Tanjiro clung to Tsunanami's broad back, desperately plunging his Nichirin Sword into the area behind the demon's heart. He felt a surge of adrenaline as he realized his theory was correct—he was positioned in an absolute blind spot.
It was a phenomenon common among those with excessive muscle mass or, in this case, excessive fat: the more "built" the physique, the harder it becomes to reach the center of one's own back.
Tsunanami's situation was an extreme version of this. Because of the sheer volume of blubber surrounding his shoulders and torso, it wasn't just a matter of "reaching"—his arms physically could not pivot far enough to touch the intruders on his spine.
Perched in a nearby tree, Yae saw the opening. She focused her breathing, blue static erupting around her as she launched herself downward like a hawk.
"Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Rice Spirit!"
Her blade shimmered with crackling electricity. Using the momentum of her fall, she unleashed a devastating flurry of five consecutive slashes against Tsunanami's thick, fatty neck.
The strikes bit deep, carving into the rolls of flesh with blistering speed. Yet, even with five concentrated hits, her blade failed to reach the cervical spine. The layers of fat were simply too deep to bypass in a single burst.
"Damn it!" Yae hissed. She landed on the demon's back beside Tanjiro, immediately resuming her assault. She began hacking at the neck with frantic precision, hoping that a war of attrition would eventually wear through the layers of blubber.
Tanjiro didn't let up either, repeatedly driving his sword into the demon's back. Working in tandem, the two slayers utilized the blind spot to deal a continuous stream of damage. If they could keep this up, there was a genuine chance they could slowly grind the demon down.
But Tsunanami was one of the Twelve Kizuki. He was not about to let a couple of "gnats" whittle him away.
He flailed his massive, flabby arms, roaring in frustration as he realized he truly couldn't grab the children on his back. His eyes narrowed with a murderous glint.
"Enough!"
With a guttural shout, Tsunanami curled his massive body inward. He tucked his head and limbs, transforming his bloated form into a gargantuan, spherical mass of flesh, and then he threw his entire weight forward into a violent roll!
Tanjiro and Yae, who had been focused on their offense, were caught completely off guard by the sudden tectonic shift.
If they stayed on his back as he rolled, they would be dragged beneath his immense weight. With his speed, tonnage, and the sheer force of the rotation, being pinned under him would mean instant death or, at the very least, a shattered body.
Left with no choice, both slayers yanked their blades free and leaped away.
Tsunanami didn't stop. After the initial rotation, he gained terrifying momentum. He accelerated, his massive form plowing through the earth and leaving a deep, mangled trench in his wake. He was no longer recognizable as a humanoid; he had become a monstrous, rolling sphere of cyan flesh, a mobile fortress of destruction.
Worse yet, he could steer.
The rolling sphere performed a sharp, heavy skid, pivoting with impossible agility to target Tanjiro.
Tanjiro's eyes widened. He performed a desperate vertical leap, catching the branch of a nearby tree.
CRASH!
The rolling demon slammed into the trunk with the force of a wrecking ball. The tree didn't just fall—it exploded. The roots were pulverized within the earth, and the trunk itself was shattered into splinters and sent flying through the air.
The sheer power was staggering.
Missing his target, Tsunanami adjusted his trajectory again, rumbling toward Zenitsu with a deafening roar.
"Eeeeek! Stay away!" Zenitsu shrieked, his Thunder Breathing kicking into overdrive as he blurred out of the path of the juggernaut.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Tsunanami careened through the forest, obliterating everything in his path. This couldn't go on. At this rate, they would eventually run out of stamina, or the entire forest would be leveled.
Searching for an opening, Yae steeled her nerves for one last desperate gambit.
"Thunder Breathing, Sixth Form: Rumble and Flashing!"
This was currently Yae's most powerful technique. She became a literal conduit for lightning, her form wreathed in brilliant blue arcs. She swung her blade in a frantic, high-speed series of strikes, sending out waves of sharp, electrified slashes toward the rolling mass.
Dozens of lightning-fast strikes collided with Tsunanami, but because of his high-speed rotation, the kinetic energy of the roll acted as a centrifugal shield. The slashes were deflected or bounced off the spinning surface before they could bite deep enough to do damage.
Watching her strongest move fail to leave a scratch, Yae felt a wave of despair wash over her.
"This is bad... really bad. He's faster, stronger, and his defense is practically perfect in this state. How are we supposed to fight this?"
Sensing her attack, the rolling Tsunanami veered sharply toward her. Yae had no choice but to turn and run, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Watching the carnage, Tanjiro felt a sense of grim helplessness. They were being picked apart. But then, as he watched the rotation of the demon, a spark of inspiration hit him.
Wait... the rotation! That's it!
Tanjiro recalled a specific form of the Water Breathing style. It shared a similar principle with Tsunanami's current state. It was a gamble, but it was all he had.
Gritting his teeth, Tanjiro leaped down from the safety of the trees, landing directly in the path of the oncoming demon. He was going to meet the "Meat Wheel" head-on!
"Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel!"
Tanjiro launched himself into a forward somersault, spinning his entire body like a vertical blade. As he rotated, torrents of blue water erupted from his Nichirin Sword, forming a massive, circular tide of cutting force.
He intended to use rotation to counter rotation—centrifugal force against centrifugal force!
The massive, rolling Tsunanami collided with the spinning, watery blade of Tanjiro.
KABOOM!
The impact sent a shockwave through the clearing. For a split second, they were locked in a grinding struggle of friction and force. The Water Wheel roared against the fleshy sphere, water and sparks spraying in all directions.
Tanjiro's theory was sound, but the physics were against him. He lacked the mass. Compared to Tsunanami's mountain-like tonnage, Tanjiro was like a small stone trying to stop a boulder.
His momentum buckled. The "Water Wheel" was violently overpowered and crushed by the sheer weight of the demon.
Tanjiro was sent spiraling into the air like a broken doll.
Before he could hit the ground, a blur of yellow light intercepted him. Zenitsu, utilizing his speed, caught Tanjiro mid-air and landed safely on a sturdy branch.
Zenitsu looked at the rolling nightmare below, his face pale with dread. "Tanjiro, this isn't working! What do we do? We can't touch him!"
Tanjiro looked at Yae, who was still being chased through the splintered remains of the woods. He realized they had reached their limit. The gap in raw power was simply too wide to bridge with their current techniques.
"There's no other way," Tanjiro said, his voice heavy with the admission of defeat. "We're at wit's end. We have to fall back."
Zenitsu's eyes lit up with the first glimmer of hope he'd had all night. He had been waiting to hear those words.
Zenitsu cupped his hands and screamed toward Yae:
"Senior Sister! Head back! Run back to the clearing! We have to get Horitake to save us, or we're all dead!"
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