Morning Training: Tanjiro vs. Shinobu Kocho!

Early the next morning, the golden sunrise bathed the spacious courtyard of the Butterfly Mansion.

Giyu Tomioka yawned widely and slowly walked out of his room.

Water Hashira Lord lingered in bed for a while, which was unusual for him, so his current appearance was somewhat sloppy.

The black hair that usually lay flat against her cheeks had a few stubborn tufts sticking up, perhaps due to her sleeping position, forming an irregular "bird's nest" on top of her head.

If the Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa, saw him like this, he would definitely point at him and laugh for three days and three nights.

But Giyu didn't care at all.

He had only one thing on his mind right now: he was hungry and wanted to have a big breakfast with Kanae.

However, when he walked into the courtyard corridor while yawning, the scene before him caused his already somewhat dazed mind to freeze for a couple of seconds.

"Haa--!"

A figure dressed in a hospital gown leaped high into the air in the center of the courtyard.

Tanjiro Kamado gripped a training wooden sword in both hands, veins bulging on his forehead, sweat pouring down his wine-red hair.

The wooden sword tore through the air, emitting a shrill whistle that gave the illusion of a flashing blade!

"Too slow, Tanjiro."

A voice, imbued with a full-fledged sarcasm yet irresistibly sweet, gently drifted into Tanjiro's ear.

Standing directly in front of Tanjiro, Shinobu Kocho's figure resembled a real purple butterfly.

Today she was wearing a fitted, smart purple training outfit, and she was also holding a wooden sword in her hand.

Faced with Tanjiro's unstoppable downward slash,

She simply drew a semicircle lightly on the stone slab with her toes, and then slid her upper body to the side with incredible flexibility.

"Bang!"

Tanjiro's wooden sword struck the air, and due to the excessive force, his body involuntarily staggered forward.

"You've given yourself away, Kamado- kun!"

With an incredible twist of his wrist, Ren's wooden sword slashed upwards from a tricky angle.

"Smack!"

The spine of the wooden sword struck Tanjiro's hand holding the sword with perfect precision.

"Hiss!"

Tanjiro gasped, feeling a sudden numbness in half of his arm, and nearly dropped the wooden sword from his hand.

But he immediately gritted his teeth, endured the soreness and numbness, and used the momentum to perform a low roll, creating distance before launching himself into the air again.

"It's not over yet! Let's do it again!"

Tanjiro's eyes burned with a fervent fighting spirit. He steadied his wooden sword with both hands, shifted his footwork, and charged forward again, becoming a blur.

This time, instead of making sweeping, sweeping slashes, he wielded the wooden sword into a dense, impenetrable net of blades.

"Smack! Smack! Bang bang!"

Although the two used wooden swords in their sparring, they produced a dazzling display of swordplay!

Tanjiro's attacks were like a storm, each strike delivered with all his might.

Shinobu Kocho, however, strolled leisurely through the net of flashing swords with ease.

This is a one-sided farce!

Giyu stood with his hands in his sleeves, watching this scene expressionlessly.

What are they doing?

Why are they playing this extremely physically demanding combat game in the yard so early in the morning instead of having breakfast in the dining room?

Are you surprised?

A refreshing floral fragrance and a warm body temperature silently touched Giyu's arm.

Kanae Kocho had somehow appeared beside him.

She was wearing a light pink casual dress, holding a cup of steaming tea in her hand, and a serene smile graced her beautiful face.

"Your hair... smack... haha..."

Kanae tilted her head slightly and saw the few stubborn, messy strands of hair sticking up on Giyu's head. She was stunned for a moment, and then couldn't help but laugh.

She tiptoed, stretched out her two fair and soft hands, and gently combed through his messy black hair.

"Mr. Giyu looks so cute right now, I just want to pinch his cheeks."

Her fingertips ran through Giyu's black hair, and the delicate, warm touch instantly relaxed Giyu's previously stiff body.

He didn't flinch, letting the older sister, whose eyes were always on him, play with him from above, and simply turned his gaze back to the "sparring" taking place in the courtyard.

What are they doing?

"Although Tanjiro's cells have returned to human order, his organs and muscle groups have just undergone two extreme mutations and reorganizations. What he needs most now is rest!!"

"... This kind of high-intensity exercise will only increase the burden on your bones."

Kanae smoothed the last strand of Giyu's hair, then casually clasped her hands together and leaned comfortably on Giyu's arm.

"This isn't Shinobu's fault! It's all because of what you said last night!"

