This guy simply cannot understand.
Whether he was human or is now.
An old fossil.
A true and proper old fossil.
Mizuki's eyelid twitched repeatedly: "It's a girl, you haven't met her, but she's very cute."
"..."
Kokushibou already couldn't understand modern society.
Although he wasn't particularly interested anyway.
He vaguely remembered that Mizuki seemed quite averse to marriage back then. Could she have gone astray since that time?
Speaking of which, this girl was different from other girls since she was young.
Kokushibou tried his best to recall his past memories.
He originally intended to reply with 'Are you out of your mind?', but seeing Mizuki's expression of disgust, he wisely changed his words.
"As long as you're happy."
"Seeing you makes it impossible to be happy."
"..." Did he say something wrong again?
Kokushibou felt a chill in his heart. If Douma were talking to him so nonsensically and incessantly, he would have sliced off his head long ago.
Now, even agreeing with Mizuki led to her retorting, making it seem like he was in the wrong.
Kokushibou was ultimately an old fossil. If he were a modern person, he would understand one thing.
Never try to reason with a woman.
Because it's impossible.
The moment Kokushibou lowered his guard due to Mizuki's words, Mizuki's Transparent World perspective keenly noticed the opportunity.
What a chance!
"Snow Breathing, Ninth Form: Heat Haze Snow!"
Boom!!
Red and white flames erupted before Kokushibou's eyes.
Kokushibou's eyes narrowed. As his body spun, crescent moon blades, like swirling vortices, burst forth from his sword.
"Moon Breathing, Fifth Form: Moon Spirit Calamitous Vortex!"
Mizuki frowned slightly and charged straight into the Moon Breathing defensive technique.
Although Kokushibou reacted quickly, in close combat, the power of a scarlet blade far surpassed a demon blade composed of flesh and blood.
This was a fundamental difference in hard conditions that even a gap in strength could hardly overcome, let alone the fact that the difference between the two of them wasn't that large.
The crescent moon blades were sliced straight open, and Mizuki took the opportunity to strike at Kokushibou's neck.
This girl, every single strike was aimed right at his head.
Kokushibou never expected to force her back with a single move, so he slightly retreated.
But in the next moment, his calm eyes slightly constricted.
The red and white flames suddenly extinguished mid-air, and a wisp of smoke seemed to rise from the blade.
Immediately after, an even hotter flame ignited.
"Sun Breathing, Eighth Form: Solar Heat Haze."
The scorching flames baked the air, and the Nichirin Blade seemed to extend in length out of nowhere.
A chill ran down Kokushibou's spine, and a burning pain came from his neck.
Scratch~
The blade scraped past his neck. A shadow flashed across Mizuki's eyes as she swallowed the blood surging up.
Just missed... Kokushibou rapidly retreated, touching his neck where a little blood was seeping out.
He had almost forgotten... Mizuki's strange talent for Breathing Techniques.
The ability to forcibly switch Breathing Techniques mid-attack.
Kokushibou knew his sister too well; her combat tricks came one after another, and combined with her Breathing Technique talent, her ideas were truly chaotic.
A thief can steal for a thousand days, but a guard cannot defend for a thousand days.
If this continued, he might genuinely be caught off guard by her.
The scarlet blade was still too great a threat to him. He needed to find a way to disarm her Nichirin Blade first.
This was Kokushibou's only thought right now.
Kokushibou's gaze swept over the pile of yoriichi type zero scrap, and an idea formed in his mind.
The premeditated move failed to land, but Mizuki did not stop, adjusting her breathing as she pursued Kokushibou.
Kokushibou fought while retreating, intentionally or unintentionally luring Mizuki toward the yoriichi type zero.
The cry of emptiness wailed during a clash, its blade barely maintaining its form under Kokushibou's focused attacks, completely losing its ability to wound the enemy.
Kokushibou parried Mizuki's Nichirin Blade, then used a forceful backhand sweep, and the cry of emptiness snapped instantly.
Mizuki tried to press the attack while his blade couldn't regenerate in time.
Kokushibou had no intention of repairing his blade. He used his toe to flick something up from the ruins, and a white Nichirin Blade shot toward the two of them.
Mizuki's eyes constricted slightly.
That blade was... Kokushibou firmly grasped the hilt, using the inertia mid-air to slide off the sheath.
Shhh... The long-neglected blade made a rusty sound.
Bang!!!
A dull collision sound rang out as the weapons met.
Mizuki clearly saw the appearance of the blade.
It was a Black Nichirin Blade?!
The blades separated immediately upon contact. Taking advantage of Mizuki's momentary distraction, gruesome blue veins bulged on Kokushibou's thick arm.
The jet-black blade quickly became stained with a layer of crimson.
His activation of the scarlet blade was much faster than hers!
Kokushibou tightly gripped the Nichirin Blade and smashed it down heavily.
Clang!!!
sound.
The impact split the skin between Mizuki's thumb and index finger, and she nearly dropped her Nichirin Blade.
This guy!
He wants to cut her blade.
Mizuki keenly sensed his intention, and a look of hesitation flashed across her face.
Clang!
Both Nichirin Blades snapped simultaneously.
The blades spun several times in the air before embedding themselves in the ground nearby.
The crimson slowly faded from the blade.
Kokushibou held the broken blade and said faintly, "I never thought there would be a day when I would pick up a Nichirin Blade again."
Mizuki stared slightly blankly at the broken blade in her hand.
She had hesitated just now.
Because she thought if Kokushibou used the scarlet blade and wounded her, but found it had no effect, he would prematurely realize that she had overcome the sun.
"Now, you have no chance of killing me," Kokushibou casually tossed away the broken blade in his hand and reached out to Mizuki. "Mizuki, come join me."
Mizuki threw away the broken blade in her hand: "You know that's impossible."
"Why? Didn't you also want to pursue the ultimate realm of swordsmanship?" Kokushibou maintained his outstretched hand, seemingly unwilling to give up easily.
Mizuki knew that the ultimate realm he spoke of was not the so-called Transparent World, but simply referred to getting stronger.
Or perhaps... surpassing Yoriichi.
The reason Kokushibou held this belief stemmed from her lie all those years ago.
Mizuki closed her eyes slightly: "No... I never thought that way."
Kokushibou's brow furrowed slightly: "Wasn't this your dream?"
He had forgotten many things, but he had not forgotten the matters concerning Mizuki and Yoriichi.
Mizuki's words from back then... he still remembered them clearly in his mind.
"I still remember..."
The dream of growing stronger... entrusted to him.
"No... that was a lie I told you..." Mizuki showed a wry smile.
If she had known he would remember it for so long, perhaps she wouldn't have said it that way back then.
Her original intention was to make Kokushibou... no, to make Michikatsu realize that he too was unique; he was not Yoriichi, he was the unique Michikatsu.
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