Even knowing that Giyu Tomioka always spoke that way, without intentionally being sarcastic, Shimizu couldn't help but clench his fists.
"Eh? Does this method not work?"
Tanjiro asked, sounding a bit flustered after hearing Giyu Tomioka's words.
"No, he genuinely thinks this opportunity makes difficult things simpler."
"Really?"
Tanjiro looked at Giyu Tomioka with a suspicious gaze, while Giyu Tomioka remained expressionless, nodding slightly.
It really was true!
The shock the mountain boy received today was more than the sum of the past ten years combined.
"Then, let's quickly depart to find Master Ubuyashiki."
Giyu Tomioka said earnestly.
"Not so fast. In a bit, we'll first go down the mountain and buy some things for this little girl to wear in the town, lest she be scorched to death by the sun later. Also..."
Shimizu silently drew his Nichirin Blade towards Giyu Tomioka.
"Although I know that the words you just spoke and what you were actually thinking are completely different, I'm still grateful → I feel somewhat offended, so... I'd like to spar with a Pillar to see how big the difference in strength between me and a Pillar is."
Giyu Tomioka looked at Shimizu's actions and suddenly understood.
So, he wants to spar with me like Sanemi Shinazugawa to exchange feelings, is that it?
He was very willing.
"I hope you won't be injured by me."
Giyu Tomioka kindly reminded him, but his poker face coupled with his cold tone made it hard not to associate it with the word 'mockery'.
A # symbol appeared on Shimizu's forehead.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"
Lightning instantly crossed the snowy ground and arrived before Giyu Tomioka, while the latter calmly stared, thrusting his Nichirin Blade forward.
"Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Piercing Rain Drop!"
A layer resembling a water surface rose in front of Giyu Tomioka, and Shimizu's attack dissipated into ripples.
"Wind Breathing, Second Form: Claws-Purifying Wind!"
"Wind Breathing, Seventh Form: Gale-Sudden Gust!"
"Thunder Breathing, Sixth Form: Electric Light Rumble!"
Although the exchange with Giyu Tomioka was impromptu, for Shimizu, Giyu Tomioka was a very good sparring partner. His strength was considered relatively high among the Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps, and he was undoubtedly a top-tier combatant in the Demon Slayer world.
This was enough for Shimizu to have a clearer understanding of his current strength.
Wind and thunder intertwined, resembling a storm mixed with violent lightning.
Giyu Tomioka, on the other hand, held his Nichirin Blade and calmly danced, unperturbed, blocking all of Shimizu's attacks.
Water Breathing is the most peaceful and balanced of all breathing techniques, combining offense and defense. It is the gentlest, most adept at defense, and capable of launching counterattacks in the midst of defense.
Just now, did Mr. Giyu show mercy to me and Nezuko?
"Thunder Breathing, Third Form: Gathering Swarm!"
"Wind Breathing, Fifth Form: Cold Autumn Mountain Wind!"
Ripple-like lightning rapidly burst open like a swarm of mosquitoes, coupled with the wind blades rotating around Shimizu's body, causing the surrounding air to rumble.
Shimizu had only recently figured out a little trick to using the two breathing techniques in combination—mainly relying on the high affinity for both wind and thunder attributes of his main body and his DC world avatar.
This was equivalent to combining the characteristics of two breathing techniques to unleash greater power, but Shimizu had only developed the prototype of this move so far.
Even so, it forced Giyu Tomioka to treat it with caution.
The person in front of him seemed to be more than just an ordinary swordsman.
"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Twisting Whirlpool!"
A whirlpool formed by water flow went up to meet it, but after supporting it for a while, it was torn apart by the wind blades, coordinating with the continuous, lightning-like sword strikes to collapse it.
"Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm!"
Giyu Tomioka seemed to stand still, his whole person as if frozen, but Shimizu's eyes moved.
Not one mistake, one hand, one shot, one inside, one capacity, one exist, one see!
In an instant, the wind and waves calmed. Whether it was the raging wind or the booming thunder, all disappeared without a trace at this moment.
Shimizu quickly changed his footing, using the techniques of Thunder Breathing combined with Body Flicker Technique to instantly flash backward.
The power of this move is very strong.
In the original timeline, Giyu Tomioka used this self-created move to instantly kill Lower Moon Five. After activating his Demon Slayer Mark, he could even use this move to withstand Muzan for a period of time after Tanjiro's eyes were injured by Muzan in the later stages.
"Incredibly exquisite swordsmanship."
Shimizu exclaimed.
He roughly understood this move of Giyu Tomioka's, but he was greatly shocked precisely because he understood it.
With slashes so fast that they are almost impossible to capture with the naked eye, he accurately breaks through all attacks within his attack range.
This created the strange phenomenon just now. Giyu Tomioka was in place, but all the surrounding attacks were completely annihilated. Within a certain range of himself, the wind and waves were calm.
The principle is actually the same as looking at an electric fan with the naked eye. When the electric fan is turned to high gear, and the fan blades rotate fast enough, because the frame rate of the naked eye cannot capture it, it looks as if it is still.
Unless you encounter someone who is much stronger than Giyu Tomioka, this move can be considered an absolute defense to some extent.
This was the first time Shimizu had exchanged blows with a "Pillar." The feeling Giyu Tomioka gave him reminded him of the two swordsmanship masters he had seen in the Naruto world.
Hanzō of the Salamander and Sakumo Hatake were considered the pinnacle of using bladed weapons in the current era of the Naruto world, but Shimizu believed that Giyu Tomioka's swordsmanship level would not be much worse than these two. It's just that he doesn't possess Chakra, his upper limit is locked, and his strength is definitely different compared to those two Kage-level powerhouses.
"I didn't expect you to be not as weak as I imagined."
Shimizu silently stared at Giyu Tomioka with a pair of dead fish eyes.
"You should be able to become a Pillar soon, provided you don't accidentally get killed."
Are you praising me or cursing me?!
The sun gradually rose from the sky. The group placed Nezuko under the shade of a tree, and Giyu Tomioka used his haori to cover Nezuko, preventing her from being exposed to direct sunlight.
Shimizu bought a gauze robe that could cover her whole body and had a hat, and he also hired a carriage to place Nezuko in the carriage. The group left Mt. Kumotori and headed towards the location of the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.
Shimizu fed Nezuko some green beans, and had her and Giyu Tomioka's Kasugai Crow, Kanzaburo, inform Kagaya Ubuyashiki with the report.
Because Giyu Tomioka's Kasugai Crow is old and a little senile, it often conveys incorrect messages.
