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Chapter 132: Busujima Saeko VS Yoriichi Tsugikuni
"A pure swordswoman? Interesting." Yoriichi nodded in agreement. "Very well, I agree. Bring her here."
Seeing Yoriichi agree, Suyan didn't waste a single second. He immediately conjured a Dimensional Gate as a transit point and had the others on Greed Island notify Busujima Saeko to come over.
"The strongest swordsman?"
Busujima Saeko stepped out of the Dimensional Gate, her gaze instantly locking onto the figure inside the Butterfly Mansion's training room. She couldn't help but lick her lips, a fiery fighting spirit erupting in her eyes.
She thought she would have to wait a long time before encountering the four-hundred-year-old swordsman Suyan had mentioned. She never expected the opportunity to arrive so quickly. Having just recently comprehended the Transparent World, getting to fight the strongest swordsman in the world was an indescribably wonderful feeling.
The only pity was that this strongest swordsman wasn't an evil person, and Suyan needed him alive to complete the Equivalent Exchange.
Otherwise, cutting him down with her Reizan would have been perfect.
Saeko cast a loving glance at Suyan. Suyan is the best. She was extremely satisfied with an opponent like this. As for everything that happened last night, it was already forgotten.
"A woman?"
Seeing the figure stepping out of the Dimensional Gate, a brief flash of shock crossed Yoriichi's face.
Limited by physiological differences, female swordswomen capable of fighting demons were exceedingly rare in any era. And among that small minority, those capable of reaching the Hashira level were even fewer.
However, his astonishment lasted only a second before his expression turned deadly serious.
Yoriichi rested his hand on the hilt of his Nichirin Sword and praised, "I have never seen such a pure battle aura. Even as a woman, you are indeed an opponent worthy of a fight."
"Enough talking, let's fight!"
Saeko impatiently conjured her Signature Weapon, Reizan. She held nothing back, unleashing the terrifying killing intent accumulated from slaughtering over a million zombies right in front of him.
The killing intent, dense enough to take physical form, transformed into an oppressive air pressure that suffocated the surrounding space.
"This level of killing intent..." Yoriichi's eyes narrowed, his heart tightening.
His five fingers gripping the hilt tightened securely. Even though he had already placed a high estimation on Saeko in his mind, the moment her killing intent fully erupted, he realized he had still underestimated her.
He couldn't help but wonder: Just how many living beings must one kill to condense such a terrifying aura of death?!
Immediately, he unleashed the awe-inspiring battle aura he had honed through countless life-and-death struggles, standing his ground against the overwhelming killing intent radiating from Saeko.
One side possessed an unimaginably massive quantity, while the other possessed the ultimate refinement in quality. The two auras clashed, unable to establish dominance over the other.
The air in the room grew unbearably heavy under the standoff. An ordinary person standing there would likely lose the strength to even remain on their feet.
Suyan stared intently at their movements. Without a doubt, both of their swordsmanship levels far exceeded his own. Even without personally joining the fray, merely watching the battle would allow him to extract plenty of useful insights.
"Kill!"
Seeing she couldn't overwhelm him with presence alone, Saeko gripped Reizan, her toes digging fiercely into the ground as she lunged forward.
Her killing intent practically manifested into reality, wrapping around Reizan's blade as it shot straight for Yoriichi's neck. The blade sliced through the air with an ear-piercing shriek.
"Not bad." Yoriichi's eyes remained completely tranquil.
With a slight flick of his wrist, the Nichirin Sword at his waist snapped out of its sheath as if it had come alive. He didn't use a single form of Sun Breathing, yet the blade naturally began to glow with a crimson-gold hue.
Whoosh!
Crimson-gold flames ignited along the blade, dazzling like the sun.
In the next second, the two longswords clashed.
There was no sound of ringing metal. The flames on the Nichirin Sword melted away the physical killing intent coiled around Reizan. Yet, the killing intent from Reizan relentlessly tried to erode the Nichirin Sword in Yoriichi's hand.
Like a living creature, the killing intent began creeping up Yoriichi's body, seemingly intent on devouring both him and his sword whole.
Yoriichi's pupils contracted, and he quickly leaped back to create distance. A crimson-gold halo flared around his body, incinerating the lingering killing intent clinging stubbornly to his clothes.
He had thought this would just be a simple sparring session to offer guidance. He never expected that after just one simple exchange, he would feel a pressure far heavier than what he experienced when he first faced Muzan.
Yoriichi couldn't help but sigh, "What a terrifying opponent. You've already sent a chill down my spine. If I'm not careful, I might just end up dying a second time."
Hearing this from the sidelines, Suyan couldn't help but roll his eyes at Yoriichi in his mind.
This old man is full of crap. If he remembered correctly, Yoriichi had said the exact same thing when he first fought Muzan all those years ago. He had gone on and on about how Muzan was incredibly strong, how he had never felt such a powerful life force, and how he would surely die if a single attack grazed him. He had wondered if this was the fated nemesis he was born to destroy, claiming it was so terrifying he was breaking out in a cold sweat.
And the result?
While talking about how scary Muzan was, he casually flipped his sword and delivered a brutal Sun Breathing beatdown. A single, silky-smooth combo utterly broke Muzan's spirit on the spot, forcing the Demon King to detonate himself into 1,800 pieces just to escape. And even then, Yoriichi managed to obliterate over 1,500 of those pieces in a flash.
Before the fight:
Muzan: "I'm tired of killing Breathing Style swordsmen. Can't you show me something new?"
After the fight:
Muzan: "Are you kidding me?! That guy is the real monster here! You want me to fight Yoriichi? I'd rather go sunbathing!"
Ever since that battle, Muzan had cowered in fear for over four hundred years, not daring to show his face even after Yoriichi had died.
Yoriichi looked at Saeko, asking curiously, "Could you tell me how you condensed the killing intent around you? Such a terrifying aura of death... it is infinitely denser than any general I've ever seen in my era. What's even more frightening is that despite harboring such pure and horrific killing intent, you haven't suffered any backlash. I can't even begin to imagine how."
This world couldn't handle too much more turmoil. If an entity even more terrifying than Muzan were to appear...
If Saeko's answer didn't satisfy him, he might just attempt to cut her down right here, even as a lingering spirit.
"If this was in the past, I might have said that I was a manslayer born for battle," Saeko said, her fingers gently brushing across the flat of Reizan's blade. Her tone grew absolute and resolute. "But now, my sword exists solely to protect Suyan. As long as Suyan is here, no matter how heavy this killing intent becomes, the edge of my blade will only point in the direction he marches."
"Wielding a sword to protect?" Yoriichi's gaze swept over Suyan before he gave a slight nod, seemingly satisfied with Saeko's answer. He continued, "However, while your killing intent is vast, it is like an unpolished gemstone. It lacks refinement."
"Since that is the case, then let this dead spirit act as your whetstone, and help you take another step forward."
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