Chapter 08
“Mist Breathing — Flowing Slash!”
The slash unleashed by Yoriichi Tsugikuni was a technique capable of effortlessly severing the heads of any Upper Rank demon.
Even the Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji himself would have had no choice but to wait for death if faced with this strike.
The bamboo sword carried a terrifying force as it swept toward Zephyr.
“Clack!”
The two bamboo swords collided, producing a crisp sound.
Zephyr simply raised his bamboo sword and easily blocked Yoriichi’s horizontal slash.
“Hey!”
“Kid, that’s a pretty interesting attack!”
Zephyr, who had casually blocked Yoriichi’s strike, smiled brightly.
Although Yoriichi was using a sword technique from Mist Breathing, his slash was still powerful enough to dominate the entire world of Demon Slayer.
Yet at this moment, it had been effortlessly stopped by Zephyr.
Looking at Zephyr’s relaxed expression, Yoriichi immediately understood.
The gap between their strengths was enormous.
“It seems that against an opponent of this level, probing attacks are meaningless.”
“I have to go all out from the beginning!”
“Ha…”
With their bamboo swords locked together, Yoriichi maintained his attacking stance and took a deep breath.
Every muscle in his body suddenly tightened.
He tilted his bamboo sword slightly, redirecting Zephyr’s strength, then pushed against the floor with both legs and instantly closed the distance.
Sun Breathing — Third Form — Blazing Sun Halo!
The moment he entered close range, Yoriichi reversed his grip and struck again.
Although it was only a bamboo sword, at this moment it seemed to be wrapped in a layer of flames.
“A sword technique filled with killing intent!”
Seeing the bamboo sword heading toward his neck, Zephyr praised him.
Then, unexpectedly, he extended his left hand and grabbed the bamboo sword directly.
“Hmm?!”
Yoriichi’s expression changed.
He had expected Zephyr to dodge.
He had expected him to block with his own sword.
But he had never imagined that Zephyr would simply reach out and catch the bamboo sword.
And even more shocking—
Zephyr’s speed was so fast that Yoriichi could not avoid it.
Although it was a bamboo sword, with Yoriichi’s sword techniques enhancing it, its attack power was still extremely terrifying.
A normal human body should never be able to withstand it.
Yet Zephyr had caught it with his bare hand?!
Through the Transparent World, Yoriichi could clearly see a strange “force” gathering around Zephyr’s hand.
If his guess was correct…
That force should be Haki.
“Kid, you’re distracted!”
At that moment, Zephyr shouted.
The right hand holding his bamboo sword suddenly moved.
Although Zephyr was holding a sword, when he attacked Yoriichi, he used his fist instead.
A fist as large as a sandbag shot directly toward Yoriichi’s face.
Having no choice, Yoriichi lightly jumped backward, avoiding the punch.
At the same time, using the force of Zephyr pulling on the sword, he twisted his body in midair and kicked toward Zephyr’s face.
“Hahaha!”
Zephyr suddenly laughed.
He did not dodge.
Instead, he directly took Yoriichi’s kick with his face.
However, Yoriichi immediately released his grip on the bamboo sword.
Using the recoil force, he flew backward several meters.
After landing, Yoriichi supported himself with his right hand on the ground.
He stared silently at Zephyr, who was holding his bamboo sword.
For a long time, he said nothing.
In just one exchange—
He had been disarmed.
Although Zephyr’s method could be considered somewhat unfair, Yoriichi had to admit one thing.
Zephyr’s strength was far beyond every swordsman and demon he had ever encountered.
It was completely…
A difference between two different dimensions.
“Yoriichi, how much strength did you use in that slash just now?”
Zephyr casually threw the bamboo sword back to him.
Then he waved his hand, signaling Yoriichi to continue.
“All of it.”
Yoriichi caught the sword and answered.
Immediately afterward, he charged forward again.
This time, he did not use any special sword techniques.
He simply swung and stabbed with the bamboo sword at incredible speed, pushing this body’s physical abilities to their absolute limit.
In an instant—
The space in front of Zephyr was filled with countless sword shadows.
Yoriichi’s attacks were not random.
Every single strike was aimed precisely at Zephyr’s weaknesses.
Through the Transparent World, he could see the openings in Zephyr’s body and attacked them accordingly.
However…
The weaknesses that existed in the previous moment would disappear the instant Yoriichi’s sword arrived.
Zephyr’s bamboo sword always perfectly intercepted the attack, eliminating the weakness Yoriichi had seen.
For a while, the empty dojo echoed with countless:
“Tap! Tap! Tap!”
