Chapter 56: Father and Son
"Well met!"
Shinjuro's voice boomed, a sharp and appreciative sound. He was already aware that Kanzaki Akira possessed a pair of uniquely gifted eyes, so he felt no surprise when the young man saw through the flaws in his opening stance at a single glance.
In the face of Akira's counterattack, the Flame Hashira immediately shifted his form to intercept.
"Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun!"
A searing, upward slash of his wooden sword cut through the air, aimed perfectly to disrupt Akira's offensive momentum. Akira saw the movement, his eyes tracking every subtle shift in Shinjuro's muscles, but he knew that any attack he launched now would be parried.
These eyes granted him a tremendous advantage in close-quarters combat, but against an experienced master whose strength was far from trivial, an easy victory was out of the question.
Of course, this was also a product of Akira's own choice. He was intentionally using this spar to hone his swordsmanship. Otherwise, he could have unleashed Thunder Breathing's ultimate speed from the very beginning, using a technique like Thunderclap and Flash or Dragon's Glide to evade Shinjuro's assault and deliver a decisive counter-strike, potentially ending the fight in a single move.
But that would be dreadfully boring. It would also cause Shinjuro to lose face in front of his two sons.
Indeed, just as they began their exchange, Kyojuro's younger brother, Senjuro—a boy even younger than Kanao—had heard the commotion and hurried over to watch.
"Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!"
Having broken Akira's offensive with a single strike, Shinjuro gave him no room to breathe, no chance to pull away and reset. He immediately followed up with a heavy, powerful blow. As the wooden sword descended, Shinjuro's entire presence seemed to transform, taking on the ferocious aura of a flaming tiger pouncing upon its prey.
"Fifth Form: Heat Lightning."
In response, Akira executed one of the rare techniques in Thunder Breathing that combined both offense and defense. It was a wide-range attack, and as his wooden sword danced, his figure seemed to become shrouded beneath a vast, crackling expanse of white lightning.
The roaring flame tiger collided with the static field of thunder. The impact erupted in a blinding flash of light, forcing Kyojuro and Senjuro, who were watching intently from the sidelines, to squint. Yet, they refused to shut their eyes completely, unwilling to miss a single detail of the duel.
In the end, Shinjuro's fierce assault was neutralized. When the brilliant light finally dissipated, the Flame Hashira had been pushed back several steps, his stance broken.
"Fourth Form: Distant Thunder."
This time, it was Akira who closed the distance, pressing his advantage.
"Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation!"
Forced onto the defensive, Shinjuro twisted a form that was typically both offensive and defensive into a purely protective stance. His wooden sword became a blur, weaving a pattern so tight that not even the wind could pass through as he parried every one of Akira's rapid thrusts. He retreated once more, creating a gap between them.
"As expected of the man Kuwajima and Urokodaki praised so highly. Impressive," Shinjuro said, raising a hand to signal a pause. His eyes, fixed on Akira, were filled with genuine admiration.
He knew that while their exchange had appeared evenly matched, he had, in reality, already lost. Flame Breathing, renowned for its fierce and domineering frontal assaults, had failed to overwhelm Thunder Breathing in a head-on clash. In fact, he had been the one slightly suppressed. That alone was enough to prove the difference in their skill.
From beginning to end, Akira had never once relied on his superior speed to force a breakthrough. Shinjuro understood the gesture; the young man was preserving his dignity, not wanting him to suffer a swift defeat in front of his sons.
As he admired Akira's strength, a flicker of doubt—a quiet question of whether he was truly getting old—surfaced in the depths of his heart, though he quickly suppressed it.
"Senior Rengoku's strength is nothing to scoff at, either," Akira replied, and it wasn't an empty compliment.
In the spar just now, every one of Akira's attacks had targeted an opening. Against any slightly less skilled swordsman, the wooden sword would have been knocked from their hands long ago.
"No need to spare my pride. I know you were holding back a great deal. If you were truly serious, I doubt I could have lasted more than a few exchanges," Shinjuro said, stepping forward and clapping a heavy hand on Akira's shoulder. "Having someone like you in the Demon Slayer Corps brings more hope for the eradication of all demons."
