The Golden Scale Is Not a Thing of the Pond

Night, on Mount Kumotori, in front of the house of Tanjuro.

Tanjuro was dressed in ceremonial robes that he usually only wore during festivals.

At this moment, he was circling a bonfire, holding a wooden ritual implement, repeating the twelve forms over and over again as if he knew no fatigue, moving in an endless, rhythmic cycle.

Kujo Tachibana sat quietly to the side, holding the seven or eight-year-old Iron-Head Kid Tanjiro.

"Tanjiro, watch closely."

"Pay attention to your father's breathing technique."

The Iron-Head Kid Tanjiro nodded earnestly.

"Tanjiro will definitely learn it well."

"Once Tanjiro learns it, Father won't have to be so tired, and Tanjiro can take his place."

Kujo Tachibana smiled, then stopped letting his mind wander, focusing solely on sensing the changes in Tanjuro's body and the rhythm of his breathing.

This was the first time Kujo Tachibana had truly witnessed the power of Sun Breathing!

It was truly worthy of being the exclusive breathing style of that man. In Kujo Tachibana's perception, Tanjuro at this moment seemed to have transformed into a single entity; he didn't look like a person, but rather a massive, scorching fireball.

Every inch of flesh and blood within his body was dancing slowly in time with the rhythm of his breathing!

This miraculous breathing method naturally stirred up the power that usually lay dormant within the human body.

To Kujo Tachibana's eyes, these twelve forms of the Hinokami Kagura were no longer just sword techniques.

Instead, they appeared more like the natural movements the human body would exhibit when following this specific breathing rhythm!

So that's it! So that's it!

No wonder that man's breathing style possessed such power!

Kujo Tachibana felt as though he had found the answer he was looking for.

The human body itself contains infinite mysteries.

What he needed to do now was not to deliberately pursue some special breathing method, but rather to carefully sense and listen to his own body.

In truth, his body had already given him the answer!

At this moment, Kujo Tachibana thought of that man again.

Yes, this must be one of the reasons why Yoriichi was born so powerful, right?

Because he was born with the Transparent World, his body's instincts drove him to constantly adjust his breathing style even when he was an infant, long before he had developed self-awareness.

Until this infant, born with the Transparent World, had self-regulated the breathing style most suited to his own body!

I think my deduction is pretty cool; it must be exactly like this.

Of course, just because Sun Breathing was the most suitable for Yoriichi's body didn't mean others couldn't use it.

After all, breathing techniques are essentially just a way to strengthen the human body.

This must be why Yoriichi was able to derive the five basic breathing styles from Sun Breathing!

Kujo Tachibana relaxed his body, opening every pore on his skin, and took a long, deep breath to calm his surging emotions.

Once his mind was settled, Kujo Tachibana completely merged his perception and spirit into his own body.

He sensed the feedback from every part of his body caused by the breathing—the joy of the cells... the roar of the muscles... the strained bones and tendons...

Just like that, based on these subtle feedbacks coming from within, Kujo Tachibana continuously adjusted the frequency and rhythm of his external pore breathing...

However, before Kujo Tachibana could make much progress, the unexpected happened.

The next second, his head tilted to the side, and he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Kujo Tachibana finally woke up slowly.

"Father, Uncle Kujo is awake!" the Iron-Head Kid Tanjiro shouted loudly toward Tanjuro outside the room.

Before long, Tanjuro walked in, looked at Kujo Tachibana, and asked:

"Are you alright? You scared Tanjiro to death last night."

Kujo Tachibana looked at Tanjiro, smiled, and said:

"I'm fine, thank you, Tanjiro."

He checked his physical condition; there was no discomfort, and as for the anomaly from last night, Kujo Tachibana had already guessed the reason.

The reason he fainted last night was likely due to a special symptom known as "oxygen intoxication."

In Kujo Tachibana's past life on Blue Star, this was explained as a condition where, after a person's body has adapted to the low-oxygen environment of high-altitude regions, re-entering an area with relatively normal oxygen levels causes a new bout of maladaptation.

This leads to symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, lethargy, chest tightness, dizziness, and even diarrhea, resulting in what is called a "de-adaptation reaction" or "low-altitude reaction."

The reason Kujo Tachibana was suffering from these symptoms was precisely because he had opened every pore on his body last night to perceive his physical state and the feedback from his external respiration.

It was his first time breathing with such abandon!

However, it was this very action that triggered a chain reaction.

A massive amount of oxygen was absorbed into his bloodstream, and without a Breathing Style to convert it, he was left in the awkward state of oxygen intoxication.

Reflecting on this, Kujo Tachibana realized he might need to adjust his plans.

Even though he had a premonition that Sun Breathing would bring him a surprise, Kujo Tachibana had not expected the surprise to be this significant.

Simply through the inspiration of Sun Breathing, he had already found his direction, and now he only needed to follow this path forward.

His own exclusive Breathing Style, belonging to Kujo Tachibana, was beckoning to him from the horizon.

All he had to do now was lie low until the day he emerged from his cocoon as a butterfly; when that time came, the entire world would change because of him!

It was naturally unsuitable for Kujo Tachibana to continue roaming outside, and the issue of oxygen intoxication was quite troublesome. If Kujo Tachibana wanted to continue researching his Breathing Style, staying out in the open could be dangerous.

Therefore, having not long left the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, Kujo Tachibana had already decided to follow the Kamado family and return there.

However, before leaving, there was one important thing he still had to do.

Kujo Tachibana rose from the tatami mat, dressed, and after washing up, ate breakfast at Tanjiro's home.

Ever since he arrived, the quality of the Kamado family's meals had visibly improved over the past few days.

As the Rumble Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Kujo Tachibana was naturally not short on money.

Aside from eating, he rarely had places to spend his wealth, so buying high-quality ingredients for the Kamado family was merely a trivial matter to him.

Yet, this trivial matter was a problem that Tanjuro had been unable to solve for many years...

Watching the expressions of happiness blooming on his children's faces, Tanjuro and his wife Kie, though feeling somewhat embarrassed, did not refuse Kujo Tachibana's kindness.

After breakfast, the Kamado family began busily packing the luggage they intended to take with them.

Tanjuro did not know whether he should be happy or sad.

Regarding the move away from Mount Kumotori, Tanjuro was unexpectedly surprised to find that his family did not seem as resistant as he had imagined...

"Tanjiro, come here for a moment." Kujo Tachibana beckoned the Iron-Head Kid over.

"Uncle Kujo, what is it?" The Iron-Head Kid trotted over eagerly.

After recalling the details for a moment, Kujo Tachibana asked:

"Is there a type of blue flower near your home?"

"This blue flower only blooms for two or three days a year during the daytime."