The Sun Breathing's First Use of Condensation

This smile made Roy feel both familiar and strange.

In the Zoldyck household, Roy had never once seen Silva smile.

It was as if "smiling" was something that simply shouldn't appear on the face of a cold-blooded, ruthless assassin.

Even a "grin" or a "sinister smirk" was something Roy had never witnessed on Silva's face.

Sometimes, he even wondered if Illumi's frequent deadpan expression was a result of being influenced by the man.

After all, the elders in the family had said more than once—

"An assassin must never let emotions dictate their judgment."

"Whether it is joy, anger, resentment, or sorrow, one must remain 'expressionless.' Only by achieving absolute calm can one better complete a mission and avoid exposing oneself to danger."

Perhaps it was because they saw that Roy could not achieve this that Silva and Zeno further concluded his talent as an assassin was limited.

Admittedly, Silva and Zeno's judgment was accurate. Compared to being an assassin, Roy firmly believed that he should first be a living, breathing "person," and only then a "professional." He refused to put the cart before the horse, extinguishing his emotions to become a machine that only knew how to kill. This was also the reason he had always disliked Illumi.

It was precisely because Illumi was too "formulaic"...

The family's conditioning had already erased the joy he should have possessed as a child. He should have been like Nezuko, Takeo, and Shigeru before him, pouncing on him, chattering away to share their happiness, voice their grievances, or tattle on others.

Instead, he spent his days wearing a lifeless, dead-fish face, performing dull, repetitive training like a machine.

A flurry of thoughts flashed through his mind... Roy was dazed for a moment before the little one, Kamado Shigeru, hugged his thigh.

He tilted his little head, looking up at him with eager eyes, and said in a milky voice, "Big Brother~ Candy~"

Roy smiled, quickly fished a small cloth bag from his robes, and tossed him a piece... That set off a frenzy...

Nezuko wanted one, and Takeo wanted one too... Roy was heavily surrounded, busy as could be...

He patted Nezuko's little head one moment, tapped Takeo's back the next, and then urged Shigeru not to eat too fast lest he choke. His silhouette, illuminated by the oil lamp, fell into the eyes of Tanjiro behind him, finally allowing him to find a trace of that familiar feeling.

That's right, this was the Eiichiro he was familiar with. As for the one in the woods just now... that was a demon who had devoured a soul!

"Big Brother, I want one too..."

Tanjiro rubbed his face and joined in with a smile. He was at least sensible enough to help Roy take off the basket on his back, which relieved quite a bit of pressure from Roy.

Roy nodded at him, and after satisfying the appetites of the little ones, he walked toward Tanjuro.

"For me?" Tanjuro looked at the candy Roy held out in his palm, stunned. Once he realized what was happening, his eyes grew warm... He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten candy; the memory was so distant that he could only vaguely recall it being when his father—Tanjiro's grandfather—was still alive...

He hadn't expected that time would fly so fast... Looking back now, his child was already sensible enough to bring him candy...

Tanjuro looked at Roy gently and shook his head: "Father doesn't like candy, you eat it."

Roy didn't pull his hand back, insisting: "Father has some, Grandma has some, Mother has some, everyone has some."

Seeing this, Tanjuro knew he couldn't win against the child, so he simply smiled, unwrapped the candy, and popped it into his mouth. While savoring it, he signaled for Roy to help him put on the ceremonial robes for the Fire God ritual.

Performing the dance for the Fire God to pray for peace was a tradition passed down through generations of the Kamado family.

Others might not know the significance of this Fire God Dance or the earrings with the sun and mountain patterns on Tanjuro's ears, but Roy, having read the original work, knew very well... those were the belongings of Tsugikuni Yoriichi—

The Sun Breathing and the Sun Earrings he wore during his lifetime!

"Ever since the time of our ancestor Sumiyoshi Kamado, our family has required the eldest son to learn the 'Hinokami Kagura,' and now..."

"It is your turn, Eiichiro."

The ceremonial robes were quickly donned with Roy's help. The moment the last rope was tied, the usually gentle Tanjuro stood up, and his aura shifted entirely...

The red and white robes swayed in the wind, and the large "Flame" character on his mask seemed to come to life...

He beckoned to Roy: "Come."

While Roy couldn't hide his excitement, he realized that the opportunity to change his constitution had arrived!

The Hinokami Kagura is the Sun Breathing! The Sun Breathing is the powerful breathing technique created by Tsugikuni Yoriichi through contemplating the sun, capable of absorbing solar energy to alter one's own constitution. It is also the origin of all breathing styles, such as "Moon Breathing," "Stone Breathing," "Wind Breathing," and "Water Breathing."

The philosophy it adopts can be summarized in one sentence—sunlight is the source of all growth, and naturally, it became the hotbed for nurturing the various breathing styles.

Of course, being strong meant it was difficult to learn.

Years ago, after Tsugikuni Yoriichi created the Sun Breathing, he did not choose to keep it to himself but promoted it within the Demon Slayer Corps, including to his own older brother, the current Upper Rank One, Kokushibo.

But unfortunately, neither Kokushibo nor the other swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps could withstand the weight of the sun to master the Sun Breathing.

So much so that from the Sengoku period until now, only Tanjiro had truly mastered it and applied it in actual combat, which shows just how immense the difficulty was.

Roy pulled Tanjiro: "You come too."

Before Tanjiro could recover from his daze, Roy had already stepped into the courtyard, arrived beside Tanjuro, and unleashed [Gyo]!

Unlike the four major techniques of "Nen"—[Ten], [Zetsu], [Ren], and [Hatsu]...

[Gyo] was merely a simple application of Nen, requiring only that one focus their aura into their eyes.

With Roy's own diligent guidance from his family and the added blessing of the Zoldyck bloodline, mastering it was a breeze...

His eyes were coated with a layer of milky-white energy, and he stared unblinkingly at Tanjuro's movements.

With the help of the aura flowing through his body, it was like analyzing an animation, imprinting the Hinokami Kagura into his mind frame by frame.

First came the Hinokami Kagura—"Waltz," then the Hinokami Kagura—"Clear Blue Sky," followed by "Burning Sun Red Mirror," "Fake Sun Rainbow," "Fire Wheel," "Bone-Burning Sun," and "Sun Flower Thrust"...

Tanjuro danced amidst the drifting snow like a fire spirit, with Roy following closely by his side, mimicking every move with precision, while clumsy Tanjiro trailed beside them...

And so it went, once, twice, three times...

Tanjiro was panting heavily, gradually unable to keep up...

He gripped his knees, gasping for air, his eyes fixed intently on Tanjuro and Roy, a great confusion rising within his small frame.

Why did his father, who had always been so frail, have such incredible stamina today?

And why had his big brother, who started out just as stiff and awkward as him, managed to keep pace with their father's rhythm so convincingly?