It had been a week since he'd said goodbye to Jigoro Kuwajima. Suzuki Mufeng had never stopped honing his skills, constantly trying to combine the Six Powers technique Shave with Thunder Breathing as he traveled.
Whenever he came across a hill in his path, he used Shave combined with Thunder Breathing to run up its face with his feet planted against the slope, which was nearly ninety degrees steep. If he failed, he'd fall dozens of meters and end up half dead. With death looming over him, he managed to push past his limits every time.
Night had fallen. Suzuki Mufeng streaked through the forest like a golden bolt of lightning, moving through the air at incredible speed.
"Using Thunder Breathing puts tremendous strain on my calves. This training has made those muscles stronger and stronger. And with Shave, I can change direction in midair with ease. I'm almost as good as a high-spec Zenitsu Agatsuma now. I can use the First Form: Thunderclap Ten-Fold in one breath."
If he wanted to improve his strength quickly, the answer was simple: master the First Form, just like Zenitsu Agatsuma. With the help of Shave, his First Form had far more variations than the straightforward style of ordinary Thunder Breathing.
"I haven't had time to enter the Trans-Dimensional Space lately. I should make time tonight to tell them the good news."
Just as the thought crossed Suzuki Mufeng's mind, the world suddenly spun around him. A vast amount of gray mist rose around him, followed by the familiar sensation of a table and a chair beneath him.
"Demon Slayer Mufeng finally decided to show up. Looks like you've only just realized you don't have to fall asleep to enter the Trans-Dimensional Space anymore."
Hokage Mufeng was the one who spoke. Looking around, he saw that he was the only one in the conference room.
"Why isn't anyone else here? And what's going on?"
"Things aren't looking good for JoJo Mufeng. Yoshikage Kira suddenly went after his wife, so he's staying right by his family's side.
"One Piece Mufeng was just here, but he got dragged off to train in the Six Powers. As for what's going on, everything started changing a week ago. Take a look at my memories.
"As for me, I've been studying Medical Ninjutsu lately. The conference room is a good place to organize my thoughts."
Demon Slayer Mufeng silently initiated the sharing, and Hokage Mufeng's memories flooded into his mind.
"A week ago, we became able to enter the conference room just by willing it. A whole day here might be less than a second in our worlds. And when our shared abilities stack, we only gain a portion of the other world's power."
"Right. Sharing in the conference room only helps us gain part of each other's power. For example, after I share with you, you really do gain my memories of ninjutsu, my Kekkei Genkai, my mental strength, and a boost to your physical abilities.
"But these blessings don't add everything I have to you. It's probably only about a tenth. And the amount we gain from sharing between different worlds varies.
"Like the Substitute ability JoJo Mufeng shared with us—we can inherit half of it. What we got from One Piece Mufeng was only a tenth, too."
So the amount of power gained from sharing differed between worlds. That made sense. If he'd really gained One Piece Mufeng's physique, how could those demons have bitten him?
"Demon Slayer Mufeng, there's a saying that fits: you have to forge your own strength. Relying on outside help isn't a long-term solution. We still need to focus on training the powers native to our own worlds. And I may have an idea about why the conference room changed so much."
"A week ago, Zenitsu and I were both struck by lightning. That's what you mean, right?"
They'd both reached the same conclusion. After all, they could feel a pale white energy radiating from Demon Slayer Mufeng and continually filling the space, making it grow more and more solid.
"Some kind of power like a world's will. That lightning actually contained such power. The conference room must be growing stronger by absorbing it.
"If I extracted Indra and Asura's Chakra from Sasuke and Naruto, could I give it another push?"
"Yeah. It's extracting my power, but I can still use Discharge. Aren't you going to share it?"
"Heh. With only seventy percent of the ability, all I could do is give someone electrotherapy. Anyway, the conference room has absorbed your power and is about to evolve. I have a feeling we'll be forced out in a moment. When we come back, there might be two more of us."
"I've already given you the Thunder Breathing training method. Try to speedrun the Naruto world."
"You too."
As soon as they finished speaking, both of them were forcibly ejected from the conference room.
The moon still hung high in the sky. Not even a second had passed.
"Everyone's working hard. I don't know how long it'll be before the conference room opens again, and I can't fall behind and hold them back. I'll set myself a small goal: master Total Concentration Breathing—Constant before the conference room opens again."
Just as Suzuki Mufeng was about to continue on his way, a Kasugai Crow suddenly swooped in front of him.
"Lord Suzuki! The current Flame Hashira is fighting Lower Rank Six in a village not far to your left. Please go support him immediately!"
It was only Lower Rank Six. Did the Flame Hashira really need support? By the time he arrived, the demon would probably already be dealt with.
"I'm headed to the Rengoku Family anyway. I might as well see whether the current Flame Hashira is the older brother or Shinjuro. If Lower Rank Six is still alive when I get there, he'll make a great whetstone to test my strength."
Suzuki Mufeng took a step, cracking the ground beneath him. A streak of golden lightning shot through the trees toward the direction the Kasugai Crow had indicated.
The Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, was fighting Lower Rank Six, Yanu. A vast cloud of toxic mist blinded Kyojuro, while Yanu fled toward the forest outside the village.
"Demon, you won't escape! Face me and fight fair and square! I will never let you get away!"
Yanu merely turned his head and took a deep breath. Blood Demon Art: Nue Cry.
The piercing blast forced Kyojuro Rengoku to cover his ears and stop in his tracks.
"Unlucky, unlucky, I'm so damn unlucky! Why did I run into this Flame Hashira before that brat? I went to all the trouble of leaving toxic poison on those villagers, hoping to catch him off guard when he passed through the village. Now it's all ruined!"
Yanu never could have guessed that Suzuki Mufeng had chosen a route no ordinary person could travel. Simply put, Suzuki Mufeng was using Shave to fly straight toward the Rengoku Family without stopping. The trap Yanu had prepared was on the ground, along a winding main road—and Suzuki Mufeng wouldn't even pass by it.
"No, forget that brat. If I fail to complete my lord's mission, I'll die, but if this Flame Hashira catches me, I'm definitely dead."
If he hadn't used the villagers' lives to threaten Kyojuro earlier, his head would've been cut off by now. As for the rest of his body, it would've been hacked to pieces if not for his powerful regenerative ability.
"If I can just make it into the forest, in this darkness, even a Hashira won't be able to see me. Then how will you catch me?"
A flash of lightning appeared. Why was there lightning in the middle of the forest? Wait, why could he see his own body?
Rumble—
"So this is Lower Rank Six? He wasn't all that weak. One slash and he was done."
Half of its face had crumbled into ash. Its remaining eye caught sight of Suzuki Mufeng's face. Why? This wasn't how things were supposed to end. The brat I was supposed to ambush killed me the first time we met, while I was running away. How could this have happened?!
By the time Kyojuro Rengoku arrived, all that remained was Lower Rank Six's crumbling corpse and Suzuki Mufeng, standing off to the side with his sword sheathed.
"Does this mean I stole your kill?"
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