Hinokami Kagura & Origin Breathing

Tanjiro did not stop. After performing Dance, he immediately twisted his body and swung upward, unleashing a circular slash wreathed in flames.

"Hinokami Kagura: Blue Heaven!"

The equally exquisite sword technique drew silent admiration from Chiba Yo.

Unfortunately, Tanjiro's body is still a little too weak to bring out these techniques' true power. And although his Breathing Style is extremely similar to my Sun Breathing, his lungs aren't strong enough, which reduces its power. It must be quite taxing for him to use, too.

Chiba Yo carefully observed the inner workings of Tanjiro's body, continually analyzing what he saw.

"Hinokami Kagura: Blazing Sun Red Mirror!"

Tanjiro followed with a horizontal swing, producing a deep-red, arcing slash.

"Hinokami Kagura: Mirage Sun Rainbow!"

It was a specialized evasive dance that used rapid twists and rotations to move at high speed.

Are those... afterimages?

Chiba Yo saw several afterimages appear around Tanjiro. With the Transparent World, however, he could easily distinguish them from Tanjiro's real body, rendering them ineffective against him.

Even so, it was still impressive. Chiba Yo's dynamic vision was exceptionally sharp; he could easily track even a mosquito flying through the air.

By all rights, a move like this should not have produced afterimages in his eyes. But Mirage Sun Rainbow specifically targeted opponents with outstanding dynamic vision-the sharper their vision, the more readily they picked up the user's afterimages.

However, the technique seemed to take quite a toll on Tanjiro as well. Fine beads of sweat had already appeared on his face.

"Hinokami Kagura: Fire Wheel!"

"Hinokami Kagura: Burning Bones, Summer Sun!"

"Hinokami Kagura: Sunflower Thrust!"

"Hinokami Kagura: Solar Heat Haze!"

"Hinokami Kagura: Setting Sun Turn!"

"Hinokami Kagura: Beneficent Radiance!"

"Hinokami Kagura: Sun Halo Dragon Head Dance!"

"Hinokami Kagura: Flame Dance!"

After completing the entire kagura dance, Tanjiro stood panting heavily. Chiba Yo was still reflecting on the sword techniques he had just witnessed.

To him, these sword techniques were even more refined than those he had developed himself. Moreover, the twelve forms were enough to handle almost any situation in battle.

He had also noticed something else while watching: the twelve forms seemed capable of linking together in a continuous loop. Both the first and last forms were forward, arcing slashes, and the twelfth form was a two-strike version of the first.

After performing the twelfth form, it would be easy to flow into the first and begin the sequence again.

"That's the kagura dance my father taught me. Performing the whole thing is still a little difficult for me. Did you notice anything just now, Yo?" Tanjiro caught his breath for a while, then walked over to Chiba Yo and asked.

At Tanjiro's words, Chiba Yo broke off his thoughts and nodded. "Yes. I noticed a few things while observing what happened inside your body as you performed the techniques.

"Originally, I thought the Hinokami Kagura you mentioned was another name for Flame Breathing. I guessed that one of your ancestors might have joined the Demon Slayer Corps and passed Flame Breathing down through your family."

Tanjiro immediately shook his head. "My family has made charcoal for generations. Our family records are very clear about that. There's no way any of our ancestors ever joined the Demon Slayer Corps."

"I already ruled that out after watching your demonstration of the kagura dance," Chiba Yo told him. "The Breathing Style you use isn't Flame Breathing.

"I learned Flame Breathing from my teacher, too, and it's quite different from the Breathing Style you just used.

"Instead, your Breathing Style is practically identical to my Sun Breathing."

Chiba Yo could not quite make sense of this. According to his teacher, no one had ever been seen using his Breathing Style before; it was supposedly a new one. Yet Tanjiro had now used the same Breathing Style as him, and according to what Shinobu Kocho had told him back then, Tanjiro's Breathing Style and sword techniques had been passed down through generations.

"Really? Then where did you learn your Breathing Style, Yo?" Tanjiro felt he had taken a huge step closer to uncovering the true nature of Hinokami Kagura, and delight welled up inside him.

Chiba Yo's next words, however, left him confused once again.

"I figured out my Breathing Style myself. I didn't learn it from anyone. It wasn't until I joined the Demon Slayer Corps that I found out what I was using was called a Breathing Style. I named mine Sun Breathing..."

As Chiba Yo answered Tanjiro, something suddenly occurred to him.

"Origin Breathing is also known as Sun Breathing..."

Remembering what Oyakata-sama had said at the Hashira Meeting, Chiba Yo immediately told Tanjiro, "That's right! I remember now. The Master told us that Origin Breathing is also called Sun Breathing. And your Breathing Style and sword techniques have been passed down through generations. Could your Hinokami Kagura be connected to the Origin Breathing Oyakata-sama mentioned?"

Then Chiba Yo realized something else.

"In that case, since the Breathing Style I developed myself is practically identical to the one you inherited, could mine also be connected to Origin Breathing?"

The more Chiba Yo thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Although it sounded like an extraordinary coincidence, it was not impossible.

"Come on! Let's go ask the Master about Origin Breathing right now." As he spoke, Chiba Yo grabbed Tanjiro's hand and headed toward the Mansion where Oyakata-sama lived.

?

Tanjiro had listened to Chiba Yo rattle on, only to be dragged away before he could make sense of it all.

By now, Chiba Yo was caught up in the thrill of uncovering the truth and could hardly stop himself.

The two soon arrived at Oyakata-sama's Mansion, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm very sorry. Father and Mother went to the Demon Slayer Corps cemetery to tend the graves of the fallen Corps members. They probably won't be back until this afternoon."

Hinaki stepped outside and politely explained this to Chiba Yo.

"It's fine. We'll come back later, then," Chiba Yo said, quickly waving a hand.

"Does the Master visit the cemetery often?" After hearing Hinaki's explanation, Chiba Yo could not help asking.

He remembered that the last time he had come to tell Oyakata-sama about the Bright Red Nichirin Blade, Oyakata-sama had also just returned from the Demon Slayer Corps cemetery.

"Yes. Father visits the cemetery every day to tend the graves. He says he doesn't want the children who died fighting demons to be too lonely, and he wants to spend more time talking to them.

"He also says he should visit them as much as he can while he's still able to walk. Once he's bedridden, he won't be able to keep them company anymore." Hinaki nodded as she answered Chiba Yo.