"Seven Heavens Breathing Method, First Activation: Open!"
With a low roar, he instantly completed the first level of breathing in the Seven Heavens Breathing Method! The oxygen concentration in his blood soared, and the cells throughout his body seemed to activate! His strength, speed, and reflexes rose a notch in an instant!
He kicked hard off the ground, sending sand and stones flying. Racing forward almost low enough to scrape the ground, he closed in on the bandit swinging the blade in an instant!
At this moment, only seven years old, Shira pushed himself to his limits in real combat for the first time, forcibly opening the First Activation of the Seven Heavens Breathing Method at a life-or-death moment as the vicious bandits rushed at him!
His form had a more raw, unfinished impact to it.
A thin but intensely scorching layer of white vapor burst from his body, as if the blood inside him were racing through his veins and evaporating.
The vapor distorted the air around him, making his small figure look somewhat blurry and giving him an intensely unstable air of danger.
At the same time, the pupils of his usually calm eyes had constricted sharply, and the whites were shot through with blood. His eyes flashed with an almost beastlike wildness and focus, with none of a child's innocence to be seen.
His clenched fists trembled slightly as immense power surged through them, and his knuckles gave off an unnerving creak from the force of his grip. The white bandages wrapped around his arms fluttered without wind, as if restraining a power beneath them that was about to burst out of his body.
The bandit saw a blur before his eyes as a child charged right up to him at an incredible speed. He instinctively swung his blade in a horizontal slash.
Shira's pupils contracted slightly, and the Taijutsu instincts honed through long training made him react. Instead of retreating, he dropped low and slid forward, narrowly dodging the blade while sweeping out his right leg like a steel whip, kicking the bandit precisely on the ankle.
Crack! The sharp sound was followed by a scream. The bandit lost his balance and fell to the ground, shrieking.
Without pausing, Shira sprang up and slammed his elbow down hard, knocking the bandit unconscious.
The whole exchange happened in a flash, clean and decisive! There was no wasted movement!
Everyone froze, including the bandits and the brothers Rani and Fūi.
"Shira?!" Rani's eyes widened in astonishment. He hadn't even seen clearly what had just happened.
The scar-faced bandit chief also noticed the disturbance, and his gaze turned fierce. "Fuck, there's something strange about this little brat! Kill him first!"
Two more bandits immediately abandoned the merchants and pounced on Shira.
"Watch out!" Fūi hurriedly controlled his puppet to support him, but it was a little too far away and clearly wouldn't make it in time.
Caught between two adult bandits, Shira's heart raced, but his mind was exceptionally calm. In the First Activation state, his perception was incomparably clear.
He tracked the fist swinging at him from the bandit on his left. Rather than dodge, he took a deep breath and drove his right fist forward after the other man's, yet landed first, putting the twisting force of his entire body and explosive oxygen energy behind the blow!
Boom!
Fist met fist! Force against force!
An unnerving crack of bone rang out. The bandit screamed as his arm twisted out of shape, and the tremendous force sent him flying backward.
A sharp pain shot through Shira's fist as well, but he gritted his teeth and endured it. Using the recoil from the collision, he spun with the momentum and swept a fierce spinning back kick at the head of the bandit on his right!
The bandit hurriedly raised his arms to block.
Bang! With a heavy thud, the kick sent the bandit staggering backward, his arms numb and his eyes full of shock. "This kid is damn strong!"
Just then, the scar-faced bandit chief finally broke free of Rani's attacks and appeared behind Shira like a ghost. The Kunai in his hand flashed coldly as he stabbed straight at the center of Shira's back.
"Die, brat!"