Kanae in the courtyard, whose strength had once again been neutralized by Shinobu's wooden sword, and who was slammed hard onto the Tanjiro slab. Her tone was tinged with helplessness and heartache.

"He's so eager to become stronger!!"

He believed that once he possessed absolute power, he would no longer be controlled by any evil force and would be able to truly protect everyone!

"So, before dawn, he ran into the yard alone and started wildly swinging his sword in the air."

Kanae explained softly,

"Shinobu happened to get up early to go to the Medicine Room and saw his reckless training methods; she simply couldn't bear to watch."

"Although Shinobu spends most of her time in the Medicine Room, she's actually a girl who really loves holding a knife!"

"Since Tanjiro wants to get stronger, Shinobu will simply go and train with him herself!!"

"... Moreover, this child is a special patient who requires special attention."

Kanae blinked her watery pink eyes, a hint of professionalism in her gaze.

"For Tanjiro, who has just regained his human body, a simple blood draw is insufficient to accurately assess his current muscle strength and nerve reaction speed!!"

"Shinobu is personally giving him a comprehensive physical stress test through high-intensity real combat."

I see.

Giyu nodded silently to himself, expressing his strong approval of Shinobu Kocho's "physical examination" method.

"However, Tanjiro's resilience and comprehension are truly astonishing."

Kanae watched the boy fall down and get up again and again in the yard, and sincerely admired him.

"Although he can't even touch Shinobu's clothes right now, every time he's knocked down, the angle and force of his sword swing are being corrected at a visible speed!!"

"... In time, he will definitely become a very outstanding swordsman in the Demon Slayer Corps."

At this point, a sly glint suddenly flashed in Kanae's eyes.

She tilted her head slightly, leaned close to Giyu's ear, and spoke in an ambiguous tone that only the two of them could hear.

"Mr. Giyu, how about we make a bet?"

"Bet?"

Giyu turned his head and looked at her with some confusion.

"Yes."

Kanae smiled and pointed at the two people in the yard, "Let's bet on who will win this duel."

"If I win, you have to put on a suit today, accompany me to town for the whole day, carry my bags, and absolutely not show that cold, expressionless face."

Kanae's fingers gently traced circles on Giyu's arm.

"What if I win?"

Giyu asked the crucial question very pragmatically.

Kanae leaned even closer, almost touching his cheek, and lowered her voice, her breath sweet as orchids.

"If you win, I'll grant you one request. Anything you want..."

"Shinobu will win!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Giyu gave his answer directly.

"Wow, you answered way too fast!"

Kanae pouted coquettishly, looking somewhat dissatisfied.

"Tanjiro has mastered the Origin Breathing Style, don't you have even a tiny bit of hope for him?"

"This isn't a matter of expectation; it's an inevitable result of the laws of physics."

Giyu put his hands back into his sleeves, his deep blue eyes scrutinizing the battle situation in the courtyard with an extremely professional tactical eye.

"Tanjiro's resilience is indeed commendable, but his current foundation is far too shallow."

Although he could subconsciously manage to recreate the breathing rhythm of Hinokami Kagura, his control over his bodily functions was still at a very basic level!

"... Every time he swings his sword, he's wasting energy!!"

Giyu looked at Tanjiro's chest, which was heaving violently from his heavy breathing.

"He has plenty of explosive power, but severely lacks endurance. In such high-intensity offensive and defensive battles, he can't even keep his breathing steady."

"While Shinobu may lack pure muscle strength, her speed and agility are truly at the Pillar level!!"

"In front of her, Tanjiro's powerful, sweeping slashes couldn't even touch a single hair on Shinobu's head."

"Unless."

Giyu's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Unless he can cross that most difficult threshold and learn to integrate all Breathing Style into every single moment of his daily life!!"

"Only by reaching the level of Sun Breathing in its normal state, allowing his body to fully adapt to that terrifying temperature and oxygen consumption, can he truly possess the normal combat power to rival a Pillar-level opponent!!"

"... Otherwise, his current fighting style is just draining his life force."

The battle in the courtyard finally reached its climax.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

Tanjiro gripped the hilt of his wooden sword with both hands, panting heavily.

His legs had begun to tremble uncontrollably, and his hospital gown was completely soaked with sweat.

From the beginning until now, he has swung his sword more than a hundred times, but he hasn't even grazed Shinobu Kocho's clothes.

Instead, his head, shoulders, and back were struck no less than thirty times by the ninja with a wooden sword.

"I can't take it anymore, Tanjiro."

Shinobu Kocho stood ten meters away from him, her breathing perfectly steady.

