Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters, Training Ground.
Chinatsu and Kyojuro stood on opposite sides of the Training Ground, watching each other. Both had drawn the Nichirin Blades from the scabbards at their waists, exposing one clear azure blade and one blazing red blade to the air.
Looking at the clear azure Nichirin Blade in Chinatsu's hand, Kyojuro could not help praising it. "What a fine blade!"
Nichirin Blades were originally colorless. When held by someone who had mastered a Breathing Style, they changed color, but even blades of the same color could differ. To Kyojuro, Chinatsu's clear azure Nichirin Blade was another sign of her strength.
Chinatsu breathed in a steady rhythm, her serious gaze fixed on Kyojuro. She wanted to face him with Water Breathing first and see how many of his moves she could withstand using it.
Mitsuri stood at the edge of the Training Ground. After leisurely looking over both combatants, she raised one arm high. She drew a deep breath, puffing her cheeks out as far as they would go, then shouted.
"Begin!"
As Mitsuri's voice rang out, both fighters' eyes widened. They pushed off the ground and charged straight at each other.
Clang!!!
The crisp clash of metal echoed throughout the Training Ground. Even the residential area some distance away could faintly hear the collision of the two Nichirin Blades.
Neither had used a sword technique for this strike. It was a clash of pure strength, droplets spraying from Chinatsu's side while fierce flames blazed on Kyojuro's.
Their Nichirin Blades clashed.
Their sword auras clashed as well.
Kyojuro's wrist trembled slightly, and Chinatsu's strength took him by surprise. Just then, Mitsuri opened her mouth outside the ring and called out, "Master Rengoku, you'd better be careful! Chinatsu is no weaker than I am!"
Kyojuro gave a slight nod at those words. He had felt that for himself, beyond any doubt.
They stared at each other, and without a word, their Nichirin Blades collided several more times, producing a string of metallic clashes slightly quieter than the first.
Flame Breathing, a style built around offense, was now on the defensive, blocking every attack Chinatsu sent his way.
This did not mean Chinatsu had overwhelmed Kyojuro. Rather, it showed the solid foundation of his swordsmanship. Even defense, which was not his greatest strength, was enough to stop her all-out attacks.
Kyojuro Rengoku really was... strong!
But Chinatsu had known that all along. If he were not strong, she would not have been standing here testing herself against him.
Water Breathing was the balanced style among the fundamental Breathing Styles. Viewed favorably, that balance could be called "versatile." Viewed unfavorably, it could also be called "mediocre."
Thunder Breathing had the greatest speed.
Wind Breathing had the sharpest attacks.
Flame Breathing had the fiercest offense.
Stone Breathing had the most overwhelming power.
Although Urokodaki believed Chinatsu's talent for Water Breathing could surpass even Giyu Tomioka's, that was a prospect for the future. Her current mastery of Water Breathing was nowhere near the level needed to create an ultimate defensive sword technique of her own, as Giyu Tomioka had.
Chinatsu unleashed several sword techniques in succession, launching a fierce assault on Kyojuro, but he steadily blocked every one.
Chinatsu leaped a step backward, panting. Across from her, Kyojuro lowered his head, taking stock of his Nichirin Blade and his slightly trembling wrist, then looked up with a smile and offered his assessment.
"Chinatsu, you're truly strong, and your swordsmanship is very polished. You're not relying on brute force alone. I can't advise you on how to improve your Water Breathing, but you can ask Tomioka. He may always look stern, but if you ask him for guidance, he'll certainly take teaching you seriously. I believe your strength will improve considerably before long. You have that potential!"
Chinatsu readily accepted Kyojuro's assessment, of course, but she still wanted to point out that it was a little too early to be giving one.
Chinatsu lowered her head and steadied her breathing. At the same time, Kyojuro noticed that she had stopped the Total Concentration Breathing: Constant she had maintained until then.
Was she too exhausted to keep it up?
Surely not. They had only exchanged a few moves.
Kyojuro was puzzled. Then, a moment later, the clear azure Nichirin Blade in Chinatsu's hand began losing its color, becoming as colorless as a freshly forged blade.
It... lost its color???
Both Kyojuro and Mitsuri, standing nearby, were stunned. But in the moment after that moment, something even more astonishing happened.
The clear azure Nichirin Blade had become colorless, and a few seconds later, black began spreading from its hilt until it engulfed the entire blade.
"A Black Blade?!"
Mitsuri raised both hands to cover her mouth in surprise. She had never heard of a Nichirin Blade losing its color and changing back after its initial transformation.
Chinatsu held the black Nichirin Blade in one hand, and her breathing changed along with it. Flames began burning along the black blade, resembling those of Flame Breathing, yet somehow different.
Confusion, surprise, shock, uncertainty... all crossed Kyojuro's face. But when Chinatsu opened her eyes and unleashed a fighting spirit on an entirely different level from before, joy and excitement won out!
Kyojuro gripped the hilt of his Nichirin Blade with both hands, the fierce flames burning on Chinatsu's blade reflected in his eyes.
He did not immediately ask what Breathing Style she was using. At that moment, he only wanted to throw himself wholeheartedly into battle against the powerful opponent before him.
After switching from Water Breathing to Hinokami Kagura, Chinatsu's attributes had all soared, as though she had transformed into a super saiyan.
The second phase... begins!
Chinatsu, too, gripped her fiercely burning Nichirin Blade with both hands and spoke softly.
"Hinokami Kagura... Mirage Sun Rainbow."
Before Kyojuro's eyes, Chinatsu suddenly vanished into thin air. Despite his considerable confidence in his ability to track movement, he could not immediately tell where she had gone.
Left? Right? Above? Behind?
After confirming that there was no sign of Chinatsu in the first few directions, Kyojuro spun around. But the instant he turned to look behind him, Chinatsu... appeared!
Not to his left, not to his right, not above him, and certainly not in front of him now that he had turned.
Chinatsu appeared with crimson eyes in what had been in front of Kyojuro, now behind him.
Gripping her flaming Nichirin Blade tightly with both hands, she brought it down at Kyojuro from above.
"Hinokami Kagura, Tenth Form: Brilliant Light of Benevolence!"
The flames on her Nichirin Blade surged and erupted, churning toward Kyojuro as though they had come alive.
Clang!!!
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