The Martial Unity

('Tsk, he has too much power,') Rui tutted.

That statement was true in many ways.

Not only was guardian Tokugawa stronger than he had expected, but he also probably had a lot of power and influence within the Floating Sect.

Being the strongest guardian meant that he did have a lot of influence within the sect, second to only the three Martial Seniors.

Furthermore, the Floating Sect was in a state of absolute war, people like Tokugawa Ieyasu were absolute treasures whose value was second only to, again, the Martial Seniors of the sect.

That was why Rui knew that he could probably get away with killing Kane if he wanted to. The Floating Sect was not going to punish the only individual Martial Squire that was a threat to Martial Seniors without their Martial Heart during the war.

This was the kind of influence he gained from being that strong.

And strong he was, Rui had to admit. The man was able to outpace someone as powerful as Kane in maneuvering while clearly not going all out even when it came to maneuvering. If he was even remotely as powerful when it came to offense and defense as he was with maneuvering, then his true full power was far beyond any Martial Squire that Rui had ever seen. The man's power was era-defining.

Regardless, it wasn't enough to deter Rui. He immediately got to the edge of the arena.

If he saw anything that indicated that the man was going to move in to kill Kane, he absolutely would intervene without any doubt. There was no way that he was going to just stand by and watch his best friend die, regardless of what the rules were.

It appeared that Kane was unwilling to resign since it was clear that guardian Tokugawa Ieyasu was clearly not done with whatever it was that he wanted from Kane. If Kane resigned, it was unlikely that he would give up so easily. He would most likely challenge Kane again, and they would be back to square one.

He nodded in approval when Kane deactivated Fulminata.

He could not use Fulminata and Void Step simultaneously, unfortunately. The reason for that was that the Fulminata technique ran on reflexes while the Void Step technique required conscious thought.

Kane immediately leaped into action, disappearing into thin air.

had

them were able to sense Kane, barring

CLASP!

maneuvering as he didn't let go of his

POW!

smashed Kane away without inflicting

grimaced as he retreated. Yet, rather than simply returning to the normal Void Step stance, he paused, crouching as he took

what he was

using the

approved of the choice. The Fulminata technique allowed him to control the speed of Godspeed to a far greater degree than he could without it. However, it was far slower

already used it extensively against Tokugawa, and it most certainly wasn't

enough to even possibly have a shot against

one more technique. The technique that had given him enough individuality to allow him to become a

a technique that he had worked hard on, yet one that wasn't used nearly as ubiquitously due

the most powerful technique in

He exhaled deeply, going all out as he activated

profound sense of pressure exuded from him, stirring even

whisper escaped

"Voidspeed."

He disappeared.

where he could combine the power of Void Step and Godspeed for just the briefest of moments

the senses of everyone around him, while also

Yet…

THWACK!

…It wasn't enough.

appeared ten meters behind Ieyasu, motionless for