(Extra chapter )
A new chapter begins when we reach 600 energy stones, and the competition is still in its early stages.
___________
Getting shut down daily was almost becoming a routine for Kiyokawa Izumi.
The sound of his heart pounding violently seemed to ring in his ears; hot blood flowed rapidly through his body, his skin heated up slightly, and his senses became sharper.
Swordsmanship honed through painstaking practice, combined with the experience of countless life-and-death battles, sweat, and blood, had resulted in this moment of flawlessness.
Under such pressure, Kiyokawa Izumi could feel his swordsmanship level improving.
Training those regular members in the morning was truly boring.
There was no pressure at all; they were full of openings.
A battle with Tomioka Giyu was what he really wanted.
His blade swings could be even faster, even more powerful.
The sound of metal clashing was incessant. Before the afterimages could fade, the nichirin blades that had just parted collided again, with sparks seemingly flying in the air.
Bean-sized beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, but he had no time to wipe them away.
Scratches had already appeared on his brand-new black haori, and the muscles on his relatively fair arms were bulging.
In such high-intensity, high-frequency combat, his breathing inevitably became rapid.
Kiyokawa Izumi was somewhat excited at this moment; he had a premonition that if he could break through Tomioka Giyu's flawless defense, his swordsmanship Rank would undoubtedly see a massive improvement.
"Cough—"
When their figures separated, Tomioka Giyu stood tall and straight, while Kiyokawa Izumi coughed softly, feeling somewhat unwilling.
His injuries hadn't fully healed, and in the heat of the moment, he could barely stop himself from using a Breathing Technique.
He could feel that Tomioka Giyu wasn't going all out; he was simply matching him in swordsmanship.
However, because Giyu had already mastered the Total Concentration Breathing: Constant state, his physical attributes completely overwhelmed him in every aspect.
In terms of pure swordsmanship, Kiyokawa Izumi was also inferior.
In the eyes of the watching Team Members, he seemed able to contend with the Water Hashira.
But that wasn't the case; Tomioka Giyu's desire to attack wasn't strong, as he didn't treat him like a demon in a life-and-death struggle.
Meanwhile, Kiyokawa Izumi, who attacked repeatedly, not only failed to break Tomioka Giyu's defense but was also constantly forced into a defensive position by the other's counterattacks.
The gap was clearly there.
Kiyokawa Izumi even suspected that even if his big brother were standing here, he probably wouldn't be able to break through Tomioka Giyu's nearly impeccable defense.
Even with his Sharingan, he hadn't found many opportunities.
"I heard you've had a new realization regarding Water Breathing. I wonder if I might be fortunate enough to witness it?"
Kiyokawa Izumi took a deep breath; how could he be satisfied without seeing the Eleventh Form?
"Water Breathing, Total Concentration!"
Tomioka Giyu looked at him with some hesitation, but after a moment, he still assumed a defensive stance.
'I can hardly hold back...'
Kiyokawa Izumi gripped the nichirin blade in his hand, hesitating whether to use Third Form: Soundless Three Stage!
A three-stage burst was his current limit.
Using this move could also close the gap between him and these Hashira.
Not influenced by any sore loser emotions, he simply wanted to use his limit to challenge what could be called the strongest defensive skill.
"Huu—"
Seeing the obvious change in Kiyokawa Izumi's breathing rhythm, Tomioka Giyu furrowed his brows tightly.
After a moment, Kiyokawa Izumi ultimately gave up.
His current body wasn't in the right condition to use the Third Form.
Using a move with such massive side effects during a spar would do more harm than good.
When facing a demon with no way to retreat and no other choice, one would naturally have to burn their bridges and use this move.
But now, it was unnecessary.
It would worsen his lung injuries and delay the time it would take to master Total Concentration Breathing: Constant.
It wasn't worth it!
'Being unable to test the pinnacle of Water Breathing with my own limits is, I must say, a regret!'
Kiyokawa Izumi's figure instantly vanished from the spot. A chaotic flurry of blade light struck in an instant, and without exception, every strike was blocked.
"Eleventh Form: Dead Calm (Nagi)!"
His blood-red pupils constricted slightly as he seemed to understand the principle behind this move—Tomioka Giyu wasn't completely motionless, nor did he have some miraculous Domain that could automatically nullify a demon's Blood Demon Art.
If not for these eyes, he might have truly believed Tomioka Giyu was perfectly still.
'Precise parrying within a tiny range at extreme speed... it's not actually being still, but rather the movements of the blade are too fast!'
Kiyokawa Izumi's eyes were enough to record the minute movements and then break them down and analyze them one by one.
But the movements weren't the key!
It wasn't that one could use this move just by remembering the movements.
The true core was likely entering a Realm as serene as water, or perhaps it could be described as "Selflessness"?
Entering a transcendent state, with the mind and body highly focused and free of stray thoughts, capturing the minute signs of an opponent's attack in advance, predicting them to a certain extent, and parrying or reflecting them.
Using precise movement to achieve defensive stillness.
At this moment, Tomioka Giyu was like a ripple-less water surface, capable of absorbing all attacks.
When facing the Final Form of upper rank three, if he hadn't been using a broken blade but a complete, unworn nichirin blade, would he have truly had a chance of blocking it?
'This generation really is full of monsters. Am I the only normal person?'
Giyuu is solidly in the top five of the Nine Hashira and has the potential for the top three; just this gave him the strength to suppress Kiyokawa Izumi in every way.
To call them monsters was really no exaggeration.