What is water?
It is the waves, the streams, the rivers and seas, the thin porridge we eat, the source of life that sustains human body functions.
Everyone has their own understanding of it, but without exception, thoughts about "water" ultimately reflect human perception.
Urokodaki Sakonji sat on a wooden stump carving a mask; the rough bark was gone, and after smoothing the edges, a faint fox shape could be seen... He concentrated on carving while images of Tomioka Giyu and Eiichiro Oda came to mind.
One, whose nature is cold and silent, another, full of vitality and sharpness... He imagined more than once who might further advance "Water Breathing" beyond himself... It used to be Giyu, now there is also Eiichiro Oda,
because the child learns too fast, far exceeding the norm.
Beside the waterfall.
Tomioka Giyu stood on the treetop facing Roy from a distance.
His cool eyes seemed to flicker momentarily upon hearing Roy also had a sword, then refocused on Roy.
The youth leaned on a short blade, with a trace of a faint smile emerging from his composed expression, confirming he was not joking.
'Just learned the Breathing Technique yesterday, and today already created a new sword move...' Perception felt as if it were thrown on the ground and stomped... Tomioka Giyu struggled to find a bit of truth amidst absurdity.
Rarely, he smiled....
"Is that... Master Giyu is smiling? This is too strange... The sun must be rising from the west today!" Shinsuke noticed this scene, exclaimed, and leaned his face forward, "Slap... slap... slap....." getting slapped several times by Fukuda.
Confirmed... not dreaming! That was indeed him... really smiling!
'Master seemed to have said that since Sister died, Master Giyu hadn't smiled... So what's happening now?' Makomo tilted her head to glance at Sabito.
The fox boy obviously was taken aback, looked seriously at the two, and after a moment, his brows gradually relaxed, showing a smile.
Makomo asked: "What did Master see?"
"It's happiness." Sabito remarked with emotion: "It's the happiness of meeting a worthy opponent, the type who ensures the legacy continues."
That was all, Sabito didn't say more, though he knew inside that Giyu always believed he hadn't passed the trial by skill back then, thus felt unworthy to be a Hashira. In the original story, Giyu was always alone, unwilling to join the "Hashira" crowd.
And now... "He thinks the guy who could uphold the title 'Water Hashira' has appeared...."
"Eiichiro Oda?"
"Yes, Eiichiro Oda."
Many gazes converged on Tomioka Giyu; today he was truly happy,
and with a bright gaze on Roy, he simply said: "Alright."
The sword tip slanted towards the treetip... Suddenly, "Tick~" a drop of water fell, and space with the tip of his Nichirin Sword as the center rippled gently, spreading towards Roy's direction...
Initially, Shinsuke and Fukuda didn't notice, suddenly they saw a sparrow flying over Tomioka Giyu's head, abruptly cut into two halves... Realized suddenly, even the wind seemed to stop... along with the sound of branches swaying, disappeared...
A chill ran down their spine, as they raised their eyes to see....
Tomioka Giyu stepping on ripples approaching Roy, everything in his path instantly cut in half by high-speed moving Sword Qi!
"Water Breathing·Eleventh Form·Niji... calm and peaceful..."
Closing in... Roy was already sensing the deadly silence engulfing everything!
In his pupils, "Boom" ignited two wheels of sun, squinted to see... Tomioka Giyu used superb slashing to weave a defensive net, also the reason he could easily block "Lower Moon Five·Rui"'s Blood Demon Art "Thread Guillotine."
But regrettably, the "calm and peaceful" created in physical sense was ultimately not "stillness"...
The real "stillness" lies in... the heart no longer wavering... "Tick~" likewise a drop of water pillar fell....
Roy leaned on the short blade, letting the sword tip fall, piercing the treetip, recalled watching the sun rise in the storm, split by the sea mirror, initiating the [Illusory Sword]... "Buzz...."
Ripples instantly covered the heavens and earth, enveloping everything surrounding him, including Tomioka Giyu who was already close... Sabito and Makomo watching from the tree... Shinsuke, Fukuda, Shimizu Watanabe who were still baffled by what was happening, all covered within...
At this moment, everything seemed frozen in time, losing its ability to act...
Could only stare wide-eyed, at a red sun, gradually rising from the horizon, then... the image of a youth calmly setting the sword on Tomioka Giyu's shoulder....
"Whoosh~" at nine o'clock in the morning.
The mountain breeze dispersed the mist, casting a ray of sunshine.
At a certain moment, Urokodaki Sakonji stopped his knife, looked outside the courtyard...
Tomioka Giyu approached slowly, donning a haori interwoven with red, yellow, and white, his cold face wearing a faint smile.
The old man was stunned: "You're back."
"Back indeed."
"How was it?"
Tomioka Giyu sat next to Urokodaki Sakonji, his azure blue eyes brighter than ever, looked seriously at Urokodaki Sakonji and said: "What Master said was right, Eiichiro Oda would be the answer."
Urokodaki Sakonji paused for a moment, took up his knife again, murmuring: "I better hurry, or I won't catch him when he descends..."
"Clink... clink... clink..." The knife carved wood chips rustling down....
Across parallel space-time, after the battle with Senior Brother Tomioka Giyu, Roy completed six rounds of "Ten Thousand Basic Swings" on the same day, before bed, chatted briefly with Master and Senior Brother, then lay downfully clothed, falling into deep sleep.
"Raspy~" Soft snoring echoed gently....
As he reentered through the dream passage via "Deep Sleep," returning to the Hunter World.
A red sun was vividly blossoming with morning glow before him, reflecting a brilliant red sea.
