Shinjuro rested the wooden sword on his shoulder, signaling Ryosuke to attack.
Ryosuke's eyes narrowed, his body lowering with the momentum. The ground beneath his feet sank slightly as lightning exploded!
"Thunder Breathing · First Form · Thunderclap and Flash!"
Almost instantly, Ryosuke turned into blazing white lightning, stabbing towards Rengoku Shinjuro's chest!
Shinjuro was slightly startled, flipping his wrist to block with the wooden sword.
Bang!
A dull explosion burst out.
Ryosuke felt a huge force coming from the sword body, irresistible and overwhelming, numbing his entire arm.
His stance became unstable, sliding back several steps before barely unloading the force.
"Nice charge!"
Shinjuro laughed loudly, stepping forward instantly, his offensive following close behind.
"Flame Breathing · Second Form · Rising Scorching Sun!"
The wooden sword in his hand seemed to truly ignite, swinging upwards with the momentum of a prairie fire. The scorching airflow made the surrounding air distort slightly!
Ryosuke's pupils shrank, sword move changing, lightning rising again!
"Thunder Breathing · Third Form · Thunder Swarm!"
Several crooked bolts of lightning blasted upwards wildly!
Boom boom boom!
Thunder and flame collided violently, devouring each other, like two vicious beasts tearing at each other constantly!
Ryosuke's slash was forcibly broken, causing him to stumble back.
He didn't give Shinjuro a single moment of respite. As he swung the wooden sword, the sword move descended again!
"Thunder Breathing · Fourth Form · Distant Thunder!"
Violent thunder roared and pounced. Shinjuro didn't dodge or evade, a stronger fighting spirit igniting in his eyes.
"Flame Breathing · Fourth Form · Blooming Flame Undulation!"
As the wooden sword swung, a scorching vortex of flames turned into a sea of fire, swallowing the thunder instantly.
Boom!
The two entangled and collided, exploding with bursts of aftershocks.
This time, Ryosuke was not knocked back.
But his whole body's bones hummed, and his internal organs were shaken upside down.
Shinjuro's body only paused slightly.
Too big!
The gap is too big!
This is the strength of a Hashira!
Even using a wooden sword, even not using full strength, the foundation and explosive power contained in every move far exceeded imagination!
Ryosuke gritted his teeth, changing moves again!
Violent thunder raged madly with him as the center, countless silver snakes trembling, the power terrifying!
"Thunder Breathing · Sixth Form · Rumble and Flash!"
Rumble!
As Ryosuke swung his sword, violent thunder invaded like a rainstorm!
"Oh?"
A flash of surprise and appreciation appeared in Shinjuro's eyes. His fighting spirit rose instead of falling, burning vigorously!
He spun and swung his sword, scorching flames erupting instantly, turning into a roaring giant beast!
"Flame Breathing · Fifth Form · Flame Tiger!"
Shing!
The violent flames opened their fangs, strangling and evaporating all the incoming thunder!
Thunder light and flames intertwined and annihilated, a shocking sight!
And in this moment when the light and airflow were most chaotic, Ryosuke's figure had disappeared!
Relying on the speed of Thunder Breathing, he quietly appeared on Shinjuro's side rear!
"Thunder Breathing · First Form · Thunderclap and Flash · Sixfold!"
This was the extreme of his current speed and explosive power!
Extremely fast slashes tore the air, attacking straight for Shinjuro!
Shinjuro narrowed his eyes, raising his sword to counter!
Bang!
The first slash was forcibly blocked, but the second, third, fourth... followed closely!
Shinjuro's eyes burst with light of surprise. Relying on his own reactions, he barely dodged, and simultaneously swung his sword, using First Form · Unknowing Fire again to take it head-on!
Bang!
A dull collision sound rang out. The two wooden swords, overburdened, broke one after another and turned into powder.
Ryosuke panted violently, fine sweat beading on his forehead. The high-intensity continuous explosion consumed him greatly.
