Tomioka Giyu was prepared for Akaza's sneak attack; after blocking a punch with his nichirin blade, he quickly retreated, adjusting the blade's angle.
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"
Although the wave-like slash cut Akaza's arm, Tomioka Giyu himself sustained a head graze.
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
Tomioka Giyu had no intention of stopping; he understood that against Akaza, the best way to fight was an endless barrage of attacks!
Akaza closely followed Tomioka Giyu's attack rhythm, even subtly gaining the upper hand.
"You're the Water Hashira? Not bad, I haven't encountered one in fifty years!"
"Again! Again!"
Tomioka Giyu concentrated fully, frequently using the softness of Water to neutralize Akaza's heavy blows.
But this clever method was quickly noticed by Akaza.
"Hmph, if that's the case, then how about this move?"
Before he finished speaking, Akaza leaped up fiercely, then smashed down with a punch from mid-air!
"Destructive Kill: Crushing Style: Myriad Leaves Flashing Willow!"
Tomioka Giyu's pupils constricted, and he quickly jumped back; he dared not confront this attack head-on.
With a "bang," the spot where Tomioka Giyu had stood shattered over a large area, and dust flew everywhere!
At the same time, Tomioka Giyu retreated while deflecting the aftershocks of Akaza's blow.
But it wasn't over yet; the dust suddenly exploded, revealing Akaza unleashing several consecutive punches in mid-air!
Tomioka Giyu calmed his mind; those unseen "Empty Styles" required his full perception!
Bang—bang bang bang bang——
"Excellent! Excellent! That's it, again!"
Upon landing, Akaza was extremely excited, giving Tomioka Giyu no chance to catch his breath.
In a few blinks, punches were already heading for Tomioka Giyu's head!
"Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust!"
The fastest starting move indeed worked, the nichirin blade directly pierced through Akaza's arm.
Immediately after, Tomioka Giyu gripped his nichirin blade with both hands and thrust upwards with full force!
And the next second after slicing Akaza's arm, Tomioka Giyu turned, sweeping his nichirin blade towards Akaza's neck!
But this strike was blocked by Akaza's other hand!
At the same time, Akaza's severed arm had already regenerated, and his hand formed a palm, thrusting towards Tomioka Giyu's head!
Tomioka Giyu's eyes narrowed slightly, his steps widened, and afterimages overlapped.
And Akaza's palm strike passed directly through Tomioka Giyu's head!
The imagined scene of bloody gore did not appear; Akaza only heard Tomioka Giyu say faintly,
"Water Breathing Style, Thirteenth Form: Mirror Image * Kyouka Suigetsu!"
Seeing his attack miss, Akaza was not annoyed; instead, he became even more excited, saying,
"Oh? I've never seen this move before; the Water Hashira I encountered previously didn't use it!"
Before he finished speaking, Akaza pressed forward again, but his continuous attacks were completely ineffective.
Although Tomioka Giyu didn't manage to cut him either, Akaza felt inexplicably annoyed.
After another missed attack, the smile on Akaza's face had vanished.
"If you've got the guts, keep dodging!"
Akaza erupted again, preempting Tomioka Giyu's movement trajectory and smashing a punch upwards.
But, as expected, it still missed... However, Akaza was already mentally prepared; using the inertia of this strike, he turned and simultaneously kicked his right foot from bottom to top towards Tomioka Giyu's head!
"Destructive Kill: Leg Style: Crown Splitter!"
He had originally thought that by throwing a punch first, feigning an attack to distract Tomioka Giyu, and then immediately following up with "Crown Splitter" without any gaps,
He might not directly kill Tomioka Giyu, but he could at least injure him, right?
But the reality was completely different from what Akaza had imagined; Tomioka Giyu was still completely unharmed and was swinging his nichirin blade towards Akaza's neck!
Akaza reacted swiftly, quickly retreating, actively widening the distance from Tomioka Giyu for the first time.
Tomioka Giyu did not pursue; others might not know, but he himself was very clear about the true nature of this move.
The so-called swing of the nichirin blade towards Akaza was merely a weakness he had to hide for this move, which only allowed him to dodge.
He had felt this move was too simple before, but now it was effective, Akaza was directly bluffed into retreating.
"I don't believe you can avoid all attacks!"
As he spoke, Akaza's fists gathered power, and in the next instant, he slammed them upwards with immense force!
"Destructive Kill: Annihilation Style!"
With a loud "bang," the ground shattered, and smoke and dust flew.
Rengoku Kyojuro, who was in the distance, hurriedly led Inosuke and Tanjiro to retreat to a safe area.
"You two stay put; I'm going to help Tomioka!"
With that, without waiting for their reply, Rengoku Kyojuro returned to the edge of the battlefield.
Although his stamina had not fully recovered, continuing to fight was not a problem.
Rengoku Kyojuro stared intently into the dust; as soon as Tomioka Giyu was at a disadvantage, he would immediately go to help him.
The next second, Rengoku Kyojuro heard Akaza's furious voice.
"Destructive Kill: Leg Style: Flowing Flash Group Light!"
Along with Akaza's voice, the dust immediately exploded!
Rengoku Kyojuro looked at Tomioka Giyu in disbelief, because he was slowly moving amidst Akaza's rain-like attacks.
"It must be because of those overlapping images..."
In the distance, Tanjiro and Inosuke were both stunned, muttering consecutively,
"Senior Brother Giyu..."
"So amazing! So amazing! Just like water!"
But Tomioka Giyu, in the center of the battlefield, was not as relaxed as he appeared, because the Thirteenth Form was about to end!
Furthermore, Akaza's attacks were too dense; Tomioka Giyu dared not be overconfident and could only take the initiative to attack, ending the Thirteenth Form.
There was no other way; passively disengaging the Thirteenth Form would expose a momentary gap, which would be fine against other enemies.
But facing Akaza, he dared not gamble.
The moment Akaza's attack ended, Tomioka Giyu precisely swung his nichirin blade, heading straight for Akaza's neck!
In response, Akaza actually smiled, "Your state has ended, hasn't it?"
As he spoke, Akaza spun rapidly, slamming his right fist violently into Tomioka Giyu's sweeping nichirin blade!
Clang—
The nichirin blade and fist were evenly matched, bouncing off each other after the collision, but Akaza spun back, kicking out several times from bottom to top!
"Destructive Kill: Leg Style: Flying Star Thousand Wheels!"
The elusive, meteor-like kicks forcefully blasted Tomioka Giyu into mid-air!
This wasn't over; after one strike, Akaza stomped his right foot fiercely, pulling back both fists.
"Die! Destructive Kill: Annihilation Style!"
In mid-air, Tomioka Giyu had blood on the corner of his mouth, and his breathing was slightly hurried.
Looking at Akaza rushing towards him, Tomioka Giyu gripped his nichirin blade with both hands, forcefully twisting his body.
"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Twisting Whirlpool!"
At the same time, a loud voice, carrying crimson flames, roared up from the side!
"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!"
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