"Breathing of Mist - Horizontal Flow Slash!"
Yoriichi's strike could easily sever the head of any Upper Moon demon. Even the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji, would only be left to await his fate.
The bamboo sword, carrying terrifying power, slashed towards Zephyr.
"Clang!"
The bamboo swords clashed, producing a crisp sound.
Zephyr held his bamboo sword upright, easily blocking Yoriichi's horizontal slash.
"Heh!"
"Kid, that's an interesting attack!"
Zephyr, having easily blocked Yoriichi's attack, smiled broadly.
Although Yoriichi used the Breathing of Mist sword technique, his strikes were still powerful enough to dominate the Demon Slayer world. But now, Zephyr had easily blocked it. Looking at Zephyr's casual demeanor, Yoriichi knew that there was a vast difference in strength between him and Zephyr.
"It seems that probing attacks are pointless against a powerhouse of this level."
"You have to go all out from the start!"
"Whoosh~"
The bamboo swords clashed, and Yoriichi Tsugikuni maintained his sword-wielding stance, taking a deep breath. His muscles tensed abruptly, and he tilted the bamboo sword, deflecting Zephyr's force. Then, he pushed off the floor with his legs, quickly closing the distance.
Sun Breathing - Third Form - Crimson Mirror of the Blazing Sun!
The moment he closed in on Zephyr, Yoriichi swung his sword again, this time enveloping it in flames.
"A sword technique that exudes murderous intent!"
Zephyr, seeing the bamboo sword coming towards his neck, couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. He suddenly reached out his left hand and grabbed Yoriichi's bamboo sword.
"Huh?!?!"
Yoriichi was stunned. He could anticipate that Zephyr might dodge or parry, but he never expected that Zephyr would suddenly grab the bamboo sword.
Moreover, Zephyr's speed was so fast that he couldn't dodge at all.
Although it was a bamboo sword, enhanced by Yoriichi's swordsmanship, its attack power was terrifying. Flesh and blood could hardly withstand it, yet Zephyr actually grabbed it with his hand?!
Through the Transparent World, Yoriichi could see "black" gathering in Zephyr's hand; if he wasn't mistaken, that black was Haki.
"Kid, you're distracted!"
Just then, Zephyr roared, his right hand, still holding the sword, attacking Yoriichi. Although he was holding a bamboo sword, Zephyr attacked Yoriichi with his fist.
A fist the size of a sandbag came hurtling towards Yoriichi's face. Helpless, Yoriichi could only leap lightly, dodging Zephyr's fist while simultaneously using the force of Zephyr's grip on the sword to deliver a counter-kick to Zephyr's face.
"Hehehehe!"
Zephyr suddenly chuckled, not even dodging, directly taking Yoriichi's attack head-on. Yoriichi quickly released the sword, using the recoil to fly back several meters.
After landing, Yoriichi braced himself on the ground with his right hand, staring silently at Zephyr, who was gripping his bamboo sword.
He had been disarmed in a single exchange.
Although Zephyr had cheated, it was undeniable that Zephyr's abilities far surpassed those of any swordsman or demon he had ever encountered.
It was a completely different dimension!
"Yoriichi, how much force did you use in that slash?"
Zephyr asked, casually tossing the bamboo sword to Yoriichi and beckoning him to continue.
"All my strength,"
Yoriichi replied, catching the sword. He then charged towards Zephyr with his sword. This time, Yoriichi didn't use any special sword techniques, simply swinging the bamboo sword rapidly, slashing and thrusting, maximizing the capabilities of his body. In
an instant, Zephyr's area was filled with flashing sword shadows.
Yoriichi's slashes weren't chaotic; each strike was aimed at Zephyr's "weakness" through the Transparent World.
However, the very spot that was the weakness a moment before would be precisely blocked by zephyr's bamboo sword as his strike landed, eliminating the weakness Yoriichi had identified.
For a moment, the empty kendo hall echoed with a dense "clatter, clatter, clatter."