"I will do my best to eliminate them," Akira responded. His resolve wasn't for some grand ideal of saving the world, but simply to protect the people he cared for.
"Good! In that case, I will now demonstrate all the forms of Flame Breathing for you."
Having personally experienced Akira's terrifying eyes, Shinjuro no longer harbored any doubt about what his two old friends had told him—that Akira only needed to see a technique once to learn it.
"Thank you, Senior Rengoku."
"There's no need for thanks. This is all for the sake of eliminating demons."
...
Flame Breathing was characterized by its fierce, domineering, and direct attacks. As Shinjuro swung his wooden sword, golden-red flames seemed to coil around the blade, and a scorching aura washed over the training ground.
There were nine forms in total. The most powerful, the Ninth Form, was even bestowed with the name 'Rengoku'—the family's own surname—signifying it as the ultimate culmination of generations of their ancestors' work.
However, it was also a move of desperation. It required the user to employ their Breathing Technique to stimulate the heart and meridians, forcibly elevating their physical functions for a short burst of overwhelming power. The price for this was a certain degree of damage to the body.
Akira estimated that if this technique were pushed to its absolute limit, it might even be the key to awakening a Demon Slayer Mark. After all, according to the history he knew, the Mark appeared when a slayer survived under extreme physical conditions—a heart rate exceeding two hundred beats per minute and a body temperature over thirty-nine degrees Celsius. It was this world's unique 'life-burning cheat,' a significant boost to one's physical strength.
Just looking at those terrifying activation conditions, it was obvious why those who awakened the Mark rarely lived past the age of twenty-five. Fighting in such a state was, in essence, overdrawing on one's own life force.
For now, however, Akira's most important task was to first master Flame Breathing and then use it as inspiration to create techniques that met his own exacting standards.
...
"No matter how many times I've heard about it, seeing your talent with my own eyes still leaves me speechless," Rengoku Shinjuro said, his voice thick with amazement. He watched as Akira, standing in the training ground, replicated every form of Flame Breathing he had just demonstrated.
He had watched only once. Then, he had mimicked the movements in slow motion, making minute adjustments to his posture and flow. Immediately after, he performed the first eight forms of Flame Breathing flawlessly.
He even replicated the motions of the Ninth Form: Rengoku, though he did not use his Breathing Technique to stimulate his heart and meridians. This was merely practice; there was no need to perform an act that would damage his body.
This was the process Akira displayed right before the eyes of the Rengoku father and sons.
While Shinjuro was still sighing with emotion, his two sons were already completely dumbstruck.
"Kyojuro, did you see that?" Shinjuro said, his tone a complex mixture of pride and awe. "That is what a true genius looks like."
"I see it, Father," Kyojuro's response was, as always, powerful and pure.
Unlike his father, Kyojuro felt no trace of envy or jealousy. He simply saw that Kanzaki Akira was incredibly strong—a role model to learn from. He would use this display to motivate himself to train even harder in the future.
"Senior Rengoku, please stop praising me," Akira said with a slight bow. "I only have a unique pair of eyes, but they only allow me to mimic your movements. To truly master Flame Breathing, I still have a long way to go."
"That's what you said at Urokodaki's place, and yet you finished learning Water Breathing in half a month," Shinjuro retorted bluntly, seeing through the humility.
"Uh... that was just a cursory study," Akira explained. "After all, my fundamental technique is still Thunder Breathing. Learning Water and Flame Breathing is simply to give me inspiration for creating new forms."
He then turned his gaze to both father and son. "Senior Rengoku and Kyojuro, on the other hand, have never intended to learn Flame Breathing superficially. Your goal is to pass on and evolve this Breathing Style, which has condensed the lifeblood of the Rengoku family for centuries, correct?"
Shinjuro stared for a moment, then burst into a hearty laugh. "Hahaha, that's true! Well then, next, I will explain the key points and the very essence of Flame Breathing. Kyojuro, you listen well, too."
"Yes, Father!"
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