But when the latter half of the year arrived, an accident still occurred.
The sun set, darkness enveloped the land, and moonlight spilled down with it.
A black Kasugai Crow quickly flew into a room, loudly repeating its message.
"Tomioka Giyu! Tomioka Giyu! Please continue heading southeast!"
"Kochou Kanae-sama has gone to a place called the Eternal Paradise Cult!"
"I hear young girls have been disappearing there!"
Tomioka Giyu was initially calm, as there had been too many false alarms in the past six months.
But when he heard the five words "Eternal Paradise Cult," he instantly jolted, grabbed his nichirin blade, and burst out of the house, rushing southeast with all his might.
He knew this time it was definitely correct, but there was no time to inform Shinazugawa Sanemi; he could only rely on his Kasugai Crow.
"Kanzaburo! Please go notify the Wind Hashira; Kanae is truly in danger this time. If he doesn't come, he might never see her again!"
As for the remaining two Hashira, they were too far away, as their missions were only increasing.
After Kanzaburo left, Tomioka Giyu completely unleashed his speed, and as he moved faster and faster, tiny splashes of water rose from under his feet.
"Hiss ↑ Huff ↓" Tomioka Giyu continuously adjusted his breathing, employing a Move that could push his speed to its limit.
"Concentrate all strength in the legs, and transform the offensive of this Move into speed!"
"Don't use too much force; this Move must be extended indefinitely!"
"Water Breathing, Ninth Form, Modified: Flowing Shadow Spray!"
A blur of afterimages passed by; neither forests, houses, nor hills of varying heights could slow Tomioka Giyu down.
After a mere half-hour, Tomioka Giyu heard the sounds of fighting ahead.
Without the slightest hesitation, Tomioka Giyu used the momentum from his sprint to unleash his most powerful Move.
"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"
A deep blue Water Dragon, carrying an incredibly terrifying might, surged out from his blade.
This perfectly charged Tenth Form made Tomioka Giyu's wrist tremble slightly, because it was simply too heavy!
At the same time, Kochou Kanae had just been knocked back several meters when she saw a deep blue Water Dragon rushing towards Doma at an extremely high speed.
"To… Tomioka-san?!" Kochou Kanae instinctively cried out in surprise upon seeing his haori.
Meanwhile, Doma on the other side maintained his smile, retreating while playfully saying,
"Oh dear Oh dear How annoying~"
"I was having such a pleasant conversation with this Young Miss, and you rudely interrupt."
"Doing so will lead to death, you know~"
"Blood Demon Art: Lotus Leaf Ice!" Doma rapidly waved his war fans forward, causing ice Qi to explode, and an ice blade, adorned with ice lotuses, slashed through the air.
Tomioka Giyu chose not to dodge, swinging his Water Dragon to forcefully collide with it.
Bang ————
The ice lotus blade was instantly cut down, and the Water Dragon lunged towards Doma's neck!
Doma's mouth slightly opened, clearly not expecting his Move to be cut down so easily.
The next second, the Water Dragon passed through, and Tomioka Giyu inwardly lamented, then quickly retreated.
There was no other way; if one strike failed, he had to quickly create distance. Doma's ice crystals were no joke.
The more he inhaled, the minor problem was not being able to use Breathing Forms; the major problem was difficulty breathing, leading to alveolar necrosis!
He had indeed cut Doma's neck just now, but he hadn't severed it.
At the crucial moment, Doma leaned back, resulting in only half of his neck being cut.
Fortunately, he forcefully activated a Red Blade once, slowing Doma's regeneration speed and allowing him a brief moment to catch his breath.
The continuous sprint, coupled with the uninterrupted use of the Ninth Form and Tenth Form, had already depleted nearly half of his stamina.
Retreating to Kochou Kanae's side, Tomioka Giyu asked in a low voice, "Are you alright, Kanae? Can you still fight?"
"Yes, I can!" Kochou Kanae steadied herself, looked at Doma, and spoke gravely, "The opponent is upper rank two, be careful, Tomioka-san."
"Try not to inhale the ice crystals in the air; those things will slowly freeze our lungs and are accompanied by potent poison!"
Veins bulged on Doma's face as he stared at the blade in Tomioka Giyu's hand, curiously asking, "Memories in the cells, Red Blade, Red Blade?"
"Interesting. It seems you're the Water Hashira, aren't you? Visibly powerful, but it's a pity you're not a girl~"
As he spoke, Doma spread his war fans, on which stood a Mini Domas.
"Blood Demon Art: Crystalline Divine Child."
"Let this child be your opponent; I want to have a good chat with that beautiful girl."
"I truly hope she can merge with me and live forever~"
Before he finished speaking, Mini Domas rapidly rushed towards Tomioka Giyu, waving its war fans in the air.
Several lotus roots simultaneously attacked Tomioka Giyu, carrying with them some floating ice crystals.
Seeing this, Tomioka Giyu quickly lowered his center of gravity and adjusted the angle of his blade.
"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Twisting Whirlpool!"
Bang bang bang bang ————
The moment he cut through the lotus roots, Tomioka Giyu's leg muscles tensed, and he powerfully pushed forward.
"Fourth Form: Striking Tide."
"Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
It took two consecutive Moves for Tomioka Giyu to barely shatter Mini Domas.
However, in his haste, he inevitably inhaled some ice crystals.
At this moment, he felt a chill circulating within his lungs, making him very uncomfortable.
But there was no time for him to adjust; Kochou Kanae was facing Doma himself!
"Water Breathing!" Tomioka Giyu leaped up fiercely, gripping the hilt of his blade tightly with both hands, and swung down with all his might, "Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!"
At this moment, Doma was happily playing with Kochou Kanae.
But he immediately detected Tomioka Giyu's attack.
"How impressive. To save this girl, you're really trying hard~"
Kochou Kanae, seeing Tomioka Giyu attack, immediately adopted a cooperative offensive.
"Flower Breathing, Sixth Form: Swirling Peach!"
Unfortunately, Doma's starting Move was already out.
"No, you two naughty children~"
"Blood Demon Art: Withered Peach Snow!"
Bang — Bang bang bang ————
Doma's all-directional defense Move perfectly blocked their attacks, and in the next second, he waved his war fans, attacking both of them.
Tomioka Giyu was already prepared for this, adjusting the angle of his blade and using the flexibility of water to deflect the fan swung at him.
At the same time, taking advantage of the moment the other fan attacked Kochou Kanae, he reversed his grip on the hilt and aimed at Doma's neck.
"Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust!"
Pfft ————
The blade precisely pierced Doma's neck!
Meeting Doma was both unfortunate and fortunate.
Because this fellow was born without emotions, feeling nothing at all, including the sense of danger between life and death!
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