Himejima Gyomei

A week later, in the mountain forest outside Dongchang Town.

Two streaks of yellow light, one near and one far, tore through the jungle at high speed, accompanied by a roar like thunder.

Seeing Kuwajima Jigoro failing to catch up, Kujo Tachibana smiled smugly, turned around, stopped in his tracks, and faced him.

In a split second, he unleashed dozens of lightning-like slashes!

"Thunder Breathing, Sixth Form: Rumble and Flash!"

Watching the powerful slashes heading his way, Kuwajima Jigoro couldn't help but exclaim:

"Nani!"

"You brat, you have no martial virtue, ambushing a forty or fifty-year-old man!"

As he spoke, using the cheeky slang he'd learned from Kujo Tachibana, Kuwajima Jigoro raised his Nichirin Sword.

He scrambled to parry the long blade swung by Kujo Tachibana.

"Clang..."

"Clang..."

"Clang..."

"Clang..."

The two blades collided dozens of times in the blink of an eye, sparks and golden lightning dancing between them.

Kujo Tachibana parried the Nichirin Sword swung by Kuwajima Jigoro with ease, not forgetting to taunt him:

"Old man, is that all you've got?"

"With slashes this weak, even my great-grandmother could block them!"

Veins bulged on Kuwajima Jigoro's forehead as he poured 120 percent of his strength into his Nichirin Sword, attacking Kujo Tachibana head-on.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, Kujo Tachibana was able to precisely strike the weakest point of the Nichirin Sword in Kuwajima Jigoro's hand.

With effortless grace, he deflected a thousand pounds with four ounces of force!

As time slowly passed and stamina gradually waned, the Nichirin Sword in Kuwajima Jigoro's hand began to feel increasingly heavy.

Looking at Kujo Tachibana, who was only slightly sweating, Kuwajima Jigoro's heart sank!

Oh no! It seems I really can't beat this kid anymore...

Looking at the panting, stubborn little old man who refused to admit defeat, Kujo Tachibana exerted a bit of force to knock back the Nichirin Sword, then tapped his feet to retreat several meters away.

He smiled slightly and said, "Alright, old man, let's stop here. Let's call it a draw!"

Hearing this, Kuwajima Jigoro sheathed his Nichirin Sword, glared at Kujo Tachibana huffily, and said:

"What do you mean 'let's call it a draw'? If you aren't convinced, let's fight another three hundred rounds!"

Seeing the little old man's expression, Kujo Tachibana couldn't help but chuckle, thinking to himself:

I've been going easy on you, and you still can't win!

And yet you're still a sore loser—your mouth is truly tough, old man!

The reason Kujo Tachibana thought this wasn't because he was arrogant, but because it was the truth; even while holding back significantly, he could still suppress Kuwajima Jigoro.

After the fierce battle with Lower Rank Two Rokuro, having comprehended the Transparent World and gained complete control over his body, Kujo Tachibana's explosive power, speed, and endurance had all been greatly enhanced.

Coupled with his switch to Thunder Breathing, Kujo Tachibana's strength had improved at an astonishing rate over the past few days!

First was the Thunder Breathing style; the speed bonus and explosive power brought by the lightning attribute alone erased Kujo Tachibana's two biggest weaknesses.

Possessing the sixth sense of Sword Heart Clarity, combined with the supreme realm of the Transparent World, Kujo Tachibana now stood at the pinnacle of this world in terms of martial attainment!

His opponent's moves and physical weaknesses could no longer hide from his senses!

When paired with the extreme speed and burst power of Thunder Breathing, one could only imagine how terrifying he had become!

Kujo Tachibana was now more like an assassin equipped with full offensive gear.

Enemies not as fast as him could hardly withstand a single strike.

Enemies slightly faster than him would not have his level of insight.

In Kujo Tachibana's estimation, there were only two enemies at this level—Upper Rank Two Doma and Upper Rank Three Akaza.

Against Akaza, a pure martial artist who was also countered by the Transparent World, Kujo Tachibana was very confident that he could sever his neck.

As for Doma, Kujo Tachibana felt that he would not lose, though whether he could actually kill Doma was another matter; it was not necessarily that Doma was stronger than Akaza.

The key was that this demon's Blood Demon Art somewhat countered Breathing Styles, though the impact on demons was not as significant.

Akaza, however, was truly countered to death by him. If he were to encounter Kujo Tachibana, Akaza would immediately experience what the supreme realm he had pursued for hundreds of years was actually like!

Moving up a level, there were the peak combatants of this world, the two biggest bosses.

Upper Rank One, Kokushibo!

And the one known as the Progenitor of Demons, the scum among demons, the Demon King, Kibutsuji Muzan.

In fact, Kujo Tachibana personally believed that Muzan's offensive methods and combat capabilities were inferior to those of Upper Rank One, Kokushibo.

It was just that his formidable Demon King body was far more powerful than Kokushibo's, and combined with his exceptional ability to escape, it made Muzan extremely difficult to kill.

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

Upper Rank One, Kokushibo, one of the first generation of Breathing Style swordsmen, creator of Moon Breathing!

What was even more terrifying was that this guy, in his form as a demon, had retained the Demon Slayer Mark from his human days and had also attained the supreme realm—the Transparent World!

In terms of pure combat power, Kujo Tachibana considered Kokushibo to be the ceiling of this world!

It was just that, restricted by his demon body, he had no choice but to obey the Demon King, Kibutsuji Muzan. If Muzan died, he would die too, so he was bound to protect Muzan.

However, Kujo Tachibana was not in a hurry; he was only fifteen years old, and there were still seven or eight years left before the main plot began.

Moreover, Kujo Tachibana felt so inflated that he thought Muzan might not even last until the start of the main plot in his hands.

At noon the next day, Kujo Tachibana followed Kuwajima Jigoro to the entrance of Dongchang Town, waiting for the arrival of the current leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, Ubuyashiki Kagaya.

While gazing at the road outside the town entrance, Kuwajima Jigoro looked at Kujo Tachibana and said with a serious expression:

"Tachibana, before the Master arrives, I must remind you."

"Perhaps you don't fully understand our Master of the Demon Slayer Corps yet."

"But I hope you will show sufficient respect toward the Master!"

Although Kuwajima Jigoro felt that Kujo Tachibana was not an impolite person, he still couldn't help but admonish him regarding the impending arrival of the Master.

"What are you saying? What 'you' and 'we'? It's our Master! You make it sound as if I'm not a member of the Demon Slayer Corps," Kujo Tachibana said righteously.

Kuwajima Jigoro: "..."

"Tachibana-san, as expected of you!"

In truth, in Kujo Tachibana's eyes, addressing someone as Master was no different from how he addressed his boss at the company in his previous life; he didn't have any other thoughts about it.

Besides, how could his capitalist boss from his previous life compare to this new boss in terms of kindness?

Just as the two were talking, a carriage slowly drove in from the town entrance.

The carriage itself was unremarkable, but the coachman was the key!

The coachman was exceptionally burly!

That wasn't even the main point!

The point was that this coachman was a blind man!!!

Watching Himejima Gyomei driving the carriage forward as if he were a normal person, Kujo Tachibana couldn't help but think to himself:

Does driving not require eyesight? Could it be that this guy has also developed a sixth sense?