Do You Think You'll Win?

This was simply too terrifying!

Lin Fan had barely had a moment of rest that night. Not to mention Tanjiro, even just slapping him had consumed quite a bit of Demon Power.

He also had to expend extra Demon Power to help treat Tanjiro.

Otherwise, by morning,

Tanjiro's face would have been swollen larger than Inosuke's boar mask.

The next morning,

Tanjiro got up with dark circles under his eyes. The first thing he did was train his Breathing technique.

From sunrise to sunset,

he continuously honed himself, gradually beginning to transform. This was not the direct improvement brought by Nourishment, but another kind of reward earned through training.

The most noticeable change was his rapidly increasing stamina.

Zenitsu and the other boy still watched Tanjiro train from the corridor, with no motivation to join him.

But during training,

Lin Fan deliberately reminded him,

"A person does not necessarily have to master only one Breathing style. You can learn multiple Breathing styles, making them complement one another or even fusing them together.

That guy named Zenitsu has a pretty good Thunder Breathing style. You can try asking him about it."

"I see."

Tanjiro pondered as he trained. Then he set down the huge stone he was carrying and jogged over to Zenitsu in the corridor.

He bowed slightly.

"Zenitsu, could you teach me Thunder Breathing?"

"Huh?"

Zenitsu was a little dumbfounded, his expression slightly stiff.

He did not speak for a long while.

It was not that he did not want to teach him. The main problem was that he only knew one move himself!

But looking at Tanjiro before him, he still relented. "Well... it's not impossible, but let me make this clear first: I only know the First Form of Thunder Breathing. I can't teach you anything else."

"Really? Thank you so much, Zenitsu."

Tanjiro did not care about the latter part at all. He stepped forward and thanked him with a smile.

Inosuke immediately added,

"Why aren't you learning Beast Breathing from me?! My Beast Breathing is the strongest!"

Tanjiro merely smiled before beginning to chat with Zenitsu.

Sitting in the corridor, Zenitsu recalled the days when he had trained in Thunder Breathing and thought of that old man.

"Tanjiro, when using Thunder Breathing, you need to focus your awareness on your feet. Things like body shape and muscle size cannot truly be controlled with precision.

Only once you understand that will you have truly mastered Thunder Breathing. My grandfather, who raised me, used to say that all the time."

Tanjiro did not fully understand, but he still listened and learned earnestly.

After all, learning a Breathing style was not something one could master overnight. Back when he had learned Water Breathing, it had taken him years.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

Tanjiro could now maintain Total Concentration Breathing for longer and longer periods, which directly caused his base stamina to increase rapidly.

Perhaps they had been moved by Tanjiro.

Though reluctant, Zenitsu and Inosuke occasionally trained alongside him for a while.

The days passed peacefully like this.

But Lin Fan knew Muzan would never simply let this go. There were probably demons searching the surrounding area for them every day.

These peaceful days likely would not last much longer.

A storm was coming.

This was merely the final calm before the storm.

Lin Fan saw it clearly.

And just as Lin Fan had predicted, after the sun set on the fifth day,

night fell!

Would You Win?

Tanjiro and the other two were resting in their room when, suddenly,

Lin Fan, within the sword, sensed something and immediately warned him, "Tanjiro, a demon is rapidly approaching!"

Upon hearing that, Tanjiro, who had been yawning and preparing to sleep, abruptly stood up. He changed into his Demon Slayer uniform and picked up the twin swords at his side.

He said to Zenitsu and Inosuke beside him,

"A demon is coming this way!"

As soon as he finished speaking,

Zenitsu returned to his usual self and immediately began trembling like a maniac.

"Huh? Why does this never end? Tanjiro, what exactly did you do? Why are demons always chasing after you...?"

Neither of them paid attention to Zenitsu's resentful complaints.

Inosuke also took out his twin swords and asked, "How many demons came this time? I'm definitely going to kill more than you!"

"Only one."

Tanjiro answered over his shoulder, then pushed open the door and took the lead in entering the courtyard, waiting in full readiness.

