The gentle morning sunlight spilled down, illuminating the master and disciple seated side by side.
"So that's what's been troubling you! It's very simple!" Rengoku said loudly as he explained.
"Demons disguise themselves as humans mostly to lure people into secluded places so they can eat them! So you don't need any elaborate plan at all—just don't let the demon realize you're a Demon Slayer, and it'll be easy to draw them away!"
"I see… that makes sense."
Hearing Rengoku's words, Kazuki felt as though a fog had lifted from his mind. The problem that had been bothering him was instantly resolved.
In the future, if he discovered a demon disguising itself among a crowd, he could simply suggest going somewhere quiet together. Those demons would almost certainly agree, tempted by the chance to eat him.
Muzan should be the same… probably.
"Thank you for clearing that up, Sensei," Kazuki said with a smile.
"Mm. As long as it helps you," Rengoku replied, standing up. His Kasugai Crow was perched on a fence not far away.
"It's time for me to go as well."
Seeing this, Kazuki also stood and asked, "Is there a new mission?"
Rengoku nodded.
"Yes. I just received new information about a demon—at a station for a train called the Mugen Train. The Demon Slayers sent there appear to have been wiped out, and civilian casualties have already begun. We can't leave it unattended."
"I see… If possible, I'd really like to go on a mission with you sometime, Sensei," Kazuki said.
Rengoku shook his head.
"If you hadn't become a Hashira yet, that might have been possible. But now we're both Hashira, each responsible for our own regions. If we act together, people elsewhere would be left unprotected."
He added,
"Even Kanroji hasn't gone on missions with me since becoming a Hashira."
Kazuki understood this well. The Demon Slayer Corps would never assign two Hashira to the same location. Still, he felt a bit regretful that he'd never had the chance to fight alongside Rengoku.
"Then I wish you a victorious return, Sensei," Kazuki said.
"Leave it to me! I will slay the demons and protect everyone!" Rengoku declared with powerful conviction.
With that, he turned and walked away, his haori billowing with the motion before slowly settling again.
Bathed in the morning sun, his retreating figure inspired an overwhelming sense of reassurance.
After watching Rengoku depart, Kazuki began his daily training. For now, he hadn't been assigned a new mission.
Unexpectedly, by the afternoon of the next day, his Kasugai Crow arrived with news of a demon appearing within his patrol area.
"Looks like it's my turn to head out," Kazuki muttered to himself.
Sliding his Nichirin Blade back into its sheath, he set off toward the location the crow had indicated.
The mission went smoothly. It was just an ordinary demon—there was no need for a second strike. In Kazuki's eyes, it was no different from the Lower Rank Two he'd slain before.
Sensei still hasn't returned yet…
He glanced at Rengoku's residence at the Demon Slayer headquarters. The gate remained closed, just as it had been when Rengoku left.
"You're back, Yō. Was the mission successful?"
A familiar female voice came from behind. Kazuki turned and saw Shinobu Kocho, with two Kakushi members following her. Baskets filled with wisteria flowers were strapped to their backs.
"Yes. We arrived early enough—there were no casualties this time," Kazuki replied with a smile.
His gaze shifted to the baskets, and he asked,
"Shinobu-san, are all these wisteria flowers for researching new poisons against demons?"
"You could say that…" Shinobu answered with a gentle smile, her violet eyes concealing something unspoken.
In truth, some of the wisteria was indeed for developing anti-demon poisons—but another portion was for extracting toxins that Shinobu herself ingested. She had been doing this for over a year now, steadily continuing, until her body contained an amount of wisteria poison equivalent to seven hundred times the lethal dose.
"By the way," Shinobu continued, smoothly changing the topic,
"Tanjiro and Zenitsu have mostly recovered now.
"During his final checkup, Tanjiro asked me if I knew anything about 'Hinokami Kagura' or 'Breath of Flame.' He said that during his battle with Lower Rank Five, he used techniques from a ritual dance passed down in his family, along with a breathing method taught by his father.
"To me, it sounded like it might be related to your Breathing Style—or to Rengoku-san's. So I told him he could try asking the two of you. Unfortunately, both of you were on missions at the time.
"Now that you're back, do you know anything about Hinokami Kagura or Breath of Flame, Yō?"
While treating the three boys and overseeing their rehabilitation training, Shinobu had developed a fairly good impression of Tanjiro. Seeing Kazuki now, she took the chance to ask on his behalf.
Hearing those two names, Kazuki was equally puzzled. He'd never heard of Hinokami Kagura or Breath of Flame, and Rengoku had never mentioned them either.
"I've never heard of either of them," Kazuki replied.
"As you know, I only realized after joining the Demon Slayer Corps that what I'd been using all along was a Breathing Style. Even the name 'Sun Breathing' was something I came up with myself, based on my name and how the technique manifests."
He then added,
"But with just the names alone, it's hard to draw any conclusions. I've just finished my mission and don't have anything urgent right now—why don't we go ask him directly and hear the details?"
Tanjiro had already shared valuable information about Muzan with him. Now that Tanjiro had questions of his own, Kazuki was more than willing to help.
"That sounds good. Let's go to the Butterfly Mansion together," Shinobu said with a smile.
"The three of them have been training very hard lately."
The two headed toward the Butterfly Mansion together.
As soon as Kazuki entered, he saw Tanjiro and the others. Tanjiro was currently training with Kanao. They sat facing each other at a table, many teacups placed between them.
Their hands moved rapidly above the cups—each trying to grab a cup while simultaneously preventing the other from doing so.
Zenitsu and Inosuke stood off to the side, staring in shock at their movements.
"Is this reaction training?" Kazuki asked quietly, careful not to interrupt, as he turned to Shinobu.
"Yes. They started as soon as they could move freely again," Shinobu nodded.
"Among the three, Tanjiro has been improving the fastest."
As they spoke, the match ended—Kanao seized a teacup.
"That's enough!"
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