tachibana had already reached the pinnacle of this world in terms of skill!

His opponents' moves and physical weaknesses were all laid bare to his senses!

Add in the extreme speed and explosive power granted by Thunder Breathing!

Just imagine how terrifying that was!

Tachibana was now more like an assassin wearing nothing but gear that boosted his damage output!

Enemies who weren't faster than Tachibana could hardly withstand even one of his blows.

And enemies who were a little faster than him wouldn't have reached his level of mastery.

As far as Tachibana could tell, there were only two enemies on that level: Doma, Upper Rank Two, and Akaza, Upper Rank Three.

Against Akaza, a pure martial artist who was also countered by the Transparent World, Kujo Tachibana was confident he could cut off his head.

As for Doma, Kujo Tachibana didn't think he'd lose, but whether he could kill Doma was another matter. It wasn't that Doma was necessarily stronger than Akaza.

The key was that this demon's Blood Demon Art somewhat countered Breathing Styles, while having far less of an effect on demons.

Akaza, on the other hand, was completely countered by him. If Tachibana ran into him, Akaza would soon experience for himself whether the Supreme Territory he'd pursued for hundreds of years was divine or demonic!

One level above them were the two biggest bosses at the pinnacle of this world's strength.

Kokushibo, Upper Rank One!

And Kibutsuji Muzan, the so-called Progenitor of Demons, the scum of the demon world, and the Demon King.

Tachibana personally thought that Muzan's attacks weren't as powerful as Kokushibo's.

It was just that his formidable Demon King body was far stronger than Kokushibo's. Combined with his exceptional ability to flee, Muzan was incredibly difficult to kill.

By comparison, Kokushibo posed a greater threat to Kujo Tachibana!

Kokushibo, Upper Rank One, was one of the First's swordsmen and had created Moon Breathing!

Even more terrifyingly, this guy had retained his Demon Slayer Mark from his human days despite becoming a demon, and had also grasped the Supreme Territory—the Transparent World!

In terms of pure fighting power, Tachibana believed Kokushibo was the ceiling of this world!

It was just that his demon body left him with no choice but to obey the Demon King, Muzan. If Muzan died, he would die too, so of course he had to protect him.

But Tachibana wasn't in a hurry. He was only fifteen, and the main story wouldn't begin for another seven or eight years.

Besides, Tachibana was already so full of himself that he felt Muzan might not even survive until the main story began if he went up against him.

The next day at noon, Kujo Tachibana followed Kuwajima Jigoro to the entrance of Dongchang Town, where they waited for Ubuyashiki Kagaya, the current Master of the Demon Slayer Corps, to arrive.

As he gazed down the road beyond the town entrance, Kuwajima Jigoro looked at Kujo Tachibana and said solemnly:

"Tachibana, there's something I want to remind you before the Master arrives."

"You may not know much about the Master of our Demon Slayer Corps yet."

"But I hope you'll show Master Kagaya the respect he deserves!"

Although Kuwajima Jigoro didn't think Tachibana was an impolite person, he still couldn't help giving him a warning before the Master arrived.

"What do you mean, 'your' and 'our'? He's our Master! You make it sound like I'm not a member of the Demon Slayer Corps," Kujo Tachibana said righteously.

Kuwajima Jigoro: "..."

"Tachibana, you never disappoint!"

In Tachibana's eyes, calling him Master was no different from calling his boss "the boss" at the company he'd worked for in his previous life. He didn't have any other thoughts about it.

Besides, the capitalist boss from his previous life couldn't hold a candle to this new boss's generosity.

While the two were talking, a carriage slowly rolled in through the town entrance.

The carriage itself was perfectly ordinary. The key was its driver!

The driver was extraordinarily burly!

But that wasn't the key point!

The key point was that the driver was blind!!!

Watching Himejima Gyomei drive the carriage forward as naturally as anyone else, Tachibana couldn't help thinking:

"Do you not need eyesight to drive? Could this guy have developed a sixth sense too?"