Zenitsu was no longer quite so terrified.

"Only one demon came? Then it'll be fine with you here, Tanjiro."

A moment later,

in the pitch-black night, a figure slowly floated down from the air into the courtyard beneath the moonlight. At first glance, it spotted Tanjiro standing in the distance.

When it looked more closely and saw the hanafuda earrings and the twin swords at his waist, it confirmed that this was the brat its master had specifically ordered killed!

Tanjiro also drew Ajuromaru from his waist. The demon before him reeked of a foul stench mixed with blood.

It was difficult to imagine how many people it had eaten, or how terrifying its strength must be.

When his gaze settled upon the demon,

he saw that it was roughly the same size as himself. It had black hair, and its four braided locks especially resembled red maple leaves.

Aside from that, it wore a yellow-and-white kimono, while a dark green I-shaped marking was etched across its pale face.

But none of that was important.

What mattered was the writing carved into its light purple eyes.

Lower Six!

Tanjiro had now confirmed the demon's identity. It was the current Lower Rank Six among the Twelve Kizuki!

The demon licked its lips and smiled bloodthirstily.

"I am Lower Rank Six, Kamanue.

By that lord's order, I have come to take back your head. You may die now!"

"I refuse!"

Tanjiro answered resolutely without even thinking.

At those words, veins bulged across Kamanue's forehead.

"I wasn't asking for your opinion! You selfish, vile human, I sentence you to death!"

With that,

its limbs mutated, transforming into broad, patterned claws.

At a glance, they resembled a tiger's limbs.

Appearing on a human body so abruptly, they looked extremely unnatural.

Lin Fan saw this from within the sword.

If he remembered correctly, this demon should have been killed by Muzan in Infinity Castle in the original story. He had not expected it to be sent here early to kill Tanjiro.

As Lower Rank Six, its strength should not be weak. From the looks of it, its Blood Demon Art was probably some kind of transformation ability...

Lin Fan analyzed rapidly.

At the same time, he released Demon Power to strengthen Tanjiro.

Tanjiro had already gripped his sword with both hands and launched the first attack. He pushed off with his feet and charged forward at high speed.

Behind him, Inosuke emerged with his twin swords in hand, his eyes beneath the mask filled with fighting spirit.

"Ha ha ha ha... Kill it!"

As he spoke, he sprang forward as well, following closely behind Tanjiro.

Facing the two men's charge, Kamanue could no longer suppress its desire to kill. It also exerted its strength and chose to confront them head-on.

As it neared them, it raised a tiger claw and slashed forward. Its claws tore through the air with a piercing whistle.

Facing that attack, Tanjiro calmly swung his sword. Yet at the sight, Kamanue's eyes were filled with mockery and scorn.

After all, its tiger claws were harder than steel!

But in the next instant,

its confidence was mercilessly shattered.

The blade sliced through the skin of its tiger claw like it was cutting tofu, driving deeper inside.

"How is this possible?!"

Kamanue had no time to think. It immediately pulled back with all its strength, violently yanking its arm away as it leaped backward.

That was the only reason it avoided having its tiger claw severed in a single slash. Even so, the claw had been cut halfway through horizontally, leaving a horrifying wound.

It knew that wounds inflicted by that sword could not regenerate.

But it had never expected

the blade to be this Sharp. If it had reacted any slower, its hand might have been cut off just now.

"You dare wound me? Your crimes are unforgivable!"

Kamanue roared coldly.

Inosuke suddenly appeared at its side, raising his twin swords and slashing with all his might at its neck. "Ha ha ha ha, become a stepping stone on my path to strength!"

Tanjiro also launched a surprise attack from the front.

Facing the two men's seamless coordination,

Kamanue raised its right arm to shield its neck. Even after the twin swords struck it, they did not even break its skin, producing only the sound of metal clashing against metal.

"Get lost!"

With a powerful sweep of its arm, it sent both the swords cutting into its body and Inosuke flying away together.

But it was given no time to catch its breath.

Tanjiro had already closed in.