Transparent World

Watching Tachibana, who remained silent and utterly unaffected by his words,

Rokuro suddenly felt bored. He no longer wanted to play around with this unknown swordsman.

"Human boy, today I'll show you just how fragile the human body really is!"

As soon as Rokuro finished speaking, the exposed skin on his body visibly turned black.

And in Tachibana's perception, most of the many Lines of Interval between him and Rokuro snapped all at once!

Having completed his "transformation," Rokuro wasted no more time.

He stamped his foot hard against the ground. A thunderous boom rang out,

and Rokuro, having left a crater where he stood, shot toward Tachibana like an arrow!

The moment he entered striking range, Rokuro raised his fist and brought it crashing down toward Tachibana's forehead like Falling Thunder.

Watching Rokuro's black fist come straight at him,

Kujo Tachibana's pupils contracted involuntarily!

So fast!

Rokuro was at least thirty percent faster than before!

Relying on his Sword Heart Clarity, Kujo Tachibana barely managed to dodge the blow by twisting aside at the last moment.

The large tree behind Tachibana was smashed apart with a single punch from Rokuro.

Faced with Rokuro's sudden power-up and his "Armament Haki," Tachibana couldn't counterattack as he had before.

All he could do was quickly put some distance between them!

Tachibana could see Rokuro's openings, but his body couldn't keep up enough for him to counterattack.

He could only make use of the terrain in the woods to evade Rokuro's attacks.

Watching Rokuro kick through a tree as thick as a barrel with one blow, Tachibana couldn't help swallowing.

If I take one hit from that thing, I'm dead, right?

Just then, Fujiwara Naoto, a Demon Slayer Corps rank Mizunoto member carrying two Nichirin Swords, arrived at the battlefield.

Fujiwara Naoto raised his Nichirin Sword and shouted to Tachibana, who was locked in a desperate struggle:

"Swordsman! Your sword can't kill this demon."

"Only by cutting off his neck with this sword can you kill him!"

But when Tachibana saw Fujiwara Naoto arrive with a Nichirin Sword, he showed no sign of joy.

He kept his eyes fixed on Rokuro, not daring to spare even a sliver of his attention.

Tachibana knew perfectly well that only a Nichirin Sword could kill a demon!

But his problem was that he simply wasn't strong enough to cut through Rokuro's neck!

The only move that might do it was the one he'd used to shatter the boulder back home!

But that move had extremely strict requirements. He needed to be one hundred percent focused and concentrated!

A weapon was an extension of the hand. How could Tachibana deliver that kind of slash with an unfamiliar sword he had never used before?

So, in Tachibana's eyes, Fujiwara Naoto, who had arrived to support him with a Nichirin Sword, might still be a liability.

Unless Tachibana chose to let him die...

"Heh. Are you trying to get that sword?" Rokuro asked Kujo Tachibana with an amused smile.

Tachibana opened all his senses and kept his eyes fixed on Rokuro. He said nothing.

Just then, Tachibana suddenly sensed a change in the muscles of Rokuro's left leg...

"He's going to kill that Demon Slayer Corps member!"

At the thought, Tachibana forgot all about the gap between them in speed and strength.

For the first time, he launched an attack, swinging his sword at the tendon behind Rokuro's left knee!

If I cut it, that should give the Demon Slayer Corps member time to escape!

But just then, Rokuro, who had already turned halfway around, swiftly shifted his center of gravity back.

He drove his right foot hard toward Tachibana!

Tachibana could sense Rokuro's attack, but his body couldn't adjust as quickly as Rokuro's.

He barely managed to brace his sword beside his ribs, helping to absorb some of the force of the kick.

Even so, Rokuro sent Tachibana flying like a cannonball.

The moment he hit the ground, Tachibana couldn't stop himself from spitting out a large mouthful of blood.

Bracing himself against the ground with his sword, Tachibana stubbornly got back to his feet. Feeling the damage inside his body, he couldn't help giving a bitter smile.

"I was still careless!"

Two ribs on Tachibana's right side were broken. He could no longer put any strength into his body to deliver his most powerful slash.

