'Is this what the self-created Dark Breathing is like?'
'When using Total Concentration Breathing, the sound isn't obvious, but after changing the breathing rhythm, a slight movement can be heard.'
'Silent when swinging the sword, no sound of cutting through the air; even under the sunlight, the trajectory of the wooden sword's swing is sometimes hard to see with the naked eye.'
'I probably have a general understanding of Young Izumi's ability; he possesses very special eyes and vision far beyond ordinary people, just like my own special hearing.'
Uzui Tengen judged in his heart—his judgment wasn't actually that accurate; Kiyokawa Izumi's Fourth Form was indeed centered around vision, but the other enhanced senses couldn't be ignored either.
When the information from the five senses converged, it was like a three-dimensional spatial model appearing in his mind.
It didn't rely solely on vision.
Uzui Tengen, who had special hearing, hated facing opponents like Kiyokawa Izumi the most.
This made it impossible for him to rely on his auditory dominance to control the overall situation.
'This is bad; the Serpent Hashira is actually being suppressed. Were the openings I saw really just traps?'
'Striking after the opponent but arriving first, turning defense into offense—he has completely fallen into his rhythm.'
Obanai really should severely question Uzui Tengen, who was slacking off on the sidelines.
This guy wasn't completely refraining from attacking; he just spent more time observing, which resulted in Iguro Obanai having to deal with Kiyokawa Izumi at full power by himself.
More and more cracks appeared on the striped haori, and the wooden sword in his hand was severely worn.
Powerful force poured out, causing him to be suppressed for a time.
A strange feeling, like a prey caught in a spider web, where no amount of struggling would help.
With the support of the Fourth Form, eerie and tricky technical playstyles were severely countered by Kiyokawa Izumi.
Obanai alone was not enough to change the situation.
When the world is clearly presented in one's mind, most techniques are useless.
Only faster, more frequent, and more powerful attacks can work—for example, if he could swing his sword hundreds or thousands of times in a second, what use would it be even if Kiyokawa Izumi could clearly perceive it?
Without those, if one could awaken the Transparent World, they could conversely suppress Kiyokawa Izumi.
The Serpent Hashira had the talent to open the Transparent World.
But now, he clearly couldn't do it.
'The person you really want to attack should be me, right?'
Uzui Tengen suddenly realized that suppressing Obanai was just an illusion; this guy's true target had been himself from the beginning.
Why was that?
Some kind of intuition?
Truly monster-like talent and intuition; no wonder he could escape unscathed before an Upper Rank.
'Young man, your perception is indeed accurate, but the Score is already complete!'
The Sound Hashira, who had been slacking, suddenly erupted; with a sudden burst of power, the muscles in his arms bulged tightly, and veins appeared hideously.
Accompanied by the outpouring of terrifying force, the surrounding air seemed to be churned up in an instant.
With an unstoppable Aura, he swung his blade toward his side.
He had already expected that Kiyokawa Izumi would launch a surprise attack from there.
And indeed, it was so.
Under a short-distance dash, the wooden sword in Kiyokawa Izumi's hand had already swung out silently.
But this silent strike was blocked.
What terrifying and overbearing power; he truly was the man ranked second in arm strength.
If Kiyokawa Izumi didn't redirect the force, the wooden sword in his hand would definitely snap from being unable to withstand it.
He was seen retreating repeatedly, leaving long marks dragged on the ground.
There was no time for sentiment; just as he adjusted, a fierce and sharp attack pressed in front of him.
'Is this the Score? Converting the combat rhythm into melody, there's indeed something to it.'
Unfortunately, the startup time is too long... If the Serpent Hashira hadn't shared the pressure for him, he might not have been able to successfully activate the Score.
'My five senses transcend hearing; is it a bit too presumptuous to think you can defeat me with just the Score?'
Kiyokawa Izumi wasn't entirely a technical swordsman; it wasn't that difficult to memorize his attack rhythm.
And even if it was memorized, so what?
Just as he thought, relying solely on the Score, it was absolutely impossible to defeat him.
It could only reach the point of contending with him, avoiding being suppressed as tightly as the Serpent Hashira.
Both sides were constantly predicting each other's next move; chaotic blade light appeared continuously, and the sound of collisions was endless.
Uzui Tengen became more alarmed as he fought; even after using the Score, he still couldn't take down the young man before him.
Incorrect sounds kept coming; occasionally he could hear the sound of the sword swinging, and occasionally he couldn't—what amazing intuition, deliberately changing the existing combat rhythm and even trying to use incorrect sounds to make him misjudge.
He, the Senior, had already been surpassed by him.
Kiyokawa Izumi, whose strength was above his own, would still be seriously injured when facing an Upper Rank—what kind of monsters were the Upper Ranks?
It was normal for Uzui Tengen to have such thoughts.
Using the Score, he could only barely contend with him, unable to break the deadlock or change the situation at all.
With such a watertight defense, it was hard to imagine the user would be so seriously injured when facing an Upper Rank.