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Chapter 101: A Display of Power and the Window-Opening Theory
Cough! Cough!
Shinazugawa Sanemi picked himself up from the ground, coughing heavily from the impact of being sent flying. He shot a disdainful glare at Suyan and sneered. "Hah? Don't tell me you're trying to claim your strength rivals Yoriichi Tsugikuni from the Sengoku Era?"
"No." Suyan shook his head, a confident smile curving his lips. "I am stronger than Yoriichi."
Unless Yoriichi was a monster on the level of the Chimera Ant King from Hunter x Hunter, Suyan thought to himself. Otherwise, with his mastery over all six Nen types and the massive aura reserves fed back to him by the millions of zombies slaughtered in the Highschool of the Dead world, he didn't believe for a second that he would lose to a local swordsman like Yoriichi.
Suyan signaled for Nezuko, who was still clinging to his arm, to let go. He then walked alone to the center of the courtyard and slowly settled into a low crouch.
No one present understood what he was trying to do with such a bizarre stance.
Except for Busujima Saeko and the Stone Hashira, Himejima Gyomei.
Saeko understood because she was a Nen user herself; utilizing Gyo, she could clearly see the dense, terrifying aura surging around Suyan's body.
As for Himejima Gyomei? The blind monk didn't rely on his eyes. He perceived the world through his heightened five senses, and in the realm of Breathing Styles, he had walked further than any other Hashira.
"Ah! What an overwhelmingly powerful presence!!" Himejima pressed his hands together in prayer, two streams of clear tears spilling from his empty eyes. "Namu Amida Butsu." (I take refuge in Amida Buddha)
Even though he didn't know what Nen was, the moment Suyan stepped into that position, his presence in Gyomei's perception underwent an earth-shattering transformation. In the blink of an eye, it was as if an ordinary human had suddenly morphed into a terrifying Titan. Never in his life had he felt such a dense, oppressive aura radiate from a single living being. For a fleeting moment, Gyomei couldn't help but suspect that Suyan truly possessed the power to match the legendary creator of the Breathing Styles.
Hearing the Stone Hashira's words, the expressions of everyone present immediately grew solemn. They watched Suyan's next move with bated breath.
However, his following action only confused them further. Suyan simply extended his right fist and lightly tapped it against the ground.
The instant his knuckles made contact with the earth, a violent shockwave erupted from the point of impact. Invisible air pressure exploded outward in a frenzy. Everything caught in the shockwave's path—whether solid rock or packed dirt—was instantly pulverized into fine dust, evaporating completely under the sunlight.
Although Suyan intentionally controlled the blast so it wouldn't harm anyone present, the onlookers still had to raise their arms to shield their faces. Only by doing so could they barely keep their eyes open against the raging gale to watch him.
BOOM!
A deafening roar echoed out, and everyone felt their bodies physically shake. That wasn't an exaggeration—the earth was literally trembling.
When the dust and air pressure finally dissipated, the crowd was left staring at a massive, perfectly circular crater over two meters deep, with Suyan at its epicenter. The walls of the crater were completely smooth, looking entirely unnatural, as if a localized meteor had struck the courtyard.
"Impossible!!" Shinazugawa Sanemi was the first to refuse reality. How could a human being possibly unleash such devastating destructive force? He vigorously rubbed his eyes, preferring to believe this was some bizarre illusion conjured by a strange Blood Demon Art rather than accept it as truth.
"Amazing!" The Flame Hashira, Rengoku Kyojuro, kept his bright, spirited eyes wide open in awe. "Hahaha! What a powerful strike! If that landed on Muzan, it would surely blow him to dust, wouldn't it?"
Suyan remained silent, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the Hashira. Reactions varied, but without exception, every single one of them was utterly shell-shocked by the display.
This wasn't just an ordinary punch. Suyan had utilized the advanced Nen technique: Ko.
It was a masterful application that simultaneously combined five core Nen principles: Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Hatsu, and Gyo. First, he used Ren to project his aura outward, then Gyo to concentrate it entirely into his right fist. Next, he applied Ten to lock the concentrated aura around his hand, drastically increasing its density. Since a small amount of aura naturally leaked from the rest of the body during this process, he used Zetsu to completely shut off the aura flow everywhere else, forcing every last drop to pool into his right hand.
By focusing his entire body's life energy into a single point and unleashing it all at once, he generated a terrifying level of destructive power. While Ko was a universal technique among Nen users, in the hands of an Enhancement Type, its power was magnified exponentially.
It was simple. Practical. Devoid of flashy gimmicks. The only variable was how much raw aura the user could pour into their fist.
Yet, as massive as this crater was, successfully intimidating the entire Demon Slayer Corps, Suyan hadn't even used his full strength.
If he were dropped into the Hunter x Hunter world right now, Suyan knew he likely wouldn't be a match for Chairman Netero in actual combat. But in terms of pure, raw destructive output using Ko, he was confident he had already surpassed the old man. His Enhancement traits were perfectly synchronized from Miyamoto Rei, and his aura reserves were astronomically bolstered by Saeko's Reizan, which had absorbed the life force of countless zombies over the past year.
If he threw a full-powered Ko punch, Suyan felt he could likely obliterate a small mountain.
"Mr. Ubuyashiki, what do you think of the power behind that strike? Do you think Muzan could withstand it?" Suyan tossed his internal musings aside, turning his gaze to Ubuyashiki Kagaya.
The Window-Opening Theory, late but guaranteed.
Zhou Shuren once said: If you want to open a window in a room, you cannot simply suggest opening a window. Instead, you must propose tearing off the roof. When people inevitably object to removing the roof, you then suggest opening a window, and they will gladly compromise. (And for the record, the famous author actually did say this.)
Suyan's first question—asking if Kagaya would pay any price to destroy Muzan—was essentially him proposing to tear off the roof. And Kagaya had agreed.
Now that Suyan had displayed his overwhelming strength, his second question—asking for their full support and cooperation—was the equivalent of suggesting they open the window.
Since Kagaya had already agreed to the extreme demand of "tearing off the roof," what possible reason could he have to refuse the "window"?
In simple terms, Suyan had perfectly cornered Ubuyashiki Kagaya using a combination of psychological rhetoric and absolute power.
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