"Breathing Style like the sun."
When Giyu Tomioka uttered those words, the air in the room seemed to freeze for a second or two.
Tanjuro Kamado paused slightly in his hand, which was holding the teacup.
He looked at the swordsman before him, whose eyes were as sharp as knives, and a strange light suddenly flashed in those originally gentle and tired eyes.
"Sun..."
Tanjuro repeated the word softly, then suddenly lowered his head.
"Cough cough... cough cough cough..."
A cough broke the silence.
Giyu frowned slightly, just about to reach out to help him.
Tanjuro waved his hand and caught his breath.
He raised his head, and a remarkably magnanimous smile bloomed on his pale, gaunt face.
"Hahaha..."
Tanjuro laughed out loud, his voice not loud, but it revealed a clear understanding of the ways of the world.
Giyu was somewhat confused by his laughter.
In Lord Water Hashira's understanding, such ancestral secret manuals are usually passed down only to men and not to women, and only to family members.
Before he came, he had already prepared several versions of his speech in his mind, ready to reason with her, appeal to her emotions, and even planned to take out all the money he had saved up over the years as tuition fees.
"Mr. Tomioka, that's not swordsmanship for fighting."
Tanjuro stopped laughing and explained gently.
"That's a blessing dance passed down through generations of the Kamado family, called 'Hinokami Kagura'."
"It's a dance performed from sunset to sunrise during the heavy snowfall at the beginning of each year to pray for peace from the fire god."
"No, it can slay demons."
Giyu stubbornly interrupted him.
"Moreover, it can slay the strongest evil spirits in the world."
Looking at Giyu's serious, expressionless face, Tanjuro remained silent for a moment.
He could read what was in this man's eyes.
That wasn't greed for power, but a pure determination to sacrifice oneself to protect something important.
"I see."
Tanjuro slowly stood up and pulled the thick coat he was wearing even tighter around himself.
"If you feel that the blessing dance can become a source of strength for you to protect others, then I'd be happy to teach it to you."
Giyu's deep blue eyes widened suddenly.
That's it?
You agreed?
They don't even charge an apprenticeship fee? They don't even put you through a test?
Having always been accustomed to teetering on the brink of death, Giyu felt as if he had punched cotton when faced with such unpredictable frankness.
"Come with me."
Giyu Tanjuro's astonishment, Tanjuro walked steadily towards the backyard outside the house.
Giyu quickly snapped out of his thoughts and strode after him.
The backyard was a wide-open snowfield, the snow piled up very thick, making a "crunch crunch" sound when you stepped on it.
Tanjuro walked to the center of the yard and casually pulled a thick wooden stick, still covered in bark, from the pile of firewood beside him.
"Mr. Tomioka, watch carefully."
Tanjuro turned around, his body slightly lowered.
At that very moment, Giyu's breathing stopped completely.
The sickly man who was panting even when walking just moments ago now exudes a completely different aura.
There was no weakness, no sickness, only a mysterious feeling of being one with heaven and earth.
"Hinokami Kagura"
Tanjuro uttered these words softly, and slowly swung the wooden stick in his hand.
Dance!
Clear Blue Sky!
The Blazing Sun Red Mirror!
One move after another was executed amidst the wind and snow.
It was just an ordinary wooden stick, and it wasn't swung very fast.
But in Giyu Tomioka's eyes, the wooden stick seemed to be burning with a golden-red flame that could purify all evil.
At that very moment.
"Buzz--"
Deep within Giyu's mind, that familiar yet mysterious buzzing sound rang out once more.
[Heaven-Defying Comprehension] -- Unlocked!
The world before Giyu's eyes suddenly slowed down dramatically.
Snowflakes, dancing in the air, hovered in mid-air.
Every movement of Tanjuro, every point of muscle exertion, the frequency of inhaling cold air into his lungs, and the trajectory of blood flow, were broken down into the most basic information flow under Giyu's dual blessing of [Transparent World] and [Heaven-Defying Comprehension].
Once!
I only watched it once!!
Those intricate and continuous twelve forms were already imprinted deep within Giyu Tomioka's soul.
"Call..."
After finishing a Kagura dance, Tanjuro leaned his wooden stick on the snow, panting heavily, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
This body, already exhausted and worn out, had reached its limit, even if it was just for a demonstration.
"Did you see clearly?" Tanjuro asked weakly.
Giyu remained silent.
He stepped forward and bowed deeply and solemnly to the thin man before him.
He bowed deeply, at a ninety-degree angle, and remained seated for a long time.
"Many thanks to Mr. Tanjuro for his guidance."
From that moment on, Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, settled permanently in Mount Kumotori.
In order to fully master this supreme Breathing Style, Giyu decided to undergo a complete period of seclusion.
He took off his signature bi-colored haori, and also his Demon Slayer Corps black uniform.
Kie Kamado enthusiastically found him a set of coarse linen clothes that Tanjuro had worn when he was young.
His clothes were dusty and covered with several neat patches.
