[Obanai Iguro] ┣Energy Level: 66 ┣Notes: [Slit-mouthed, gloomy creep][Love-addled][Serpent Hashira] ┗Viper Breathing LV.2 (11%)/Water Breathing LV.3
Compared to back in Tokyo, Obanai had now set out on his own path.
Yes, he had abandoned standard Water Breathing as well.
Instead, he had begun pursuing [Unorthodoxy] and [Poison].
The former changed Water Breathing's principle of "overcoming hardness with softness and countering after the enemy struck" into something resembling the traits of snakes like Kaburamaru.
Sinuous constriction, and a lethal strike poised to launch from the shadows.
As for the latter...
His use of poison came from the benefits he had tasted in his battle against the Demon Hairo.
Then there were those days he had spent hanging around Xia Xi and Shinobu Kocho in Tokyo.
Just as many snakes carried lethal venom in their fangs, Obanai had now fully embraced fighting with a poisoned blade.
He had even learned some simple techniques for making anti-Demon poison from [Snake Venom] + [Wisteria].
He had learned them from Xia Xi and Shinobu.
Honestly, even without that separate damage multiplier,
the Demons at these Selection Grounds could not have done a thing to him.
At first, Xia Xi had worried whether Murata alone could watch over the entire examination site.
But once Obanai took on the dual role of [Examiner/Candidate], observing and protecting the others from another perspective during the selection,
things were different.
It was not as thorough as having nine people supervise.
But the results were surprisingly good.
One worked openly, the other covertly, recording most of the candidates' performances.
All that remained was to use the standards from their first time supervising to grade each candidate and decide who stayed and who went.
Xia Xi stayed in Narukami Valley for two days.
He happened to witness Obanai head deep