Chapter 69: Dangerous foes
Shinobu was confused by Isao's request. "What do you mean?"
"Just show me," Isao said, then looked at Kanae. "Kanae, you bring your sword, right?"
"Yes." Kanae nodded. "I will bring it to you soon." Then she looked at her little sister and said, "Just show him your Insect Breathing, Shinobu. Oh, and also teach him everything, too!"
"Eh?" Shinobu became even more confused, but Isao looked at Amane and said, "Amane, help me prepare my suit."
"I will prepare it immediately." Amane stood up and then went to his room to prepare his suit.
Kanae only looked at Amane with a smile before she chased after Amane.
Still, the rest didn't pay much attention to Amane and looked at Isao, wondering why he asked Shinobu to show her Insect Breathing and even taught him.
"...you want to learn my Breathing Style?"
This was the only conclusion that Shinobu came up with.
"Yeah." Isao nodded.
"..."
Shinobu wondered what was wrong with Isao's head since it was difficult to master a Breathing Style. Even if Isao had learned the Flower Breathing, learning another style was a different matter. Even the most genius Hashira, Muichiro Tokito, needed two months to learn the Breathing Style.
Yet, Shinobu didn't argue with Isao since Isao was special.
If Tokito was a genius, then Isao was a monster.
Isao's ability wasn't something that could be described by the word "genius," especially when he killed the Upper-Rank Second, Doma, on the first time he knew the Breathing Style and held a sword.
If Tokito could be called the most genius Hashira in history by mastering the Breathing Style in two months, then what was Isao?
So, Shinobu didn't argue.
Still, she would be lying if she said she wasn't shocked. Yet when she thought about how Isao had singlehandedly beaten all the male Hashira, while her mind told her that it was impossible, she decided to believe him.
"Please watch and ask me anything you want to know."
By then, Shinobu showed Isao everything about the Insect Breathing she had mastered.
Watching Shinobu perform and explain the Insect Breathing style to him, Isao sighed in relief since it gave him an excuse for how he mastered this breathing style.
Yes, he knew that he had mastered most of the Breathing Styles after he gained the DNA of many, but he couldn't show that he had mastered them, especially when no one taught him.
Or rather, except for "Flower Breathing" and "Insect Breathing," he hadn't seen others perform their breathing styles!
Even if he was powerful and a good person, his identity would be doubted when one saw he had mastered all the Breathing Style.
The reason why he joined the Demon Slayer Corps was also due to this reason since when he joined, he would ask Kagaya to give him all the Breathing Styles, so it would give him a legitimate reason why he could master all the Breathing Styles. Moreover, there were some of the breathing styles that he hadn't learned, and it would have given him a bad taste if he hadn't learned all of them.
Yet, he had to say those Breathing Styles that were mastered or intended to be used by females weren't weak, and when they were used by him, they became techniques for slaughter.
His words might be strange, but unlike a male, a female lacked power, so to compensate for that, they had to modify their original Breathing Style so it would be suitable for them to use.
Still, if a male who had power used those techniques, what would happen?
Those techniques would become even stronger!
Yet, gender equality wasn't popular in this era, and it would appear like a shame if a male used a female technique, but Isao, who came from the future, didn't care much since he had to say that Insect Breathing was quite interesting and suitable for him, too.
If Flower Breathing was focused on vision and agility, then Insect Breathing would focus on movement techniques.
Unlike Flower Breathing, which originated in the past, Insect Breathing was a breathing technique created solely for Shinobu, who lacked power, so most of its attacks were stabbing, thrusting, and making shallow cuts, but to compensate for the lack of damage, this technique coated the sword with a lethal poison.
Still, for Isao, the core of Insect Breathing was its movement technique, which mimicked the movement of insects.
A butterfly, a bee, a dragonfly, and even a centipede.
The movements of those insects were mimicked, and thus, the Insect Breathing was born.
After Shinobu showed everything about the Insect Breathing, she wiped the sweat on her forehead and said, "You know? My breathing style is weak. Compared to mine, you should learn the others." Due to her short height and lack of power, she could only do this. Naturally, she would be lying if she didn't have a complex, and she thought that it might be better for Isao to learn other Breathing Styles.
"Your technique is interesting." Isao then walked to Shinobu and said, "Lend me your sword."
"...what are you going to do? My sword is a little dangerous due to its poison inside."
"It doesn't matter. I have mastered all of them."
"....."
Shinobu blinked her eyes, then asked, "Master all of them? What did you master?"
"Your breathing technique."
"Liar!"
There was no way for Shinobu to believe that Isao had mastered her breathing style!
Even if she had to admit that her breathing style was weaker than others, it was definitely impossible for him to master this technique with just a single explanation and demonstration!
"Just lend your sword to me, and I will show you," Isao said.
"..."
While Shinobu didn't want to believe Isao, she still lent him her sword. "Be careful."
"Thanks." Isao accepted Shinobu's sword and then performed all the Insect Breathing techniques flawlessly, along with all the combination poison within the wisteria-based poisons kept within the sheath.
"..."
At this moment, no one said anything.
Whether it was Shinobu, Kanao, Hinatsuri, Makio, Suma, or even Amane, who had returned with his suit, they were dumbfounded, watching how Isao could master the Insect Breathing Style almost instantly. They knew Isao was powerful, but they didn't expect him to be this powerful!
Only Kanae felt relief since she wasn't the only one who was stunned by her husband's power. This also made her happy because she knew that Isao should be all right in this battle. Gently rubbing her belly, which hadn't changed much, she hoped that Isao could return safely.
