Chapter 95: Half a Year in the Blink of an Eye
After a week of solitary training at the Butterfly Mansion, Kanzaki Akira felt his body had mostly recovered to its pre-injury peak. With his foundation restored, he sought out Gyoumei Himejima once more to begin the true trial of his physical conditioning.
This new regimen lasted for two grueling months.
During that time, the four girls—Kanao, Shinobu, Makomo, and Kanae—all came to visit him. Kanao often arrived alongside Shinobu, her medical kit at the ready to patch up a certain someone who consistently pushed his body past its breaking point during his workouts.
Makomo and Kanae even attempted to join the training for a while, their curiosity piqued by the challenge. Unfortunately, the sheer brutality of Gyoumei's regimen was overwhelming. Even with their bodies strengthened by their own Breathing Techniques, they could barely withstand half the intensity Akira endured.
Two months later, Akira's relentless training ground to a sudden halt. It wasn't because he felt he had accomplished enough, but because a mission had arrived.
Throughout this period, Kagaya and several other Hashira had deliberately shouldered his patrol duties, allowing him to focus entirely on his training. This had been so effective that Kanae hadn't even had the chance to make her planned visit to Mitsuri's home.
But the Demon Slayer Corps' manpower was far from abundant. The annual Final Selection was upon them, and it required Akira to serve as a proctor once again.
This time, however, his partner was not Makomo, but Shinjuro Rengoku, whom he hadn't seen in some time.
The reason for this was simple and entirely predictable: Kyoujurou was among this year's participants.
His father, a man famously stoic, who rarely offered praise and often spoke in discouraging tones, was ultimately worried. He knew, on an intellectual level, that his son's talent far surpassed his own. He knew that with Kyoujurou's current strength, passing the Final Selection should be a smooth affair. Even so, he had volunteered for the proctor mission—not to show favoritism, but simply to be there, just in case an unforeseen accident occurred.
The trial began. Dozens of aspiring demon slayers filed through the wisteria-lined path, stepping onto the demon-infested slopes of Fujikasane Mountain. Akira even spotted a few familiar faces among them—those who had been eliminated the previous year, their strength found wanting, now returned for a second chance.
Shinjuro and Akira stood side-by-side on the thick branch of a tree that offered an excellent vantage point. Though a minor conflict had arisen between them during the last Hashira Meeting, the Rengoku family had always been open-hearted; they didn't hold grudges. If they had a problem, they typically settled it on the spot.
As a result, the two men were able to share a comfortable silence.
At that moment, both their gazes were fixed on a single figure below, his hair a shock of brilliant flame.
"Steady footwork, and he's radiating alertness," Akira commented, nudging Shinjuro with his elbow. "I'd guess he's not far from mastering Total Concentration: Constant. And you still say Kyoujurou lacks talent? He looks like he's doing just fine to me."
Kyoujurou's innate talent was considerable to begin with, and he had been diligently practicing his Breathing Technique for a year and a half. Reaching his current level was only natural. In fact, the only reason he hadn't fully mastered the constant state was his decision to pour more energy into polishing his sword forms, which sometimes caused his concentration to break during sleep.
"In front of you, how many people can truly be called 'talented'?" Shinjuro shot him a complicated look, a mixture of begrudging respect and a hint of paternal exasperation.
So I'm 'that' kid now, Akira mused wryly. The one all the other parents compare their children to.
"You know," Akira said, "this kind of suppressive education isn't always the best. It's a good thing Kyoujurou is so mentally resilient. Otherwise, your lectures would have driven him into a depression long ago."
Having offered his casual critique, Akira let the topic drop. Just as Shinjuro disapproved of Akira's involvement with multiple women but wouldn't interfere, the dynamic between this father and son was their own private affair. He had said his piece; it wasn't his place to say more.
"Alright, how about we divide the labor like Makomo and I did last time? We'll use the entrance as the boundary—one takes the left side, one takes the right."
"I have no objection."
Neither of them specified who would take which side; it was an unspoken understanding. Akira clapped Shinjuro on the shoulder and prepared to depart.
"Then go keep an eye on your precious son," he said with a faint smile. "I'm off."
For the participants, the seven days were a grueling ordeal of survival. For Akira, they passed in the blink of an eye.
In this Final Selection, aside from Kyoujurou, there were no other particularly eye-catching candidates. Among the "second-timers," two managed to pass successfully. Four others, though eliminated, resolved to return for a third attempt. The rest finally accepted reality and chose to join the Kakushi.
Unlike the previous year, while there were few "top students" and only four passed in total, the overall skill level was slightly higher. At the very least, when they called for help, they were capable of holding out until a proctor arrived. Consequently, not a single life was lost during this trial.
Perhaps it was because the survivors from last year had more vividly described the trial's difficulty to their Cultivators and juniors, giving those trainers a clearer standard to teach towards.
Watching the handful of fifteen-year-old boys and girls leave—some ecstatic, others crestfallen—Shinjuro's gaze drifted to Akira beside him. This boy, barely older than them, was already capable of slaying an Upper Rank demon. The contrast stirred a complex mix of feelings within the Flame Hashira.
"Are you heading back to Himejima's place for more suffering?" Shinjuro asked, his tone gruff.
"I call it physical training," Akira retorted dryly. "Why do you say 'suffering'? You make it sound like I have some kind of perverse hobby."
"Hardly anyone in the entire Demon Slayer Corps could survive that training of yours," Shinjuro grunted. "It's a pity my own strength has little room left for improvement. The future, in the end, belongs to you young people."
After witnessing Kyoujurou's performance throughout the selection, Shinjuro seemed to have fully come to terms with things. For "ordinary mortals" like them, doing their best was enough. At the very least, they could buy more time for the true geniuses to grow, and then watch as they led the Demon Slayer Corps into a new golden age.
With an Upper Rank demon slain for the first time in centuries, perhaps the day they finally killed the Demon King wasn't so far off after all.
After that brief interlude, Akira plunged back into his training. Another two months passed—bringing the total time since his return from the Kanroji estate to nearly half a year. It was then that he finally achieved his first major milestone: completing a full training session according to Gyoumei's standards while remaining conscious from start to finish.
With that, Akira's current training plan had reached its conclusion.
He was still a creature of flesh and blood; he got tired. After half a year of high-intensity conditioning that even a Hashira like Shinjuro called "suffering," Akira's body and mind were frayed to their absolute limits.
Therefore, he decided to give himself a few days off. It was time to pay a visit to Mitsuri's home.
He had, after all, promised to visit her at least once every six months. Although they exchanged letters regularly and Mitsuri would be understanding as long as he gave her a heads-up, breaking his word didn't feel right.
When she heard Akira was going to see Mitsuri, Kanae announced that she would be coming along as well.
Akira naturally had no objections, but he was intensely curious about the backroom negotiations that must have taken place between the girls for them to reach this decision.
When he finally asked, Kanae simply smiled.
"Kanzaki-kun," she said, her eyes twinkling, "that's a secret among girls~"
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