Five Thousand Years of Wisdom

The next day, early morning.

Kujo Tachibana rose early and began to jog.

However, every time he ran a short distance, he had to stop and rest, gasping for air.

Kujo Tachibana's body, tempered for over a decade and reinforced by Total Concentration Breathing, was not actually fatigued.

It was simply due to the damage to his lungs; his right lung had essentially ceased to function.

This caused him to suffer from oxygen deprivation the moment he exerted himself.

His limbs began to lose their strength, and his mind grew dizzy...

If his body remained in this state of "hypoxia" for too long, it would slowly degenerate until death.

Why did it have to be my lungs!

I would have preferred a broken arm or a severed leg!!

Kujo Tachibana gripped his knees, gasping for air, emitting a wheezing sound that made one's blood run cold.

It sounded exactly like the labored breathing of a dying man.

The warnings his body sent him forced him to stop his movements.

Yet, when Kujo Tachibana thought about how his own actions might drag humanity into an abyss of eternal darkness, he dared not stop!

He had to reclaim his strength!

He had to become even stronger!

Until he killed Muzan and Kokushibo!

Haa... huff...

Kujo Tachibana forced himself to regulate his breathing, utilizing the Thunder Breathing he had long since mastered.

The next second, a tearing pain erupted in his right lung, Kujo Tachibana's vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.

"Master!!"

Maekawa Hirosuke ran to the door of Ubuyashiki Kagaya's room in a panic, shouting loudly.

"Master, Rumble Hashira is in critical condition!"

"Lady Tamayo is currently attempting to save Rumble Hashira!"

"What!" Ubuyashiki Kagaya hurried out of the room.

He looked at Maekawa Hirosuke and asked urgently, "What happened?"

Maekawa Hirosuke lowered his head, his voice heavy with sorrow. "This morning, some members found Rumble Hashira exercising by the roadside."

"Then, after only a short while, Rumble Hashira collapsed..."

Ubuyashiki Kagaya's eyes narrowed; he had a premonition that Kujo Tachibana knew everything!

"Sigh!" Ubuyashiki Kagaya let out a soft sigh. Although he knew this matter could not be hidden from Kujo Tachibana forever, he had not expected him to find out so soon.

Kujo Tachibana slowly opened his eyes, looking at the crowd filling the room; a scene all too familiar from last time appeared before him once again.

He gave a bitter smile. It was the same house, the same bed; he, Kujo Tachibana, had returned.

Seeing that Kujo Tachibana had regained consciousness, Tamayo let out a sigh of relief and said with a tone of reproach:

"Mr. Kujo, you really are reckless."

"Did you treat everything I, your doctor, said as mere wind passing by your ears?"

"Mr. Kujo, let me remind you once more: you must never force yourself to use Breathing Styles again."

"Your lungs can barely sustain even daily levels of activity as it is."

"If you hadn't collapsed so close to where I was, we would already be preparing your funeral."

Hearing these words from Tamayo, Kujo Tachibana could not help but close his eyes, his expression filled with agony.

He knew all of this, of course he did.

But if he could not use his Breathing Style, what else could he rely on to undo the mistakes he had made?

"Tachibana, do you already know?" Ubuyashiki Kagaya looked at the white-haired youth on the sickbed and asked with a tone of pity.

Kujo Tachibana dared not open his eyes to look at them, only nodding slightly.

Ubuyashiki Kagaya smiled gently and began to speak:

"Tachibana, do you think that even if we don't say it aloud, we are secretly blaming you in our hearts?"

"Blaming you not only for failing to slay Kokushibo but for bringing a new Demon King into this world?"

"And because you currently have no way to solve this problem, you have chosen to escape through this suicidal behavior?"

"Tachibana, if that is what you think, then you underestimate the Demon Slayer Corps! And you underestimate me, Ubuyashiki Kagaya!"

"Most importantly, you are underestimating yourself far too much!"

"That is a grave mistake!"

As he reached this point, the tone of Ubuyashiki Kagaya became uncharacteristically stern.

"What do you think the Demon Slayer Corps is? And what do you think my Ubuyashiki family is?"

"We have fought against demons with nothing but flesh and blood for a thousand years!"

"We have never relied on mere momentary courage; even if our generation cannot eradicate the demons."

"Our will to destroy them will be passed down to the next generation, and the next, and they will eventually complete the goal we have shared for a millennium."

"Since the founding of the Demon Slayer Corps a thousand years ago, we have faced countless low points; at our most difficult, the entire Demon Slayer Corps did not have a single Hashira."

"Yet, did the remaining swordsmen give up?"

"If they had been like you, I fear the Demon Slayer Corps would have long since vanished into the river of history!"

"In that case, we might as well have just handed this world over to the demons!"

Kujo Tachibana opened his eyes, looking at Ubuyashiki Kagaya with a complex expression.

He had to admit that what Ubuyashiki Kagaya said was quite stirring.

But his situation was not quite the same...

Knowing the future trajectory of this world, Kujo Tachibana understood that their generation could clearly complete the goal the Demon Slayer Corps had shared for a thousand years.

It was just that because of his own interference, this world had changed completely.

Would they still be able to complete this goal in the future?

Even if they could, would this future still be the one from his memories?

Or would it be a much more distant future?

How many more innocent human and swordsman lives would have to be sacrificed in the process?

And all the hardships, obstacles, and innocent souls lost along this altered path—shouldn't they all be borne by him, Kujo Tachibana?

Could he bear such a burden?

This heavy sense of guilt was enough to crush anyone.

Kujo Tachibana's state of mind at this moment was likely very similar to how Tsugikuni Yoriichi felt after letting Muzan escape.

Watching Kujo Tachibana's expression dim once more, Ubuyashiki Kagaya frowned, pondered for a moment, and then spoke slowly:

"Tachibana, do you know when Breathing Styles were born?"

"That was during the Sengoku period, over three hundred years ago!"

"But before that, when Breathing Styles did not yet exist, did the members of our Demon Slayer Corps not go out to slay demons?"

"Tachibana, I am not denying the utility of Breathing Styles, but you must understand that what is truly powerful is the human being themselves! Not some Breathing Style."

"Just like the man who created Breathing Styles, Tsugikuni Yoriichi!"

"Since he could create Breathing Styles from nothing, why can you not forge your own path?"

"Truly find the power that belongs to you!"

Ubuyashiki Kagaya's words struck Kujo Tachibana's soul like a heavy hammer.

That's right!

What is powerful is always the human being themselves! Not the Breathing Style!

And he, Kujo Tachibana, was the only person in this world!

A human who carried the knowledge and culture of two worlds.

By combining the wisdom of both worlds, could he really not find a way to solve the dilemma he was currently facing?

No! He certainly could!

He would truly find the power that belonged to him!