It was early morning on the second day of the official training regimen. Dawn had barely broken, and the dew had yet to dry.
The Sapphire Star held a megaphone as she directed the corps members into orderly ranks.
Most of the swordsmen had come, including Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu. Even the Palico stood in formation. With the Twelve Kizuki severely weakened, the demons had been almost completely inactive lately, leaving the swordsmen time to attend training-and scream.
The swordsmen were methodically divided into groups. The Sapphire Star proved surprisingly adept at commanding such a large formation. Most of them were seeing her for the first time. Though they had all heard of the powerful swordswoman from another world, her commanding presence still startled them.
She did not rush to start tormenting them. Instead, she gathered everyone for a hearty, meat-heavy breakfast "personally supervised and fortified by Giyu Tomioka." Giyu stood in the kitchen with a stern face, directing the members on cooking duty as they prepared fish, meat, and eggs, insisting that every serving meet the required portions. Afterward came a full hour of warm-ups, scientifically structured stretches, and joint mobility exercises. The members found it unfamiliar, but this "Chief Instructor" seemed pretty dependable.
Once the warm-up ended, the members stood in neat ranks, their expressions ranging from curiosity and awe to eagerness-and a faint sense of impending doom.
Kakushi assistants with timers hanging from their collars took positions at key points along the route.
The Sapphire Star stood on a small, hastily built platform with her megaphone and surveyed the crowd.
"All warmed up?" Her voice reached every pair of ears clearly. "Today's exercise is very simple!"
She pointed at the pile of heavy, uniformly sized packs filled with sand and gravel beside her. "First person in each