"Click—"
"Whether you admit it or not, it won't change a thing. Facts never change. You can deceive everyone else, but you will never be able to deceive yourself, Tsugikuni Michikatsu!"
"Shut up!"
The sword in his hands kept swinging without pause. At this mont, what people called Breathing Techniques and Sword Forms seed to lose all aning.
Kokushibo was like a wild beast that had been provoked—rampaging without restraint, venting his violence in a storm of blind fury.
In the middle of it all, Yukinoshita Akira kept searching for openings, while also staying alert to everything around him.
From Hantengu before, to Gyokko just now, Akira couldn't afford to lower his guard. Who knew—there might be another sudden ambush waiting here.
And especially Muzan Kibutsuji—there was no doubt that creature was capable of pulling sothing like that.
"Sun Breathing: Sixth Form – Scorching Bones, Blazing Sun!"
A burst of blazing heat exploded outward.
In a close-quarters fight like this, Akira couldn't just keep defending.
Especially now, when Kokushibo was in his weakest phase—having lost his composure and completely consud by anger. That was his biggest opening.
"Moon Breathing: Second Form – Pearl Flower, Moongazing!"
Kokushibo twisted his body as he swung, releasing two blades of cutting wind. Along those arcs, countless tiny crescent moons blood into existence.
And the target of every single one of those crescents was Akira.
Moon Breathing was a Breathing Technique born from Sun Breathing. When he tried to learn Sun Breathing, because he couldn't endure the power of the sun itself, Tsugikuni Michikatsu was forced to create a degraded version—Moon Breathing.
As the saying went, no matter how bright the moon is, how could it ever rival the sun? Because he was always inferior to his younger brother, Tsugikuni Yoriichi, Moon Breathing could be seen as the very first step Tsugikuni Michikatsu took toward the abyss.
Everything before had been nothing more than his own thoughts—but this ti, it was an undeniable reality.
He was weaker than his younger brother. He couldn't even learn the Breathing Technique that his brother had created. That difference had never felt so painfully clear.
Perhaps in order to surpass Tsugikuni Yoriichi, Moon Breathing was designed with terrifying destructive power—able to release sword waves across a wide range, always accompanied by countless crescent blades. Almost every form was a killing technique, boasting extre speed and overwhelming coverage.
The blades clashed again, the force from both sides equally monstrous.
At that mont, Kokushibo's mind slowly began to calm. The raging anger that had overflowed earlier was forcibly suppressed.
After all, he was a swordsman who had lived for hundreds of years. If it weren't for touching the "demon in his heart"—that is, Tsugikuni Yoriichi—Tsugikuni Michikatsu would never have acted this recklessly.
"I never thought this sword style would truly be passed down."
As Tsugikuni Yoriichi's older brother, he had fought alongside him more tis than he could count. And Yoriichi had never hidden anything from him. Of course, Kokushibo recognized every single one of these Sun Breathing techniques.
"So that's how it is. This is a style I know all too well… in that case, allow to use my own sword."
"Then show —just how much power Sun Breathing has in your hands."
Even though he was jealous of his younger brother, deep down in Tsugikuni Michikatsu's heart, Tsugikuni Yoriichi was also the one he acknowledged as the strongest—and the one he took pride in.
Those two feelings didn't contradict each other. Humans were, after all, creatures of incredibly complex emotions.
Love and hate weren't things that canceled each other out. On the contrary—they strengthened one another. The deeper the love, the deeper the hatred.
"Sun Breathing: Raging Fla Tiger!"
Akira's figure shot forward in an instant. From his Nichirin Blade, flas spread and roared.
Faintly, within the blazing fire and boiling waves of heat, the shadow of a king among beasts took shape—an enraged Fire Tiger—radiating terrifying pressure in every direction.
"Moon Breathing: Third Form – Loathso Moon, Chains!"
Crescent moons ford along Kokushibo's blade as he unleashed a flurry of slashes, releasing two crescent-shaped wind blades. At the sa ti, countless crescent moons of varying sizes appeared all around him.
The two attacks collided head-on. Amid the tiger's furious roar, Akira's slash tore straight through everything in its path.
A sharp gasp escaped.
Blood sprayed into the air. A massive, gaping wound opened across Kokushibo's chest.
"Truly Sun Breathing. This burning pain, like being scorched by the sun—besides Yoriichi, you're the first."
In the past, Tsugikuni Yoriichi had nearly taken his head. He survived only because Yoriichi ran out of strength at the very last mont—but even then, his neck had been cut halfway through. For the next hundred years, that spot had continued to burn from the lingering power of that slash.
That was Tsugikuni Yoriichi's final strike, one that burned away the rest of his own life in an attempt to free his older brother.
Unfortunately, he had overestimated himself. The slash hadn't fully succeeded.
"Sun Breathing: Flaming Dragon Dominates the World!"
Akira's fast-moving figure transford into the form of a coiling fire dragon.
In a single exchange, Kokushibo was blasted far away.
But Akira felt it—his slash hadn't struck Kokushibo's body. It had hit his sword instead.
From within the rubble, the sound of sothing cracking rang out.
The sword in Kokushibo's hand—Kyokokamusari—had broken.
And because of the Red Blade's effect, the severed portion could no longer be restored.
"How pitiful, Tsugikuni Michikatsu. You threw away everything—even your dignity as a human—just to keep living as a monster in the gutter?"
"Don't call by that na. My na now is Kokushibo."
"Kokushibo, huh? You even threw away your own na. What a truly obedient dog."
"Looking for death!"
Humiliated like that, Kokushibo could no longer hold back.
Even with a broken sword, in his hands it was still a deadly weapon.
"Moon Breathing: Sixth Form – Perpetual Night, Lonely Moon: Incessant!"
"Sun Breathing: Dragon Dance Flash!"
The ground around them was shattered by the collision of their slashes. Akira and Kokushibo seed to have entered a special state, sothing close to a berserk mode.
"Moon Breathing: Seventh Form – Mirror of Misfortune, Moonlit!"
He swung his broken blade, releasing five massive, fan-shaped shockwaves that tore forward along the ground. Alongside the main waves, countless smaller, arcing shockwaves followed.
Even the concrete surface split apart like a plowed field.
Seeing that, Akira imdiately rolled away to evade. Facing a move like that head-on was clearly not a wise choice.
The true final boss—Muzan Kibutsuji—never left Akira's mind.
Even while fighting Kokushibo, Akira was still holding back part of his strength.
His goal was only one thing: so that when he finally faced Muzan Kibutsuji, he could deliver a single, decisive, killing slash.
After all, that cowardly boss—if he sensed even the slightest hint of danger, he would flee without hesitation.
And that was sothing he was absolutely capable of doing.
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