Chapter 121: The First Meeting Between the Hashira and Tamayo
"He might be a coward, but he isn't stupid enough to go that far," Akira said, a slow, dismissive shake of his head accompanying his words. His calm gaze swept across the gathered Hashira, letting the silence settle for a brief moment before he continued. "As for the Transparent World and the exact method to reach that realm, my knowledge comes from a very special family I rescued recently—the Kamado family. It was precisely because I took them away that I found myself hunted by Upper Rank Three."
The temperature in the courtyard seemed to drop at the mention of the Upper Rank, but Akira's voice remained steady, anchoring the attention of everyone present.
"Generations ago, the ancestors of the Kamado family encountered a man named Tsugikuni Yoriichi. He was the founder of the very first Breathing Technique, a swordsman who was eventually exiled from the Demon Slayer Corps. Before he left, he passed down his original technique to them. That technique is Sun Breathing."
A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the Hashira. The sheer weight of the lost history hung in the air.
"Although their ancestors lacked the innate physical talent to wield Breathing Techniques in combat, they carefully memorized the sword forms and footwork," Akira explained, his tone laced with deep respect. "Over hundreds of years of unbroken inheritance, those lethal forms gradually evolved into a ceremonial dance performed for the Fire God—the Hinokami Kagura."
Akira paused, letting the revelation sink in. "Naturally, with centuries of oral and visual inheritance, errors and omissions crept into the forms. However, this current generation of the Kamado family produced a true anomaly, a genius named Tanjuro. Without a single master to guide him, he instinctively corrected the accumulated errors in those movements. In the process of perfecting the dance, he comprehended the Transparent World. He even managed to reverse-engineer the accompanying breathing rhythm from the footwork alone, completely recreating Sun Breathing."
He leaned back slightly, his eyes narrowing. "It was precisely because of this revived Sun Breathing that the Kamado family was targeted by the Demon King. When I moved to relocate them, Muzan immediately dispatched Upper Rank Three to slaughter them and erase the technique from existence. Everything I know about reaching the Transparent World, I learned directly from Tanjuro's own mouth."
The Hashira exchanged complicated glances. A storm of questions brewed behind their eyes—how could Akira be so absolutely certain it was the legendary Sun Breathing? How had he stumbled upon this hidden Kamado family in the first place? And why had the Demon King waited so long to silence them if they posed such a threat?
Yet, seeing the calm, unyielding posture Akira maintained, no one interrupted. They swallowed their doubts and listened with rapt attention. Right now, the secret to shattering their mortal limits and gaining the strength to slay the Upper Ranks took absolute precedence.
Akira recounted his deep conversations with Tanjuro word for word, painting a vivid picture of the physical and mental state required.
When he finally uttered the concluding principle—"The Transparent World is the act of seeing the world with one's 'heart'"—every single gaze in the courtyard, including Akira's own, instinctively shifted toward Gyomei.
Given the deep description of relying on absolute sensory perception beyond ordinary sight, the blind Stone Hashira was undeniably the closest to touching that mythical realm.
"Namu Amida Butsu..." Gyomei pressed his massive, heavily scarred hands together, the thick prayer beads clacking softly against his knuckles. Tears continuously streamed down his face. "Regarding this concept of seeing the world with one's 'heart', I do indeed possess some measure of experience. However, as for the fundamental prerequisite of the Transparent World—forging the physical vessel to the absolute limit of one's innate talent—I fear I may still require more time."
Gyomei offered his humble assessment, his deep voice rumbling like distant thunder. As Akira had described the sensation, the giant had actively tried to grasp it. He had felt a faint, fleeting realization brush against his consciousness, yet the physical threshold remained just out of reach.
The other Hashira felt a collective wave of disbelief wash over them.
They stared at Gyomei's towering, two-meter-tall frame, their minds flashing to the devastating spiked flail and axe he wielded—weapons so massive and dense they defied human logic. If a monster of raw physical power like Gyomei still hadn't reached his bodily limit, how far did the rest of them have to go?
Sitting rigidly in his spot, Shinjuro clenched his fists against his knees. 'I will give it my absolute all to keep up with you monsters of talent,' the Flame Hashira vowed silently, his jaw locking in fierce determination.
"The path forward for everyone is clear," Akira said, drawing their attention back. "First, push your bodies to the absolute breaking point. Strengthen your physical vessels as much as humanly possible. Only when your strength plateaus at its absolute limit should you attempt to reach for the Transparent World."
He raised a finger, his expression turning strict. "Of course, during this grueling period, your daily practice of basic swordsmanship must not be interrupted for even a single day. Even if you fail to grasp the Transparent World in the end, the sheer discipline of pulling all your focus inward and gaining total, microscopic control over your muscles will still yield a massive leap in your combat prowess."
Akira deliberately kept his promises grounded. The Transparent World required a monstrous level of innate perception to enter. He refused to deal in absolute guarantees, knowing that false hope could utterly crush a swordsman's spirit if they hit an unbreakable wall.
"Alright," Akira sighed, his posture relaxing just a fraction. "With that, the overt agenda of this Hashira Meeting is officially concluded."
"The overt agenda?"
Aside from the two girls sitting closely beside Akira, and Sabito and Giyuu who both harbored their own quiet suspicions, the rest of the Hashira stared at him in blatant confusion.
"Yes," Akira nodded. "Before I dive into the specifics of the hidden agenda, I want to ask everyone here a simple question." His dark eyes swept over the elite swordsmen. "Why do you think we kill demons?"
