Twin Shadows Pursue the Blade, Breathing Blooms!

The mornings at Mount Sagiri are always filled with the damp scent of grass and trees, and a thin mist shrouds the training ground like a veil.

At the edge of the field, a row of straight wooden knife racks were covered with fine morning dew, shimmering with silvery light in the dim light.

Giyu Tomioka stood in the center of that hazy area.

He stood there casually, his hand hanging loosely at his side, holding a wooden knife. His posture was as relaxed as a loafer yawning in his backyard. But his whole being was like a bottomless well, seemingly calm, yet concealing a chilling depth.

"Ta-da~"

Footsteps sounded softly beside me.

Shinobu Kocho turned her head and saw that her older sister, Kanae Kocho, had changed into the light pink training uniform newly issued by the Demon Slayer Corps Logistics Department. She was holding a wooden sword tightly in both hands, level with her chest, her expression as solemn as ever.

Her long, jet-black hair was neatly tied into a high ponytail with a blue hair tie, with only a few stray strands hanging down in front of her forehead, swaying gently with her steady breathing.

Seeing my sister's serious expression, I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

My sister is great in every way, except sometimes she takes things too seriously, like she's attending some important ceremony.

As for herself, her lively spirit is something that can't be hidden.

With a flick of his wrist, the wooden sword spun beautifully in Shinobu's palm, creating a whirlwind of mist that was quite amusing.

She grinned, her bright eyes, the same color as her deep purple training uniform, fixed on Giyu, a burning passion simmering within her.

"We absolutely cannot lose this time!! Last time, my sister and I teamed up, and we couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes—it was an utter disgrace!!"

"Mr. Giyu!"

She couldn't help but speak first, her clear voice piercing through the thin mist.

"Today, my sister and I will definitely not give up so easily like last time!!"

"Tolerate."

Kanae quickly and softly reminded her, her fair fingers gently tugging at her sister's sleeve, "Be polite to Mr. Giyu, don't be impatient."

Ren stuck his tongue out at her and muttered softly, "Okay, sis."

But in his heart he was thinking, how can I deal with someone as strong as a monster without striking first?

Giyu simply nodded slightly, his icy blue eyes calmly sweeping over the two sisters, his tone revealing no emotion:

"Don't hold back, just attack with all your might."

That's it!!

The moment the words left his mouth, Shinobu shot off like a lit firecracker!

She didn't bother with complicated footwork; she just charged straight ahead, using the purest, most direct methods. Speed was her weapon!

"Ha!!"

With a loud shout, she suddenly raised the wooden sword high above her head, assuming a powerful and heavy chopping stance.

But just as the blade was about to fall, his wrist twisted sharply, and the fierce vertical slash instantly turned into a tricky horizontal sweep. The blade, accompanied by a whistling sound, went straight for Giyu's side!

Surely I'll run into him now!!

However, the next second, Ren's pupils suddenly contracted.

Giyu didn't even turn around; he just slid his left foot back a tiny bit, a movement so fast it was almost invisible.

With just that tiny bit of force, her determined strike grazed the hem of his training uniform!

The feeling was like pushing a door with all your might, only to have it open by itself—like punching air, leaving you feeling utterly frustrated and wanting to vomit blood! o(≧口≦)o

Undeterred, she used the momentum of her forward charge to push off the ground with her toes, launching herself half a foot into the air. The second knife followed immediately!

This time, Giyu finally raised his hand. He gently turned the wooden sword he had been holding loosely, his wrist lowered, and the blade stood upright, blocking Shinobu's slashing path perfectly.

"Clang!"

A dull thud echoed.

A gentle yet incredibly solid force emanated from the blade; though the force felt light, it precisely neutralized ninety percent of her impact.

Shinobu's wooden sword slid uncontrollably, causing him to stagger forward and stumble back several steps before regaining his balance, his wrist going numb.

Just as her sister was exhausted, Kanae moved.

A pale pink figure appeared silently to Giyu's right, like a ghost.

Her footwork wasn't as expansive and sweeping as Shinobu's; instead, it was as smooth and fluid as flowing water, and her timing was simply divine.

"Now!!"

Kanae's eyes narrowed.

This strike was aimed precisely at the tiny opening in Giyu's body after he had just parried Shinobu's attack. In her mind, this was a sure hit.

But Giyu seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He barely even turned around, simply swinging the wooden sword casually to his side and behind him.

"Despair."

A crisp, light sound.

Kanae felt a subtle force coming from the tip of her opponent's knife, as if her own wooden sword had been violently thrown back by an invisible force. She couldn't help but take several steps back before she could barely regain her footing.

She retreated to her sister's side, her chest heaving, and her eyes, as she looked at Giyu, were filled with solemnity and undisguised admiration.

Was he really distracted?

Kanae was shocked. "No, this wasn't a distraction; from the very beginning, my attack was exactly what he expected."

This is the terrifying gap in their levels of understanding.

"Oh my, Mr. Giyu is indeed ridiculously powerful."

Kanae's tone was full of admiration, but she showed no sign of discouragement.

"Much better than last time!!"

Ren clenched his numb wrist, pouting defiantly, "Last time we attacked together, he didn't even lift a finger! This time at least we forced him to draw his knife!!"