When the imposing, cold-faced Water Hashira, dressed in this outfit, walked out of the inner room with an expressionless face.
The children of the Kamado family, who had been peeking through the door frame, were all stunned.
"Giyu -san, you look..."
Ten-year-old Tanjiro scratched his head, trying hard to find the right adjective.
He looks like an uncle who just came back from working in the fields.
Takeo next to him, curled his lip without any politeness.
"What 'uncle'? This guy's clearly a stoic lumberjack. Does he even know how to use a sword?"
Giyu remained unmoved by the children's teasing.
In his view, clothes were merely fabric for covering one's body and keeping warm; as long as they didn't affect the speed at which one could draw a sword, it didn't matter what one wore.
Since he was staying at someone else's house, Giyu certainly wouldn't eat and drink for free.
Besides his daily, unwavering Breathing Style meditation and 10,000 swings of the sword, he voluntarily took on the most strenuous physical labor in the Kamado —chopping wood and carrying water.
Thus, a jarring scene could be seen every day in the backyard of Mount Kumotori.
"Total Concentration Breathing..."
Giyu gripped a rusty old axe in both hands, a sharp glint flashing in his deep blue eyes.
He stared intently at the massive log in front of him.
"Snap!"
A single axe blow came down.
Wood chips flew everywhere.
The log was not only neatly split in two, but even the thick wooden block underneath it was split into eight pieces by this terrifying force.
"Mr. Tomioka..."
Kie Kamado came over carrying a basin of washed clothes. Looking at the scattered wooden blocks on the ground, her smile was a mix of helplessness and amusement.
"This is the fifth wooden stump I've chopped up this month."
Kie's tone was very gentle, without a hint of blame.
Having too much strength can also be a problem.
The mighty Water Hashira, who had slain countless demons, was unusually at a loss for words when faced with a gentle peasant woman.
He silently put down the axe, lowered his head, and honestly admitted his mistake like a child who had done something wrong.
"I'm very sorry, my control over muscle activation wasn't precise enough!"
"Tomorrow I'll go to the mountains and cut down an even sturdier log!"
Takeo, who was hiding behind the pile of firewood and peeking, almost had his eyes pop out of their sockets.
This guy is a monster!
If that axe had hit someone, wouldn't they have split open instantly?
But his proud and arrogant personality made him unwilling to admit that he was frightened.
Takeo bravely stepped out and craned his neck to look at Giyu.
"Hey, you expressionless old man, you're so strong, how about a hand-wrestling match with me?"
Giyu looked down at the little kid who barely reached his waist.
If it were someone else, he would definitely ignore them.
But he knew that children need guidance and to have the right values established.
"Can."
Giyu nodded solemnly.
"But if I win, you have to go and clear the snow over there."
It's a deal!
Takeo confidently stretched out his little hand.
Three seconds later.
Takeo turned red, and he used both hands together, putting in all his strength, but Giyu's arm didn't even budge.
"You lost, go shovel the snow."
Giyu announced the result without any hesitation, then turned to get a broom and handed it to Takeo.
Takeo stomped his feet in anger, but there was nothing he could do. He could only obediently go and sweep the snow, muttering to himself:
"What a joke! He can't even give way to a child. No wonder he looks like he'll never find a wife."
These words pierced Giyu's ears precisely.
Can't find a wife?
Suddenly, an incredibly beautiful face and a kiss under the moonlight, carrying the scent of Wisteria, uncontrollably appeared in Giyu's mind.
His ears inexplicably felt hot.
"Big brother, why is your face red?"
Tanjiro had somehow gotten close, and his nose, which was more sensitive than a dog's, sniffed the air.
"What a strange taste!!"
"Is Giyu- san feeling a little... happy? And a little shy right now?"
Tanjiro blinked his large, wine-red eyes, bluntly seeing through the Water Hashira's inner thoughts.
Giyu's face froze completely.
What kind of bizarre structure is that kid's nose?
"I'm not shy."
Giyu immediately put on a stern face and forced an explanation.
"This is due to the dilation of local capillaries caused by Total Concentration Breathing, which is a normal physiological phenomenon."
Tanjiro scratched his head, seemingly understanding but not quite.
"Oh, I see."
Although he said that, Tanjiro's clear eyes clearly said, "I don't believe it."
It was evening.
The family sat around the warm fireplace.
Several sweet potatoes were roasting on the stove, emitting an enticing aroma.
Giyu sat in the corner, quietly watching the family.
Tanjuro is telling Tanjiro stories about the mountains, while Kie is mending clothes.
Giyu peeled the sweet potato and took a bite.
It's so sweet!!
He raised his head, his gaze passing through the window of the wooden house, looking towards the distant Butterfly Mansion.
That silly woman is probably busy taking care of the wounded right now.
I wonder if she's been eating on time.
"Wait for me a little longer."
Giyu silently recited it in his heart.
Once I've completely mastered this Breathing Style, I'll make it my own.
When I possess the power to sever that thousand-year-old nightmare.
The flickering firelight illuminated Giyu's usually expressionless face.