"Nagi-san, still up so late~" Shinobu, blushing, gently pressed a handkerchief to her lips, which were bleeding...
Uchiha Nagi was speechless. Shinobu Kocho had a habit of silently sneaking up behind people, getting very close, and then speaking... Fortunately, it was him. If it were a disfigured man like Shinazugawa, wouldn't he be at a huge disadvantage?
"Yes, I was practicing my Breathing Style, trying to maintain constant breathing. Then I got a bit bored and started playing some music. Did I disturb you?" Uchiha Nagi wiped the blood from his lips. Since she hadn't mentioned it, he naturally wouldn't be so tactless as to bring up the awkward incident just now.
"Ah, the music Uchiha Nagi-san plays is so beautiful. It's just that every piece carries a faint sorrow," Shinobu said.
"Everyone has their own sorrows that cannot be resolved. You too, right, Shinobu-san? Although you always maintain a smile, the hatred in your heart can never truly be dispelled," Uchiha Nagi said. "Especially when you look at Nezuko. Even with a smile on your face, your heart is still filled with anger..."
"Ah..." Shinobu, her innermost thoughts laid bare by Uchiha Nagi, slowly let her smile fade. "My older sister... she died at the hands of a demon. She always hoped that humans and demons could coexist peacefully, but in the end..."
Shinobu's older sister, Kanae Kocho, had always hoped for peaceful coexistence between humans and demons, because many demons were forcibly converted by Muzan and were inherently good. She believed that if they could be controlled from harming humans, they could live peacefully with them. However, during a mission, she encountered Upper Moon Two, Doma. He was an emotionless monster, terrifyingly powerful. In the end, Kanae Kocho was defeated and killed by him. Because of this, Shinobu came to hate demons. She inherited her sister's will and her butterfly-patterned haori, always using a gentle smile to hide her true feelings.
"You miss your sister very much, don't you?" Uchiha Nagi asked.
"I do miss her very much. But what can be done? I can never see her again..." Shinobu's smile vanished, replaced by a faint sorrow.
"I can let you see your sister one more time," Uchiha Nagi said.
"Hmm?!" Shinobu looked at Uchiha Nagi, puzzled. Uchiha Nagi activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, and a pair of crimson eyes appeared before Shinobu.
"Sister..." Shinobu looked at her sister in astonishment. Looking around, it seemed she had returned to a time several years ago; everything was just as she remembered. Her sister had a gentle smile on her face, leading her through a bustling marketplace. She bought the child Kanao, and then, when paying, playfully tricked the trafficker, scattering the money all over the ground. She knew she was in a genjutsu world, a unique technique of Uchiha Nagi's eyes. Even so, she couldn't bear to break the dream using her Breathing Style. Instead, tears streaming down her face, she rushed forward and hugged her sister. "Sister, I miss you so much, woo woo..." In the dream world, Shinobu reverted to her lively, straightforward, and spirited true nature, clinging to her sister and sobbing.
This wasn't Tsukuyomi; it couldn't make Shinobu stay in the genjutsu world for three days and three nights in an instant. As time wore on, even if Shinobu didn't break the genjutsu herself, it would automatically dispel after a few hours. Under the starry sky, the moonlight, like a soft veil, gently covered the two figures sitting on the rooftop...
"It's dawn..." The first golden rays of morning sunlight shone on her eyelids. Shinobu woke up with a tear-streaked smile. She had been immersed in the genjutsu world, reluctant to leave. "Ah~" Shinobu wiped the tear stains from the corners of her eyes and stretched lazily. After sitting all night, her bones creaked. "That was a wonderful dream. Nagi-kun, thank you for letting me have such a good dream."
"You're welcome. If you can't sleep at night in the future, you can come find me again," Uchiha Nagi said with a smile. Suddenly, he felt there might be something inappropriate in what he'd just said. But before he could finish his thought, Shinobu had already disappeared. Only his Sharingan, for a fleeting moment, caught a glimpse of her ears turning a deep shade of red.
So fast. Comparable to the Body Flicker Technique... Uchiha Nagi muttered to himself. Although he hadn't slept all night, Uchiha Nagi was still full of energy. He wondered if it was because he had taken advantage of the girl.
After a short while, the stoic homebody, the Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito, arrived. These past few days, Muichiro Tokito had been coming over daily for mutual study with Uchiha Nagi. Uchiha Nagi would ask him about swordsmanship and Breathing Styles, and he would ask Uchiha Nagi about chakra. Surprisingly, in just a few days, he had mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu and was in the process of integrating it with his Breathing Style. Moreover, Muichiro had proposed an idea: when using shadow clones to attack an enemy, could he use the Substitution Jutsu to switch places between the physical body and a shadow clone? Because demons in this world could only be decapitated by a Nichirin blade, if a shadow clone didn't have one, its attacks would be largely ineffective. But if this method worked, then when several shadow clones attacked together, a momentary substitution could allow one to kill a demon with a single Nichirin blade, without needing to prepare multiple swords for the shadow clones. After all, everything about a shadow clone was formed by chakra nature transformation, and chakra couldn't be turned into a physical Nichirin blade.
Uchiha Nagi was stunned. In the entire Shinobi World, not even Naruto, with his Multiple Shadow Clones, had ever thought of such a concept. For ninjas, whose bodies were high-attack but low-defense, a shadow clone creating a Rasengan or wielding a kunai could still kill an opponent. But using Substitution Jutsu with Multiple Shadow Clones... didn't that have a hint of the Flying Thunder God Technique? The real body hidden among numerous shadow clones, ready to switch places at any moment using Substitution Jutsu—it was practically the Flying Thunder God, just with a shorter range.
"Interesting. Your proposal is truly interesting. Let's research it together. It might become a trump card against demons in the future," Uchiha Nagi said with enthusiasm. "By the way, are you going to try the Water Prison again today?" Uchiha Nagi asked.
"Yes, I have to. This is a weakness of Breathing Styles. If we encounter a demon with that kind of Blood Demon Art, we'd be doomed. So it's best to overcome it in advance," Muichiro nodded. This was something they had discovered during a previous sparring session. Muichiro, trapped in the Water Prison, couldn't breathe. Without being able to use their Breathing Style, even a Hashira was just a lamb to the slaughter. Uchiha Nagi couldn't help but wonder: if a demon like Kisame Hoshigaki were to use a Great Waterfall Jutsu followed by a Grand Water Prison Technique, would it wipe out all the Hashira? After all, unable to breathe underwater, their strength would plummet by ninety percent. Thus, a Water Prison ninjutsu with a ten-meter diameter appeared. Muichiro was trapped inside, trying to find a way out. When he could no longer hold his breath, Uchiha Nagi would dispel the jutsu and release him.