"Master, breakfast is served~"
At six o'clock in the morning.
Kate, as usual, wheeled the meal cart to the bow, handing it to Wutong.
The girl with golden hair tied behind her head, bearing two dark circles, frantically "cramming" on the relevant knowledge of "Nen."
Even if Roy didn't want to, he could guess it was Wutong exposing her to a forceful "cramming" approach.
According to the young steward: "If you can't learn it, you should reflect on your own. Were you listening attentively? Did you think about it? You say it's 'hard,' why is it 'hard'? So many Nen users, didn't they all learn it this way?"
In short... with Wutong around, Kate had no chance of comfort!
"Master, enjoy your meal." Wutong took over the cart, began peeling shrimp for Roy.
Roy admired the dawn glow, stretched with a lazy yawn, and casually glanced around... In the shadows, the strange man seemed to notice, shrank his head, and sank through the gap in the deck.
Faintly... you could hear the old captain Maxim cursing furiously: "Which bastard did this? Of all the things to learn, you chose to learn from mice and make holes; you'd better hope I don't catch you, or I'll disqualify you from the exam!"
It's been days... if there's not a hole found here on the deck, there's one over there, patched up and then opened again... it almost sent Maxim spiraling into the sky with rage!
But that hole-digging "mouse" is too good at hiding; once Zetsu is used, no one can even sense him. He emerges when you're least prepared... endlessly, which could drive anyone insane...
Fortunately, after more than ten days of sailing, Doli Island was almost in sight,
The old captain pinched his nose, endured another day of frustration, and from a distance, a strip of land was slowly emerging at the horizon...
"Woo—"...
The ship's whistle blared loudly....
After a bumpy journey,
The anchor was dropped, securing the ship; the gangplank was lowered, and the ten candidates who won the points competition gradually emerged from all corners of the ship.
There was the Bandage Man, the Snakekeeper, the Bow-carrying Boy, the Bald Ninja Yuusuke... as well as the Strange Man, Kate, Kurajing, Wutong, and Roy!
Gathered at the entrance of the gangplank, no one dared to be the first to step down, merely stealing glances at the bow....
Wutong timely called out: "Young Master...."
Roy casually tossed the branch in his hand towards him, picked up the staff blade laying across his knees, and stood up tall...
He took another look, and without haste, began walking... behind him, Wutong and Kurajing followed closely in step.
At this moment, the sun was just right... Maybe out of reverence, as long as Roy didn't move, no one dared to step off the ship before him.
Watching him approach, they automatically parted to make way.
Since that's the case...
Roy didn't dawdle, he stepped onto the gangplank and proceeded to disembark from the Sea God.
"Phew~"
Seeing him disembark, there was a faint sound of relief from behind... followed by the Strange Man, then Kate... as they successively stepped onto the gangplank...
In the blink of an eye, only the old captain Maxim was left, holding a pipe in his teeth, silently watching the figures depart, finally pausing briefly on Roy, Wutong, and Kurajing, before reaching into his pocket to retrieve a phone and dial a number...
"Ring ring ring..." A string of ringing sounded, and a child's call came from the other end of the phone.
"Granny~ it's Grandpa Mark from the Sea God....."
"Mark?"
"Hehehe... did that boy arrive?"
The old woman took the phone, and sure enough... the coarse voice of the old captain came from the other end...
"Old hag, you're not dead yet."
The old woman's eye twitched as she chuckled: "What a pity, this old woman is tough to kill,"
"Temporarily can't die, sorry to disappoint you..."
"Hehehe," Maxim could hear the sarcasm in her words, exhaled a smoke ring: "Not dead, but close..."
He said meaningfully: "This year's candidates are different, you'd better take it easy. If it comes to it, let the water flow...."
It wasn't easy sending off that boy, especially after I remembered how a few of his slashes nearly dismantled my ship... Maxim couldn't help but sigh...
Thankful that the youngster had some sense and stopped himself in time....
"Hehehe~ Though this old hag is quite aged, I'm not as frail as you think."
"At the very least, teaching you a lesson with one hand is still not a problem." The old woman tapped her cane on the ground.
A group of children in white robes and wearing masks gathered around, muttering incomprehensible words, yet one could vaguely sense the remarkable "Nen" within them....
"Mumble... mumble...."
"A ton of iron and a ton of cotton, which is heavier?"
"Iron."
"Wrong, they're the same weight, both a ton."
"Which is older, the brother or the younger brother?"
"The correct answer is that it's unknown. Because they're twins."
"...."
"It's those 'children'!" Maxim wasn't surprised at all by the "noise" coming from the other end of the phone, taking another puff of smoke, he said with a frown: "Old hag, I've already warned you...."
"Don't be too stubborn!"
At least... Maxim's tone deepened: "When you encounter the young man with a staff blade, accompanied by a male and a female servant, it's best to let them travel with you, since...."
"That young man is a monster who can practice his sword skills while taking on storms... I've never seen a candidate like him before, it seems like nothing can stop him, not even you, let alone the ferocious fox family would find it tough."
Wait... what storm?
Though the old woman was old, she wasn't blind or deaf... "Mark, you brat, don't try to scare this old woman."
Don't you understand the literal meaning?
Maxim said calmly: "In any case, I've already warned you... remember, it's a young man with a staff blade..."
"Beep—"
The call ended.
Surrounded by a group of children, the old woman furrowed her brow holding the phone... At a certain moment, her ears twitched...
Faintly hearing approaching footsteps and a heartbeat...
"Thump... thump... thump..."
It was beating....