"To protect innocent people, of course!" Shinjuro was the first to bark out his answer, his voice ringing with absolute conviction. In his eyes, the Rengoku family had followed the Ubuyashiki clan's guidance for generations for one singular, unshakeable purpose: to eradicate evil and shield the weak.
"Namu Amida Butsu," Gyomei chanted softly. "Born as fragile humans, when faced with wicked entities that feed upon our flesh, there is no second option but slaughter."
"Compared to using the blades in our hands to cut down family and friends, or spilling blood to compete for petty dominance, protecting others is clearly a much more flamboyant and beautiful pursuit," Tengen chimed in, a confident smirk playing on his lips.
"For revenge."
Sabito's voice was cold, carrying the weight of old scars. Both he and Giyuu had joined the Demon Slayer Corps solely to avenge the loved ones torn from them. Beside him, Giyuu opened his mouth to speak, but Sabito smoothly shifted his weight, subtly cutting off his socially awkward junior and effectively muting him.
Makomo originally shared Sabito's vengeance-driven mindset, but knowing exactly where Akira was steering this conversation, she kept her lips sealed.
Kanae also remained quiet. Her own reason for joining the Corps was simple: she couldn't stomach the idea of comfortably enjoying a peaceful life that was bought with the blood and agonizing deaths of other swordsmen. She wanted to share that burden, and more, she wanted to be of use to the man sitting beside her. That was all.
Akira reached out, gently squeezing Makomo's small hand. He turned his head, sharing a warm, knowing look with Kanae before facing the group again.
"In the final analysis, all of your reasons stem from one obvious truth," Akira stated smoothly. "Demons eat people."
He leaned forward, his gaze piercing. "So... if there existed a demon that did not eat people, how should they be handled?"
"I refuse to believe such a creature exists in this world! Akira, is this some kind of sick joke?!" Shinjuro's reaction was explosive. The very concept violently challenged the black-and-white convictions he had bled for his entire life.
"Namu Amida Butsu. Akira, please be careful not to be deceived by the silver tongues of demonic entities," Gyomei warned, his sightless eyes narrowing in genuine concern.
"I haven't been swinging a blade in the Corps for decades, but I've slaughtered my fair share of demons," another Hashira muttered darkly. "And I've never seen a single one that doesn't crave human flesh."
"I will stick to what I said before," Sabito stated, his tone measured but firm. "I will wait for Oyakata-sama's final judgment."
Sabito had recently learned that the carriage transporting the demons Akira protected had also carried an ordinary human family. From start to finish, those two demons had not harmed a single hair on the humans' heads. In fact, they had conversed pleasantly with them. While the concept still felt entirely unbelievable, the hard evidence had slightly dulled his instinctual hostility toward Tamayo and Yushiro.
"What if that demon could not only suppress their hunger completely, but actively help us develop lethal poisons specifically designed to kill other evil demons?" Akira pressed, his voice cutting through the rising tension.
As soon as those words left his mouth, a heavy, stunned silence crashed over the courtyard. Even Shinjuro, who held the most aggressive stance, visibly wavered, his mouth opening and closing as he struggled to formulate a response to such a monumental tactical advantage.
"Now, listen to a story..."
Seeing the rigid hostility in the air begin to fracture, Akira smoothly transitioned into recounting the tragic, centuries-long past of Tamayo and Yushiro.
He wove the tale of their survival, and naturally brought up the fateful day Demon King Muzan was nearly reduced to ash by Tsugikuni Yoriichi. He laid bare the pathetic truth: the reason Muzan was so utterly obsessed with eradicating the Sun Breathing inheritance, yet too terrified to hunt them down personally, was simply his paralyzing fear of death.
The revelation felt utterly absurd to the elite Hashira, yet perfectly logical. The immortal Demon King was a coward.
"These are probably just convenient lies that demon named Tamayo spun to save her own skin, right?" Shinjuro challenged, though his voice lacked its previous fire. "Is there any hard evidence? Any human witnesses?"
"As for evidence, the Kamado family serves as living proof," Akira replied calmly. "When we were relocating them, we had an unexpected, violent encounter with Upper Rank Four. Because of the chaos, Kanae and I brought those two demons along with us. They lived side-by-side with the Kamado family the entire time, and they got along very pleasantly."
Hidden in the shadows nearby, a vein bulged violently on Yushiro's forehead. 'Pleasant?!'he fumed silently, his fists trembling.'Those two rude, uncultured brats actually dared to ask about Lady Tamayo's age! Unforgivable!'
"Even over these past few days," Akira continued, oblivious to the hidden demon's internal rage, "under the constant, alternating observation of Makomo and Kanae, Tamayo and Yushiro have not shown even the slightest flicker of desire to consume human flesh, despite living in close quarters with ordinary people."
At that moment, the sliding doors opened fully, and Kagaya Ubuyashiki's gentle, soothing voice washed over the tense courtyard.
"Regarding this point, my children, I can also testify to their absolute restraint. As Sabito so wisely stated he would wait for my judgment, I shall now make my stance clear."
Kagaya turned his blind eyes toward an empty, seemingly vacant patch of space near the edge of the garden. "You two... please reveal yourselves."
As his gentle command fell over the courtyard, the empty air suddenly rippled. Tamayo and Yushiro peeled away the Blood Demon Art talismans hiding their presence, their physical forms materializing out of thin air right before the elite swordsmen.
The sudden, flawless materialization of two demons within the highly warded Ubuyashiki estate violently startled every single Hashira present—and even Akira couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at their sheer stealth.
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