The Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito.
With his slender, fragile-looking frame and those vacant, unfocused eyes, it was hard to associate him with the title of one of the nine strongest swordsmen.
It was said that he had held a blade for only two months before rising from an ordinary boy to a Hashira. Truly admirable.
According to their arrangement, Asuka came to the Ubuyashiki estate three days a week to learn swordsmanship from Muichiro, who was temporarily staying there.
"Uh… what was your name again? Ah, Asuka…"
Muichiro remained in his usual dazed state. The Master of the Ubuyashiki family had specifically told Asuka about this:
Muichiro's memory had some issues. If possible, he hoped Asuka would speak with him more often and help him recover.
Since this was a sword lesson, Asuka still bowed slightly, treating him as a teacher.
"Senior Muichiro, please instruct me."
On the estate's corridor, the Master's wife, Ubuyashiki Amane, quietly watched the two from afar with her children. She had always cared deeply about Muichiro.
A breeze passed through the courtyard, rustling the trees.
Asuka and Muichiro stood facing each other, each holding a practice wooden sword.
Muichiro's thin body stood straight, yet his gaze was not on Asuka. It drifted vaguely into the distance, as if part of his soul were still lost within a dense fog.
But Asuka would not underestimate him.
Within his spiritual pressure perception, the aura surrounding Muichiro was like a gleaming blade—sharp and lethal.
During last week's three days of training, without using Breathing Techniques, Asuka's sword had posed almost no threat to Muichiro.
"You… have a solid foundation, but you've fought too few real battles…"
"Your body is stiff. You must have overtrained before. Your movements have grown sluggish without you noticing…"
"As for sword forms… you don't need to learn more. You just need to… keep fighting."
Muichiro had once said that.
And it was true.
Thinking back, Asuka had slain fewer than five Demons, and most of those battles had been won at the last moment by relying on the power of Nugata.
If Master Tetsushin Arisaki saw this performance, he would probably be angry…
"Begin," Asuka said in a low voice as they took their stances.
Whoosh—
Without further words, Asuka became a flash of steel.
The wooden sword sliced out in a swift gray arc, tearing through the air with a sharp hiss as it aimed straight for Muichiro's throat.
Muichiro's expression remained calm. Just as the tip of the blade nearly touched his collar, his foot pivoted slightly. His body tilted with minimal, efficient motion, slipping past the fierce strike.
Asuka was not surprised when the attack missed. He twisted his torso and drove his strength downward, then used that momentum to slash upward from below.
Oh? A new move?
Muichiro raised an eyebrow slightly. Asuka had not used this one last week.
This was a step from the Kagura dance he had learned from Tanjiro, specifically the movement called [Clear Blue Sky].
"A beautiful slash. But… still too slow."
Muichiro's wooden sword shot out like lightning, the angle tricky, the timing flawless down to the smallest fraction.
With just a light tap, it struck Asuka's wrist—precisely at the weakest link in his chain of force.
Asuka's entire right arm went numb. The strength he had just gathered burst apart like a punctured balloon. His follow-up move was cut off before it could even form.
His expression changed. He retreated quickly, widening the distance and adjusting his breathing rhythm.
Muichiro withdrew his wooden sword, his vacant gaze drifting toward a camellia tree in the corner of the courtyard. It was as if that antelope-horn-like strike had merely brushed dust from his sleeve—hardly worth mentioning.
"What a beautiful strike. Muichiro truly is…" Ubuyashiki Amane sighed softly while brewing green tea nearby.
"Of course! Muichiro-sama is the descendant of that swordsman! He isn't comparable to these small fry! The 'Mu' in Muichiro stands for 'Mugen'—Infinite Power!"
From a treetop, an unusually noisy Kasugai Crow flapped excitedly, praising Muichiro nonstop.
That was Muichiro's crow—Gin. She took immense pride in everything about him and looked down on every swordsman besides Muichiro.
"Be quiet. You're noisy."
Beside her stood another Kasugai Crow, calm-eyed and radiating an aura of distance.
He had named himself Black Feather and was Asuka's partner. Aside from delivering messages, he rarely met Asuka.
Even so, he disliked other crows pointing and commenting about Asuka. It felt like other children trying to snatch his toy—an unpleasant sensation.
Setting aside the crows' squabbling, Asuka attacked again.
This time, his blade was fast.
Or rather, Muichiro appeared slower in his eyes.
Asuka did not know if this counted as a trick, but by consciously releasing his spiritual pressure perception, he could predict his opponent's movements with greater clarity.
If he pushed that ability to its limit, he could even see the patterns of muscles and veins beneath the skin…
Bang!
With a dull clash, their wooden swords met. Muichiro looked slightly surprised.
Then came a storm of exchanges.
Asuka's wooden sword struck again and again in rapid succession. Muichiro's expression finally shifted from absent-minded to serious as he parried each attack.
They fought from dawn until noon.
Their wooden swords began to crack. Blisters formed at the base of their thumbs, yet neither stopped.
Slash!
Seizing a fleeting opening, Asuka's wooden sword grazed Muichiro's cheek, slicing off a few strands of hair.
At the same time, Muichiro's wooden sword pressed against Asuka's throat.
"You're growing stronger very quickly…" Muichiro said calmly, his expression grave.
What he did not mention was that, just now, he had instinctively used Mist Breathing to barely evade Asuka's thrust. Otherwise, the strike might have landed squarely on his face.
"Let's stop here…" Muichiro glanced at his damaged wooden sword, put it away, and took out a handkerchief to wipe the fine sweat from his brow.
On the corridor, Ubuyashiki Amane had long prepared refreshments and beckoned to them with a smile.
"Come over. Rest well."
Asuka did not refuse. However, he was still immersed in the sword move that had just restrained him, his thoughts drifting.
So fast. The breathing rhythm felt like wind… but not quite…
The afternoon sunlight filtered through the treetops, casting a warm golden glow across the tranquil floors of the Ubuyashiki estate.
Asuka and Muichiro put away their wooden swords, washed up briefly, and respectfully sat before the beautiful white-haired woman.
As the Master's wife, Ubuyashiki Amane often received Hashira-level swordsmen on his behalf. Even Muichiro had been personally invited by her from a remote mountain village after multiple visits.
Thus, everyone treated this lady of the house with deep respect.
Beside her knelt several children who looked remarkably alike, all equally beautiful.
They were the Master's children.
The black-haired boy was named Kagaya Ubuyashiki, and the four white-haired girls were named Hinaki, Nichika, Kiriya, and Kanata.
"Please, eat. You've trained hard."
Lady Amane smiled as she personally served soup to the two young swordsmen, her voice gentle like a spring breeze through bamboo, carrying a power that soothed restless hearts.