Kirishima Bupai stood where he was, watching the panicked little figure and the few ugly bulb-headed fish pursuing him relentlessly.
Just as the child was about to reach him, and the Lanternfish converged to lunge and bite-
With his right hand resting on Yamato's scabbard, Kirishima Bupai casually nudged the sword guard upward with his thumb.
Clink!
A barely audible, faint ring sounded.
Bzz-!
Without warning, countless fine, pitch-black lines appeared in the air behind the child where the fish were snapping at him, as though they had sliced space itself apart.
They instantly wove into an invisible net, enveloping the lunging, hideous Lanternfish with absolute precision.
As the child glanced back in terror, those Lanternfish vanished into thin air, as though they had never existed.
Not a single scrap or drop of slime remained, as though they had been mere reflections on water, completely scattered by a thrown stone.
The child said, "...Huh?"
He stopped abruptly, looked at the empty ground behind him, then checked his unharmed feet.
Finally, he looked blankly at the unfamiliar adult ahead of him, wearing a dark blue haori, his silver hair slicked back.
Yet the danger had not entirely passed.
Almost simultaneously, three equally hideous Lanternfish shot like lightning out of the woods on the other side.
Like hunters lying in ambush, they lunged at the still-dazed child from tricky angles.
But just as their fangs were about to reach their target!
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three flashes of sword light arrived in an instant, drifting like thin mist yet astonishingly fast.
The sword light resembled haze, carrying a hazy blue-green hue as it swept precisely and elegantly across the three Lanternfish's necks.
Spurt! Spurt! Spurt!
Three ugly fish heads flew into the air, dark purple blood spraying out.
The headless bodies fell twitching