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Chapter 130: Time to Drop Some Loot, Old Man
"Who's there?"
Suyan's internal alarms blared at maximum volume. He immediately snapped his gaze toward the source of the voice.
An unknown entity had managed to get this close to him without him noticing at all.
How could he not be shocked?
Standing before him was a man with deep red hair, wearing a red haori, bearing a flame-like crimson mark on his forehead.
The man looked at Suyan, his eyes reflecting a quiet indifference and a touch of pity.
Just standing there, the man exuded an aura that practically screamed "Invincible."
Suyan instinctively blurted out the name that matched the figure: "Yoriichi Tsugikuni?"
"You can see me?"
Hearing Suyan speak, the calm indifference on Yoriichi's face vanished, replaced by a growing solemnity.
"You really are him?"
Suyan was completely stunned.
He couldn't help but recall the conversation he had with Busujima Saeko last night after returning to Greed Island.
They had been discussing the secrets of the Breathing Styles.
At the time, Suyan had inwardly joked that aside from the Transparent World, the Mark, and the Crimson Red Blade, could practicing Sun Breathing also let you see Yoriichi's ghost?
And now?
Wait, it actually did let you see Yoriichi?
Suyan stared fixedly at the crimson-clad figure.
With his abilities, he could naturally tell that the entity before him wasn't much different from Makomo or Kocho Kanae.
They were all spiritual entities sustained by something akin to Post-mortem Nen.
It was just that the sheer power radiating from this man was absurdly greater than the others.
"Junior, might we speak for a moment?"
Yoriichi's internal shock easily rivaled Suyan's.
Since his death, Suyan was the very first existence he had encountered who could actually see him.
"Of course, no problem."
Suyan readily agreed.
After all, he was incredibly curious about this "Senior" standing before him.
In terms of combat power alone, this man was the undisputed ceiling of the Demon Slayer world—certified by Muzan himself.
Aside from being born with the Mark and the Transparent World...
He had also created the Breathing Styles, a power system that allowed ordinary humans to fight against demons.
Not to mention, Suyan had long suspected that Yoriichi was actually a natural-born Nen User.
An existence like this was basically a walking, talking treasure trove just waiting to be excavated!
Suyan's Equivalent Exchange ability was already getting restless.
He was fully counting on the very first non-ally Nen User he had ever met to drop some serious loot.
Yoriichi started with a standard question for time-travelers: "Junior, what year is it?"
"It's been about three hundred years since your death," Suyan answered after a brief thought, temporarily suppressing his excitement.
Although the era Yoriichi lived in was the Sengoku period, over four hundred years ago...
It was important to remember that unlike other swordsmen who awakened the Mark, Yoriichi lived to the ripe old age of eighty before dying of natural causes.
"Over three hundred years? Time truly passes quickly."
Yoriichi murmured, looking off into the void. "After all these years... brother, are you doing well?"
Yoriichi then turned back to Suyan, a look of nostalgia in his eyes. "I can sense the aura of the Sun Breathing I created upon you. Are you a descendant of Sumiyoshi?"
"No, I'm not. But I do know the descendant of the Sumiyoshi you're talking about. I learned Sun Breathing from him," Suyan shook his head and replied.
"Is that so."
Failing to establish a personal connection, a hint of disappointment flashed in Yoriichi's eyes.
But then he asked the question he cared about the most. "Then, what of the Twelve Kizuki under Muzan—"
Before he could finish, Suyan cut straight to the point. "Actually, what you really want to ask is about your brother, Tsugikuni Michikatsu, right?"
"You know of him?"
Yoriichi looked at Suyan in surprise. He didn't deny it, speaking with absolute seriousness. "Please, you must tell me anything you know about my brother."
"In the centuries since your death, your brother has remained Upper Rank One of the Twelve Kizuki, second only to Muzan himself."
Suyan explained plainly, "Aside from endlessly pursuing the so-called pinnacle of martial arts in a desperate attempt to surpass the younger brother he once knew..."
"Sigh..."
Hearing this, Yoriichi let out a long, heavy sigh.
Suyan interrupted his mourning and asked, "I've told you what you wanted to know. Now, can you answer a question for me?"
"Speak," Yoriichi said, not refusing.
Suyan asked directly, "Are you a Nen User?"
"A Nen User?"
Yoriichi repeated the words, confused. "What is that?"
Suyan wasn't surprised by the reaction.
He gave Yoriichi a brief explanation of Nen and Aura.
"I see. No wonder..."
Listening to the explanation, a look of sudden realization dawned on Yoriichi's face.
Now he understood why something as simple as manipulating life energy came so easily to him, yet was impossibly difficult for others to learn.
He had to use the Transparent World to observe the changes in his own body while manipulating life energy, just so he could synthesize the Breathing Styles—a simplified method for ordinary people to control their Aura.
If he was this "natural-born Nen User" Suyan described, everything made perfect sense.
My Nen ability?
Yoriichi thought for a moment. He pointed to the deep red pattern on his forehead and answered hesitantly, "I suppose it would be this Mark?"
"The Mark?"
Suyan looked at him in surprise.
Thinking about it carefully, it made perfect sense. The Mark and the Transparent World were both abilities Yoriichi possessed from birth.
However, the Transparent World wasn't so much a specific ability as it was an advanced application of Aura—similar to the Four Major Principles of Nen.
If the Transparent World wasn't his unique Nen ability, then the only thing left was the Mark.
Because the Mark was so universally accessible to the Hashira later on, Suyan had never considered it from this angle.
But looking back, before Yoriichi, the Demon Slayer Mark had never existed in this world.
And the swordsmen who awakened it later only did so because they practiced the Breathing Style system he created.
Since this innate Mark propelled Yoriichi to the undisputed ceiling of the Demon Slayer world and allowed him to live to be eighty...
Then this ability couldn't possibly be as simple as the pure combat buff it was for everyone else.
More importantly, the only attachments keeping Yoriichi bound to the living world were Muzan and his brother, Kokushibo.
Dealing with them was something Suyan was going to do anyway. He had absolutely no problem using that as leverage to trade for Yoriichi's Nen ability.
"Your lingering attachments are Muzan and your brother, Tsugikuni Michikatsu, right? How about we make a deal?"
Suyan offered, "My Nen ability is called Equivalent Exchange. I'll help you fulfill your dying wishes, and in return, you give me your Nen ability. What do you say?"
Yoriichi glanced at Suyan. He slowly shook his head and delivered his honest assessment:
"You are too weak!"
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