Chapter 99: Flame Breathing, Esoteric Art, Ninth Form: Rengoku!
At the edge of the battlefield, in an extremely well-hidden corner.
A pair of crimson eyes watched everything quietly.
"Transparent World."
He clearly saw Rengoku Shinjuro's heart, beating frantically but already overburdened.
He saw the capillaries in Tomioka Giyu's lungs, pierced by ice crystals.
He saw Kanae's muscle fibers, stretched to the limit and on the verge of snapping at any moment.
Tatsu's fists were clenched tight, his nails digging deep into his palms as red demon blood trickled out.
Seeing Kanae struggling to hold on amidst the ice and snow, her body covered in wounds,
Tatsu's heart felt as if it were being gripped hard by an invisible hand, the pain making it impossible to breathe.
The demon blood within him was screaming frantically,
urging him to rush out and tear the bastard who hurt Kanae to pieces.
But he couldn't.
He had to suppress his aura completely, lurking in the shadows like a patient hunter.
"Don't be impatient... wait a bit longer... just a bit longer..."
Tatsu constantly warned himself in his mind.
If he were to rush into the battlefield now, given Rengoku Shinjuro and Tomioka Giyu's deep-rooted "demon-slaying" beliefs,
they would never trust him.
In such an extremely tense state of combat, they would very likely treat him as an enemy as well,
causing the already precarious front line to completely collapse.
He couldn't gamble, and he didn't dare to.
Because the stakes of this gamble were Kanae's life.
He only had one chance.
He had to use the Transparent World to hide his aura completely, without letting even a shred of killing intent leak out.
He had to wait—wait for the moment when Doma was most relaxed and his openings were greatest.
"Kanae... wait for me..."
Tatsu's crimson eyes were locked onto Doma in the distance.
His body leaned forward slightly, like a fully drawn bow, ready to strike.
"Oh my, how truly moving."
Doma gently waved the gold fan in his hand, which was frosted over,
a feigned expression of compassion showing in his rainbow-colored eyes.
"Three Hashira-level swordsmen, going to such lengths just to stop an insignificant being like me.
To think you'd go this far.
Especially Miss Kanae—your beautiful figure in the ice and snow is like a flower about to wither,
making me unable to resist wanting to pull you into my embrace immediately,
to become one with you and grant you true eternal life within my body!"
As Doma finished speaking, the massive Lotu Bodhisattva slowly opened its eyes.
Though it was an ice sculpture, it seemed to possess life.
It raised a giant ice hand that blotted out the sky, carrying a terrifying wind pressure like a mountain-toppling wave,
and slammed it down toward Kanae Kocho, Tomioka Giyu, and Rengoku Shinjuro below.
"Scatter!"
Rengoku Shinjuro roared.
"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!"
Rengoku Shinjuro swung the crimson nichirin sword in his hand.
The blade friction against the air erupted in a deafening roar.
Scorching flames transformed into a tiger baring its fangs and claws, carrying a violent momentum that could incinerate everything,
and collided head-on with the descending giant ice hand.
"Boom—!!!"
The collision of ice and fire triggered a massive explosion in mid-air.
The high heat instantly vaporized the ice, creating a vast amount of white steam that spread in all directions like a tsunami.
However, the Lotu Bodhisattva's size was simply too immense; though the Flame Tiger bit through part of its palm,
the giant hand still slammed into the ground with its remaining terrifying power.
The earth shook violently, and the hard rocky ground cracked inch by inch like a fragile biscuit,
massive fissures spreading frantically in all directions like a spiderweb.
Rubble mixed with sharp icicles flew everywhere.
"Flower Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirling Peach!"
Amidst the flying debris and icicles,
Kanae Kocho tumbled gracefully through the air,
the pink nichirin sword in her hand drawing brilliant arcs in the sky.
With every swing, she shattered the lethal chunks of ice flying toward her with pinpoint accuracy.
"Mr. Tomioka, Mr. Rengoku, this demon's Blood Demon Art has too wide a range—we can't let him keep his distance!"
Kanae shouted.
She lightly tapped her toe against a protruding rock and transformed into a pink streak of light,
racing up the Lotu Bodhisattva's massive arm, heading straight for Doma standing atop its head.
"Oh? So eager to throw yourself into my embrace?
Miss Kanae is quite passionate."
Doma watched the charging Kanae with a smile and swung his gold fan,
"Blood Demon Art: Lotus Vines!"
Several thick vines condensed from ice crystals burst out from the Bodhisattva's arm,
coiling toward Kanae.
These vines were covered in sharp ice thorns; once ensnared, one would be ground into mincemeat instantly.
"Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin!"
Just as the ice vines were about to touch Kanae, a deep blue stream of water cascaded down like a waterfall.
Tomioka Giyu had leaped into the air at some point, his blue nichirin sword striking down with immense force,
and the violent current instantly shattered the ice vines.
"Mr. Tomioka, well done!"
Taking this opportunity, Kanae accelerated again, closing in on Doma.
Doma looked at the taciturn Tomioka Giyu below, tilted his head, and made an exaggeratedly confused face:
"Mr. Water Hashira, you haven't said much since we started.
You won't make any friends that way.
Look, everyone is fighting for their lives,
yet you're so cold.
Could it be that you're hated by everyone?
Oh my, how pitiful. The loneliness of having no friends...
I can't experience it myself, but just thinking about it feels so tragic."
Tomioka Giyu's hand tightened slightly on his sword, a faint, imperceptible ripple crossing his expressionless face.
He flipped his body in mid-air and landed steadily on a massive boulder,
his deep eyes staring intently at Doma.
"I... am not hated."
Tomioka Giyu's voice was calm, yet it carried a hint of stubbornness.
"Pfft, hahaha—"
Doma clutched his stomach and laughed exaggeratedly,
"Really? But you look so antisocial.
But it's okay. Once I eat you all,
you'll be together forever inside my stomach.
That way, you'll never be lonely again.
See, how kind I am!"
"Shut up! You nonsensical demon!"
Rengoku Shinjuro's furious voice came from the other side.
He seemed to have turned into a mass of burning fire, standing out brilliantly amidst the ice and snow.
"Your hypocritical words are absolutely sickening!
You don't understand the weight of life at all, let alone the greatness of human bonds!"
"Flame Breathing, Esoteric Art, Ninth Form: Rengoku!"
Rengoku Shinjuro erupted completely.
He concentrated all his qi into his legs and the hands gripping his sword,
his heart beating frantically like a war drum,
pumping scalding blood to every corner of his body.
He transformed into a massive meteor wreathed in blazing flames,
and with a terrifying momentum of no return, he slammed violently toward the Lotu Bodhisattva's chest.
Everywhere he passed, the air was distorted by intense heat, and the ice on the ground evaporated instantly.
This was an attack that burned life to its very limit, the strongest secret technique passed down through the generations of the Flame Hashira lineage!
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