(Extra chapter)
New bonus chapter at 900 Power Stones
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Butterfly Mansion,
Kiyokawa Izumi, picking up the gourd again, slightly adjusted his breathing. Just as he was about to blow into the gourd, he hesitated for a moment before wiping the mouth of the bottle with his sleeve.
It wasn't that he was a germaphobe.
He simply found his own previous saliva disgusting.
His lung capacity had significantly improved, perhaps related to his previous use of the Third Form.
The three explosive breaths had, to some extent, raised his upper limit, though the price was severe side effects.
Gathering his strength slightly and aiming at the mouth of the bottle, as if mobilizing his entire body's Qi, the veins on his neck under his collar and on his forehead became faintly visible.
His fair skin turned slightly red, and a dull, subtle cracking sound rang in his ears.
Kiyokawa Izumi knew that the gourd had reached the limit of what it could withstand.
With a bit more effort, the first stage of training would be complete.
With a bang, the gourd in his hand suddenly exploded.
At this moment, Kiyokawa Izumi did not take a large breath; he still maintained his Total Concentration state.
[Breathing Technique Lv2 → Lv3]
"That wasn't easy! Piggy, what are you looking at?"
A figure suddenly lunged from behind. Kiyokawa Izumi didn't even draw his nichirin blade; he simply gave a sharp poke with the scabbard, accurately hitting Piggy in the abdomen.
Hit by such force, he fell to the ground and instinctively curled up.
Having only recently arrived at the Butterfly Mansion, Piggy was still full of wildness. He didn't know how to interact with people, always picking fights with the Team Members and constantly thinking of ambushing him.
Kiyokawa Izumi didn't actually have much of an issue with this.
In his view, that group of Team Members couldn't even beat Piggy, so they deserved to be hit.
"It's Inosuke! Inosuke!"
After taking a moment to recover and stand up, Piggy couldn't help but roar at Kiyokawa Izumi.
"Alright, Piggy!"
"Inosuke!"
Anger made him stomp his feet repeatedly. In a fit of powerless rage, he used Charge Headlong against Kiyokawa Izumi again.
Already accustomed to his Moves, Kiyokawa Izumi casually swung his nichirin blade, the tip landing precisely on Piggy's forehead, preventing him from taking another step forward.
Inosuke was also very frustrated. For some reason, he just couldn't beat this Red-Eyed One in front of him.
Even more infuriating was that he always got his name wrong.
"Piggy, your Breathing Technique is too crude. Fighting by instinct is fine for dealing with ordinary Team Members, but if you want to face a Hashira, you're still quite far off."
"Inosuke!"
Piggy didn't understand what he was talking about, but he didn't forget to correct him.
"What is my name?"
"Seitaro!"
"Piggy, are you doing that on purpose, or is it intentional?"
Gently patting Piggy's shoulder, Kiyokawa Izumi asked with a smile.
Let you have a taste of what it's like to have your name called wrong.
Giving me all sorts of messy nicknames every day.
"Seijuro!"
"..."
...Every day when lunch was served, Kiyokawa Izumi would always see Piggy snatching other people's rice balls.
Not only that, he would also show a smug, provocative expression.
Most Team Members would just silently keep their distance from him.
They didn't understand him, so they chose not to interact.
On his first day, Piggy had been severely disciplined by a certain black-bellied woman—after breaking four panes of glass in a row, he finally understood whose territory this was.
He wasn't afraid of the stern-faced Kanzaki Aoi.
Because Aoi was weak.
But when facing the gently lecturing Kochou Shinobu, he always felt light-headed.
"Hmm?"
Kiyokawa Izumi looked at Piggy, who had appeared before him, with some confusion. He usually didn't ambush him during meals. Why wasn't he snatching others' rice balls today? What was he doing here?
"What exactly is a Breathing Technique? Why can't I even beat her?"
Following the direction of the pointing arm, a taciturn young girl with a hollow smile was quietly watching butterflies fluttering around her.
Piggy couldn't understand why he couldn't even beat this young girl.
"The breathing rhythm you figured out yourself in the mountains is considered a derivative of Wind Breathing. "
"Do you remember what I said this morning?"
Piggy was confused.
What did Red-Eyed One say this morning?
"When I get back, I'll take you to visit the Wind Hashira."
Kiyokawa Izumi said with a smile.
Only when he snapped out of it did he realize that four of his rice balls had already been eaten by him.
"Where are you going?"
Perhaps out of a beast-like intuition, Piggy felt that Red-Eyed One's state was off.
Like a beast preparing for a slaughter, poised and ready, yet hiding anticipation.
A strange feeling.
Piggy forgot to chew his rice ball and stared straight at Kiyokawa Izumi.
A thud sounded.
"You eat my rice balls and then ask so many questions. Are you looking for a beating?"
"Red-Eyed One!"
"If you call me by the wrong name again, believe it or not, when I get back, I'll hang you from the eaves and whip you."
"Muddy Water Man!"
"Fine, fine, fine, you've given me another new nickname!"
Red-Eyed One made some sense, but what on earth was Muddy Water Man?
His eyes darted around, and Kiyokawa Izumi suddenly shouted to Kochou Shinobu nearby.
"Shinobu! Today, Inosuke didn't just sneak food from the kitchen; he also wanted to lay a hand on your Kasugai Crow. "
"Also, while running around, he broke two more windows and almost killed your favorite Goldfish."
"?"
Piggy was shocked.
"You can't just steal my rice balls whenever you want."
As he brushed past, Kiyokawa Izumi spoke with a schadenfreude tone.
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