Under Yoriichi's relentless onslaught, Zephyr remained relaxed, even having time to comment:
"Hmm! Very good."
"The angle of your strike is also quite tricky. In terms of swordsmanship alone, I'm not even as good as you." "Of course, the drawbacks are also obvious: too little strength and too slow. It should be fine for dealing with small pirates."
"But against slightly stronger ones, it might not be enough."
As he spoke, Zephyr, who had been parrying, suddenly unleashed his power, swinging his sword sharply and precisely striking Yoriichi's bamboo sword. The terrifying force poured directly onto the bamboo sword, causing Yoriichi's wrist to tremble, and he lost his grip.
The bamboo sword was sent flying by Zephyr. It tumbled several times in the air before smashing into a distant wall with a loud "bang," creating a large hole.
"..." Yoriichi turned his head, looking at the basin-sized hole in the wall, speechless.
He had heard Zephyr's assessment; not only had he heard it, but he had heard it clearly.
He didn't understand what Zephyr meant by "slow speed" and "weak strength." Yoriichi knew that Zephyr's "weak strength" meant he could easily lift a giant tiger's leg, and as for speed, Yoriichi had just unleashed hundreds of strikes in the blink of an eye.
Zephyr, seeing Yoriichi's stunned expression, smiled even more broadly, walked over to Yoriichi, patted him on the shoulder, and chuckled,
"Kid, you still have a long way to go."
"Too weak, really too weak."
"From now on, you'd better train hard and not slack off!"
Zephyr suddenly burst into laughter.
Just then, the dojo's door was pulled open, and a young marine man in uniform rushed into the dojo. Seeing Zephyr inside, he hurriedly asked,
"Zephyr-sensei, what... what just happened?!"
"How come a bamboo sword suddenly..."
Before the man could finish his question, Zephyr waved his hand and said with a smile,
"Oh, it's Victor!"
"It's nothing, nothing."
"Just playing around with my student."
"Let me introduce you, this kid is Yoriichi Tsugikuni, my disciple!" "
Yoriichi, that kid is Victor, our marine academy's kendo instructor."
Zephyr introduced the two with a smile, and Yoriichi nodded politely to Victor.
Victor, standing at the door, heard this, but his expression hardened, his brows furrowing as his gaze shifted to the large hole in the wall.
Zephyr probably didn't know that the bamboo sword that had just flown past Victor had struck a large blue stone, cracking the stone and shattering the sword.
Victor was almost "played" to death by Zephyr!
Even now, Victor is still a little scared. Just a hair's breadth away, and his family could have received their compensation!
"Teacher Zephyr! Please don't play around like that in the future," Victor muttered, his gaze falling on Yoriichi beside Zephyr.
He didn't know Yoriichi; only the higher-ups knew that Garp had brought Yoriichi back. As a kendo instructor at the marine academy, he was too busy to care about such things.
However, the bamboo sword that had just flown out made Victor realize that this new student of Teacher Zephyr was no ordinary person!
Unlike Yoriichi, Victor knew Zephyr's strength very well. If playing around could cause such a commotion, then Yoriichi's strength was probably extremely high!
"Teacher, is your student planning to study at the marine academy?"
Victor sized up Yoriichi before asking Zephyr.
"Learn? Ah! No need, you won't teach him... uh, I mean, I'll teach him myself!"
"He's too young, too weak, we'll wait until later! Hahahaha!"
Zephyr laughed, patting Yoriichi's shoulder.
When Victor heard Zephyr say "too weak," his cheek twitched involuntarily, and his gaze returned to the large hole in the wall. He could roughly guess what had just happened in the dojo.
Since Zephyr said so, Victor simply nodded, and after learning that Zephyr had no further instructions, he turned and left the dojo.
"Let's go, Yoriichi, I'll take you to test your douriki power."
"After I have a general idea of your level, I can make a training plan for you!"
After Victor left, Zephyr didn't linger at the dojo, leading Yoriichi directly away.