The rain was still falling.
Clang—!
The crisp sound of clashing swords exploded on West Street's main thoroughfare!
Tashigi's determined lunge was parried by Tomioka with a seemingly casual yet precise angle of his Blade's sheath.
It wasn't a head-on clash, but rather a flexible pull and deflection that made Tashigi feel as if her full-force strike had plunged into water, causing her to stumble uncontrollably to one side.
She quickly regained her footing, her eyes behind her glasses filled with astonishment. His movements were incredibly concise, even carrying a hint of disdain, as if he had merely swatted away a fly that had come too close.
"Don't just stand there! Attack together!" Tashigi suppressed the shock in her heart, let out a sharp cry, and swung her Blade again.
"That guy only has one arm, don't be afraid!!"
"Charge!!"
The dozen or so Marine soldiers around them finally began to howl, brandishing their long Blades and rifles, attacking Tomioka simultaneously from all directions.
The next twenty seconds became a solo performance by Tomioka Giyu.
Tomioka's figure seemed to transform into true flowing water. He moved with ease amidst the flashing Blades, and raindrops falling on him seemed to be repelled by an invisible current.
His Blade still hadn't been drawn.
Against Tashigi, he merely used his Blade's sheath to block, deflecting all her attacks one by one. The more ferocious her slashes, the more powerless she felt, as if she were fighting against the entire ocean.
Against the surging Marine soldiers, his movements suddenly accelerated.
"Water Breathing, Second Form Modified: Water Wheel."
He let out a low cry, holding his Blade with one arm, his body rotating and lunging forward like a torrent. The sheath and hilt became countless afterimages, striking precisely on each soldier's neck or wrist.
"Ugh!"
"Ah!"
Cries of pain and the clatter of weapons falling to the ground echoed one after another. In just a single breath, all the attacking Marine soldiers had fallen, lapsing into a brief unconsciousness.
Only the urgent sound of rain remained, and Tashigi, still breathing heavily.
She looked at the scene before her, her knuckles white from gripping shigure. "You... aren't you going to your comrades?" She tried to mask her inner shock and a hint of fear with words, saying, "Aren't you going to use the moves you used at the execution platform earlier? If you don't defeat me, I won't let you pass!"
Tomioka finally spoke, his voice steady yet with a natural cold rigidity: "These are techniques honed for slaying demons, not for humans."
"A mere pirate, don't speak so righteously!" Tashigi was enraged by this almost pitying distinction. She once again mustered her courage, charging at Tomioka with all her might, delivering a diagonal slash!
Tomioka didn't even move his feet; he simply flicked his wrist, precisely parrying upwards with the end of his Blade's sheath!
Clang!
Another crisp sound. Tashigi felt an irresistible force transmit through her Blade, her tiger's mouth aching. shigure instantly flew from her grasp, spinning as it plunged into the ground a few meters away.
"If it's only this much," Tomioka looked at her, his gaze as tranquil as an ancient well, "then you won't be able to stop me."
Such an obvious disparity in strength sent a chill through Tashigi.
Despair and unwillingness surged into her heart, her voice trembling slightly: "You wouldn't understand... a strong person like you... I can never possess the power you just displayed, and you haven't even used your full strength, you're just toying with me... If only... I truly wish I were a man... then perhaps..."
She walked over in a daze, pulling shigure from the ground, as if seeking one last comfort.
"Just to let me witness it, to let me feel the true gap between us, would that be alright?"
These words seemed to touch a deeply hidden nerve in Tomioka.
His gaze towards Tashigi was no longer the indifferent one from before, but suddenly became cold and stern.
"In my opinion, the gender you speak of is merely an excuse to avoid arduous training," his voice wasn't loud, but it lashed through the rain like a whip.
"From what I've seen during my days here, the peace of your town largely depends on that man named Smoker. Without him, you would have no solution whatsoever to the atrocities of that red-nosed clown pirate at the execution platform today."
Tashigi abruptly looked up, wanting to retort, but she was completely stunned by Tomioka's subsequent words.
"You envy my strength? Do you believe it's a privilege of innate strength?" Tomioka took a step forward, and with it came a sense of oppression. "Among the people I know, there are at least two women who could easily defeat me."
"One, though not as strong as I am, is skilled in using a hook Blade; her sword techniques are as beautiful and deadly as a poisonous butterfly. The other's physical abilities far exceed the norm; her monstrous strength is enough to split mountains." He stared at Tashigi, every word impactful. "Their reason for becoming strong is singular: the world they live in is fraught with danger, weakness is a sin, and a moment of complacency means death. Therefore, they wouldn't waste a second on useless self-pity."
His gaze swept over the Blade in Tashigi's hand, his tone growing sharper: "And they certainly wouldn't waste time in a street-side weapon shop, futilely watching others test Blades!"
"So, your 'wanting to be a man,' in my eyes, is nothing more than a pale disguise for the fact that you 'don't want to put in effort beyond your limits'!"
Tomioka's voice suddenly rose, carrying a tone of angry reproach for her lack of ambition, "I will never allow someone like you to use gender as an excuse to shirk the responsibility of becoming stronger!"
"If the path of swordsmanship seems endless, then temper your body! If the body has limits, then hone your techniques! If both encounter bottlenecks, then develop other methods to become stronger! There are always more solutions than problems!"
"Perhaps throughout your entire life, the gap between us will remain unchanged! But that is absolutely not a reason for you to cower in the comfort zone of being a weak person, complacently avoiding!"
As his words fell, Tomioka took a deep breath.
"Total Concentration, Water Breathing."
The surrounding rain seemed to vanish instantly, swallowed by the surging, immense aura that suddenly rose around him. Visible ice-blue water vapor frantically converged on the black Blade's sheath!
Tashigi saw the water vapor condensing around Tomioka, feeling the immense, ocean-deep pressure of his aura.
The next second, the Blade finally left its sheath!
It didn't aim at Tashigi, but precisely at the shigure she tightly gripped in her hand!
"Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!"
A condensed, ultimate blue arc of light flashed and disappeared!
Crack—!
A crisp snapping sound rang out. Tashigi didn't even see the movement, only feeling her hand lighten.
Her beloved treasured Blade, shigure, had been cleanly severed! The front half of the Blade clanged as it fell to the ground, splashing tiny drops of water.
She froze completely in place, her pupils dilated, looking at the broken Blade in her hand with disbelief.
"This is reality." Tomioka returned his Blade to its sheath, his voice resuming its cold calm, yet it had more impact than any shout.
"The strong have the right to decide the fate of the weak. If it weren't me standing here today, but a true pirate, then it wouldn't be your Blade that was severed, but your body."
"You cherish this Blade very much, I can see that." He turned, preparing to leave, his final words like a heavy hammer, striking Tashigi's heart, "But I believe that your inner desire to become stronger should far outweigh your attachment to a weapon."
"So, stop making excuses. Become stronger."
"With this regret and unwillingness from losing your beloved Blade."
"Use your own hands to seize the power you desire!"
"Become stronger—"
—"Weakling!"
As his words ended, Tomioka no longer lingered. His figure flashed, disappearing into the vast curtain of rain, speeding towards the port.
Only Tashigi remained, collapsing weakly to the ground, staring blankly at the broken shigure in her hand.
Rain mixed with tears streamed down her cheeks. Tomioka's words echoed repeatedly in her mind, shattering her long-held beliefs and excuses.
[Power Stones Required]