In contrast, Shinjuro's breath was still majestic, only the appreciation in his eyes growing stronger.
He nodded repeatedly at Ryosuke.
"Good! Very good! Young Yasui! Your strength has far exceeded ordinary Tsuchinoto Rank swordsmen! No, even stronger than many Tsuchinoe and Hinoto Ranks!"
"Speed, reaction, timing of battle, and the decisiveness to follow up attacks have all been honed quite excellently!"
"Mr. Jigoro taught well, and your own hard work and talent are even more crucial!"
Ryosuke calmed his breathing and nodded slightly. "Thank you for the praise, Mr. Rengoku."
He could feel that Shinjuro was telling the truth, not polite words.
Shinjuro took a few steps closer, his tone changing slightly.
"But you lack something yourself, causing the power of your moves to fail to reach their due peak. Having only the form, destined to be difficult to break through."
"Lack what?"
Ryosuke was stunned, asking humbly.
He knew he had hit a bottleneck but didn't know exactly where.
"Momentum!"
Shinjuro raised his voice: "Or rather, Battle Spirit (Touki)!"
"Battle Spirit?"
Ryosuke was even more confused.
Breathing Styles, sword forms, Total Concentration · Constant... he knew and practiced all of these.
But this was the first time he had heard the concept of "Battle Spirit."
Of course, assuming he didn't cross over to the channel of "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west" (Battle Through the Heavens reference).
Suddenly!
Ryosuke remembered that in the Mugen Train arc, Akaza (Upper Moon Three) had commented on Kyojuro's Battle Spirit being majestic and his sword skills refined.
Before Ryosuke could think more, Shinjuro began to explain.
"The core of Flame Breathing is a heart harboring a blazing will and emotion like fire."
"But the Breathing Style itself is technique and foundation. Above this, through countless battles and tempering, condensing and sublimating one's own will, belief, killing intent, heart to protect..."
"And all spiritual power, the intangible yet tangible thing that bursts forth is Battle Spirit!"
As Shinjuro spoke, he picked up another wooden sword and waved it.
Clearly not using a sword move, an extremely strong sense of oppression hit him, making Ryosuke feel a slight stinging pain.
Shinjuro's meaning was clear.
Cultivating Flame Breathing inevitably required honing Battle Spirit.
Because the compatible people for Flame Breathing had great affinity with Battle Spirit; the two complemented each other.
This was one of the reasons why Flame Breathing had high damage but was hard to learn.
"A person with powerful Battle Spirit can deter enemies with their existence alone, even without using Breathing Styles."
"Deter..."
Ryosuke narrowed his eyes in deep thought.
Thinking carefully, Akaza, that battle maniac, having such heaven-defying strength should also be inseparable from the concept of Battle Spirit.
Although not specifically mentioned in detail in the original work, it did exist.
Watching Ryosuke in deep thought, Shinjuro continued to explain.
"Regarding Breathing Styles and sword techniques, Mr. Jigoro should have warned you long ago that swordsmen usually cannot cultivate more than two Breathing Styles simultaneously."
Shinjuro extended the topic slightly: "Different Breathing Styles have completely different breathing rhythms, ways of power circulation, and even burdens on the body."
"Forcing simultaneous cultivation will cause chaotic breath, and in severe cases, even damage the internal organs, causing shock and death."
"Most importantly, biting off more than one can chew. Even if learned, it is difficult to switch flexibly in actual combat, becoming a flaw instead."
"The five basic Breathing Styles each have their affinities, so usually the Breathing Style chooses the person, not the person choosing the Breathing Style."
Ryosuke nodded.
This was basic knowledge of cultivating Breathing Styles, and also common sense.
"But Battle Spirit is different."
Shinjuro emphasized: "It is not a specific technique, but the tempering of 'Momentum' (Force/Aura)."
"Momentum?"
Ryosuke raised an eyebrow.
If I guessed correctly, in anime, this thing should be called... Art Style.
...
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