Anime/Manga: Bankai Starting with Demon Slayer

He looked around anxiously, and then he saw the broken knife leaning against the wall alone in the corner behind him.

Asuka struggled to her feet, trying to hold the long sword in her bosom, but the intense pain and tearing sensation throughout her body made her brow twitch, and fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead. The strength she had just gathered instantly dissipated.

He collapsed to the ground, struggling to keep his body upright, and slowly crawled toward the long sword.

The most important lesson Rukongai taught him was: Don't easily believe in kindness without a reason.

He was tortured and abused by those men in black for a few meals and a little water, and ended up in this godforsaken place...

If he hadn't been too weak to resist, he wouldn't have let the old man help him, even if the old man was genuinely kind.

In this world, people prey on each other. If you don't want to be preyed upon, you have to become prickly all over.

Click! But before he could even climb to the side of the long sword, the door to the Japanese-style room was pushed open.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"I heard the commotion and thought something had happened, but you can't move around! Your injury is quite serious!"

A boy wearing a dark blue kendo uniform, who looked a year or two older than him, exclaimed in surprise. Beside him, a girl with long, jet-black hair carrying a steaming ceramic bowl also rushed towards Asuka with concern.

The girl's clear eyes were full of worry. She gently placed the ceramic bowl on the tatami mat and tried to help the struggling Asuka up. "You just stopped bleeding not long ago, go lie back down!"

Asuka froze instantly, not because of the girl's concern, but because he saw the dark blue kendo uniform on the boy who had broken in.

Although the colors were different, it did look very much like the black-clad swordsman who had captured him from Rukongai and subjected him to inhuman torture! This instantly set off alarm bells in his heart!

"Get out of here!"

He roared, and the bandage on his shoulder bled from his violent arm swing.

Despite the excruciating pain throughout her body, Asuka suddenly curled up backward, pressing her back firmly against the wall, glaring fiercely at the two intruders.

Who are you! Where is this?!

His gaze was filled with undisguised hostility, as if he would fight her to the death if the girl came any closer.

The boy in the kendo uniform was completely bewildered by the sudden hostility. He stopped in his tracks and stared in astonishment at the girl in front of him.

"You bastard!"

They hadn't expected Asuka to be so resistant to their kindness. The boy was a little angry and wanted to say something more, but the girl, who had quickly stood up, tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to calm down.

The girl took two steps back, maintaining a safe distance, and said softly, "Please don't be nervous, we have no hostile intentions..."

"This is Hayama, a place that trains swordsmen to fight demons. My name is Rika, and his name is Kenichi."

She pointed to the wisteria pattern on the wall: "The Demon Slayer Corps found you severely injured and unconscious in the snow forest and brought you here."

"Demon Slayer Corps?" Asuka heard this unfamiliar term, but the wariness in his eyes did not dissipate. He kept his eyes fixed on Kenichi, who looked impatient.

What is a ghost?

"What? Weren't you brought into the breeding center as an exception because you killed a demon?" Kenichi chimed in, "They found human remains and strong remnants of demonic energy. Based on the battle traces at the scene, they determined that you killed an evil demon."

At this point, Kenichi added, "Oni are man-eating monsters! They are immortal and only sunlight and Nichirin Blades can kill them! I really don't know how you did it!"

Monster... Now Asuka understood.

It seems that the twisted, cannibalistic monster is the ghost these people are talking about.

However, upon hearing Kenichi mention another person's remains... Asuka's eyes dimmed, and her hostility lessened slightly.

Sensing the emotional fluctuations in Asuka, Pear Blossom sighed softly and picked up the bowl of medicine again.

"Regardless, you need to get proper treatment and rest now... Your injuries were very serious; it's a miracle you're still alive. You need to take care of your body..."

Pear Blossom quietly placed the medicine in front of Asuka, without forcing him. Asuka, in turn, looked at Pear Blossom warily, showing no intention of taking the medicine.

The atmosphere in the room remained awkwardly frozen until Kenichi, somewhat annoyed and impatient, spoke again.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Sister Pear Blossom went to all that trouble to brew this herbal medicine for you, and instead of saying thank you, you just... *crack a hole in the wall*!"

