It's just that his eyes are a bit special, nothing to be surprised about—isn't the Serpent Hashira's eyes also quite special? Heterochromia.
Kiyokawa Izumi's eyes simply turn red whenever he gets excited.
In short, pink eye.
He took the initiative to retreat, opening up the distance.
The Dark Breathing he created certainly couldn't compare to Sun Breathing, especially during the day, where its power was significantly reduced.
This Breathing Technique emphasizes the training and utilization of vision and senses, as well as the concealment of one's own presence.
The night is his home field!
Utilizing the dim environment, he can even achieve brief visual deception, such as hiding the blade's body or forming afterimages—his nichirin blade is not brightly colored; it's an inconspicuous dark silver.
But all of the above is impossible to achieve during the day.
He intentionally slowed and lengthened his breathing rhythm, and it seemed that even his heartbeat slowed down accordingly.
From another person's perspective, you can clearly see him standing right there with your eyes.
Yet you cannot sense the presence of his aura.
Kochou Shinobu's slender eyebrows rose slightly, instantly recognizing that this was not Water Breathing.
This is a self-created Breathing Technique!
"Insect Breathing, Butterfly Dance: Caprice!"
She leapt lightly like willow catkins leaving a branch; her weight was extremely light, only thirty-seven kilograms.
Rotating naturally in the air, her fluttering haori looked like a sky full of butterfly shadows, her movements gorgeous and elegant.
With the slender tip of her blade pointing slightly downward, she appeared before him in an instant.
He seemed to smell a faint fragrance wafting toward him.
Deconstruct, analyze!
At this moment, the world seemed to slow down, and every movement was clearly presented before his eyes.
Kiyokawa Izumi shifted his body slightly, and the blade brushed past his chest—Kochou Shinobu's nichirin blade is special; the tip is incredibly sharp, but the body of the blade is unedged.
This is also related to her unique combat techniques.
Because her strength is insufficient to sever a demon's neck, she abandoned slashing movements.
It wasn't that Kiyokawa Izumi didn't have time to dodge; he just felt it wasn't necessary.
With these eyes, he was confident he could dodge fatal attacks with the smallest margin of movement.
Not only that, the nichirin blade held tightly in his right hand was thrust out silently; he hid his presence so deeply that even piercing the air made no noticeable sound.
A look of slight surprise appeared on Kochou Shinobu's exquisite little face. She seemingly didn't expect his improvement to be so rapid—in terms of swordsmanship alone, he could probably rank in the top twenty within the Demon Slayer Corps.
His swordsmanship was indeed not bad, but his Breathing Technique was quite average.
He still hadn't mastered Total Concentration Breathing Constant.
For a Hashira, this was just the basics.
It's not that mastering it makes one a Hashira; it's just the initial threshold.
Amidst her thoughts, Kochou Shinobu's petite figure leapt lightly, and the nichirin blade brushed against her sleeve as she easily dodged it.
She landed steadily with a gentle smile.
"You have grown stronger..."
As soon as she spoke, she vanished instantly.
Within the square inch, it seemed her figure was everywhere.
Her speed was indeed extremely fast; the black tomoe spun rapidly in his pupils. Kiyokawa Izumi could see her, but he couldn't necessarily react in time.
'Behind?'
'To the right?'
The girl's center of gravity was pressed extremely low, making her direction of attack difficult to judge.
One could only say she truly lives up to being a Hashira.
This type of speed-oriented opponent was the kind he hated facing most, because his own speed wasn't that fast.
Look with the eyes!
Listen with the ears!
It's impossible for there to be no sound at all during maneuvers, especially when piercing the air at extreme speeds; it will inevitably cause a leak in one's presence.
'Is it right in the center...'
Kiyokawa Izumi suddenly raised his hand, his right hand gripping the hilt and his left hand supporting the blade. Just then, a force of gravity poured in, and his body retreated continuously, carving a long trail on the ground.
Using the relatively hard blade body, he blocked Kochou Shinobu's sharp blade tip.
The girl, who had pressed her center of gravity incredibly low in an unimaginable posture, seemed somewhat surprised now.
"How did you see through it?"
"Your speed is too fast. Although my eyes can keep up, my movements can't... being able to block it had an element of luck!"
Kiyokawa Izumi said in a calm tone.
It was indeed as he said; there was an element of luck.
He knew that her center of gravity could be pressed very low, so before his eyes even saw it, his hands moved first.
"Is that so? You really have become much stronger..."
Kochou Shinobu could keenly sense the incredible change that had occurred in the person before her.
After the Final Selection ended, he was relaxed, detached from the world, and also muddled and at a loss.
He had no determination, no pursuit.
But at this moment, it was as if he had become a different person.
The change he displayed even made her feel it was unbelievable.
'If I didn't have some strength, where would I get the confidence to want to try?'
Kiyokawa Izumi's current goal was far from the unreachable Muzan.
It was just Upper Rank Two, Douma.
He wasn't so arrogant as to think he could defeat that person alone.
He just felt that if he gave it his all, he should be able to fight that person for a bit, right?
'Dark Breathing, First Form: Night Crow's Shadow!'
Kiyokawa Izumi exerted a little force, flicking Kochou Shinobu's nichirin blade away. With a flip of his wrist, the dark silver blade quickly swept past, gone in an instant.
______
There's only a little left for the extra chapter.
Extra chapter at 350 energy stones