Chapter 14: Yoriichi Tsugikuni
As expected of my lucky goddess, Ren thought. She really came through.
The animation continued. Ten meteors of various colors fell, finally resolving into ten character cards.
The haul was: one Gold, two Blue, three Green, and four White.
The cards were revealed one by one, starting from the lowest rarity. The lowest was White, also known as "mobs"—the unlucky souls who flash past in an anime and die without anyone ever remembering their names.
The next level up was Green. One step above White, but still a mob.
Above Green was Blue. Blue was the "elite" level, like the Chūnin he had pulled at the very beginning. They might still be characters without a single line of dialogue, but they had at least some degree of power.
Above Blue was Purple. This stage was already very good. In Naruto terms, this would be a Jōnin-level character. In One Piece, it would be a pirate with a bounty of 100 million Berries or more, or perhaps one of the Seven Warlords.
And above Purple, there was Gold Legendary.
In Naruto, this was Kage-level and beyond. In One Piece, it was an Admiral or a Yonko. In Bleach, it was a Captain-level fighter.
Soon, the final, golden card was revealed.
Ren's eyes went wide. "It's actually him!"
On the character card stood a man in samurai attire, wearing a red haori. He had long, dark red hair tied back in a high ponytail, red irises, and sun-patterned Hanafuda earrings. Most striking of all was the distinctive crimson mark on his forehead. He held a crimson longsword, and his very presence exuded a terrifying, oppressive aura.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
The absolute "ceiling" of power from the anime Demon Slayer.
Ren had seen many anime, and there were countless powerful characters. But for any of them, there was always someone of equal, or at least comparable, strength.
Yoriichi was different. He was the absolute ceiling. In the entire anime community, if you mentioned the word "ceiling," he was the first character who came to mind.
He was born with unrivaled talent. He created Sun Breathing. The five foundational breathing styles that came after were just crude imitations. Even as countless geniuses modified those styles to create their own, none could come close to surpassing him—they couldn't even get close to his level.
The strongest boss in Demon Slayer, Kibutsuji Muzan, was instantly defeated in their first and only encounter. He only managed to escape by self-destructing into pieces, and for the rest of Yoriichi's life, he didn't dare show his face, only emerging to act after Yoriichi had died of old age.
In the anime's finale, the entire Demon Slayer Corps, using every trick they had, ganged up on Muzan and still suffered catastrophic losses. In the end, it was only the sun that finally killed him.
Ren had only one evaluation for Yoriichi: A mere mortal who slew a god.
Compared to other anime powerhouses who could easily destroy islands or countries, Yoriichi clearly didn't have that kind of destructive power. But if you were to stand face-to-face with him, even a god would have to be 120% focused.
You might be able to destroy the world, but I can kill you.
Ren tapped the screen, selecting all the new cards except for Yoriichi and his existing Ulquiorra. He checked twice just to be safe, making sure he didn't accidentally recycle a gold card. He would regret that for the rest of his life.
[Confirm recycling all selected characters?]
"Confirm!"
[Ding! Recycle successful! Host's Magic Power increased by ☆!]
"System! That was two blue elites! Why is it still only half a star?! Are you taking a kickback?!"
[The higher the magic star level, the harder it is to increase. All calculations are automated. If Host wishes to gain more magic power, please recycle higher-quality characters.]
"You win!"
It was the same official reply. He'd have to be a complete idiot to recycle a gold character.
Ren opened his personal status panel.
[Host: Ren]
[Age: 18]
[Race: Human]
[Magical Power: ★★]
[Magic: Take Over]
[Character Cards: Ulquiorra Cifer (Gold), Yoriichi Tsugikuni (Gold)]
"Full-Body Take Over! Yoriichi Tsugikuni!"
Ren activated the magic. His hair began to grow rapidly, and his clothes changed. In a moment, he had taken on Yoriichi's appearance. Other than his face, which was still his own, he was a perfect copy.
Yoriichi's memories flooded his mind. He was different from the moment of his birth. The world he saw was not the same as the one others saw. He could use the "Transparent World," seeing people as if they were see-through. He could see the rise and fall of their lungs, the flow of their blood, the contraction of their muscles. He understood his own muscle control just as clearly, allowing him to effortlessly predict his opponent's moves, dramatically increasing his attack and evasion speed.
The first time he ever held a sword, he defeated a trained swordsman. He later created his own breathing style and, after joining the Demon Slayer Corps, taught it to them, giving them the ability to fight demons.
He encountered Kibutsuji Muzan and one-shotted him, inflicting a wound so grievous that Muzan was forced to self-destruct just to escape.
Finally, he met his brother, Michikatsu Tsugikuni—who would later become Kokushibo. In the end, out of familial love, he held back. After one last swing of his sword, he died of old age.
"Hooo....!!"
After reviewing the memories, Ren let out a long breath, but his heart was still pounding in shock.
He realized the anime had been too conservative. The real Yoriichi was far stronger than what had been shown.
It brought a phrase to Ren's mind:
"To those who don't know swordsmanship, seeing him is like a frog in a well gazing at the moon. To those who do know swordsmanship, seeing him is like an ant gazing at the heavens."
You might be a one-in-a-million genius, but being a genius is just the barrier to entry to even see him.
Ren began to use Sun Breathing.
An immense power surged through his body. It wasn't energy, but raw, physical potential. He could feel his physical stats rising dramatically. At the same time, his magic power was draining at an incredible rate.
After just a few moments, Ren released the transformation, returning to his original form.
"Hoo~!"
A powerful sense of disparity washed over him.
It felt like going from a super-genius to a complete idiot. The gap between his own talent and Yoriichi's was just too vast.
But just then, his body instinctively began to use Sun Breathing.
Hooo... Haaa...
As he followed the breathing pattern, Ren suddenly felt his body fill with power.
He froze. He had already exited the transformation. Why could he still use the breathing technique?
When in doubt, ask the system.
"System, why can I still use the breathing technique?"