Meanwhile, at the other side of the village.
Soichiro leaned on a tree as he slowly caught up his breath. Sweat pouring out of his forehead.
His first strike was sloppy and uncontrolled. It was his first time actually in combat, when his whole life, Soichiro's strongest opponent had been a tree that he cut down.
Gyokko wiggled on his perched tree in his complete form. His eyes follow Soichiro with some caution.
Then, he moved his pupils and looked at Yuichiro and Muichiro.
'These two little brats...'
His eyes turned fierce.
As a demon, Gyokko was particularly sensitive to familial connection and blood. He immediately connects the relationship between father and sons at a glance.
The father is a little dangerous...
...so he will start with the sons!!
Whoosh!
Gyokko's sticky, slippery body leaped from the tree he perched on. His muscular arms tensed as he rushed out and went straight for Yuichiro.
Having never let his guard down, Shinjuro was the first to react to Gyokko's surprise attack.
"Found you!" Shinjuro shouted.
Click!
The sharp edge of his sword turned to face Gyokko and changed the direction of its arc.
Yuichiro and Muichiro tensed behind Shinjuro, their swords raised up in action.
"Hiss—!"
Shinjuro took a deep breath as he frowned and took in Gyokko's new form. The difference in his appearance rang an alarm bell in his heart.
He saw the giant demon rushing at him with his arm struck out in a lariat.
'That arm!' Shinjuro's eyes widened as his intuition told him that he couldn't take the attack head-on!
His first instinct was to move out of the way, but he remembered the presence of the Tokito brothers behind him.
Somehow his feet refuse to move after knowing that he has to protect the little kids behind him. His mind searched for a solution at light speed but to no avail.
'No other choices...'
"Bring it!"
Shinjuro abandons any thought of deflecting, parrying, or dodging out of his mind.
He inhaled a large amount of air. Adrenaline and his breathing make his heart beat faster and faster as he puts his concentration to its limit.
Shinjuro put up his sword as the back of his blade rested on his shoulder as he slipped into a beginning stance to execute the ultimate technique of Flame Breathing.
The Ninth Form: Rengoku.
A self-created kata that is the culmination of all his ancestors' knowledge, wisdom, and technique of Flame Breathing. It is a secret art that was passed down exclusively by the Rengoku family and can only be performed by members of the Rengoku Clan.
Just like Tomioka Giyu's Eleventh Form of Water Breathing – Nagi (Dead Calm.)
Just like in the original timeline, Muichiro created the Seventh Form of Mist Breathing – Oboro (Obscuring Clouds.)
Those two techniques cannot be performed to their utmost effectiveness without the unique experience and insight into swordsmanship of the inventor.
The same is true for the Ninth Form of Flame Breathing.
Only when the body and the mind are trained to their utmost limit and in line with the philosophy of the original creator of the technique hundreds of years ago could you execute the pinnacle of Flame Breathing.
—Set Your Heart Ablaze! Rengoku Clan!
Only then can the full power of the Ninth Form be fully unleashed.
The Rengoku family has been around since the Warring States period of the Taisho era.
About 400 years ago.
And every generation of the Flame Hashira can display the final technique of their clan.
Thump!
Shinjuro took a step forward; the corner of his mouth exhaled white steam as a spark of ember flickered on the tip of his Nichirin blade.
The memory of his life flashed through his mind, stopping at the moment his wife closed her eyes.
He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly as his eyes reflected the quickly approaching form of Gyokko.
His eyes were ablaze along with his heart; the flame traveled from his heart all the way to his sword.
)—Flame Breathing Ninth Form!—(
Shinjuro makes sure he has firm standing and the room to swing his sword with all his might.
He twists his waist, transferring that torque force along his arms and his blade. His teeth were gritted hard.
The sword technique that he had honed to perfection was completely unleashed, and the scorching flames erupted on the blade, hot and burning!
)—Rengoku!—(
(tr. Purgatory)
The flames were so bright that they illuminated their section of the forest.
Gyokko didn't stop his attack and simply looked at Shinjuro like he was trash.
A mocking smile appeared on his face, and he had no intention of dodging the attack.
His Blood Demon Art [Kami no Te – Kyōshū] (tr. God Hands: Wrath) allows him to turn everything he touches into fish.
Puchi!
"What?!"
Shock came into his being as Gyokko felt the blade directly on his neck!
The speed of the slash suddenly changed, and the fire burned and burned in its scorching hot temperature.
Realizing he was caught unguarded, Gyokko swept his arm across and gripped the blade on his neck.
Shinjuro has successfully cut deeply into Gyokko's neck, and with more force, he would have succeeded in decapitating the Upper Moon Four.
Gyokko tried to stop the trajectory of the blade from cutting his neck off completely, but with his airborne body charging straight into the ground, gravity only helped hasten his demise.
A momentary panic flashed in his eyes.
Crack!
In a stroke of luck, a crisp sound from the Nichirin sword was heard, and the blade in Shinjuro's hand broke apart. Its structure finally gave out as pieces of the blade flew off.
Shinjuro gritted his teeth as he felt his blade cutting empty air, and the gushing flame died out. A feeling of emptiness suddenly came to his heart.
He quickly moved out of the way for Gyokko's body to slam into the ground between Shinjuro and the Tokito brothers. The place where the Nichirin blade touched Gyokko's neck also shattered like a piece of glass.
It turned into twinkling dust and was completely swept in the wind.
Its purpose had reached the end.
"Oh?" Gyokko narrowed his eyes and looked at Shinjuro, who was holding the remaining hilt of his sword, with a smile.
"You're not qualified to kill Gyokko-sama!"
Gyokko stood up in front of Shinjuro. His face twisted in a grimace, and his second form body cast a shadow over Shinjuro and the three Tokitos.
"Hey! Uncle Eyebrows!"
Yuichiro shouted in the middle of the thick tension.
He threw his sword in Shinjuro's direction. "Use my sword! It looks much better than your broken sword!"
Shinjuro caught the thrown sword and was stunned.
Gyokko felt a burst of indignation in his heart when he heard Yuichiro speak.
"You little brat!!"
He clenched his fist and waved it at Yuichiro's head. His face was distorted with anger. "Go to hell!"
However,
Just as Gyokko's fist was about to pulverize Yuichiro's head...
Bzztt—!!
An invisible pressure was felt into the very being of Gyokko's soul.
Unconsciously, his eyes caught the six golden eyes that were staring at him with contempt from the darkness of the forest.
A sense of existential dread rose from the bottom of his heart at the sight.
Gyokko's fist stopped suddenly in midair.
"Hmph!" Yuichiro tilted his head back when he saw the punch coming, and the wind from Gyokko's fist blew his hair.
Gyokko felt cold sweat break out from his body, and his eyes trembled. He searched frantically for any sign of those six golden eyes at the depths of the forest.
'There's no mistaking it...'
'...that was Upper Moon One...'
'Kokushibo-sama!'
Gyokko twisted his fish-like body, his muscles about to burst, and his fish tail bounced off the ground. He quickly burrowed away into the forest and ran from the presence of the demon slayers.
At the same time, he began to call out frantically in his heart.
'Muzan-sama!!'
Unfortunately,
No matter how much he called, Muzan never gave him a response.