Serpent Breathing is a Breathing Style that mimics serpents/snakes, specifically their slithering motions and fast striking attacks, and replicates it with the user's movements, techniques and abilities. Most, if not all, known techniques and forms focuses on twisting and bending the sword like how a serpent slithers. The attacks are not direct and constantly meander which can ultimately strike anywhere, which can fool opponents and catch them off guard. Users of Serpent Breathing also visualize themselves seemingly manifesting white serpents that accompany them when unleashing its techniques.
Since this technique is currently known to only be utilized by Obanai Iguro, presumably its creator, it can only be used with a twisted blade that is similar in appearance to an Indonesian Kris Dagger or an old-Japanese Dakōken (蛇行剣,Dakōken?), with the sword's shape modeled into the bodily structure of a snake.
Serpent Breathing has 5 known techniques and forms at minimum, of which all were demonstrated.
First Form: Winding Serpent Slash (壱ノ型委蛇斬り,Ichi no kata: Idagiri?)[1] - The user releases a singular frontal horizontal slash aimed at their target in a winding motion.
Second Form: Venom Fangs of the Narrow Head (弐ノ型狭頭の毒牙,Ni no kata: Kyōzu no Dokuga?)[2] - The user dashes behind their opponent at blinding speed and aims to swiftly slice off their head from behind.
Third Form: Coil Choke (参ノ型塒締め,San no kata: Toguro Jime?)[3] - The user circles around their opponent while using their sword to slice them from all directions.
Fourth Form: Twin-Headed Reptile (肆ノ型頸蛇双生,Shi no kata: Keija Sōsei?)[4] - The user leaps forward and performs a horizontal slash that slices through the target.
Fifth Form: Slithering Serpent (伍ノ型蜿蜿長蛇,Go no kata: En'en Chōda?)[5] - The user charges forth in a twisting and winding motion, curving their sword in multiple directions to strike multiple targets at once. This technique is capable of decapitating multiple enemies at once.
Game Exclusive Techniques[]
Fifth Form: Slithering Serpent, Carnage (伍ノ型蜿蜿長蛇・破,Go no kata: En'en Chōda - Ha?)[6] - The user knocks their opponent back using their sword and charges at them while executing a variant of Slithering Serpent, which is so powerful that it takes the form of a snake predating on the opponent, as the user keeps relentlessly slashing them while “inside” the snake. The snake then coils around into a spiral, with the user exiting through “the head” as the opponent is constricted in its “coils” before falling to the ground.
Leaping Viperstrike (跳躍斬り,Chōyaku Giri?)[6] - The user leaps in the air and attacks the opponent in a twisting and winding slash, and then spirals down on their opponent.
Serpentine Slash (蛇行斬り,Dakō Giri?)[6] - The user delivers several jagged and twisted slashes, before finishing with a backhand slash of equal distortion.
United Front: Wind Serpent (風蛇一体,Fūja Ittai?)[6] - A collaboration between a Wind Breathing user and a Serpent Breathing user. The Serpent Breathing user rushes towards their opponent and delivers several bending and winding cuts, before the Wind Breathing user rushes in cyclone-like motion. After attacking once, the Wind Breather turns around and creates an attack remarkably similar to Rising Dust Storm. As the opponent is spinning around the tornado-like attack, the Serpent Breather then enters and slashes them with such a powerful winding momentum that takes the form of a snake predating upon them. As the Serpent Breather pushes their opponent downwards, the Wind Breather joins in to double the force in a violent tornado combining both their Breathing Styles.
Obanai, having always been partially blind in his right eye, performed Serpent Breathing with the help of his snake Kaburamaru. Kaburamaru possesses a unique ability which allows him to read and predict a target's attacks and then relay that information to Obanai. However, it is unknown whether Serpent Breathing is performable without Kaburamaru's assistance.
Judging by his unique condition, he is presumably the creator of Serpent Breathing, but it has not been explicitly stated.
Fourth Form: Twin-Headed Reptile is visualized as a polycephalic snake, which is based on a real-life genetic phenomena where a snake is born with two heads.
Whenever the Serpent Breathing user performs their techniques, they visualize themselves manifesting white serpent that are tinted purple hue, accompanying the users.
Demons' opinion on being slayed by Serpent Breathing and its wielder is as follows:[7]
"It was sorta harsh" - Demon A
"And had an odd cross-section." - Demon B
"Yeah, the snaky blade is painful. And the things he says! Ouch!" - Demon C
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