Chapter 58: 58. Hamon Mode
The staff was blocked by the wooden sword.
Tak! Tak! Tak!
The staff and sword exchanged multiple strikes, all in vain. Kyojuro retreated to create some distance to use his sword more conveniently, but…
"As if I'll let you do that!"
Kotaro shouted and pushed his staff, stabbing it toward Kyojuro's stomach with all his might. Kotaro was taking full advantage of the range of his staff in this spar against Kyojuro.
The strength behind the strike was immense, making Kyojuro's eyes widen as he stumbled a few steps back, blocking it with his wooden sword.
"Damn! How did he even block that?!"
While Kotaro was surprised that Kyojuro managed to block his stab with the wooden sword, Kyojuro felt the same. His hands trembled slightly from the impact, but there was no fear or tension—only an energetic smile on his face.
"Amazing, Kotaro! You've gotten stronger!"
"Isn't that obvious?"
Hearing the praise, Kotaro's chest swelled with pride. Of course, after all that hellish training, the seven-day survival trip, and the night with Mitsuri, he had become stronger than before.
'Now that I've mastered the Constant, this move is possible.'
It wasn't visible, but all throughout his body, from one end to another, Hamon was circulating, infusing his entire form. Small sparks were constantly crackling across him as he spun his staff, ready to strike again.
[Hamon Mode]
That's the name he gave it. Its creation was recent, but the idea had been brewing for a long time, sparked by curiosity.
…
It was during the time he was studying the similarities and differences between Hamon and the Breath Style.
Both of them used breathing, but one increased oxygen intake to facilitate more blood flow and circulation, distributing more energy throughout the body, resulting in superhuman abilities.
The other used breathing to generate Hamon and then propagate it through the bloodstream to different parts of the body, and then to the objects in contact with the user.
"Wait! Circulation?"
Then a spark ignited in his brain. What if he circulated his Hamon throughout his body all the time to create an effect like Breath Style?
"Wait! No, it's not feasible. No, no… it might be feasible…"
At first, he dismissed the idea, using the logic that "the smaller the area of contact, the stronger the Hamon." But then he thought—wasn't this move more of a support technique?
[Hamon Mode] was born from the idea of increasing blood circulation, much like Breath Style users did to gain superhuman abilities.
Just as Breath Style users enhanced themselves to fight demons, Kotaro figured he might be able to do something similar.
But there was a problem.
"Why isn't it working?"
Kotaro tried, but it didn't work as he had imagined. He had envisioned the move becoming something akin to Lightning Chakra Mode. No wonder he named it [Hamon Mode]. But it didn't work at all.
When he delved a bit deeper into the issue…
"I see."
The fundamental difference between Breath Style and Hamon made it impossible. Hamon was active, while Breath Style was passive in nature.
The sole purpose of Breath Style was to increase blood circulation and enhance the user's capabilities to match those of demons. There was nothing more to it.
Users could create their own styles, but in the end, it was still just an enhancement technique.
It could be separated into Active—when used only during a fight, and Passive—the Constant state.
Using this enhancement, they wielded weapons that could harm demons and fought with them equipped.
But Hamon Breathing, while it enhanced the user to some extent, wasn't primarily meant to enhance the user but to generate Hamon. So, unlike Breath Style, it was more of an offensive technique designed to infuse into strikes to fight undead and turn them to ash.
It wasn't meant to be circulated throughout because Hamon users simply directed it to where it was needed, like their hands or feet, then infused and attacked.
Why?
Because with Hamon, the smaller the area of contact, the stronger the Hamon. Circulating it throughout the body would just be a wasteful and inefficient way to use it.
What? Would they hug a vampire or zombie to kill them? The name? Hug Overdrive? Just thinking about it made Kotaro imagine Jonathan using this move against Dio.
"Damn! What did I just think?"
No wonder no one in JoJo ever thought about it.
But…
"In this world, it might be possible."
Not the Hug Overdrive, but the [Hamon Mode]. It just might work in this world.
Because here, there was this technique - Constant State. It wasn't in JoJo, and the training Joseph and Caesar did using the masks was similar but not exactly the same.
The training Joseph and Caesar underwent was to breathe correctly all the time "to be able to" generate Hamon continuously. After that training, did they ever take that iconic, exaggerated breath to generate Hamon?
No!
They just fought and generated Hamon whenever they wanted, without taking deep breaths, different from its predecessor, Phantom Blood.
But Total Concentration Breathing: Constant was different.
It wasn't just about performing the correct breathing technique all the time, but about continuously maintaining it.
In Hamon's context, it wouldn't just be about being able to generate Hamon constantly but about keeping it generated all the time.
The Constant state was a level-up from the training Joseph and Caesar did.
"If I mastered Constant, then…"
A smile bloomed on Kotaro's face. Total Concentration Breathing: Constant was the key to completing this move.
And it made him even more eager to learn it.
And now…
…
Kotaro took a simple breath in…
Sparks!
Hamon was generated and circulated throughout his body, enhancing his muscles and skin, making them more flexible and resilient, and, best of all, more easily healable.
"Amazing, Kotaro! You've gotten stronger!"
"Isn't it obvious?"
"But… this still isn't enough to defeat me!"
"Then… come at me!"
