Capítulo 51: A Blind Clash
Hashira got to his feet, still keeping his eyes forward.
Despite Kurome's apparent eyesight, his having black sclerae as eyes completely prohibited his vision, rendering him blind since birth.
"Who are you?" Hashira asked, "And what are you doing on these sacred grounds?"
"You speak to me as if you're my superior," Kurome chuckled, "Little do you know, I've been on these mountains longer than you've been alive."
"Impossible," Hashira closed his eyes and spun toward Kurome.
"I can tell by your voice," Hashira swung a roundhouse punch, "you're just a lost young man."
Kurome bent backward and felt Hashira's knuckles swish past his nose.
Kurome lowered his center of gravity, balled his fist, and threw an uppercut toward Hashira's chin.
Hashira shifted his weight, ducking under Kurome's punch.
His long gray hair brushed against Kurome's fist, and he stepped forward, launching an oil-covered jab at Kurome.
"Oil Prana: Ignition Fist!"
Using his ririsu prana, Hashira heated the oil to its flash point, causing his fist to burst into flames.
Kurome lifted a nearby body and held it up as a shield.
Hashira's fist pierced through the body's chest like a knife through butter, burning it to a crisp.
"You killed. Doesn't that betray your family's pacifist teachings?" Kurome taunted.
"Bastard!" Hashira uttered through gritted teeth, his eyes still closed.
"So you plan on fighting me with your eyes closed," Kurome observed, "such insolence."
The unconscious members of the Shi family began to rise. Like Kurome, their eyes were nothing but black sclerae, possessing no pupils nor irises.
"Let's see how far that plan takes you."
The shi family surrounded Hashira, obeying Kurome's commands like puppets.
"Your clan and I will pry your eyes open so you too can share this nightmare of mine."
With family members to his left and right, Hashira anxiously stretched his arms in opposite directions.
"Forgive me," he muttered, "but this is best for your safety."
"Oil Prana: Sludge Cannon!"
Hashira released beams of cooled oils from his palms.
The thick, tar-like substance acted as crowd control. It slammed into the two crowds propelling the Shi family into the distance.
Far off from Hashira and Kurome, the Shi family, still under the effects of Kurome's prana, attempted to move within a pool of Hashira's sludge.
Despite their efforts, Hashira's adhesive substance denied all movements and stuck the Shi family to the ground like glue.
Hashira assumed his stance, his eyes still closed.
"Now," he beckoned to Kurome, "let's finish this one-on-one."
"It's your funeral," Kurome shrugged, assuming his stance.
Their fists collided with a solemn crunch, creating a howling gale that sliced nearby trees.
Both fighters stumbled backward in the quake of their equal clash.
Hashira pounced first, intending to overwhelm Kurome with a barrage of strikes.
Kurome expertly jerked his body back and forth in rhythm to the apposite lines of Hashira's attacks.
Kurome pressed his advantage decisively. Understanding that Hashira was new to relying on sensory and muscle memory, Kurome weaved out of his way and forced his elbow into Hashira's nape, driving him to the ground.
Hashira recovered quickly, snapping to his feet the second he hit the ground. He resumed his flurry of attacks.
Despite Kurome's dodges and parries, Hashira gained the upper hand, forcing Kurome on his heels with his fluent combinations.
Kurome forcibly dodged another hit and lunged. He got a good hold on Hashira and shoved him against a tree, dragging him up until his feet dangled several inches off the ground.
"Enough games," Kurome growled, "Open your eyes."
He pressed Hashira's eyelids.
Before he could force them open, Hashira's oil smeared his fingers.
"Oil Prana: Ignition!"
Hashira set the oil ablaze.
Kurome stumbled backward, his fingers swollen and reddened.
Exploiting Kurome's shock, Hashira inhaled, gathering prana in his mouth.
"Oil Prana: Ignition Inferno!"
He expelled oil and simultaneously ignited it, creating a massive flame that consumed Kurome and their surroundings.
The forest fire flared quickly, but Hashira extinguished it, unveiling Kurome in the distance.
His skin was blackened and bloody, harboring a leathery texture.
"I took that attack at point-blank range," Kurome murmured, "I was lucky to have only suffered third-degree burns."
Hashira charged Kurome, fists flailing.
