(Extra chapter)
Kiyokawa Izumi lifted his chin slightly, looking like a petty man who had just come into power.
A day ago, I wouldn't have held it against you if you called me Kiyokawa Izumi.
But now, what should you call me?
Shouldn't you add the word 'Lord'? As an ordinary Team Member, shouldn't you show some respect when facing a Hashira?
Watch your attitude!
"Don't bully Aoi as soon as you get back; she's been worrying about you quite a bit, and so has your Kasugai Crow."
Kochou Shinobu, who had suddenly appeared behind him, said faintly.
"Insect Hashira, what are you doing here?"
"?"
This sounds a bit strange.
Kochou Shinobu's slender eyebrows arched slightly as she said with a smile, "You're not allowed to train in secret until your injuries have healed."
"Insect Hashira, are you trying to tell me how to do things?"
Her hands clenched unconsciously beneath her sleeves, and the smile on Kochou Shinobu's face almost faltered. Looking at Kiyokawa Izumi, who stood before her with his chin slightly raised, she tried her best to calm down and continued.
"Mr. Hashira, please don't train in secret. Although you haven't mastered Total Concentration Breathing Constant yet, these things can't be rushed."
Critical hit!
"Hmm, perhaps you could ask the other Hashira for advice at the Hashira Meeting?"
Double critical hit!
Kiyokawa Izumi's defenses were completely shattered.
Just as he had struck the pose of a Hashira, he was ruthlessly exposed by a certain black-bellied woman.
So what if I called you Insect Hashira? I'm a Hashira too; in terms of status, we're equals.
"Oh dear—did I say something wrong? Mr. Kiyokawa Izumi, are you alright?
Please, please don't be discouraged!"
Despite her comforting words, Kochou Shinobu, with a smile in her eyes, seemed to be gloating.
Even Kanzaki Aoi, standing to the side, couldn't help but look at him with a strange expression.
Kiyokawa Izumi felt that their gazes were full of offense!
But being the bigger man, he wouldn't stoop to the level of these young girls.
Humph.
What a joke. If it weren't for his injuries, he could easily master a mere Total Concentration Breathing Constant.
"You must work hard; Kanao is already trying to blow into the large gourds."
As she brushed past him, Kochou Shinobu stood slightly on tiptoe and patted Kiyokawa Izumi's shoulder, her smile full of encouragement.
This sentence was practically a finishing blow!
..."Wait, why are you following me?"
Kiyokawa Izumi looked at Kanzaki Aoi behind him with confusion and asked.
"It's because Sister Kochou Shinobu was afraid you'd train in secret and worsen your injuries that she asked me to follow you."
"Relax, I'm not the kind of idiot who pushes himself too hard... By the way, do you know where the Water Hashira's house is? I heard it's near the Headquarters... I wonder if the Water Hashira is home."
"?"
Kanzaki Aoi looked at him with a very wary gaze, her expression practically saying, 'You're not going to cause trouble again, are you?'
Last time he got into a brawl with the Flame Hashira's father; this time, surely he doesn't want to pick a fight with the Water Hashira?
To be honest, the girl's guess was spot on.
Kiyokawa Izumi was indeed planning to have a fight with the Water Hashira.
How else could he improve his strength without fighting?
The Moves to match his Breathing Technique have only reached the Third Form; he's barely started.
Horizontal slashes, multi-stage consecutive slashes, explosive lunges—don't the Moves clearly lack defensive skills?
Giyuu's Water Breathing, Eleventh Form—that's a very valuable technique.
Facing the upper rank three using his Final Form, he managed to block a fatal blow with only a broken blade—though he was still injured, being able to achieve that level was already quite impressive.
If any other Hashira were to take that Move head-on, they wouldn't necessarily do better than Giyuu.
Take Kiyokawa Izumi himself: even with his Sharingan active, Brother Three wouldn't even need to use his Final Form; just three or five Moves would be enough to knock him down.
Even if the eyes can see it, the body might not be able to react in time.
The three Moves he has mastered might not even be effective against an Upper Rank.
Take the Third Form, for instance; he'd probably be killed while trying to use it.
And he wanted a three-stage explosion?
Just a corpse on the side of the road!
Kiyokawa Izumi urgently needed a defensive Move.
"I still need to fight!"
"?"
Kiyokawa Izumi's words were shocking, and not only that, he was silently calculating the order of his plans in his mind.
"Hey! Can you stop being so reckless?"
"Aoi, how about we have a fight!"
"?"
Facing Kiyokawa Izumi's hungry gaze, Kanzaki Aoi instinctively crossed her arms over her chest and stepped back repeatedly.
"Hmm... is Kanao in the backyard right now?"
After observing for a moment, Kiyokawa Izumi decisively dropped the ridiculous idea—Aoi's strength was limited, and he wouldn't learn anything from her.
With those thin arms, thin legs, and flat chest, her strength clearly wasn't much, and her mastery of Breathing Techniques was also quite average.
Better to go find Kanao!
That girl didn't have much of a presence, and since she didn't like to talk, Kiyokawa Izumi often overlooked her.
But to be fair, Kanao's strength wasn't bad at all.
She might still be far from a Hashira's level, but since he was currently injured, picking a fight with Kanao wouldn't be considered bullying her.
Although he had carefully observed the rhythm of Flower Breathing, he hadn't really studied the specific Moves.
Although it's a derivative of Water Breathing, it has its own unique characteristics.
Getting more excited the more he thought about it, Kiyokawa Izumi turned around to go find Kanao.
"Calm down! Don't do anything reckless!" Kanzaki Aoi said, reaching the end of her patience as she firmly grabbed Kiyokawa Izumi's arm.
__________
The quest for 150 energy stones is only for today, meaning until the site delivers the stones. It wouldn't be a hidden quest if it were always available, but there might be many other quests later.