"...Let me go." Asuka didn't know what the truth was, but he just wanted to leave this unfamiliar place, even if he was covered in wounds.

"You little brat.....!!"

Just then, a deep, resonant voice, carrying a resolute quality, came from the doorway.

"Kenichi, what are you all arguing about?"

The three of them turned their heads at the same time and saw a tall figure standing outside the door.

He was an old man around fifty years old, with a face as hard as if carved by a knife and axe, and short hair as thick as steel needles.

He wore a simple dark green kimono with a dark haori casually over it. Deep nasolabial folds and scars between his eyebrows left the marks of time on his face. His empty left sleeve was neatly tucked into his waistband.

The old man simply stood there, making no threatening or aggressive moves, yet it sent chills down the bird's spine.

It was that feeling again... an extreme sense of oppression and unease, as if this person, just by standing there, was a sharp blade that had not yet been drawn, ready to unleash a terrifying power at any moment!

Upon seeing the old man, Kenichi, who had been somewhat agitated, blushed instantly like a chick being choked, and quickly lowered his head with reverence and respect.

"Arasaki-sensei!"

Pear Blossom quickly bowed and greeted him, "Teacher."

The old man scanned the room with his deep, calm eyes and immediately understood what had happened.

He did not rebuke Asuka for her rudeness and hostility, but simply waved his hand, signaling Kenichi and Rika to leave the room first.

Then, he calmly walked into the Japanese-style room alone, closed the door, and slowly walked to Asuka, where he sat down cross-legged.

"name?"

Chapter 6 Arashizaki Tetsushin

Asuka felt even more uneasy and hesitated to speak for a moment.

But he also knew that the dangerous aura emanating from the old man in front of him was something he couldn't resist.

The second most important lesson Rukongai taught him was: Don't bark at a big dog before you have the strength.

He remained silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking.

"....flying birds"

Does it have a surname?

"Seventy-eight."

"Um...."

The old man didn't ask about the name. In this world, nameless and homeless children roam the streets and alleys, either being eaten by ghosts or captured and sold by those with black hearts. It doesn't matter whether they have a surname or not.

"Feiniao, the wounds on your body were caused by a demon... Three fatal wounds didn't kill you. Your vitality is very strong. Don't waste it!"

As he spoke, he handed the bowl of medicine to Fei Niao.

Seeing the distrust in Asuka's eyes, he said in a deep voice, "I can sense that you are different from them. I know that's the difference between street thugs and ordinary people, but here everyone is the same."

“If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn’t need to go through all this trouble.”

Hearing the old man say this, Feiniao twitched the corner of her mouth, and she felt that there was some truth to it.

So he stopped insisting and drank the slightly warm bitter medicine in one gulp, without spilling a single drop.

The old man nodded and pointed to himself with his only remaining right hand.

"My name is Arashizaki Teshin. This is my training center—Hayama, a place dedicated to training swordsmen for the Demon Slayer Corps."

"You've probably already seen what a ghost is. This is my fault; I didn't expect there to be ghosts haunting the area around Hayama without me noticing..."

“Normally, to become a disciple of the training institute, one needs to pass some basic tests... But as an ordinary person who can kill ghosts, I believe these tests are unnecessary.”

Arashizaki Tesshin then pointed at Asuka and asked the question that concerned him most:

"The Demon Slayer Corps said they found numerous lacerations at the scene... Kid, how did you do that?"

Asuka's pupils contracted sharply, and the old man Arashizaki noticed this as well, looking at him with a solemn expression.

What should I do? Should I tell her? Asuka thought quickly, trying to come up with a story.

He had already remembered part of it; the tattered longsword in his hand was a weapon called "Qiang Meng Nai Jue Nang Gan Tan Tao" that released a special power.

Although he wasn't sure if he had truly mastered this power, it was clear that it didn't belong to this world. Would revealing the truth cause him trouble...?