She held the wooden knife in one hand, her purple eyes holding a hint of mockery and ease.

"If this is your limit, proving yourself at the Hashira Meeting is just wishful thinking. It seems today's pressure test has to end here."

No! It's not over yet!

Tanjiro suddenly raised his head, and an unprecedented determination erupted in his wine-red eyes.

I absolutely cannot fall here!!

I must become stronger!!

Stronger than anyone else!!

Tanjiro clenched his teeth tightly, and even tasted the sweet, metallic flavor of blood in his mouth.

"Total Concentration--!"

He forcefully compressed all the surrounding air into his lungs in a violent manner!

This procedure is very dangerous. If the blood vessels in his lungs cannot withstand the pressure, he might even vomit blood and faint on the spot.

But at this moment, he couldn't care less about anything else.

With the high-intensity injection of oxygen, the dark red scar on Tanjiro's forehead began to faintly emit a strange red glow.

His muscles swelled up in that instant, and an intensely hot aura suddenly erupted from his body.

The smile on Shinobu Kocho's face finally vanished as she stood at a distance.

Her purple eyes suddenly narrowed.

In that instant, she actually felt a terrifying sense of pressure emanating from the twelve-year-old boy in front of her, a pressure that was so intense it was almost palpable and approaching the threshold of the Pillar level!

"Hinokami Kagura-- "

Tanjiro slammed his feet down on the stone slab.

The enormous reaction force caused several fine cracks to appear on the stone slab beneath his feet.

He transformed into a blur carrying an astonishing heatwave, hurtling towards Shinobu Kocho at a terrifying speed several times faster than before!

" --Dance!!"

Tanjiro swung his wooden sword in mid-air, bringing it down with an overwhelming aura that seemed to cleave everything in its path in two!

If this attack were delivered with a real Nichirin Blade, it would be enough to instantly kill a Lower Rank demon!

Before the blade even arrived, a scorching gale swept over her, causing Shinobu Kocho's short purple hair to fly wildly.

The shrill sound of the wooden sword tearing through the air had a surprisingly powerful effect, like the simultaneous clang of swords!

"Good timing!"

However, faced with this unstoppable and explosive attack, Shinobu Kocho did not choose to take it head-on.

As a swordswoman known for her lightness and agility, her fighting style has never relied on brute force.

Ren's toes deftly drew a semicircle on the ground.

"Insect Breathing, Butterfly Dance, Teasing!"

Her body seemed to suddenly lose its weight, and she was like a purple butterfly dancing in a raging wind.

With an incredibly flexible angle, she glided half a body length to the right, following the airflow from Tanjiro's slashing blade.

Tanjiro's wooden sword whistled down, barely grazing Shinobu's eyelashes, and the scorching wind even severed a stray lock of hair at her temple!

That was so close!!

"Boom!"

Tanjiro's wooden sword slammed down with tremendous force onto the ground where Shinobu had just been standing.

The powerful blast wave sent ripples through the surrounding air.

One shot missed!

Tanjiro's pupils suddenly contracted.

Because of the forceful compression of his lungs and the excessive use of muscle strength, his body stiffened fatally after he swung the knife!

Shinobu Kocho landed steadily to Tanjiro's side and slightly behind.

A thin layer of sweat appeared on her forehead; clearly, Tanjiro's attack had made her feel truly threatened.

But she didn't even catch her breath.

She turned around and looked at Tanjiro, who remained frozen in his slashing stance.

Shinobu's purple eyes curved into a beautiful smile once more. She raised the wooden sword in her hand and gently tapped Tanjiro's head one last time with the back of the blade.

"Bang!"

Accompanied by this soft sound.

The intense heat that Tanjiro had forcibly summoned within him instantly deflated like a punctured balloon.

A burning pain shot through my lungs, and the muscles in my limbs completely gave out due to severe exhaustion.

"I'm so hungry..."

Tanjiro let out a weak groan.

He didn't even have the strength to turn his head; the wooden sword slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

Immediately afterwards, this once high-spirited young man, like a salted fish without dreams, collapsed straight forward.

"Thump."

Tanjiro lay sprawled on the cold stone slab, unable to move even a finger.

Shinobu Kocho slung the wooden sword over her shoulder and walked over to Tanjiro, who was lounging around like a slacker.

She looked down at him, and that sweet but deadly smile reappeared on her delicate, doll-like face.

"His explosive power is truly astonishing; he almost scared me!"

He spoke with a forced smile.

"However, a powerful attack that can't be landed is meaningless."

"You flatter me, Tanjiro!"