After dinner, Mizuki took out the booklet Giyuu had given her and began to read it.
Inside were Giyuu's understandings of Water Breathing and Sword Forms, which could be of great help to both her and newcomers wanting to practice Water Breathing.
Mizuki had a good grasp of the Breathing Technique and the earlier Sword Forms, so she directly flipped to the end to examine Giyuu's self-created Eleventh Form of Water Breathing.
'calm' (Calm).
She had never seen this Sword Form before, only knowing from Urokodaki-sensei that Giyuu had developed a new one.
And judging from Giyuu's understanding of this Sword Form in the booklet...
This move was just like its name.
Calm and peaceful.
It was a defensive Sword Form that waited for an attack before countering.
Essentially, it completely nullified attacks within a surrounding range with sword techniques that were difficult to see with the naked eye.
It didn't seem particularly extraordinary, but Urokodaki-sensei gave this move a high evaluation, believing Giyuu had surpassed him.
In Urokodaki-sensei's words, the only thing that child lacked was confidence.
Adhering to the principle that practice is the sole criterion for testing truth, Mizuki took her sword and went into the courtyard.
First, she relaxed her muscles and entered a state of serene stillness.
Mizuki gently exhaled, activating Water Breathing, and a continuous stream of light blue aura was released.
"Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Calm."
As if standing on a calm water surface, a light blue Domain suddenly expanded from Mizuki's center.
Thump... A drop of water fell, stirring a ripple, and circles of waves spread out.
A wisp of breeze appeared with this water drop, blowing through Mizuki's red hair.
Mizuki slowly opened her eyes, and the light blue Domain gradually receded.
So that's how it is. Combined with the characteristics of Water Breathing, the Sword Form appears to create a Water Domain, cutting off all external attacks.
What's important is not the Sword Form, but the Breathing Technique.
More precisely, it's the combination of the Breathing Technique and the Sword Form.
This principle is simple to understand but not easy to achieve.
Clap, clap, clap~
A round of applause sounded.
Mizuki turned her head to look, and sitting on the veranda was none other than Kochou Shinobu.
Seeing her look over, Kochou Shinobu smiled slightly: "Mizuki is indeed amazing."
"Even though it's your first time learning it, you can execute it perfectly."
"This isn't my first time." Mizuki smiled faintly and shook her head. "With a basic understanding of Breathing Techniques, learning Sword Forms isn't difficult."
Sword Forms are, in the end, sword moves. As long as one has a basic foundation in swordsmanship, the learning difficulty isn't high.
The difficulty lies in combining them with Breathing Techniques.
Kochou Shinobu didn't mind her modesty and asked, "Then, Mizuki, did you feel anything?"
Mizuki sat next to Kochou Shinobu, sheathing her Shura and casually placing it aside.
Frowning slightly, she pondered Kochou Shinobu's question: "...I feel that this generation's Pillars are indeed very talented."
Kochou Shinobu was a little exasperated: "Why did the topic turn so strange?"
She was clearly asking Mizuki how she felt about Tomioka-san's Sword Form development.
Mizuki closed her eyes slightly, a smile appearing on her lips: "Perhaps it's because everyone truly makes me feel at ease."
Kochou Shinobu paused for a moment.
She didn't think Mizuki was being sarcastic, even though Mizuki was already very strong, stronger than all of them.
She felt that it was probably because Mizuki had finally found comrades to fight alongside.
When facing difficulties, if there's one more person standing by your side, your heart will feel much more at ease, even if that person can't provide much help.
Kochou Shinobu pursed her lips: "It must be tough, right?"
"Huh? What?" Mizuki looked puzzled.
Kochou Shinobu said helplessly: "Mizuki is always so slow in this regard, isn't she?"
Mizuki raised one eyebrow higher than the other: "Am I? What are you referring to, Shinobu?"
She couldn't understand what Shinobu was saying.
Her eyes suddenly softened, as if comforting her.
Kochou Shinobu suddenly reached out and gently placed her hand on Mizuki's.
Mizuki didn't have any particular thoughts; she just instinctively pulled her hand back a little, but couldn't evade it.
Kochou Shinobu lowered her eyebrows, making her expression unreadable.
Mizuki opened her mouth, about to say something, when Kochou Shinobu suddenly leaned forward, moving closer to Mizuki.
Mizuki's heart tightened, and she leaned back.
But Kochou Shinobu showed no sign of stopping, pressing her body forward.
Her petite body, at this moment, seemed incredibly imposing.
"Shinobu?" Mizuki's voice was a little timid.
Her soft voice carried her clear tone, yet it didn't prevent Kochou Shinobu from sensing Mizuki's panic, causing her own ears to flush red.
"Mizuki..." Kochou Shinobu looked up, her lips curving into a beautiful arc. "Do you understand now?"
Mizuki's mind was almost crashing, and hearing the inexplicable latter half of the sentence, she couldn't help but fall into a daze.
Understand what?
She could barely remember what was said before, but looking at Shinobu's half-smile, she could feel the teasing in it.
Kochou Shinobu's smile deepened. She hadn't expected Mizuki to be so easy to bully, completely different from what she had imagined.
Was it because Mizuki's upbringing was different from theirs?
People from that era were not as emotionally open as people are now.
Unexpectedly innocent.
Looking at Kochou Shinobu's smile, Mizuki felt a bit annoyed.
She seemed to be suppressed.
Just as Kochou Shinobu's smile was at its peak, Mizuki suddenly exerted force and pushed Kochou Shinobu back with a counter-thrust.
"Eh?" In her panic, Kochou Shinobu tried to exert force but couldn't resist Mizuki's strength at all.
She was pushed back onto the floor.
Watching Kochou Shinobu's purple hair spread out on the floor, Mizuki held back her wandering thoughts and awkwardly looked away.
The panic on Kochou Shinobu's face flashed away.
Oh, my, she's too cute.
A hint of slyness flashed in Kochou Shinobu's eyes, and she said softly: "If it's Mizuki, it's okay~"
Mizuki was indeed startled and sat back.
Here... that's not right, is it?
Mizuki's face was flushed red.
Kochou Shinobu casually tidied her clothes, sat up, and placed her hand back on Mizuki's.
No longer teasing her, she said with a serious expression: "I will always stand by Mizuki's side."
Mizuki's eyes flickered twice: "Shinobu..."
Kochou Shinobu tightened her grip slightly: "So, don't worry."
"Whether it's Kibutsuji Muzan or my elder brother, I will face them with Mizuki."
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