Chapter 109: An Astonishing Training Speed x The Storm Arrives
He's already mastered the basics? This fast?
The cypress tree, with a hole the size of a bowl pierced through its center, left Sabito and Makomo in a daze. Even though they had prepared themselves, knowing that Eiichiro's talent would lead to rapid progress once he started learning a Breathing Style, mastering all the forms in half a day was just too much.
"He's a natural-born swordsman," Sabito could only console himself with this thought.
"Not just that. Did you notice? Eiichiro's breathing has stabilized." Makomo pointed to Roy's chest. The boy's breathing, in and out, had unconsciously synchronized with the crashing waterfall, rhythmic and steady, as if he had grasped something.
"It's the rhythm of water," Sakonji Urokodaki said. After his reunion with Sabito, Makomo, and the other disciples, he was keenly aware of their presence. His deep eyes gazed at Roy with satisfaction. "I waited too long to teach him."
To grasp the form in half a day, to understand the intent in one... The old man clasped his hands behind his back, a strong intuition rising within him. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before he could teach Eiichiro 'Total Concentration: Constant'. His heart was now fully invested in the boy.
Giyu often wrote in his letters that he wasn't a worthy Water Hashira. If Sabito hadn't saved him back then, he would have died on Mount Fujikasane, failing the test. Therefore, he felt he couldn't inherit the 'Water Hashira' name. Although Giyu never spoke of it, Sakonji knew the child had always hoped he would find and train another disciple.
Now... "I wonder what he'll think when he returns and sees Eiichiro?" Sakonji couldn't help but wonder. As if a telepathic link existed between master and student, or perhaps because longing travels both ways—"Caw! A letter from the Master!" The Kasugai crow, returning from its delivery, flew in, arriving at Sagiri Mountain one step ahead of Giyu Tomioka, carrying a personal letter from Kagaya Ubuyashiki.
Sakonji Urokodaki paused, took the letter, opened it, and froze.
Makomo peeked over his shoulder. "Eeeh? Giyu-senpai is coming back!"
Beside her, a faint smile touched Sabito's lips. Shinsuke, Fukuda, Shimizu, and the others, hearing the crow, cheered in excitement.
"Seriously? Let me see..." A ghostly wind snatched the letter, and it floated around, passed among the spirits. When they learned that Giyu Tomioka was coming with the mission to test Eiichiro's abilities, Shinsuke cackled. "This is great! Just great! Master was just worrying about how to give Eiichiro his final test, and now the test has come to us!"
Fukuda, for once, agreed with Shinsuke, circling the letter and slapping his thigh. "Using a Hashira as Eiichiro's whetstone is perfect! That guy's been hiding his true strength, just popping up every so often to shock us. It's time to see what he's really made of, knock him down a peg, and beat that pride out of him! Lest he gets arrogant, leaves the mountain, underestimates demons, and suffers for it!"
Whoosh. The letter drifted on the wind back into Sakonji Urokodaki's hand. The old man folded it, tucked it into his sleeve, and looked back at the boy under the waterfall. He was immersed in his world of swordsmanship, deaf to the world, focused only on his blade. The training sword connected with the waterfall in another fluid 'Striking Tide'. He was getting better and better.
[Notification: Swordsmanship +50]
[Swordsmanship: lv3(160/10000)]
[Water Breathing: Novice (78/100)]
That evening, the setting sun cast a shimmering, spray-filled light on the waterfall. Roy executed his final form: "Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!" The blade connected with the waterfall, forming a water dragon that roared as it charged into the pool below.
BOOM! The pool exploded, sending 'water arrows' flying in all directions. Thwip, thwip, thwip! They pierced tree after tree on the bank, leaving behind neat, tiny holes.
Now, the boy stood tall beneath the waterfall, leaning on his training blade. He stood on a large green rock, polished smooth by the constant flow of water, his eyes closed in contemplation, as if he was still not satisfied.
"What's he thinking?" Makomo had gone back with Sakonji to help cook. Shinsuke flew over to Sabito, looking at Roy suspiciously. That Eiichiro guy still seems unhappy? He learned all ten forms in one day! What's there to be unsatisfied about? Shinsuke didn't get it.
"This... is precisely why we common talents can never compare to a genius." Sabito didn't understand either, but that didn't stop him from knowing. "Eiichiro has probably sensed something..."
A flaw. The Water Breathing style wasn't just ten forms. It should have an eleventh, a twelfth, perhaps even more. Roy thought of Giyu Tomioka's 'Lull' (Nagi), which created a simple 'water domain' around him, turning tangible water into nothingness, blocking the Lower Moon Five Rui's Blood Demon Art. It was a perfect match for his calm, taciturn personality. A realization bloomed in Roy's mind.
Nen, sword techniques, even Blood Demon Arts... all must ultimately return to the user. "What is my nature?", "What do I want?" Just as his father, Silva, had said, "Ask the heart," then "practice Ren," and only then can one develop the Nen ability best suited to oneself. So, the question was, how did the "Sun" connect with "Water"?
Roy had heard Sakonji Urokodaki's words about the "rhythm of water." He knew his rapid mastery wasn't due to some outstanding talent for Water Breathing; it was all thanks to his "Proficient" level in 'Sun Breathing' providing the foundation. The "Sun" was the origin of the five basic breaths: Wind, Thunder, Water, Fire (Flame), and Stone, which in turn branched out into more niche styles like Serpent, Beast, Love, and Mist. This was why Roy had mastered the first ten forms of Water Breathing so quickly.
But this was his limit. To develop his own 'Eleventh Form' like Giyu Tomioka would require opportunity and time.
"Sun and water..." Roy murmured. He opened his eyes to the sunset painting the sky, took a long breath, and sheathed his sword.
"Eiichiro! Eiichiro!" His senior brothers and sisters, including Sabito, were waving at him. A gentle smile touched Roy's lips. He leaped from the water and headed home.
That night, he ate a meal of sashimi, rice, and sushi with Sakonji Urokodaki. His mind full of thoughts, he lay down on the bed and, soon after, fell fast asleep.
Lost in training, time flies. It's not just a saying.
Exhausted from the day, Roy felt the familiar sensation of falling as he left the Demon Slayer world and returned to the Hunter world. This time, he woke to a dark, azure sea, completely blotted out by a thick blanket of storm clouds.
RUMBLE!
A faint clap of thunder echoed, making his eardrums ache.
"What time is it?"
"In reply, Young Master, it is six in the morning."
"Six o'clock?" If Gotoh hadn't said so, Roy would have thought it was 6 PM. This darkness wasn't normal.
"It's a storm!" Kurapika stared gravely at the dark clouds, sucking in a breath. "A storm is coming!"
☆ ☆☆
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