Bang—!
"The rotation still isn't enough…"
Tomioka Giyu winced as his wrist went numb from the force of impact. His Nichirin Blade almost slipped from his hand.
Fortunately, he reacted quickly, stepping back and adjusting his blade's angle in the same motion.
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
At this moment, Giyu focused solely on speed and evasion. Power was secondary.
He deliberately controlled his movements, making himself appear fatigued — as though he were exhausting the last of his strength.
If he could deceive Dōma into thinking he was faltering, the Upper Rank demon might play with him longer rather than killing him outright.
"Blood Demon Art: Withered Round Snow!"
After easily blocking Giyu's strike, Dōma clapped gleefully, his grin radiant.
"Still going? Even after unleashing so many powerful techniques?"
"In the past hundred years, you're truly the strongest Water Hashira I've encountered."
"I can't wait to melt you into my body~"
The moment he finished, Dōma vanished.
Giyu's instincts screamed — a cold breath ran down his spine.
"Don't struggle anymore," Dōma's voice whispered behind him. "Your strength is nearly gone, right?"
Giyu didn't answer. He concentrated on his reflexes and dodged the incoming fan slash at the last second.
"Hm? You still have the strength for that?"
"Blood Demon Art: Freezing Cloud!"
Mist erupted around them. Giyu, who had planned to strike back, was forced to retreat instead.
Dōma pulling away voluntarily was, in a sense, fortunate — it bought him a moment of distance.
'The softness of water… when used with the Ninth and Eleventh Forms, most of his long-range attacks can be avoided or blocked.'
'More importantly, I can buy time…'
But just as he steadied himself and looked up, two mini Dōmas burst from the icy fog — one launching Lotus Flower Ice, the other Lotus Leaf Ice.
Perfect synergy — one constrained, the other struck.
With no time to think, Giyu stepped forward. Water surged around him.
"Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm!"
In the instant he neutralized both attacks, Giyu's heart chilled.
The mist had cleared — but Dōma was gone!
"Well~ that's unfortunate. I found the weakness in your Eleventh Form~"
At that critical moment, Giyu had no choice but to throw himself forward — but searing pain tore across his back.
"Ah do~ You still dodged?" Dōma giggled.
Nearby, Kocho Kanae gasped. "Tomioka!!"
But she was blocked by two mini Dōmas, unable to rush to his side.
Despite the pain burning through him, Giyu didn't panic. He forced his breathing into rhythm to slow the bleeding.
"Sorry for the trouble…"
He wasn't worried about the injury — what gnawed at him was how his stamina was nearing its limit.
Still no sun… And where the hell is Sanemi? Did he die on the way here?
A darker thought crept in — "Did Kanzaburō get confused again and send him the wrong way?"
There was no time to dwell — another Blood Demon Art had begun.
"Blood Demon Art: Lotus Flower~"
"Come here quickly and let me absorb you~!"
Of course, Tomioka Giyu wasn't going to sit still.
Despite the gash on his back, he countered, using the fluidity of water to deflect the encroaching ice lotus roots.
But Dōma just grinned.
"Don't get too focused on what's in front of you~ Be careful what's above your head~"
Giyu's pupils contracted.
Even without looking up, he felt it — the cold drop in temperature.
'It's the Winter Ice Bodhisattva technique… I don't have time to use the Eleventh Form again—!'
Suddenly, a howling gale swept down—
Giyu sighed in grim relief. Tch. He really waited until the last moment. Is he doing this just to spite me?
"Wind Breathing, Fourth Form: Rising Dust Storm!"
Sanemi Shinazugawa descended like a whirlwind, blade held in both hands, encased in howling emerald wind.
Above them, the massive icicles shattering into shards under his strike.
"Rise up with the sand and dust!"
Having cleared the immediate threat, Sanemi turned to Giyu with an expression of mocking calm.
"You look like hell, Tomioka."
Giyu rolled his eyes and gave a tired gesture of invitation.
"Then go ahead — try fighting Upper Rank Two. I'm taking a break."
"Hmph."
Without another word, Sanemi Shinazugawa rushed toward Dōma, blade ready.
Kocho Kanae quickly shouted, "Shinazugawa-san! Don't inhale the ice crystals! Watch out!"
Worth noting: The moment Sanemi arrived, he immediately unleashed the First and Sixth Forms of Wind Breathing to shred the two mini Dōmas that had been harassing Kanae.
"Tomioka, your back—!"
Kanae's expression filled with worry as she knelt beside Giyu. His haori was soaked red with blood.
But Giyu waved it off. "It's fine. I'm still alive."
Dōma, overhearing, added cheerfully:
"Oh~ don't worry, he's not dead yet, but it was close to fatal!"
Kanae's face twisted in exasperation. "Tomioka! How can you joke at a time like this?!"
Just then, a clear girl's voice echoed through the field.
"Sister!!"
Kanae stood up in surprise and turned toward the voice.
Giyu didn't move — he already knew who it was.
That voice belonged to Kochō Shinobu, the future Insect Hashira.
Kanae frowned at the figure running toward her — about to scold her — but Shinobu threw her arms around her instead.
"Don't ever go on a mission this dangerous alone again, Sister!"
Seeing her tear-streaked face, Kanae could only sigh, patting her head.
"I'm alright now, Shinobu."
"But you must leave — it's too dangerous here!"
But Shinobu shook her head firmly. "No! I'm not leaving unless you leave too!"
"...…"
While the sisters argued, a body came crashing to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Giyu, still seated and catching his breath, looked calmly at the figure embedded in the earth.
It was none other than Sanemi Shinazugawa, who had just been knocked down by Dōma.
Seeing the expression on Giyu's face — silent, unimpressed — veins popped on Sanemi's temple.
Wordlessly, he got back up and charged at Dōma again, seething.