Chapter 45: First Form - Modified, Haru’s Adaptation

"You think your attacks can harm me now? Hah! Your fate will be the same as all of Sakonji Urokodaki's past disciples—you'll be nothing but nourishment to make me stronger!" The Hand Demon sneered, fully regaining its arrogance after realizing it no longer feared the suppression of the Demon Slayer sword.

Its taunting laughter echoed through the forest, grating on Haru's nerves. He finally snapped, shouting coldly, "Shut the hell up! Don't think this is the extent of my strength! If I really wanted to kill you, you wouldn't even have the chance to speak! So cut that damn laughing already!"

What irritated Haru wasn't just the demon's arrogance—it was its laugh. It was unbearably unpleasant, something he simply could not tolerate.

His sharp and audacious words caught the Hand Demon off guard. In all its years on Mount Fujikasane, it had never encountered someone as brazen as Haru.

Not even the strongest disciple of Sakonji Urokodaki—the boy who had nearly killed it—had displayed such overwhelming arrogance.

"Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!"

The Hand Demon, enraged beyond reason, launched an even more frenzied assault, its grotesque arms attacking in rapid succession.

This time, Haru got serious. His aura shifted, becoming heavy and focused. Instead of evading, he charged straight into the onslaught.

"Water Breathing, First Form - Modified: Water Surface Slash, Consecutive Strikes!"

When he was just half a meter away from the attacking arms, Haru abruptly halted. In that single instant, he unleashed dozens of slashes with blinding speed.

This modified version of the First Form was an adaptation Haru had developed himself. Instead of a single decisive strike, this technique focused on rapid, consecutive slashes.

Compared to the original Water Surface Slash, this modified version drastically increased the number of strikes, though at the cost of reduced individual power.

The original First Form was designed for a single fatal blow, but its limitation was that it couldn't immediately follow up with a second strike.

Although Water Breathing's Fourth Form, Striking Tide, also had multi-target potential, it lacked the sheer speed and volume of attacks that Haru's modification could unleash.

Striking Tide prioritized killing enemies efficiently, with even a master only able to hit up to five targets simultaneously.

But against an enemy like the Hand Demon—whose attacks came in overwhelming waves—Striking Tide simply wasn't enough.

Water Surface Slash - Consecutive Strikes, however, focused on control and defense. A master could unleash dozens of slashes in mere moments, making it ideal for countering dense attacks.

And while its primary use was to intercept incoming strikes, when used against a single enemy, the terrifying speed of its blade work could still be lethal.

In just a few seconds, Haru had already executed nearly forty slashes.

However, such an intense technique came at a cost. His stamina was draining rapidly, and his arms were under immense strain. If the burden increased any further, his arms would be rendered useless.

"Tanjiro… these three seconds… can you seize them?" Shiroi Haru muttered to himself.

If Tanjiro failed to act now, he would never get another chance. Haru couldn't perform this technique a second time in succession.