Under Yoriichi’s storm-like barrage of attacks, Zephyr remained completely relaxed.
He even had enough time to comment.
“Hmm! Very good.”
“The angles of your attacks are extremely tricky. If we are only talking about swordsmanship, I might actually be inferior to you.”
“Of course, your weaknesses are also obvious.”
“Your strength is too small.”
“Your speed is too slow.”
“You should have no problem dealing with ordinary pirates.”
“But against slightly stronger opponents, it probably won’t be enough.”
As he spoke, Zephyr, who had been continuously blocking, suddenly exerted force.
He swung his bamboo sword.
Bang!
The strike landed precisely on Yoriichi’s sword.
A terrifying force instantly traveled through the bamboo sword.
Yoriichi’s wrist shook violently.
Before he could react—
The bamboo sword flew out of his hand.
The sword spun several times through the air before crashing into the wall.
“Boom!”
A hole the size of a basin was blasted through the wall.
“……”
Yoriichi turned his head and stared at the huge hole.
He was speechless.
He had clearly heard Zephyr’s evaluation.
Not only had he heard it—
He had heard every word.
But he did not understand what Zephyr meant by:
“Too weak.”
“Too slow.”
Because Yoriichi knew that the “small amount of strength” Zephyr mentioned was already enough for him to easily lift the leg of a giant tiger.
As for speed…
Just now, Yoriichi had unleashed hundreds of sword strikes.
And all of that had happened within a single breath.
Zephyr looked at the stunned Yoriichi.
The smile on his face became even brighter.
He walked over, patted Yoriichi’s shoulder, and laughed.
“Kid, you still have a very long road ahead of you.”
“You’re too weak.”
“Far too weak.”
“From now on, you need to train properly.”
“Never slack off!”
After saying that, Zephyr suddenly burst into loud laughter.
At that moment—
The dojo doors were suddenly pulled open.
A young Marine officer wearing a uniform hurriedly rushed inside.
When he saw Zephyr standing in the dojo, he immediately asked:
“Teacher Zephyr, what just happened?!”
“Why did a bamboo sword suddenly…”
Before he could finish speaking, Zephyr waved his hand and laughed.
“Oh, it’s Victor!”
“Nothing, nothing.”
“I was just playing around with my disciple.”
“Let me introduce him.”
“This kid is Yoriichi Tsugikuni, my disciple!”
“Yoriichi, that kid is Victor. He is the swordsmanship instructor of the Marine Academy.”
Hearing this, Yoriichi politely nodded toward Victor.
However, Victor’s expression changed when he heard those words.
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
His gaze moved toward the huge hole in the wall.
Zephyr might not know this…
But the bamboo sword that had just flown out had passed right in front of Victor’s eyes.
It had struck a large stone outside.
The stone had already cracked apart.
And the bamboo sword itself had shattered completely.
He was only a little bit away from being killed by Zephyr’s “playing around.”
Just a little bit more…
His family could have received a compensation payment.
“Teacher Zephyr! In the future, please don’t just casually ‘play’ like that…”
Victor muttered helplessly.
But his eyes fell on Yoriichi standing beside Zephyr.
He did not know Yoriichi.
The fact that Garp had brought Yoriichi back was only known among the higher-ranking Marines.
As a swordsmanship instructor at the Marine Academy, Victor was extremely busy and had no time to pay attention to such matters.
However, that bamboo sword flying out just now had already made him realize—
Zephyr’s new disciple was not ordinary.
Unlike Yoriichi, Victor knew exactly how terrifying Zephyr’s strength was.
For Zephyr to create such a disturbance while merely “playing around”…
This Yoriichi Tsugikuni was probably extremely powerful.
“Teacher, is your disciple planning to study at the Marine Academy?”
Victor looked over Yoriichi carefully before asking.
“Study?”
“Ah! No need. You can’t teach him—”
“Uh, I mean, I’ll teach him myself!”
“He’s still too young.”
“His strength is still too weak.”
“Maybe later!”
Zephyr laughed loudly while patting Yoriichi’s shoulder.
Hearing Zephyr say:
“His strength is still too weak.”
Victor’s cheek twitched.
Once again, he looked at the huge hole in the wall.
He could roughly guess what had happened inside the dojo.
Since Zephyr had said so, Victor simply nodded.
After confirming that Zephyr had no further instructions, he turned and left the dojo.
“Come on, Yoriichi.”
“I’ll take you to test your Doriki.”
“After I understand your current level, I can create a proper training plan for you.”
After Victor left, Zephyr also did not remain in the dojo.
He led Yoriichi away.
………………
