In his room at the Butterfly Mansion, Sasuke slowly reined in the restless purple energy that had just awakened within him.
Susanoo.
Even its rudimentary form gave him an unprecedented sense of invulnerable security. But the power it consumed also far exceeded his expectations. Merely awakening it within his body put a slight strain on his ocular power.
He still needed more actual combat, and far greater chakra reserves.
He looked out the window. The sunlight was just right.
Unbidden, the battle to the death before dawn surfaced in his mind, along with the figure who had stood at the very front, as dazzling as the sun.
Kyojuro Rengoku.
How was he doing?
Once that thought arose, he could no longer suppress it.
Sasuke was silent for a moment. In the end, he threw back the covers, put on his uniform, and left his room.
In the corridor, several girls from the Butterfly Mansion were whispering among themselves. When they saw Sasuke emerge, they immediately fell silent and bowed, their faces filled with reverence and a barely perceptible trace of fear.
"Lord Thunder Hashira."
Sasuke nodded slightly and headed straight toward the intensive care room at the far end of the corridor. That was where the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, was recuperating.
Watching his retreating figure, the girls began whispering again.
"Is Lord Thunder Hashira... going to visit Lord Flame Hashira?"
"His presence is so frightening... just standing there, he makes it hard to breathe."
"But I heard he was the one who used those black flames to save Lord Flame Hashira and everyone else at the last moment..."
Sasuke turned a deaf ear to the discussion behind him.
Standing outside Kyojuro's room, he raised his hand, only to pause with it in midair. In the end, he simply knocked