The moment Shinichi finished speaking, he took the first step forward.
The bluish-green light on his Nichirin blade grew brighter and brighter, until it finally transformed into the phantom of a roaring dragon and slashed out.
"Forest Breathing, Seventh Form: Wood Dragon Soaring Slash!"
Bang!
A deep, brutal wound was carved into Shōkyū's gigantic body.
Shinichi's attack was also the signal.
For one brief instant, the entire battlefield seemed to freeze.
Then—
All the lights erupted at once.
"Insect Breathing, Dance of the Bee Sting: Kaleidoscope Flow!"
Shinobu Kocho's figure transformed into countless streaks of purple light, each one a deadly thrust.
Her slender Nichirin blade stabbed into the gaps between the joints of Shōkyū's massive body with the precision of a bee's stinger, pouring wisteria poison deep into his flesh like a broken dam.
Shōkyū let out a roar of pain.
He tried to sweep those irritating lights away with his thorn whips, but more attacks were already following one after another.
"Flower Breathing, Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility!"
Kanae Kocho's pink blade light scattered like a rain of cherry blossoms, delivering nine thrusts in an instant and blasting open the flesh around the shoulder blade on Shōkyū's back.
Shōkyū roared and turned, trying to shake off the attack behind him, but Kanae had already retreated lightly, giving him no chance to strike back.
Sanemi Shinazugawa flashed to Kanae's side.
"Wind Breathing, Second Form: Claws-Purifying Wind!"
Emerald-green blade light turned into several massive claw-shaped wind blades and slammed into the exposed wounds on Shōkyū's back with the force to crush everything.
The wind blades shredded the revealed flesh and tendons into pieces.
Shōkyū let out a beastlike howl of pain, and the force from behind pushed his massive body forward, making him stumble a step.
When he raised his head and saw a figure in front of him, Shōkyū attacked without thinking, throwing out a terrifying blow straight ahead.
In response—
"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!"
Kyojuro Rengoku's roar sounded like the cry of a fire god.
Orange-red flame-like blade light condensed into a furious roaring tiger and crashed straight into Shōkyū's fist with heat that seemed capable of burning everything.
Flesh blackened, charred, and crackled under the high temperature. A nauseating burnt stench filled the air.
A trace of blood spilled from the corner of Kyojuro's mouth, but he still grinned.
"Umu! That fist of yours isn't so hard after all!"
Before Shōkyū could fully react, Gyomei Himejima's attack had already arrived.
"Stone Breathing, First Form: Serpentinite Bipolar!"
The Nichirin spiked flail and great axe smashed out at the same time, two heavy streams of Stone Breathing slamming into Shōkyū's legs.
The ground trembled violently.
Shōkyū's enormous body shook, and his knees buckled, nearly forcing him to kneel.
"Now! Serpent Breathing, Fifth Form: Slithering Serpent!"
Obanai Iguro's blade light turned into a winding viper, accurately drilling into the wound torn open on Shōkyū's chest.
While Shōkyū was almost thrown off balance by Gyomei's strike, the blade light rampaged deep within his flesh, tearing and biting madly.
"Obanai-san! I'll help you!"
Mitsuri Kanroji shouted sweetly, her pink Nichirin blade dancing with flexible grace.
"Love Breathing, Fifth Form: Swaying Love, Wildclaw!"
Countless pink slashes exploded across Shōkyū's chest, ripping wildly at the exposed flesh like a cat clawing at its prey.
Shōkyū's chest was torn into a bloody mess, but he also saw Mitsuri's position clearly.
A thorn whip swept toward her from the side like a venomous snake.
"Mitsuri! Dodge!"
Obanai's voice suddenly rose sharply.
Mitsuri's pupils shrank.
At the critical moment, she bent down sharply, relying on her astonishing flexibility to avoid the attack.
The thorn whip whistled over the top of her head, sweeping away her cherry blossom hair ornament.
She patted her chest, still shaken.
"That was close…"
But Shōkyū's attack did not stop. Another thorn whip had already stabbed viciously toward her position.
"Mist Breathing, Sixth Form: Lunar Dispersing Mist!"
Pale-blue mist suddenly spread out.
The thorn whip seemed to lose its target, stabbing blindly through the fog before finally missing Mitsuri by a hair's breadth and grazing past her shoulder.
Muichiro Tokito's figure flickered through the mist.
Swish!
The thorn whip was cut apart.
"I'm here too!"
Yuichiro Tokito grinned, and the blade light in his hand did not pause for even a moment.
"Maple Breathing, Final Form: Withering of Ten Thousand Leaves!"
Crimson maple-leaf blade light filled the air and enveloped Shōkyū's head.
Every maple leaf carved a wound deep enough to expose bone, instantly turning Shōkyū's body into a bloody ruin.
"Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!"
Giyu Tomioka and Sabito stepped forward at the same time.
Their water-blue blade lights intertwined, one from the left and one from the right, slashing toward Shōkyū's neck together.
It should have been a fatal combined strike.
But at the final moment, Shōkyū suddenly raised his hand, and his flesh body swelled again.
The blade lights that should have cut toward his neck missed their mark—one struck his shoulder, while the other merely grazed across his chest.
"What a shame," Sabito said quietly, sounding regretful.
"There'll be another chance," Giyu replied, much calmer.
"Sound Breathing, Seventh Form: Solo Song, Explosive Roar!!!"
Tengen Uzui's blade light drew a brilliant silver-white arc through the air.
With a deafening boom, it fell like a meteor and slashed hard into the joint of Shōkyū's left arm.
"Break for me!!!"
Flesh flew everywhere.
Tengen's slash sank deep into the joint of Shōkyū's left arm, leaving the entire limb connected by barely a layer of flesh.
"Get lost!!"
Shōkyū roared, his voice filled with rage. He flung his arm violently, throwing Tengen and his blade away together.
Tengen spat a large mouthful of blood in midair and crashed heavily into the ruins in the distance.
But soon, he rushed out again with bloodshot eyes, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth as he laughed almost madly.
"You don't get to end this yet! I won't allow it! Come on! Let's keep this flashy fight going!"
More than a dozen colors of blade light intertwined, completely swallowing Shōkyū's enormous body.
Flesh split apart. Bones broke. Dark-red blood poured down like a waterfall, gathering into a pool across the battlefield.
Yet even though Shōkyū's body was badly mangled, he still struggled stubbornly.
"You insects!!!"
Shōkyū's voice had already become muffled and unclear, because his enormous head had been hacked until it was barely holding together.
"You have no idea what kind of being you're making an enemy of! Just wait! I'll crush every bone in your bodies!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Shōkyū stopped trying to heal the wounds across his massive body.
Instead, he focused all of his strength on attacking.
The number of thorn whips behind him suddenly more than doubled.
Like countless maddened venomous snakes, they swept indiscriminately toward the Hashira around him.