Too bright,
Too dazzling,
The flame tornado wrapped around the mushroom cloud soared into the sky,
The surrounding trees, mountain rocks, flying birds, and beasts melted in an instant, as if they never belonged to this world, their traces vanished in the ethereal heavens and earth.
"Thud~" At the Ubuyashiki Clan's residence, led by Tennin into the room as per Ubuyashiki Kagaya's order, Kazuki Zai peered through the window, only to be suddenly stabbed in the eyes by the dazzling light and fell back onto the ground... The young boy overheard the conversation between his father and Kyojuro Rengoku, just as the two adults said...
A battle involving Lord Eiichiro Oda was no longer within the reach of ordinary people like them.
'Just like those trees and mountain rocks caught in the blast, if I were present, I'd surely be melted away in an instant...'
The heartbeat "thud~ thud~" raced... A cold sweat dripped down... The boy thought to himself as the rest of the world, his heart shaken in terror, unable to control a shiver.
"Kyojuro..." In the small courtyard, a soft voice emerged.....
With his back turned to the spying Kazuki Zai, Ubuyashiki Kagaya, imitating Kyojuro Rengoku, infused Nen into his pupils, initiating [Gyo], gazing at the mushroom cloud with flames dispersing the moonlight, shattering the night wind, slowly blooming in the sky.....
He turned his head to see a youth with flaming yellow hair, slightly swaying in a daze, meaningfully said: "Are you sure... fifty times is enough?!"
[Ordinary][Nen] differs; a man who, after Roy helped open his Acupoints, tried to learn the [Four Major Principles], clearly understood the fear and terror of "Nenryoku," one could say... Whether or not a person has awakened "Nenryoku" is like heaven and earth to an ordinary person, but....
Even with such a vast disparity, it was not as terrifying and astonishing as Roy and Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni's recent striking of blades together!
Just like he said earlier, in this life he could forget about catching up to "understand this battle"... utterly despairing!
"Press~ pant~" Kyojuro Rengoku's breathing momentarily disturbed, something nearly impossible for a "Hashira" seasoned in [Breathing Techniques]...
The youth, his yellow hair hanging down, fell into rare silence... always answering questions, Kyojuro Rengoku as ever cheerful, never refusing others' inquiries, known from childhood in the role of "big brother" and "warm-hearted man," but... fifty times... really isn't enough, not nearly enough, not enough by far....
He lowered his head in embarrassment, silent for a moment, introspectively said: "I was wrong,"
Stealing a glance again, he locked onto the sky, deeply inhaled and said: "Whether Lord Eiichiro Oda or the one fighting him, I'm not a tenth of them!"
A gentle breeze came forth, bearing a hint of warmth... The courtyard fell silent again, accompanied by the forceful clattering of chains dragged down with Great Strength, violently suppressing Gyomei Himejima beneath.
The monk clasped his hands, tears streaming from his eyes, witnessing the flame tornado and the mushroom cloud sweeping the heavens and earth, suddenly paused in disbelief,
Upon regaining his senses, he fiddled with the Nen Beads as he always did,
Relying on sutra chanting to steady his Buddhist heart for many years, "crack" appeared the fractures, instantly... shattered!
Gyomei Himejima was indeed proud,
In the original work, as the strongest Hashira, hailed as the Demon Slayer Corps' number one since Tsugikuni Yoriichi and Kokushibo's departure!
Especially after opening his Acupoints, mastering [Ten][Zetsu][Gyo] at great speed, even... half of [Ren] completed ahead, overtaking the first convert Kyojuro Rengoku... Gyomei Himejima more than once believed, someday, he might encounter Roy.
After all, truth be told, he practiced "Nen" only slightly later, the so-called "lack" was merely in "years" and "experience."
But now it seems, Gyomei Himejima humbly muttered "Praise the Sun" in embarrassment, suddenly feeling himself like a "frog at the bottom of a well," unaware of the vastness of the world, breaking the Buddhist precepts of "greed," "delusion," and "anger!"
"Whew~" Another hot wind blew.....
The flame tornado clashed with the mushroom cloud, the aftermath shock showing no sign of stopping.....
At the explosion's core,
Two figures stood silently, blade against blade, one closed in contemplation, expression bizarre, seemingly immersed in a deep [Solar] insight, one at the initial stage with the blade, clearly holding the edge, even... maneuvering effortlessly, yet could at this point deliver a fatal strike,
For example [City Wall Burning],
For example [Scorching Hell],
Even abandoning the blade, with bare fists, using [One Bone] or [Two Bones], could turn the youth into nickel dust.
And yet,
Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni merely quietly observed the youth's current state, a heart frozen for nearly two thousand years never shaken suddenly rushed with Roy's recent strike!
This rush had long since appeared... symbolizing "danger" and "alert!"
Therefore, a youth barely fifteen years old, somehow posed a threat to him holding the oldest "flame-type" Soul Cutting Blade, the preeminent god of death...?
Yamamoto Genryuusai Shigekuni squinted his old eyes, deeply scrutinizing Roy, for the first time wavering in the "[God of Death] greater than [Human]" premise's answer...