Kotaro smirked and took his stance. Small sparks crackled over him—this was his [Hamon Mode: Stage One].
===
A/N:
I almost forgot that there's action in fanfiction as well. Here's some action.
But is it alright? There's nothing illogical here, right?
Chapter 59: 59. Haru, the Kasugai Crow
"How did I lose even after opening [Hamon Mode]?"
Exhausted, Kotaro lay on the floor with his staff beside him, taking huge breaths to recover from fatigue. Even though he had an advantage for a moment, Kyojuro showed him that he wasn't a well-trained fighter for nothing.
As if some fire had been lit in him, Kyojuro went on to parry all of his stabs, and when Kotaro, annoyed, took a huge stab, Kyojuro dodged it, which left a gap in Kotaro's defenses.
[Hamon Mode: Stage One] enhances the physique, mostly leaning towards regenerative abilities. What if he took a hit?
That would heal in no time. But Kyojuro just smiled and continued to smack him down all over, causing Kotaro to cry out in pain.
"Damn!"
Kotaro cursed at his loss, but he also knew the biggest difference between him and Kyojuro: experience.
"Sigh!"
Experience was something that couldn't be gained within just a few months of training. Even with his cheat—Hamon—and also learning the Constant, Kotaro was far stronger than 90% of the Demon Slayers.
He could even wrestle with Kyojuro in pure strength and was confident he could beat him. But in a fight, there was still a long way to go.
"Well, I should go and hunt some demons to gain experience."
…
Kotaro and Mitsuri, each in their own way, went to hunt demons. Of course, Kotaro wanted to form a team and work together with Mitsuri, but those Kasugai crows…
They assigned them work in different places so often that Kotaro was getting suspicious. Were they doing it intentionally?
"You… You're not doing this on purpose, right?"
Caw! Caw!
The Kasugai crow just cawed in fear, shaking its head frantically before Kotaro snapped out of his anger. As Kotaro's partner, this crow knew all too well how high-tempered this man could be.
Where did his partner get it from?
The Kasugai crow wondered from time to time. Was it inherited from his parents? Of course it was, but not through genes. If Aiko saw it, she would secretly be happy that her son's personality was somewhat like hers. Though she would never openly admit it.
"You demon slayer! Don't take a step, or I'll kill this woman!"
And tonight was just another night of demon hunting. But this time, it was a hostage situation. The demon held a woman in its arms, with sharp nails pressed against her neck.
"Huh? Really?"
"Of course! Do you think I'm joking?!"
The demon pushed its nail into the woman's face, making it bleed. Terrified, the woman shed tears and cried out.
"Please save me! I don't want to die!"
Sigh…
"Wait!"
"What?! Don't take a step, or I'll kill her!"
"Alright, I'm not taking a step. I just want to ask you something. You… When was the last time you washed your hands?"
"…" Demon.
"…" The hostage woman.
"…" Haru, the Kasugai crow.
"I mean, I'm serious. If you didn't wash your hands, doesn't that mean your nails are dirty? And with those nails, you pierced that lady's face…"
"No! Please kill me!"
Now the woman's cries intensified. Kotaro's words made the demon's veins pop, and it glared at him with angry eyes.
"You… Are you joking with me? I'll show you why demons are superior to humans!"
The demon stretched and pushed its pointed nails toward the woman's throat. Looking at those dirty nails up close, the woman cried even more.
But before the nails reached her neck…
[Hamon Steps]
Kotaro dashed toward the demon holding the hostage, using his [Hamon Steps], and before the demon could react, he swung—yes, he swung the staff as if it were a baseball bat and…
His strength, combined with Hamon infused into it, just made the demon's head in front of the hostage woman…
Boom!
Explode. The demon's head burst, blood splattering everywhere.
"Ah! The head exploded."
Kotaro… Well, he was now a bit immune to such incidents. After all, he was wielding a blunt weapon.
"Aaaah!"
Now, the hostage woman was more afraid of him than the demon. Kotaro looked at her with his dead eyes.
"Seriously? Am I that scary, Haru?"
Caw! Caw!
The Kasugai crow, Haru, wanted to nod but then shook its head, replying "no" to make sure it stayed alive.
What if Kotaro exploded its head too? Haru had heard that Kotaro was about to explode a Kakushi's head with his staff once. It was fortunate that Mitsuri blocked him.
How did that innocent and kind Mitsuri marry him?
"Haru, you thought something bad about me, didn't you?"
Caw! Caw!
How did he know? But there was no option to admit it! Using its all animal techniques, Haru convinced Kotaro that it wasn't thinking anything bad or something of the sort.
"Well, I've always believed you."
Is that so?
Haru looked at Kotaro with dead eyes, not believing those words at all.
"Let's return. I came so far just to hunt one demon. The transportation is really a hassle these days."
'These days?' Is there ever a time when transportation isn't a hassle? Haru looked at Kotaro, who sometimes made such remarks.
Haru had been interested at first, but later paid little attention to them. All demon slayers, especially the strong ones, had some weird quirks, and this one was just a bit crazy and nothing more.
As a Kasugai crow, all Haru had to do was support its partner.
Haru flew down and perched on Kotaro's shoulder as both of them walked back to the Rengoku Mansion.
===
A/N:
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