Chapter 280: Anthem of Courage x The Strongest Shinigami's Slash
No, one was him, the sun... The other was an eternal fire, no less inferior to the sun, based on its own Reiatsu, illuminating half the sky!
"Whoosh~"
Beards and hair moved without wind.
The Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, once led by Kagaya Ubuyashiki, now had their aura nodes opened by Roy and had all converted to the [Sun]. They all looked up at the sky in unison, quietly coating their pupils with a layer of "Nen membrane," immediately deploying [Gyo]!
They saw it... they saw it... One was Lord Eiichiro... The other had a face with a ferocious scar, a weathered expression, and a long beard, much like the white haori draped over his back. Underneath, he wore a Shihakusho as black as ink. His old eyes narrowed, making it impossible for anyone to see the spirit and emotion contained within...
Kyojuro Rengoku, Gyomei Himejima, Giyu Tomioka, and the others had grave expressions. After noticing the sword held flat in the old man's hand, its tip pointing straight at Roy, even though the distance to the high sky was still dozens of kilometers,
Their hearts suddenly trembled. It was as if... they were pierced by the "sharpness" naturally exuding from the tip of the sword. Their intuition felt... like thorns in their backs!
"So strong!"
"Who is this person?!"
"Giyu, do you know?"
At Mount Sagiri, Sakonji Urokodaki tumbled up from the bed, flashed over, and gathered around Giyu Tomioka with Sabito, Makomo, and the others, looking in shock at the two men standing far apart in the high sky, one with his sword drawn.
The old Water Hashira had practiced the sword his entire life, but this was the first time he had seen someone able to drive away the night and achieve the unbelievable feat of changing the sky and replacing the sun purely with "sword momentum" and "coercion"!
"I don't know him." Giyu Tomioka's cold eyes locked tightly onto Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai. In this instant, he couldn't help but grip the Nichirin sword at his waist. The four large characters [Destroy Demons] branded at the connection between the hilt and the blade seemed so pale... and... powerless at this moment!
If,
The opponent is an evil demon,
If,
The opponent wants to harm this world,
Without Eiichiro's help, can we really fight him?
The haori woven with three colors—red, yellow, and white—draped over his body swayed gently in the wind.
Giyu Tomioka bit his lip. His shoulder then felt warm as Sakonji Urokodaki lifted it and patted it gently.
The old man seemed to sense his mood and said gently, "Don't overthink it, the opponent has no hostility. And,"
Sakonji Urokodaki proudly looked at Roy, who was silently facing Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai. Slightly lifting his chin, he said, "Believe in Eiichiro. He will always bring miracles to everyone, won't he?"
"Yeah... Giyu-shikei, that guy Eiichiro is not an ordinary person!"
"He's completely an anomaly that can't be judged by common sense!"
"Shoo... shoo... shoo! How dare you speak like that," Several small wooden puppets glided over, smelling of alcohol.
Now that he had a "body," Fukuda found it increasingly easy to discipline Shinsuke... He raised a foot, kicking Shinsuke to the ground, seized the opportunity to grab his back, and gave him a few loud slaps with a "smack smack~," saying, "Nonsense! Discussing the gods recklessly, be careful not to get struck by lightning!"
Gods... yes... Eiichiro had already become a god~!
He had become the Sun God... praised and devoutly worshipped by the grandpas and grandmas at the market!
On the wooden puppet Sabito possessed, the small fox mask still hung on its face. He gently patted the small wooden sword hanging at his waist, looking up at the sky with infinite emotion and reminiscence. Beside him was Makomo, who secretly clenched her fists and fell into a rare silence.
"Eiichiro," the young girl murmured softly,
Her amber pupils shifted, focusing entirely on Roy.
At this moment, under the gaze of everyone,
Roy tightly gripped the [Solar Eclipse] in his hand, instantly erupting with a powerful [Ren] to resist Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai's Reiatsu impact. Squinting at the old man, he said, "Thank you for your mercy, Captain-Commander."
The boy's fiery red long hair suspended and danced. He smiled and asked, "May I ask, how much power did you use, sir?"
The strongest Shinigami in a thousand years surely wasn't limited to this level?!
In the original story, if it weren't for his own strength being too formidable and overshadowing Ichigo Kurosaki's brilliance, Roy wouldn't believe that someone with this man's strength could easily have his "Bankai" stolen,
Unable to unleash his full power, dying unjustly by Yhwach's sword!
"Whoosh~" Reiatsu clashed with [Ren], stirring up a wind of energy that swept across the night sky...
Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai's white beard swayed with it. Squinting his eyes, he felt the [Scorching True Meaning] pouring out from Roy's [Ren]. With another glance, he seemed to see his younger self, unlocking his Zanpakuto for the first time, calling out the true name of Ryujin Jakka, completely mesmerized by the magnificent and scorching flames...
Suppressing his voice, he said...
"How much?" Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai brought his fingers together, gently stroking Ryujin Jakka, and said calmly, "Did you hear that?"
"Clang~" A sword cry even sharper than [Solar Eclipse] shot straight to the heavens!
Ryujin Jakka was unsheathed with a clang. Amidst the spilling sword light,
As if in anger, or perhaps blaming the slight in Roy's words, the moment the tip of the sword pointed at Roy's glabella, a peculiar rhythm spread out to the surroundings with a buzz...
This rhythm was profoundly mysterious, formless, colorless, and odorless... rippling like water waves, spreading out. Following that,
Another sword cry came faintly from the surface of the earth.
That belonged to... Giyu Tomioka, the Nichirin sword that had slain an unknown number of evil demons!
"Giyu, your sword!" The Nichirin sword vibrated, suddenly catching everyone's eyes. Before Giyu Tomioka could reach out and press it firmly, Sabito's sword, Makomo's sword...
Kyojuro Rengoku's... Gyomei Himejima's... Obanai Iguro's... Even the carving knife held in Sakonji Urokodaki's arms, used for carving masks, vibrated endlessly at the same time.
It seemed... to have received the summons of the... "King of Swords"!
Especially... the "Flame-type" swords of those focused on practicing "Flame Breathing," led by Kyojuro Rengoku, reacted the most violently. They almost flew out of their hands, carrying Kyojuro Rengoku straight to the high sky, flying towards Ryujin Jakka held level in Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai's hand!
"Nii-san," At the Rengoku household, Senjuro, forced to wake up due to the reversal of day and night, had just slipped on his geta and grabbed the sword he used for daily "Flame Breathing" practice, walking over in a panic. His body relaxed, and after hearing the sword cry emitted by Ryujin Jakka, he was carried flying towards the sky by his suddenly crazed sword!
He lacked talent and courage. Gripping the sword and refusing to let go, he shrieked in terror. Fortunately... Kyojuro Rengoku, who had quit drinking and pulled himself together, arrived right behind him. With a flying leap through the air, he grabbed his collar and pulled him down...
Helping him press down his sword, the boy was finally freed, panting heavily in lingering fear!
"Idiot, why didn't you let go?"
"Nii-san said, Lord Eiichiro once said, the sword is a swordsman's life, so I can't let go!"
A father's rage, a younger brother's stubbornness with his neck stiffened, played out right beside him... Kyojuro Rengoku's golden long hair swayed in the wind, the ends soaked red. He opened the aura nodes in his palms, instantly revealing Nen aura, forming [Ten] to firmly lock down his own sword. In silence, he looked up, locking onto... the culprit attempting to snatch his beloved sword.
For the first time in his life, he felt... swords also have emotions!
Just like humans... possessing the rhythm of life!
"Father, Senjuro, watch closely, don't blink even once," The young man wearing a white haori, his flame-like pupils staring straight up into the sky, took a deep breath and said, "My intuition tells me,"
"This is a... duel of 'swords' that we might not see even if we lived our whole lives!"
That's right... "It is the sword calling, not the person returning to their homeland..." In an inconspicuous temple in the western suburbs of Kyoto, a burly, tall monk, whose mere sitting on the stone steps of the temple gate almost filled the entire entrance, wept tears like a spring. Facing the firmament, he silently chanted: "Praise the Sun!"
The iron chain beneath him trembled with a clatter~. It was forcefully suppressed by him with brute force. One end connected to an axe, the other to a flail... It was his, Gyomei Himejima's, Nichirin sword, which in the past only obeyed him, Gyomei Himejima.
However, today, his former partner... had a rebellious heart!
Gyomei Himejima didn't blame it. If anyone was to blame, it was... his Nichirin sword, like him, lacked experience and had never seen... such formidable "sword" and "person" like Ryujin Jakka and Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai!
People cannot imagine people and things beyond their own cognition, and naturally wouldn't know... the formidable aspects of those people and things beyond cognition!
At this moment, with the sword cry of Ryujin Jakka...
"The sword is a swordsman's life" was completely materialized!
Mount Sagiri, Sakonji Urokodaki grabbed the carving knife, looking around... Seeing Sabito, Makomo, Shinsuke, Fukuda, and the others quickly calm down after their initial exclamations, imitating Giyu Tomioka to forcefully grip their own swords, suppressing them with "force," forcing calmness!