Kurome anticipated his attacks. One quick jab to Hashira's unprotected jaw and his head whipped back.
Kurome didn't let up. He slammed his fist into Hashira's chest, sending him whirling several feet through the air.
"I'll focus on suppressing my aura. Then he won't be able to track me," Kurome plotted.
Hashira stumbled to his feet. Detecting Kurome's faint aura, he leaned on his natural senses.
He paused, listening for movement.
He heard a series of soft thuds to his left, the whispers of footsteps.
Hashira turned and lashed out blindly. His fist connected with muscled flesh, sending ripples of fat throughout Kurome's cheek.
Kurome crashed through various trees before tumbling to a stop on his feet.
"Old Man's skilled," Kurome muttered as pain radiated throughout his cheek, "Just what I'd expect from someone experiencing their 105th year of life."
He channeled a steady stream of black prana to his fists.
"But as I said, I've roamed these mountains longer than you've been alive.
"Doragonken: Twin Dragon Fists!"
Like Nezumi, Kurome's prana changed into large dragon-shaped shrouds.
Hashira walked toward Nezumi, stopping nearby to keep his distance.
"You've yet to answer my questions," Hashira informed him, "What are your motives?"
"You'll find out in the afterlife," Kurome charged at Hashira, his hair and earrings swishing with the wind.
Hashira kept his eyes closed, focusing on avoiding the dense prana concentrated on Kurome's fists.
Each missed blow produced a gale that swept the trees away. Within seconds, all trees became uprooted, and the dense woods became an area of mass deforestation.
Hashira evaded another blow.
He hit Kurome under the jaw. Kurome stumbled back and swung at Hashira.
His dragon fist connected with Hashira's mouth, causing him to spit out blood and teeth.
Hashira punched back, bashing Kurome's face with relative force.
With that, their clash became a slugfest.
The fighters traded numerous blows to the face.
Kurome's twin dragon fists did more damage, but neither yielded to the pain.
Kurome interlocked his fingers, combining his twin dragon fists into one large dragon head.
"Doragonken: Twin Dragons' Ketsugō!"
He slammed his fist into Hashira's chest, and blood stained the floor.
Hashira crumpled to the floor, just a few feet away from Kurome.
Kurome's dragon fists dissipated, and he grinned as he plodded towards Hashira.
"Oil Prana: Sludge Pool!"
A pool of cooled oil appeared beneath Kurome, hindering his movements. His legs sank in the oil, and he dropped to his knees.
"Shit," Kurome muttered, "he cooled his oil and further enhanced its properties with prana. I can't move my legs."
Hashira, still on the floor, lifted his hand.
"Oil Prana: Sludge Shot!"
He released two balls of cooled oil. They splattered on Kurome's face, covering his eyes.
Hashira's eyes snapped open, and he scrambled to his feet.
Capitalizing on Kurome's immobility, Hashira stretched his arm back, preparing his final blow.
Oil swirled around his arm.
"Oil Prana: Ignition...
"Majestic Flame-"
Hashira's eyes went wide upon noticing Kurome's earrings. He stood rooted in place, his face harboring sheer astonishment.
Like Tensai, Kurome wore two distinct earrings. One depicted an hourglass and the other a spiral.
"W-where... No, how did you get those?" Hashira demanded, his body slick with sweat.
"You hesitated," Kurome smirked, "It's over."
He wiped the oil from his right eye, revealing his black sclerae.
"Ririsu Prana: Nightmare Realm!"
Despite Hashira's attempts to cover himself and the ground in oil, it was futile as he had already made eye contact with Kurome.
Hashira appeared in a void world of darkness, and Kurome materialized in front of him.
"Don't even try resisting or moving," Kurome advised.
"This is my complementary ririsu," he explained, "In this world, illusions are reality."
Outside of his ririsu, Kurome and Hashira's bodies were idle. Kurome's body sat in a pool of sludge, and Hashira's stood a few feet away, surrounded by oil.
Inside the Nightmare Realm, Kurome stepped back and dematerialized, but Hashira could still hear his voice.
"You asked me how I got these earrings," Kurome's voice echoed throughout the dark world, "I suppose I could show you.
"It's the least I can do before I kill you."
The world lit up and spun rapidly around Hashira, replaying the events leading up to Kurome acquiring his earrings.
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