Obanai watched Raiden's figure disappear and, for some reason, the complicated emotions in his chest slowly eased.
He had expected tension between them. He thought training would be full of friction and conflict. But now it was obvious he had been overthinking everything.
Friction? He could not even touch Raiden's clothes, so how could there be friction?
During the entire training session, Raiden had barely fought back. If he had, Obanai knew he would have been knocked down long ago.
He was not exaggerating Raiden's strength or trying to be humble. At the beginning, he assumed Raiden's speed came from mastering Thunder Breathing, which made it impossible for him to land a hit.
But as the training continued, Obanai noticed something terrifying.
No matter how strong his attacks became, the force Raiden used to block them never changed.
Even when Obanai attacked with his full strength, Raiden defended himself with the same effort he would use to casually stop a weak strike. From start to finish, Raiden never showed his true strength.
That was why Obanai did not feel insulted when Raiden yawned after training.
It was not mockery. Raiden was genuinely bored.
If their positions were reversed, Obanai felt he might react the same way.
He gently touched Kaburamaru, who was still worried beside him, and slowly stood up. He was not injured, just completely exhausted.
This would continue for the next three days.
That night, Raiden sat cross-legged in his room, reviewing the information sent back by the Master.
After the Hashira meeting ended, Raiden arranged for several observers to be stationed around the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters. Using the Seventh Form of Beast Breathing, Spatial Perception, he constantly monitored the area.
Even if Nakime eventually discovered the headquarters, the information would reach him immediately. That alone was enough to give him time to prepare.
After going through every report, Raiden let out a slow breath.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki was extremely skilled at hiding his location. In the original timeline, Muzan only found the headquarters because he was desperate to capture Nezuko. Without that desperation, even Nakime might have struggled to locate it.
Since Nakime had not made a move yet, Raiden could focus on his training.
The session with Obanai during the day had been dull, but at least Obanai already had a solid foundation. Teaching him was not difficult.
At this rate, the training would be finished in no more than two and a half days.
Raiden could not explain the Transparent World in full detail. It would take far too long and would be unrealistic. Besides, training was not his main goal.
Building relationships with the Hashira was the real purpose.
But becoming friends with Obanai was not easy. He was quiet and rarely spoke, which made it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
If Obanai had treated him badly, Raiden could have forced a bond through combat. But Obanai's attitude today had been perfectly neutral. There was nothing he could use.
After the training ends, should I just ask him directly?
They would have trained together for two days by then. He would not refuse again, would he?
Raiden was also curious about the changes that might happen after combining Snake Breathing with his own techniques.
I just hope Obanai is not the ungrateful type.
He lay down slowly, and sleepiness began to take over.
He could stay awake and continue training his breathing techniques, but there was no real need. His body was not made of iron. One or two intense training sessions were fine, but too many would slow down his progress instead of helping it.
Just as Raiden closed his eyes, preparing to rest for the night,
Ding.
Raiden's eyes snapped open.
A notification appeared in front of him.
Detected Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka has sent a friend request. Accept?
Raiden sat up immediately.
What is going on?
He stared at the message for a few seconds before finally reacting.
A friend request? Did Tanjiro actually succeed?
Judging by the time, it was probably after Tanjiro kept bothering Giyu until he finally gave in.
So after being worn down by Tanjiro, Giyu sent the request.
Looks like that trip wasn't a waste after all. What I said to him must have had some effect.
Raiden did not expect the system to transmit a friend request across such a distance. It was smarter than he thought.
The unexpected reward instantly woke him up.
Since it already arrived, he might as well integrate the reward now.
Accept.
Ding.
Water Hashira Giyu Tomioka successfully added as a friend.
Friendship level: Initial acquaintance. Random reward granted.
Skill obtained: Water Breathing, Eleventh Form, Dead Calm, Mastery.
Integrate now?
Raiden's eyes lit up when he saw the reward.
Was his luck really this good?
Out of everything he could have obtained from Giyu, he had drawn the most valuable technique on the first try.
Dead Calm was not part of the traditional Water Breathing forms. It was a unique technique created by Giyu himself.
Raiden had already deduced several Water Breathing forms after becoming friends with Tanjiro and obtaining the First Form, Surface Slash. Forms Two through Ten were not difficult for him to understand.
Only the Eleventh Form had remained completely out of reach.
It was as if Dead Calm did not belong to Water Breathing at all.
Still, his previous attempts were not useless. Even though he failed to recreate Dead Calm, he had already started forming his own Eleventh Form.
It was not as refined as Giyu's technique, but he was close.
Now that the real technique was right in front of him, not only would he gain a powerful move, he could also use the integration process to improve his own original form.
Raiden clearly remembered how Dead Calm worked.
It was a state of complete stillness. Any attack that entered the range of the blade would be completely neutralized.
Giyu had once used it to block Akaza's Destructive Kill and even Muzan's attacks. It was an extremely powerful technique.
If Raiden had mastered it earlier, his fight against Kokushibo would not have been so difficult.
Maybe he could have forced Kokushibo to retreat much sooner.
But it was not too late.
Next time they meet, the result will be different.
Yes.
Raiden sat up straight and began integrating Dead Calm.
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