Looking up again, looking at Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai stroking his white beard opposite Roy, his emotions surged like waves, rising and crashing, unable to find peace!
"How formidable~"
"The sword hasn't moved, but the sword's intent goes first," Sakonji Urokodaki looked deeply at Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai and murmured softly: "For a figure like you, to what level has your understanding of the way of the sword reached?"
Curiosity... shock
Filled the air!
In this world, many swords flew, went crazy, and alarmed the world. Suddenly... looking around...
It seemed only the boy standing high in the sky, facing Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai from afar, and the sword surging with flames held in his hand, remained unmoved, even... overly quiet!
"You're not afraid?"
"Should I be afraid?"
"Your sword is not convinced?"
"Should it be convinced?"
"It shouldn't..." Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai calmly looked at the boy as his old eyes opened and closed. A flash of intense appreciation suddenly passed deep in his eyes. He said in a muffled voice, "Have you seen enough?"
Puff~ Two suns rose in Roy's pupils, illuminating, and then emitting boundless divine light locking onto Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai... Roy smiled faintly, maintaining the [True Eye] and saying non-stop, "Should I... have seen enough?"
Slowly, a panel emerged, reflecting into his brain through the [True Eye]...
[Name: Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai]
[Species: Shinigami]
[Physique: S?]
[Manifested Reiatsu: S?]
[Potential Reiatsu: S?]
[Evaluation: S?]
[Note: Extremely dangerous individual, engaging in combat is not recommended]
Roy took a deep breath. With another glance, squinting at Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, he changed from a one-handed grip to a two-handed grip, tightly holding the [Solar Eclipse] in his hand, as if this was the only way to bring him a sliver of confidence and comfort...
"Come!"
A deep shout,
Abruptly came from the boy's mouth,
Following that,
It exploded in the sky!
Including Kagaya Ubuyashiki, Giyu Tomioka, Kyojuro Rengoku, Gyomei Himejima, and all of Roy's believers, vaguely seemed to see a sun slowly rising from the tip of their hearts. As blood rushed to their heads, they only felt... deafening and enlightening!
Not to mention... people all over, looking up blankly at the sky—men, women, young and old, and the general public... Their cheeks suddenly flushed crimson. As their internal organs vibrated, they felt an indescribable boiling and thrill!
Courage?
Is the courage possessed by humanity!
Reiatsu spread in all directions. Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai noticed the trace of bloody bravery and anomaly simultaneously displayed by the Hashira, the people, and the many thinking, living creatures. In his silence... he suddenly remembered a sentence once said to him by that child of the Shiba clan, who was willing to abandon his identity as a Shinigami just to save a human woman...
"Humans must absolutely not be underestimated, Captain-Commander,"
"They possess the courage to walk towards the unknown, and for this, they do not hesitate to step up one after another... to sacrifice!"
"Even if they become wandering souls, or degenerate into [Hollows], they... do not hesitate!"
When Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai returned to his senses, staring blankly at Roy, he believed it.
The boy's heart had not wavered,
The boy's fighting spirit, like the sword in his hand, had not diminished,
The boy's unyielding nature, knowing he was outmatched yet truly daring to draw his sword and strike back, was courage,
"As expected, humanity's foolishness and courage are equally... eye-opening..."
"Boom!" Reiatsu and [Ren] clashed once again, exploding Nen aura as brilliant as fireworks... Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai slowly raised his hand and said leisurely, "Good."
Ryujin Jakka in his hand was raised high and fell heavily... A simple vertical slash, aimed at Roy's glabella!
The wind stopped, the clouds rested. In an instant, heaven and earth lost their original colors. Only a pitch-black vertical line, neither fast nor slow, came straight at him, leaving Roy nowhere to hide, nowhere to avoid. Both fast and slow, both slow and fast... Chaos indistinguishable...
"Didn't you want to know how much power this old man used?"
"See for yourself."
Pfft~ The black vertical line swept past flying birds, the birds were severed. Swept past clouds, the clouds were severed. Swept past the wind, the moonlight, an inadvertently wind-tossed green leaf... all neatly split in two.
It didn't even spare those gazes directed towards the high sky.
Slicing past lightly, it detonated a continuous series of cries of pain!
"Ah... my eyes!"
"Pain... pain... pain... it hurts so much..."
Men, women, young and old, as if rehearsed beforehand, upon noticing that thin black line, covered their eyes in unison. Among them...
Even included,
The Hashira... who had deployed [Gyo] in advance, protecting their pupils with "Nen Aura"!
"What does this mean?"
"Is this old man saying, I don't even have the qualification to watch the battle?"
☆☆☆
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