While Asuka was thinking quickly, Arashizaki Tesshin provided the answer for him:

"I've lived for decades and have heard of some people in this world who are born with the ability to comprehend the mysteries of breathing and sword stance... Could you be one of those people?"

“Breathe…” Asuka opened her mouth, her cunning and caution quickly forming a coherent explanation as she stammered as she tried to recall, “…I don’t know, I only remember that at the time…I wanted to avenge the old man, and in a fit of rage, I wildly swung my sword…”

Sometimes, the knife would generate... a gust of wind like a dog barking, completely out of control... other times, it just felt like the force was a bit too much...

Arashizaki Tesshin listened quietly to Asuka's fragmented and incoherent description, his brows furrowed.

"An uncontrollable gale..."

He can sense the flow of a person's aura.

The boy in front of me was lying, but it didn't seem like a complete fabrication; it was more like an exaggerated metaphor.

Is he exaggerating his power to intimidate me? Or is it simply a matter of distrust, leading him to emphasize his strength as if he fears I might harm him...?

He stared at the bird for a long time, sensing the flow of its aura—a pale red wave—indicating that it still harbored hostility but no malicious schemes.

Self-preservation... Arashizaki made his own judgment.

“That’s it…” His voice was calm and steady, and he had made his decision.

Perhaps this is just a rare, uncultivated, and untrained fighting instinct; that is perhaps the most reasonable explanation.

"Whatever that is, the fact is that you can kill ghosts. Make good use of it; it will be one of the important things that will help you survive."

"One of them?" Asuka repeated the word in confusion, while Arashizaki Teshin had already stood up.

He walked to the door of the Japanese-style room, gently opened it, and without turning back, left only one sentence:

"Hayama is not a chaotic street; no one will steal your food or harm you for no reason."

"Once you can stand on your own two feet, I will show you what real wind is like."

The door was closed, isolating the birds from the outside world.

Asuka remained silent, gazing at the unreal, warm Japanese-style room before her.

After thinking for a moment, he climbed back into the warm bed and carefully wrapped himself up tightly.

Perhaps it was Arasaki's words that piqued his curiosity, or perhaps he simply wanted to stay here peacefully for a few more days.

He once again drifted into a hazy dream.

A few days later, outside the training field.

When Asuka finally stepped out of the Japanese-style room, she discovered that it was a cluster of buildings that occupied almost half of the mountaintop.

The training ground is divided into indoor and outdoor sections. The place Miss Pear Blossom is taking him to now is a large open space that has been carved out on the western slope of the mountain.

The wind at the mountaintop was even more biting and cold, carrying fine snow and withered leaves, which would quickly turn a person's face red.

Asuka stood at the edge of the outdoor training ground, wearing a slightly ill-fitting dark blue kendo uniform given to him by Miss Rika, while underneath he wore the old cotton coat that the bald old man had left him, which had been washed and patched.

The temperature is very low today, and in principle, the sick person should not be allowed to come out in the wind, but the vitality of birds is indeed as Arasaki said, unusually tenacious.

In just a few days, with the help of herbs, the scabs formed and slowly healed, much to Miss Pear Blossom's surprise.

Although making larger movements still causes dull pain, at least the bird can move freely, which makes it very satisfied.

He still held onto his worn-out sword, staring intently at the tall, one-armed figure in the arena, Arashiki Teshin.

The old man was still dressed the same, but today he had a heavy-looking mottled wooden knife in his hand.

He stood there quietly, facing the distant, towering peaks, as if he had become one with the howling mountain wind.

"Watch closely, kid."

Arashi didn't turn around, but he could already sense Rika and Asuka's arrival.

"This is—the breath of the wind!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Arashizaki Teshin's aura changed instantly!

If we say that Arashizaki just now was like an invisible being that had merged into the heavens and earth, becoming one with the mountain wind.

Now, he was like a sharp blade drawn from its sheath, instantly cleaving through the air between heaven and earth, or like a tornado rising from the ground, abruptly leaping into the perception of a bird!

Arashizaki Teshin gripped his wooden sword tightly, raised his only remaining right arm, and a powerful and terrifying killing intent surged from his body, capable of tearing everything apart!