Chapter 37 Heading to the Infinite Train
However, Inosuke immediately changed the subject.
"After we rescue him, I'll pluck every single hair off his head!"
"You don't have to do that..." Tanjiro said, somewhat helplessly.
After Inosuke left, Tanjiro opened his eyes, gazed at the sky, and murmured,
"Phew—it's almost dawn, phew—adjust my breathing, quickly! I still have to save people..."
"Nezuko, Zenitsu, Mr. Rengoku, I have to believe everyone is fine..."
Just then, Rengoku Kyojuro suddenly appeared, his voice incredibly loud:
"You seem to be able to use Constant Total Concentration Breathing, I'm impressed!"
"Mr. Rengoku..." Tanjiro called out, stunned.
"Constant Concentration is the first step to becoming a Hashira!"
"But reaching the true Hashira level might require going even further!"
Immediately, Rengoku Kyojuro looked at Tanjiro's bleeding abdomen and said,
"Concentrate even more, improve the precision of your breathing, let your nerves spread to every corner of your body."
Listening to Rengoku Kyojuro's guidance, Tanjiro continuously adjusted his breathing frequency.
"Pay attention to the blood vessels, the damaged blood vessels! Concentrate a bit more!"
Finally, Tanjiro sensed it!
At the same time, Rengoku Kyojuro immediately said, "That's it! Stop the bleeding! Stop the blood from flowing out!"
But realizing Tanjiro seemed to be trying too hard, Rengoku Kyojuro quickly tapped his forehead with a finger.
"Concentrate!"
Suddenly, Tanjiro gasped several times in a row, staring at the sky with a bewildered expression.
Seeing Tanjiro like this, Rengoku Kyojuro knew he had succeeded.
"Hmm, the bleeding has stopped."
"Breathing trained to its Peak can enable you to do many things."
"While it's not omnipotent, it will certainly make you stronger than your past self!"
"Yes!" Tanjiro looked at Rengoku Kyojuro, his eyes sparkling.
Next, Rengoku Kyojuro smiled and reassured him, "Everyone is fine!"
"Although there are many injured, none of them are in life-threatening danger, so don't push yourself..."
Suddenly, with a "bang," not far behind them, the ground shattered, and dust flew everywhere.
Upper Rank Three, Akaza, appeared!
Meanwhile, on the other side, Tomioka Giyu's stamina had almost returned to Peak condition.
Rengoku Kyojuro was right; breathing trained to its Peak can achieve many things.
His current stamina recovery speed was much faster than two years ago.
"Phew—thankfully it's not too far, I need to get there as fast as possible!"
"At this point, a fight might already be starting!"
Recalling the route on the map, Tomioka Giyu took a deep breath and leaped up forcefully.
"Water Breathing, Ninth Form, Modified! Flowing Shadow Splash!"
Tomioka Giyu held nothing back, traversing the forest at extreme speed, and with the boost from the Ninth Form, it was like walking on flat ground!
On the other side of the Infinity Train, Rengoku Kyojuro's expression was calm, and his voice was incredibly firm:
"No matter the reason, I will not become a demon!"
"Is that so..." Akaza narrowed his eyes, then stomped forward forcefully with one foot.
As the ground shattered, a snowflake pattern appeared beneath Akaza's feet.
"Destructive Kill: Compass Needle!" (Electronic BGM enters~)
"If you won't become a demon, then I'll kill you!"
No sooner had he spoken than Akaza flashed in front of Kyojuro.
And Kyojuro's reaction was not slow at all; he had already taken an Counterattack stance before Akaza even moved.
Bang—
After Kyojuro blocked Akaza's punch, he instantly twisted his wrist to deflect Akaza's fist, simultaneously seizing the opening to deliver a diagonal slash from below and to the side!
However, Akaza was clearly not so easy to deal with; he dodged Kyojuro's diagonal slash with a backward lean.
And Akaza's right hand also pulled back as he leaned.
The next second, he fiercely smashed towards Kyojuro's head!
He wanted to end the fight directly, taking advantage of Kyojuro's inertia from swinging his sword!
But Kyojuro was very experienced; as he swung his sword, his body shifted to the left, perfectly dodging Akaza's punch.
However, Kyojuro, having shifted to the left, found it difficult to move further immediately.
Akaza would certainly not miss such an opening, and he threw another punch with a reverse swing!
Kyojuro, however, was completely unfazed, immediately squatting down to dodge the punch aimed at his head.
Then, he directly replicated Akaza's previous move!
Using the opening created by Akaza's swing, he slashed at his head from a tricky angle.
In response, Akaza could only retreat and dodge, thus being forced back.
And this was only what happened in a few minutes; because the two of them were too fast, Tanjiro's eyes, from a distance, couldn't keep up with them at all.
Akaza, who was forced back, was not angry; on the contrary, he became even happier, approaching Kyojuro at extreme speed once again!
While continuously attacking fiercely, he said with a smirk, "Among the Hashira I've killed so far, there hasn't been a Flame Hashira yet~"
"And no one has accepted my invitation, why do you think that is?"
Akaza, whose right wrist had been cut by the sword, showed no tension at all.
Grabbing Kyojuro's sword, using the gap where his wrist was caught, he pulled back his left hand while casually saying,
"As fellow Dao seekers of martial arts, I truly cannot understand why only those chosen can become demons!"
Kyojuro said nothing, concentrating fully on responding to every one of Akaza's attacks.
But Akaza's healing speed was simply too fast.
Even if he cut off Akaza's arm, it would heal in the very next instant.
Akaza continued to speak; he was very pleased with the human before him.
"People with excellent talent constantly becoming ugly and old, that makes me sad, I can't stand it!"
"So, die while you are still young and strong, Kyojuro~"
As he spoke, Akaza delivered another heavy punch!
Bang—
Although Kyojuro blocked it, his wrist was already beginning to ache faintly.
However, this did not hinder his counterattack; he immediately delivered an upward slash, forcing Akaza to jump back into the air.
Kyojuro completely ignored Akaza's words.
Now he only wanted to slay Akaza and protect everyone on the entire Infinity Train!
Akaza, forced back again, did not continue to press forward, but instead used the recoil to hang upside down in the air, throwing several punches consecutively!
"Destructive Kill: Air Type!"
Below, Kyojuro's eyes quickly scanned his surroundings, but surprisingly, no attack came.
However, his excellent experience kept his sword always positioned in front of his chest, protecting himself.
It proved that doing so was absolutely correct.
With a "bang," an invisible, shockwave-like attack fiercely struck Kyojuro's sword blade!
Kyojuro gritted his teeth; the powerful force numbed his hands, but there was no time for him to adjust.
Because those "shockwaves" came again!
Bang, bang, bang, bang—
But Kyojuro, using the continuous "shockwaves," forcefully adjusted the angle of his blade and, with the momentum, unleashed a sword technique!
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