But at this critical moment, Tachibana suddenly recalled a scene from the Demon Slayer manga he had read in his previous life.

It was about the protagonist, Tanjiro Kamado, and his father, Tanjuro!

At the time, Tanjiro's father had been gravely ill.

Yet he had still dragged his sickly body along, carrying nothing but an axe,

and leapt into the air to cut off a giant bear's head with a single strike.

The bear had stood nearly three meters tall! It had eaten six people before that.

How had Tanjuro managed to overcome the limitations of his illness completely?

How had he performed such an astonishing feat with a body that was gravely ill and near death?

It was because Tanjuro had mastered the Supreme Territory—the Transparent World.

He could use his keen senses to control the movement of every blood vessel in his body.

If people want to listen carefully, it's best to close their eyes. The same principle applies to attacking: lock away everything unnecessary and leave only what you need.

Eventually, you'll reach a state where you can open and close the blood vessels and muscles in your body at will.

At that point, a transparent world will appear before your eyes!

This ability lets you see through the bodies of living creatures and find their weaknesses.

And because your perception speeds up, your enemies' movements will seem slower.

(This was the manga's explanation of the Transparent World.)

Recalling the manga's explanation of the Transparent World, Tachibana's expression grew complicated.

Doesn't that sound familiar?

Seeing through a creature's structure, spotting its weaknesses, accelerated senses!

Isn't that damn thing just the Sword Heart Clarity recorded in our family's books?

There were just some subtle differences between Sword Heart Clarity and the Transparent World, as well as differences in how they were activated.

The Kujo Clan's inherited method for activating Sword Heart Clarity involved constantly training and strengthening the five senses, thereby developing a sixth sense and reaching the realm of Sword Heart Clarity.

This sixth sense could observe not only living creatures but also inanimate objects to a certain extent.

Tachibana thought that reaching this level required exceptionally strong basic senses—or perhaps a particular mental aptitude.

Maybe this was another hidden cheat he'd gained from being reincarnated.

When it came to enhanced senses—or mental strength—Kujo Tachibana felt that the Transparent World shouldn't be as powerful as his own sixth sense, Sword Heart Clarity.

The Transparent World as depicted in the manga, on the other hand, was reached by people born with exceptionally strong five senses, who used those senses to control their blood vessels and muscles.

Once you could control your body perfectly, you would eventually reach a state where you could open and close your blood vessels and muscles at will.

At that point, a transparent world would appear before your eyes!

That was the Transparent World.

If he could activate the Transparent World by following the process in the manga,

his explosive power and stamina would surely improve tremendously.

After all, the entire path began with learning to control the body, thereby elevating one's mental senses.

And once the Transparent World was activated,

every attack would engage all the muscles and blood vessels in his body.

There wouldn't be a single unnecessary movement, nor the slightest waste of energy.

At that moment, Kujo Tachibana didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He wanted to slap himself hard!

"Why choose? Why can't I have both!"

Even people who relied on the strength of their five senses could control their muscles and blood vessels. He had already developed a sixth sense!

With Tachibana's current level of perception, controlling his muscles and blood vessels shouldn't be all that difficult.

He'd simply never thought to try it before.

Rokuro approached Tachibana slowly, wearing the air of a victor.

"Is the human body fragile?"

"With injuries like these, I'd recover in just a few seconds."

"Don't worry. I won't kill you right away. We've got plenty of time."

"I'll make you watch as I eat you, bit by bit. Hmm? Should I start with your hands or your feet?"

Tachibana ignored Rokuro's words. He adjusted his breathing gently and maintained his sword stance, focusing his mind entirely on what was happening inside his body.

"You really are a bastard!" Just then, Fujiwara Naoto's furious shout rang through the woods.

"You bastard of a demon! What do you take me for? I'm a member of the Demon Slayer Corps!"

"As long as I, Fujiwara Naoto, am still alive, I absolutely—absolutely won't let you eat anyone in front of me!"

Fujiwara Naoto couldn't hold back his tears as he shouted those final words.