Before long, Chiba Yo saw Inosuke emerge with two Nichirin Blades and sit on the steps. Things seemed to have quieted down a little inside, so he went in.
Haganezuka was lying on the floor, propping his head up with one hand and glaring at Tanjiro in displeasure. Tanjiro hardly dared look back.
"Ah, my name is Kanamori. I'm responsible for forging Lord Inosuke's blades. Nothing would make me happier than helping him in battle."
After speaking, Kanamori looked toward Inosuke on the steps. His two blades were changing color.
Chiba Yo came in and sat to one side, then asked the two swordsmiths, "Mr. Kanamori, Mr. Haganezuka, do you know how Mr. Tetsumaru-yama has been lately? That's the swordsmith who forged my blade."
At Chiba Yo's question, Kanamori and Haganezuka exchanged puzzled looks.
"Tetsumaru-yama?"
"Mr.?"
Then something seemed to occur to Kanamori, and he spoke to Chiba Yo in sudden realization. "Oh, you mean Niji? She's the same as ever, spending all day absorbed in forging blades with ancient methods, hoping to make weapons as fine as those from the Sengoku period.
"When she returned to the village not long ago, she seemed very happy. I wonder what happened."
Niji? Mr. Tetsumaru-yama's name is Niji?
Chiba Yo pondered this.
As Kanamori spoke with Chiba Yo, he kept an eye on Inosuke outside.
By now, both Nichirin Blades in Inosuke's hands had turned blue-gray.
"Ah, how beautiful. They give off a muted blue-gray sheen. What an elegant color-a fine color for a blade," Kanamori marveled.
Seeing the color of Inosuke's blades reminded Haganezuka of Tanjiro's black blade. He immediately sat up and angrily began pounding Tanjiro's back with rapid punches.
"That's great. The edges of Inosuke's old blades were all chipped," Tanjiro said happily, looking at Inosuke's blades without paying the punches any mind.
"How do they feel in your hands? This is actually my first time forging blades for someone who uses the Two-Sword Style," Kanamori asked Inosuke.
But Inosuke didn't answer. He carried his blades over to the pond in the courtyard, then crouched down and seemed to start picking through the stones.
"Lord Inosuke..." Kanamori tilted his head in confusion.
Inosuke chose a stone, raised it high, then smashed it down hard against the edge of a freshly forged Nichirin Blade.
!
!
!
!
All four people inside were stunned.
Striking his Nichirin Blade from the side with the stone, Inosuke battered its edge into a jagged mess.
"I'll kill you! You little brat! Hey! What the hell are you doing?!"
Kanamori sprang to his feet with an enraged roar. Tanjiro hurriedly wrapped his arms around him to hold him back.
Chiba Yo had intended to ask more about Tetsumaru-yama, but now it seemed he wouldn't get the chance.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Tanjiro kept apologizing to Kanamori. Inosuke glanced back at the swordsmith, then turned away, picked up the stone, and began hammering his other blade.
"You bastard! I can't let you live!"
Kanamori was practically contorted with rage, and Tanjiro could barely hold him back.
In the end, with everyone working together to calm him down, Kanamori refrained from chasing Inosuke down and left in a huff. Haganezuka, who had arrived in a towering rage, had instead become the calmer of the two and was even able to soothe his fellow swordsmith.
By the time they saw the two swordsmiths off, dusk had fallen.
"The Master should be back by now. Let's go visit him again," Tanjiro said to Chiba Yo, looking at the sky. He was eager to understand what Hinokami Kagura was, too.
"All right." Chiba Yo nodded in agreement, deciding he could wait until they returned to tell Tanjiro about the sword techniques.
Inside the Ubuyashiki Estate
Kagaya had returned from the cemetery. Chiba Yo and Tanjiro explained why they had come, and Chiba Yo also told Kagaya about his earlier discoveries.
"Master, could you tell us anything about Origin Breathing?" Chiba Yo asked Kagaya.
Kagaya listened to their account with a smile, feeling a little surprised by the coincidence as well.
"All the surviving records tell us about Origin Breathing is that its name was Sun Breathing. Beyond that, there is nothing more. However, the Rengoku Family joined the Demon Slayer Corps at its founding and has carried on its legacy ever since. They may have records of it.
"If you wish to learn more, you could pay the Rengoku Family a visit. Perhaps you'll find the answers you seek."
Kagaya spoke unhurriedly, a smile on his face.
"Thank you, Master." Chiba Yo and Tanjiro thanked Oyakata-sama, and Kagaya smiled without saying anything.
Although they hadn't found an answer, they now had a new lead.
I'll tell my teacher when he gets back...
Chiba Yo thought as they left the estate.
This time, he didn't forget to tell Tanjiro about the sword techniques. As they walked, Chiba Yo said, "When I watched you demonstrate Hinokami Kagura earlier, I noticed something else. Not only are its sword techniques extremely intricate, but the whole sequence seems to form a cycle. The last form links seamlessly with the first, almost as though they make up a single technique together."
Tanjiro stopped and asked in confusion, "A cycle?"
He knew the kagura dance could be performed continuously, without stopping, but he had never considered it from that angle.
"Yes... like this."
As he spoke, Chiba Yo drew his Nichirin Blade, moved some distance away from Tanjiro, and planted his feet. The Nichirin Blade in his hand rapidly turned red.
His black Nichirin Blade... turned red...
Tanjiro watched with wide eyes, hardly able to believe what he was seeing.
Then Chiba Yo exhaled a streak of white breath and slashed his Nichirin Blade down in front of him, producing an arcing slash wreathed in flames.
Dance!
Tanjiro was even more astonished.
But it wasn't over. Chiba Yo flipped his body, unleashing a circular slash that rose from below.
Blue Heaven
Next came Blazing Sun Red Mirror, Mirage Sun Rainbow... and Flame Dance.
Chiba Yo performed every form, from the first to the last, his movements matching Tanjiro's earlier demonstration exactly.
With the Transparent World's minute insight into the body's structure, Chiba Yo could control his body perfectly and reproduce any move he had observed, inside and out.
Flame Dance was followed immediately by the first form, Dance. The two sword techniques flowed together without any hindrance, as though they had always been meant to be a single move.
Chiba Yo performed the complete sequence of twelve sword techniques once more. To let Tanjiro see clearly, he deliberately slowed down, but it was still evident that the twelve forms made a seamless whole, the last connecting naturally to the first.
"That's right! These twelve sword techniques form a cycle. They're all parts of a single whole."
After performing them himself, Chiba Yo was even more certain of his judgment.
"Yo... how do you know the kagura dance, too? That was amazing!"
Seeing Chiba Yo perform all of Hinokami Kagura with such ease, Tanjiro couldn't help voicing his admiration.
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