Compared with the regret written all over Shinjuro's face,
Xia Xi's smile was practically blooming.
In the last ranking of the Nine Hashira, he had narrowly lost to this Big Owl.
Now, blessed with his own astonishing wisdom and unparalleled talent, he had finally reached new heights in his training.
He had redeemed himself.
Leaving the arena, the Dawn Hashira cheerfully patted Shinjuro's somewhat dejected shoulder, in an excellent mood.
"It's all right, Shinjuro. Victory and defeat are part of a warrior's life."
"Besides, you lost to none other than yours truly... wahahaha!"
Shinjuro raised a hand to flick his forehead.
But the boy dodged away with a laugh.
As the two powerful Hashira stepped down, Takitsuki Kazetoriin and Kanae Kocho entered the training ground next.
"Little Kanae, I won't go easy on you, even if it is you~"
"After all, I don't want everyone looking down on me."
That little bastard Xia Xi called him "Lazy Sister" all day long.
Kazetoriin was almost starting to believe it himself, as though his strength really was nothing special.
He even said Kazetoriin was second from the bottom.
For this match, he was giving it everything, determined to prove himself to everyone.
He, Takitsuki Kazetoriin,
had to be at least the third-lowest Hashira!
Looking at the fired-up Feather Hashira before her, Kanae gave a wry smile.
They had worked together for over half a year.
Much of the time, Kazetoriin had been the one guiding her training.
How could she not know how strong he was?
If he weren't taking this seriously, perhaps she could catch him off guard.
But with his fighting spirit burning so fiercely now...
She definitely couldn't beat him head-on.
Still, Kanae didn't particularly want to end up last among the Nine Hashira.
As her thoughts raced, she