Kurumaji! It's overflowing!

For an ordinary swordsman, identifying the exact school of someone else's Breathing Style was no easy task.

In their eyes, every sword technique was, at its core, a slash.

Even if it broke the sound barrier, it still inflicted purely physical damage.

There were no special effects.

Only after reaching a certain level could they sense that distinctive character and mastery in another swordsman's slashes and the wind stirred by their blade.

Water, gentle and all-embracing; wind, wild and free...

Without that level of mastery, they could at most rely on experience and observation to guess which school their opponent practiced, or which school's derivative Breathing Style.

But accurately identifying a derivative school at a glance?

Unless they happened to practice the same one, breathing frequency alone would never give it away.

Take a Demon Slayer Corps member who executed a light, graceful sword form.

From a move or two alone, an observer could never tell whether they were using [Mist Breathing], [Flow Breathing], or some other special Breathing Style like [Flower Frost Breathing].

Let alone the [Sound Breathing] Tengen Uzui practiced.

This Breathing Style had only recently been created, and he had even named it himself.

How on earth had Kurumaji recognized it and called out its exact name?

What if I renamed it [Music Breathing], or [Rhythm Breathing]?

Right, Nikaido must have told him!

The ninja's thoughts raced, and he promptly decided he had found the right answer.

But this girl's Breathing Style...

He must have worked that out through exceptional observation and extensive knowledge.

Just what you'd expect from a genius bold enough to practice several Breathing Styles and even try to integrate them.

As his thoughts churned, the ninja had already invented an explanation for Xia Xi.

Kanae didn't think that deeply about it. She simply felt Xia Xi was very knowledgeable.

"My Flower Breathing wasn't taught to me directly by a Cultivator, but it is indeed derived from Water Breathing."

"After passing the final test, I stayed at the Butterfly Mansion for a while."

"That was when I had the good fortune to study the handwritten notes left by the First Flower Hashira in the records room."

The girl leaned forward slightly and spoke apologetically.

"I worked it out as I practiced, so when it comes to experience in creating a Breathing Style... I'm sorry I couldn't help, Kurumaji."

Xia Xi shifted his gaze to the ninja.

"So you still have to rely on the flamboyant Lord Uzui?" A smug smile spread across the ninja's face. "That's right. My Sound Breathing was developed from Thunder Breathing."

"After all, plain old Thunder Breathing may be powerful, but it isn't flamboyant enough..."

Xia Xi's eyes were skeptical: ≖_≖

"Fine, mostly because it was hard to coordinate with my ninja tools and combat rhythm."

With that, he gave Xia Xi a rough explanation of the differences between the two.

Xia Xi now knew quite a bit about Thunder Breathing himself. After all, he had raised it to LV.3 through his own hard work.

So he could get the gist of many of Uzui's abstract terms.

For example:

"Although it isn't as fast as Thunder Breathing, it's still extremely fast."

"High-speed spinning can detonate my ninja tools while I unleash a flamboyant festival of consecutive slashes."

"The forms require sight and hearing to capture musical rhythms and complete my own Score."

Roughly translated, that meant:

Thunder Breathing focused more on explosive bursts, killing demons with thrusts or sudden strikes at extreme speed, or probing first before delivering a blindingly fast slash in a straight line.

That was Thunder Breathing's defining trait and strength.

But for Uzui, who needed to remain concealed for long periods and excelled at maneuvering and probing, it was of limited use.

Furthermore, the Thunder Breathing Nikaido taught was ultimately still a samurai's approach to combat.

It didn't emphasize poisoning enemies mid-fight, launching sneak attacks, using hidden weapons, throwing bombs, or hacking people up with two massive blades...

Learning and using Thunder Breathing and its accompanying sword forms too rigidly would mean throwing away Uzui's decade-plus of arduous ninja training.

For someone as gifted as him, combining a Breathing Style that enhanced his physical abilities and explosive power with ninjutsu-

That was what he considered the best solution.

He had abandoned Thunder Breathing's ultimate slashes focused on speed.

Instead, he devoted himself to Sound Breathing, which was more flexible and varied, emphasized tactics and technique, and pursued fluid combinations.

And according to Uzui,

Besides his half-baked, self-created Breathing Style, he also had a secret ultimate finishing move.

It was just that, so far, no demon had ever forced him to use it.

Curious, Xia Xi pressed him about what this killing move actually was and whether he could whip it out right there to broaden everyone's horizons.

Uzui refused.

"This is the God of Flamboyance's secret. How could I show it off so easily?"

Xia Xi said, "Fine, keep it to yourself. I'm guessing it's just black powder with a bigger explosive yield."

Uzui's temple twitched. "..."

"Speaking of which..." Xia Xi suddenly leaned closer, his eyes shining. "Could you teach me a few ninjutsu tricks? The kind where you breathe fire or shoot lightning. Failing that... lend me a few bombs to play with?"

Uzui: (*▼︿▼)#

You little brat, showing no respect for the God of Flamboyance!

The dishes arrived one after another, and the three chatted as they ate.