While Isao surprised them and they wanted to ask him a question, he went to the bathroom to wash his body as if purifying himself before he changed into his brown suit. This time, he didn't put a pomade on it since, in the era where there was no shampoo, it was damn hard to wash it over.
Still, when he walked out in his suit, everyone was dumbfounded.
Kanae and Amane nodded, feeling satisfied.
However, Shinobu and the rest blushed, watching how handsome he had become.
Well, originally, he was handsome, but when he put on his suit, his charm became even higher.
"Why did you wear such good clothes? Those suits aren't cheap, right? Are you okay to use it to fight?" Shinobu asked in confusion.
Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma also felt curious and sorry that Isao's suit would be torn up during the fight later.
"Being handsome will make you stronger," Isao said calmly.
"....." Everyone.
Even Kanao, who had been silent, also looked at him with widened eyes.
"...is this some kind of nonsense again?" Shinobu asked with a doubt.
"No, no. I told you the truth." Isao felt speechless when they didn't believe in his words. "Look, the commander during the Sengoku Period wore good armor and dressed differently from the rest to show their might. Even on ordinary days, the majority of people would treat those who dress handsomely, beautifully, or stylishly in a different way than those who dress poorly, right?"
"If you say it like that..."
This time, they agreed with Isao. While some people said not to judge a book by its cover, the reality was that those who dressed better were treated better than those who dressed poorly.
Some might argue that they wanted people to see their inside instead of their outside, but if you couldn't even make people interested in learning your inside, then what was the point?
So, Isao didn't say nonsense, and the reason why he dressed handsomely was because he would appear strong. It raised his confidence, and it also made the enemy wary of him too.
In other words, the first impression was important.
"Then, I will leave now."
"Um." Kanae looked at Isao sincerely, but the concern in her eyes couldn't be hidden. "Please return as soon as possible."
"I will." Isao nodded while patting Kanae's head, but this woman closed her eyes as if trying to give him a cue.
"...."
Kanae opened her eyes again and waited for him to give her a kiss, but this guy didn't seem to read her intention. "Come closer. Let me kiss you."
While Isao was speechless, wondering why many women always give him a dead flag, he decided to accept her kiss. Naturally, they didn't kiss for too long since Kanao was there. It wasn't good for such a little girl to see how lewd her older sister was.
"Then, I will go now. Let me borrow your sword, too."
Isao said while patting Shinobu's head.
"You have to return it." Shinobu didn't push Isao's hand away and gave him her sword, but her expression was as stinky as ever.
Isao then looked at Amane after he got two swords from the sisters for this fight. "Then, I will leave first."
"Be careful." Amane nodded, and this time, they didn't make the intimate gesture that they had done for the past two weeks. Yet, today was the end, and they would return to their previous relationship.
Isao would be a father, and she would return to become the wife of the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Yet, was it possible for her to do this?
The thought of him holding her body every night was impossible to be erased.
All the traces of her husband on her body had been completely overwritten by him.
Amane would be lying if she didn't feel jealous of Kanae, but even so, watching him leave for the battle, their feelings were similar, and they hoped for him to return safely.
Isao patted Kanao's head for the last time before leaving with Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma. The four entered the car together and left toward where the demon was located.
Only when they were about to start their trip, Suma said, "By the way, Iinuma-sama, do you think we should change our clothes?"
If it was before, Makio would slap Suma's head for thinking something stupid, and Hinatsuru would stop them from fighting, but Suma's question touched the hearts of the two, especially when Isao told them that wearing good clothes makes them stronger.
Isao stopped his car and then looked at the three.
As ninjas, the three always chose clothes that made them able to move easily with neither sleeves nor long skirts, causing a lot of the whiteness on their bodies to be shown.
Their arms, smooth thighs, and even deep cleavage.
All of them were shown to a young man, who wasn't even their husband.
Yet—
"You three look fine. It's okay," Isao said calmly.
"Really? Who is the best? Is it me?" Suma suddenly asked with a smile while pressing her deep cleavage forward.
"Suma! What the hell are you saying!?" Makio directly slapped Suma's head, then straggled her neck.
"Stop! Stop! It hurts!"
"I am sorry for her rude words, Iinuma-sama," Hinatsuru quickly apologized while bowing her head. Unlike the two, she sat by Isao's side and was also closest to his side.
"No, it's okay. Tell me more about the demon first." Isao tried to make his face as solemn as possible, yet why did Hinatsuri lean even closer and casually graze her skin and the softness on his chest and arm as if it were an accident?
Moreover, Hinatsuru wasn't the only one; Makio and Suma also did the same, trying to put him into a strange situation like an ecchi harem protagonist who got into a delightful accident with beautiful girls from time to time.
Watching how Isao reacted, instead of stopping, the three became even bolder.
Yet, since they did this in a concealed way, as if it were an accident, Isao couldn't say this openly. Letting out a helpless sigh, he thought that being a good person was hard, especially when he was often bullied like this.
However, it was impossible for one to take advantage of him!
Isao wasn't shy and drove while showing his erection through his pants after they teased him occasionally, yet he forgot they were widows and they weren't little girls.
"Ah, we're going the wrong way, Iinuma-sama. It's over there."
Hinatsuru patted Isao's thighs gently, then squeezed his erection as if it were an accident.
"...."
Isao took a deep breath and wondered why he felt like his battle against those three widows was more dangerous than his battle against a demon.