Emerald wind blades spiraled along the length of Sanemi Shinazugawa's green Nichirin Blade as he launched forward once more, his speed blurring into a pale streak. He swung with savage ferocity, wind shrieking around the blade as it came down.
"Susanoo!"
Reiyu activated Susanoo the instant Sanemi moved, hoping to use the spectral guardian to intercept the blow.But he never imagined—Sanemi's wind blades shredded Reiyu's first-form Susanoo to pieces within the span of a few breaths.
With the distance between them nearly nonexistent after the shattering, Reiyu had no space left to retreat. He had no choice but to meet that terrifying strike head-on.
"Devourer Breathing — Third Form: Demonflare!"
He swung his blade with all his strength. A black, slender shadow formed along the tip, its eerie white double pupils glaring forward.The metallic impact that followed sent a sharp, dizzying ring through the courtyard.
This time, Reiyu didn't drop to one knee—he was hurled backward outright by the sheer force, tumbling through the air several times before regaining control.
The moment he stabilized, he didn't dare relax. Susanoo flared to life around him again—but this time it grew, forming a towering humanoid shape with a head, a massive frame, and rippling waves of violet spiritual light.
"Susanoo, Second Form!"
This upgraded Susanoo was leagues sturdier than its previous shell…Yet even so, Reiyu didn't let his guard down.Sanemi had shattered the first form using only First Form Wind Breathing.This second form might not mean much to him either.
"Tch… only three rounds in, and that kid's already getting overwhelmed," Obanai Iguro muttered from the sidelines.
Rengoku, standing beside him, boomed,"He's doing well! Anyone else would've been crushed by Sanemi's very first strike!"
Shinobu Kocho tilted her head with a sweet smile."Hmm… what I'm curious about is that purple armor. That's not from a Breathing Style, is it?"
While they chatted, Sanemi had already launched seven consecutive rounds of attacks.Every strike carried enough power to flatten a lesser swordsman—yet Reiyu kept hanging on.
By the eighth exchange, Reiyu couldn't dodge and was forced to block directly—and his Nichirin Blade was split cleanly in half by Sanemi's merciless swing.
With his blade broken, his combat capability dropped sharply.Then, during the ninth round, Sanemi's assault shredded the second-form Susanoo into tatters, leaving Reiyu fully exposed.
He wasn't fatally injured, but his body was marked with cuts, his uniform torn and ragged from repeated impacts.
Reiyu stared at his right hand, trembling violently from taking Sanemi's attacks head-on.Only one round remained.If he endured that final strike…he would officially earn the title of Hashira.No one would be able to object.
Switching the broken Nichirin Blade to his left hand, he set his stance again, eyes fixed on Sanemi across the courtyard.
"The final strike," Sanemi said coldly. "After this, go home and train for a few more years."
A sharp laugh escaped him as he launched his finishing attack.
"Wind Breathing — Eighth Form: Gale—Sudden Gusts!"
Ferocious air currents erupted around him as he surged forward like a living storm.
Facing an attack strong enough to kill him outright, Reiyu swiftly reached behind him into the pouch tucked beneath his haori.He pulled out a single iron kunai—and threw it at Sanemi with all the force he could muster.
Sanemi tilted his head slightly, dodging the kunai with almost lazy ease.
"That's it? You think something like that can hit—"
Before he finished his sentence, he was already in front of Reiyu, blade raised.He swung—stopping himself just short of Reiyu's neck.Killing wasn't his goal; he would halt the blade the moment it came close.
At least, that's what he thought would happen.
But when his blade was less than a centimeter from Reiyu's throat—Reiyu vanished.
Sanemi's eyes widened.
And then—
Reiyu appeared behind him out of nowhere, holding the very same kunai he had thrown.
"Flying Thunder God Technique!"
If one looked closely, the kunai had a small strip of yellow paper attached to it, covered in strange markings.
The truth was simple:Last night, Reiyu had forged this kunai together with Sakonji Urokodaki—a Flying Thunder God kunai, its surface carved with the teleportation formula.
Wherever the marked kunai landed, Reiyu could teleport in an instant.
He had gambled that Sanemi would dodge rather than strike the kunai aside.If Sanemi had knocked it away, Reiyu would've lost.But if he merely sidestepped it…
Reiyu would get the perfect opening to appear behind him.
Just like now.
"Devourer Breathing — Fifth Form: Shura Blood Blade!"
The fractured Nichirin Blade roared with crimson aura as Reiyu swung downward, carving a deep slash across Sanemi's back.He held back—otherwise, he could've killed him outright.
Sanemi let out a harsh cry as the force of the blow sent him crashing to the ground.
The eight watching Hashira stared, dumbfounded.The reversal happened so fast that none of them had seen the transition—not even those with the keenest eyes understood how Reiyu had reached Sanemi's back in an instant.