Most of the time, Uzui and Xia Xi did the talking. Kanae held her hot tea and listened with her head tilted, occasionally joining in with a comment or two.

From the Cultivators who had taught them, to the brutality of their first Final Selection, to the troublesome demons each had encountered,

They exchanged plenty of information and broadened all three of their horizons.

Once the initial awkwardness faded, Xia Xi picked up a cup of sake and joined Mr. Flamboyant for a drink.

After a few cups of sake,

Uzui began recounting, with a touch of pride, a flamboyant battle in which he had toyed with an enemy using Sound Breathing's explosions and rhythm.

Xia Xi listened quietly.

His eyes quietly studied the skills above the other man's head.

[Thunder Breathing LV.2]

[Sound Breathing LV.1]

[Ninjutsu LV.7 (Exclusive skill)]

His fingers unconsciously rubbed the rough surface of his teacup.

Watching Tengen tell his story with such animation, Xia Xi felt something stir in a corner of his heart.

It would be a real shame if this guy died someday.

"Hey, Tengen."

Xia Xi suddenly spoke, interrupting

The other man's enthusiastic account.

Uzui: ?

Xia Xi didn't answer directly.

He extended his right hand, gently pinched the rim of the wooden cup between his thumb and forefinger, and applied a little pressure...

Crack.

With a soft snap, he neatly tore a piece of wood from the cup's wall as easily as breaking a cracker.

Kanae blinked.

The ninja raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing? Showing off your finger strength?"

"No."

Xia Xi held the wood chip, slowly rolling it between his fingertips.

"I just wanted to talk to you about a few things."

"Your physical strength, combat awareness, fighting techniques, ninjutsu and ninja tools, and even the Sound Breathing you created-they're all your strengths and specialties."

Holding the little piece of wood, Xia Xi tapped the undamaged side of the wooden cup.

"Just like the walls of this cup."

"They determine how much you can hold."

Uzui: ?

Are you calling me a blockhead, or saying I'm a broken cup?

The ninja, who had never received a proper education over a century ago and had spent his whole life immersed in combat, really wasn't good at understanding such roundabout metaphors.

Kanae, however, had a vague idea of what Xia Xi was about to say.

Xia Xi picked up the teapot and slowly poured water into the broken cup.

The wooden cup quickly filled, and then water began trickling through the gap, soaking the tabletop.

"It may fill quickly, but once the water reaches a certain level, it'll start leaking sooner than an intact cup."

"Your strengths can make the cup very tall and very sturdy."

"They might also let you pour more water into it quickly."

He pointed to the gap where water was steadily leaking.

"But if your Breathing Style isn't developed enough, it'll be the shortest plank in your barrel."

"The monsters you're facing now still have stats and mechanics within the range your [cup] can quickly hold."

"So you fight flamboyantly, and you make it look easy."

"But what about later?"

Xia Xi raised his eyes. "Later on, the monsters' strength will grow exponentially. Take Elite Monsters like the Twelve Kizuki, for example."

Uzui said, "The Twelve Kizuki?"

Wait, didn't your Cultivator teach you about them?

Oh, it was that lunatic Nikaido. Never mind, then.

"Anyway, they're demons stronger than the [Nine Hashira]. If your cup can't take in water as quickly as they're pouring it in, the result can only be..."

He gave the wooden cup a hard shove.

More tea spilled out.

An insufficient skill multiplier would become an insurmountable stat gap in the late game.

[Guidance LV.2] (Proficiency +37)

Xia Xi froze.

Just saying a few things offhand... could trigger the skill too?

By now, the flamboyant smile had faded from Tengen's face across the table. He stared at the leaking cup, his fingers unconsciously tapping the tabletop.

Of course he understood the principle.

It was just that no one had ever laid it out so clearly before.

Much less a boy younger than him, who practiced more Breathing Styles and, most importantly, was stronger than him.

"Ah, Kurumaji!"

The girl's anxious cry interrupted Tengen's thoughts.

It also cut off what Xia Xi had yet to say.

"It's spilling! It's spilling everywhere!"

That shove had sent far too much tea spilling out.

It had already spread over the edge of the table and was dripping onto Tengen's trouser leg.

Xia Xi said, "Huh?"

I got too caught up in showing off.

"You idiot!"

Tengen jumped to his feet, frantically patting his trousers.

Kanae watched the two, who had been seriously discussing Breathing Styles a moment ago but were now making an embarrassing fuss over a wet trouser leg.

At last, she couldn't hold back a giggle.

Smiling, she offered the handkerchief she carried with her, lightly scented with flowers.

"You'll have to pay for the broken cup, you know," she reminded them softly.

"Boss!" Uzui waved to the proprietor as he wiped his trouser leg, unsure whether to laugh or cry. "Another cup over here! A sturdier one!"

"Coming right up!"

Amid the commotion, Xia Xi's words had already etched themselves deep into Tengen's mind.

As his gaze occasionally swept over the broken wooden cup on the table, the ninja's eyes gradually grew thoughtful.