“How long did you fight that demon just now?” he asked.
“About three minutes.”
Uchiha Bing honestly answered Tomioka Giyu’s question.
This person always kept a cold face with an extremely strong aura, making him look difficult to get along with at first glance.
“Why didn’t you decapitate her earlier?”
“The alley was too narrow to move around properly, and besides, her speed was a bit faster than mine,” Uchiha Bing said.
“I was looking for an opening.
I had already found it, but didn’t get a chance to use it yet.”
Tomioka Giyu looked at him without any change in expression, but his gaze lingered on Uchiha Bing for a few seconds, as if confirming whether what he said was true.
Then he nodded, a very slight motion that was barely noticeable.
“Your Breathing Style is Water Breathing.
Who taught you?”
“Kamado Tanjiro.”
Hearing that it was that hard-headed kid, the corner of Tomioka Giyu’s eye twitched slightly.
This was the first time an expression appeared on his face—very faint, but Uchiha Bing keenly caught it.
This should be surprise, right?
“Tanjiro also participated in this selection.
Did he pass?”
“He passed.”
“Mn.” Tomioka Giyu nodded without any fluctuation in his tone, but he stood in place for two more seconds, probably recalling something.
Then he turned around and walked toward the exit of the alley.
His footsteps were very light, just like when he arrived, but the sense of oppression was gradually receding.
Uchiha Bing looked at his retreating figure and suddenly spoke: “Are you the Water Hashira?”
Tomioka Giyu’s footsteps paused slightly without looking back.
“Yes.”
“My nichirin blade hasn’t arrived yet.
Before it arrives, can I learn Water Breathing from you?”
The alley was quiet for a few seconds.
Tomioka Giyu didn’t answer immediately.
He stood at the mouth of the alley, with his back to Uchiha Bing, the light stretching his shadow long onto the stone slab floor of the alley.
It seemed he was waiting for a reason?
The Kasugai Crow crouched on Uchiha Bing’s shoulder, sensibly keeping quiet.
“I only learned one form of Water Breathing, and I want to complete the rest.”
Uchiha Bing continued to explain. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Tomioka Giyu resumed his steps and walked out.
“Come to the abandoned shrine in the north.
I will only teach you once.”
At the abandoned shrine north of Asakusa, Tomioka Giyu arrived just a step ahead, and Uchiha Bing arrived right after him.
Tomioka Giyu stood beside the collapsed torii gate with his arms crossed, the night mist condensing into fine water droplets on his haori with half-red and half-yellow-green checkers.
Seeing Uchiha Bing running over, he turned and walked away, leaving only a single sentence behind: “Follow me.”
The two walked into the shrine one after another, passing through the moss-covered stone path to reach the open space behind the shrine.
The open space was not large, surrounded on all sides by dilapidated low walls, the ground paved with cracked stone slabs, with a few tufts of weeds growing out of the gaps.
Tomioka Giyu walked to the center of the open space and drew his nichirin blade.
The blade reflected the moonlight, emitting a light blue luster.
“Watch it once.
Remember as much as you can.”
Then he began to practice swordsmanship.
From the First Form to the Tenth Form, every move and style was like flowing clouds and running water, endlessly continuous.
Uchiha Bing watched with rapt attention.
Every move of Tomioka Giyu carried the unique divine intent of Water Breathing.
The blade light was like water, and his figure was like waves.
Even though he was swinging a blade, it felt like painting a flowing picture.
He seemed to see flowing water surging endlessly like waves in Tomioka Giyu’s hands, the ten forms continuous like a river without an end.
After finishing the ten forms, Tomioka Giyu sheathed his blade and looked at Uchiha Bing.
“Did you remember?”
Uchiha Bing did not answer immediately.
He closed his eyes, replaying every scene he had just seen in his mind—the starting angle of each slash, the rhythm of breathing, and the tempo of footsteps.
Fortunately, he was young and his memory was okay; this amount of information could still be remembered.
After savoring it once in his mind, he opened his eyes.
“Let me try.”
Uchiha Bing walked to the center of the open space and drew his nichirin blade.
Starting from the First Form, he performed them one after another.
Although some moves were very crude, every move and style was upright and proper without any mistakes.
After practicing back and forth several times, the moves gradually became familiar, and then he confirmed: “I remember it.”
Tomioka Giyu looked at him and was silent for a moment.
“I have taught you all ten sword forms of Water Breathing.
My personal advice is that how you want to modify it in the future is your own business, but for now, you had better specialize in Water Breathing first.”
“Thank you for your guidance.” Uchiha Bing bowed in salute.
“No need.”
Tomioka Giyu turned and walked toward the torii gate.
After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
Without turning his head, his voice came over.
“Don’t die.”
Uchiha Bing nodded, regardless of whether the other person could see it.
Tomioka Giyu’s figure disappeared behind the torii gate.
The Water Hashira had left, and the abandoned shrine fell quiet again.
The Kasugai Crow flew down from the ruins, landed on Uchiha Bing’s shoulder, and said in a hoarse voice: “Gone—he’s gone—”
Uchiha Bing did not answer.
He drew his nichirin blade and walked back to the center of the open space.
The ten forms were memorized, but remembering was only the first step.
How much power could be unleashed in actual combat depended entirely on the mastery of the moves.
At the end of the day, if you are inexperienced, you just need to practice more.
Uchiha Bing devoted himself entirely to the training of the ten sword forms.
Six days later, the swordsmith found this place.
This was a taciturn middle-aged man with rough hands and a mask on his face.
He handed a nichirin blade with a black scabbard to Uchiha Bing, then took two steps back, seemingly waiting for Uchiha Bing’s reaction.
Uchiha Bing gripped the hilt and slowly pulled out the nichirin blade—the moment the blade slid out of the scabbard, its color began to change, first transparent, then a hint of light blue spread from the spine of the blade to the edge, like water rippling under the moonlight.
It was the color of Water Breathing.
He raised the blade; the edge was intact with no chips, and the arc of the hilt fit his palm perfectly.
This was not a picked-up blade, nor someone else’s blade; this was a nichirin blade custom-made exclusively for him.
Uchiha Bing fell in love with the nichirin blade in his hand at first sight, and even developed a fondness for Water Breathing by association.
He put down the old blade, gripped the new blade tightly, and walked back to the center of the open space.
Starting from the First Form, he performed them one after another, every move and style extremely smooth.
The feel of the new blade was completely different from the old one, and the center of gravity of the blade was just right.
This sense of harmony with the weapon greatly enhanced Uchiha Bing’s progress speed in swordsmanship.
He sheathed his blade back into the scabbard, hanging two blades at his waist simultaneously.
This wasn’t because he wanted to play dual-wielding, but rather to carry an extra backup blade with him to avoid a tragedy like Sabito’s.
Seeing that Uchiha Bing liked his work very much, the swordsmith nodded with great satisfaction and then left.
The Kasugai Crow flew up from the eaves, landed on top of the torii gate, tilted its head, and croaked: “New blade, easy to use, better than the old one.”