This is more like him trying to cheer himself up.

Giyu remained standing in the same spot, his wooden sword hanging back at his side, as if the exchange just now was no different from brushing a fallen leaf off his shoulder.

"Continue," he uttered.

Kanae took a deep breath and exchanged a glance with her sister. This time, they couldn't fight alone.

She stood about ten meters directly in front of Giyu, holding the knife in both hands, the tip of the blade locked onto him, like a fully drawn bow, creating an opportunity for her sister.

On the training ground, the purple figure, like a raccoon stalking its prey, began to move rapidly around Giyu. Its light steps, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, and its constantly changing rhythm were an attempt to confuse Giyu's judgment.

A hint of interest finally appeared in Giyu's icy blue eyes.

"Shinobu's explosive power and speed have improved again, and Kanae's positioning and breathing are more stable."

He understood immediately, "They certainly didn't waste this month."

His steps began to shift slightly with Shinobu's movements, always keeping his face directly towards her, but out of the corner of his eye, he kept a close eye on Kanae stood there like a rock, ready to pounce.

Just as his body turned, there was an extremely brief pause, then he suddenly accelerated!!

He moved like a purple lightning bolt, instantly appearing to his left side, his wooden sword darting out like a venomous snake, aiming straight for his vital ribs!

"Elder sister!!"

The moment he set off, Shinobu shouted out!

"Too hasty."

A thought flashed through Giyu's mind.

Almost at the same moment, Kanae moved!! She stepped forward, her figure as fluid as flowing water, the wooden sword in her hand drawing a beautiful arc, sweeping across Giyu's other side!

... a perfect pincer attack.

"... And you, you were a step too slow."

A sudden glint appeared in Giyu's icy blue eyes, like a silver fish swimming swiftly beneath the frozen surface of a lake.

Instead of parrying either attack, he simultaneously swung his sword to both sides with incredible speed the instant the two attacks reached him.

Clang! Clang!

The two crisp sounds almost merged into one.

He struck the sides of the sisters' wooden swords with precision, disrupting their trajectory with minimal force and causing their attacks to deflect naturally.

"The timing was off by half a breath."

He spoke, his voice calm as if stating a fact, "Shinobu, you were too hasty; Kanae, you were a beat too slow."

Seeing Shinobu's incredulous expression as she tried to refute him, Giyu calmly interrupted her:

"Synchronization is the ideal state. In actual combat, true synchronization stems from anticipation, not reaction. You see an opening, shout out, and then thrust. Kanae only kept up with the rhythm because she heard your voice and saw your movements."

"Even a moment's delay is a fatal flaw to me."

His words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the flames in Ren's heart.

Kanae lowered her head, a thoughtful expression on her beautiful face. She quickly realized her mistake and sincerely admitted that it was her fault.

The two sisters retreated to opposite ends of the training ground, creating some distance between them. This time, they exchanged a glance, both seeing the determination in each other's eyes.

The two men simultaneously raised their knives, the tips pointing directly at Giyu in the center. Their bodies sank slightly, and their chests expanded dramatically.

A faint blue halo, like a thin veil of condensed water vapor, enveloped their blades... This was proof that they had initially mastered the Breathing Style!!

Ren shot out like an arrow released from a bow, his wooden sword drawing a powerful crescent arc!

Almost at the same millisecond, Kanae moved too! Her movements were both soft and strong, her footwork as elegant as a butterfly among flowers, and the arc drawn by her wooden sword was even more rounded!

Two blue arcs of light, imbued with the power of Breathing Style, swept fiercely towards Giyu from the left and right sides, like a pair of giant pincers!

This time, Giyu didn't move.

He stood quietly, and just as the two arcs of light were about to engulf him, he slowly extended the wooden sword in his hand forward. Not fast, one could even say rather slow.

His blade tip struck with perfect precision at the point where the two arcs were about to intersect.

In that instant, Shinobu and Kanae simultaneously felt that the immense force they had combined, seemingly capable of severing everything, had not crashed into a wall, but into a bottomless vortex.

All the force was instantly shattered and disintegrated upon contact with the tip of his blade.

"Puff--"

With a soft sound, the two pale blue arcs of light vanished instantly.

The sisters' wooden swords stopped abruptly half a foot in front of Giyu, unable to advance any further.

"The progress is obvious."

Giyu slowly sheathed his sword and finally nodded. "Three thousand swings this past month, I haven't slacked off."

His voice remained calm, but this time, both sisters detected a hint of approval in it.

"Mr. Giyu!"

Shinobu was the first to regain her senses, her purple eyes shining with an astonishing light.

"So how do we compare to you back then?! When was the first time you used Breathing Style?"

This question startled Giyu, a flicker of confusion crossing his icy blue eyes, before he spoke in a low voice:

"At thirteen, I participated in the Final Selection at Mount Fujikasane. It was only on the verge of life and death that I realized this."

"Ara~"

Ren's eyes shone even brighter.

"So are we... better than you were back then?"

He looked into Shinobu's bright eyes, then glanced at Kanae smiling beside him, and nodded again.

"Much better than me."

Kanae smiled too, a gentle smile spreading across her lips, and said sincerely:

"Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Giyu."