Anime/Manga: Bankai Starting with Demon Slayer

call--!

The wind trembled with his breath, and the air hummed with his movements.

Wisps of bluish-white gas hissed as they flowed into his mouth and nose, transforming into a powerful force that spread throughout his limbs and bones!

Chaotic energy swirled around the wooden sword, even condensing into a nearly tangible emerald green light!

"Wind Breathing - Fourth Form: Rise into the Sandstorm!"

Arashizaki Teshin lowered his body, shouted in a deep voice, and drew a semi-circle with his wooden sword in front of him before fiercely slashing upwards!

*Sizzle!*

A sharp whistling sound exploded through the air! The bird felt a piercing pain in its eardrums, and its vision blurred suddenly!

The next moment, he saw a sight he would never forget.

Chapter 7 Breath of the Wind

That wasn't the crude fistfight of street thugs, nor was it his clumsy knife skills, relying on brute force and ferocity to casually slash at Liang Lin.

This strike is more like a resonance between the human body and nature, an extreme burst of power from the human body, wildly unleashed between heaven and earth!

The wooden sword swept upwards, unleashing a whirlwind!

“The teacher is very serious today…” Pear Blossom suddenly spoke up.

With Arashizaki Teshin as the origin, a tornado composed of pure and violent air currents suddenly formed and rose from the ground!

Boom!

A violent wind pressure surged out from Arashizaki's wooden sword, instantly engulfing most of the training ground!

The murky snow and sand mixed with the dust on the training ground instantly formed a sandstorm that shot straight into the sky! It was like a roaring, yellowish-brown python, frantically stretching its fangs towards the heavens!

The edge of the tornado emitted a piercing cutting sound, and sharp wind blades visible to the naked eye darted up and down within it. Asuka had no doubt that if she touched it, she would be instantly sliced ​​through flesh and blood!

A moment later, the howling tornado gradually subsided, and the snow and dust that had been swept up in the sky fell like raindrops, forming a clear circular area around Arashizaki Teshin.

He slowly withdrew his stance, the wooden sword pointing diagonally at the ground, his breathing gradually becoming calmer.

Arashizaki Tesshin cast his deep gaze upon the stunned bird, and spoke in a low, powerful voice, "See that? If you want to kill those demons, brute force and the ruthlessness you've learned from the streets aren't enough!"

"If you are willing, I can teach you the Breath of the Wind, which will give you the power to fight demons, but you must also take responsibility..."

"Asuka, are you prepared? To become a Demon Slayer?"

The resolve to become a Demon Slayer? Asuka paused for half a second, then quickly dismissed the thought.

He didn't really feel anything about killing ghosts.

In Asuka's view, although she didn't know where ghosts came from, the fact that ghosts ate people seemed to be one of the rules of this cruel world, just like dogs stealing food and wolves eating sheep.

He had already avenged the old man with his life; the other ghosts had nothing to do with him.

Whether it's the Demon Slayer Corps or the God Slayer Corps, he doesn't care what these people want to do.

But power... this old man possesses a very strong, learnable power!

He wanted to live... to live better and safer, and that required him to acquire greater power!

"...Okay, but how many of those monsters do I have to kill to get this cultivation method to power?"

Arashizaki Tesshin gave him a deep look.

The wildness in the boy's eyes hadn't faded, like a lone wolf just rescued and returned to its pack... The will to survive at all costs is the cornerstone of becoming a powerful swordsman, but it's also a risk...

In this increasingly turbulent era, the Demon Slayer Corps needs more reinforcements...

He hesitated for a moment, but still made a decision: "You don't need to switch... Since you've made up your mind, you can stay and train with us starting tomorrow!"

Thus, Seventy-Eight Birds, this otherworldly stray dog ​​from the lowest level of Rukongai, stayed at Hayama Breeding Center.

In the very beginning, Arashizaki Tesshin did not teach him anything about sword techniques or combat.

Every day begins with the fiercest morning wind from the mountaintop.

Arashizaki Teshin gathered his team, and then sat with his legs crossed on the cold outdoor training ground, closing his eyes and concentrating, feeling the cold and fierce mountain wind.

"Wind Breathing is the most flexible and swift style, as unpredictable and powerful as a whirlwind!"

"Feel the air entering your mouth and nose, flowing along every inch of your trachea into your lungs, and then slowly exhale!"

"Don't rush your breathing! Imagine yourself as a bellows, holding your breath to its limit with each inhale! Exhale completely, like a hurricane sweeping across the earth!"

Asuka listened to Arasaki's request and wondered what was so difficult about it.

He tried several times as instructed, but Arashi's wooden sword mercilessly struck his diaphragm with precise and ruthless force, causing him to almost suffocate from the pain.

"The rhythm is steady and powerful!"

Asuka got up, gritted her teeth, and tried her best to do exactly what Arashizaki asked.

Soon, he learned his lesson.

In the fierce mountain wind, the air felt like knives, making people feel suffocated. Asuka and the others had to follow Arashisaki's instructions and breathe at a frequency and depth far exceeding their usual breathing to feel every bit of airflow.

Countless invisible needles were repeatedly stabbing his trachea and alveoli, and he felt a tearing sensation in his lungs. Every breath felt like a blade going in and out of his trachea!

He could only hold on for less than ten minutes before his vision went black, his ears started ringing, and he began to cough violently.

"Hmph! You can't even endure this little bit of hardship, yet you want to master the power of the wind?" Kenichi was also cross-legged and practicing breathing exercises, but his progress was much deeper than Asuka's, so he was naturally not in such a sorry state.

He openly sneered at Asuka, and Arashi tacitly allowed this to happen, silently observing Kenichi intentionally provoking this wild boy he disliked.

But Asuka ignored Kenichi's mockery, simply wiping the saliva from her mouth caused by the violent coughing with her sleeve, calming herself down once again, and trying her best to continue.

Compared to the days of living in constant fear and uncertainty, like a homeless dog, what is this little pain?

Arashiki quietly observed Asuka's almost obsessive persistence, sensing his clumsy and rough nature, yet also his beastly, relentless struggle. His expression turned serious.

This kid has a ruthless streak... He'll use every last ounce of strength he has to achieve his goal...

One day, two days, three days...

Asuka became the first to arrive and the last to leave the training ground.

The morning frost had not yet melted away when he sat cross-legged on the cold stone slab. Even after everyone had left, he had not yet come out of his meditation.

A tearing pain shot through his lungs, and his clothes, soaked with sweat, quickly grew cold in the wind, sticking to his body with an icy chill, but he chose to endure it.

Sometimes, when he practiced until he was exhausted, he would faint on the cold stone slab, and be found by Pear Blossom on patrol and dragged back to his room.

But the next day, he still showed up on time, his eyes even more determined.

Kenichi's mockery gradually turned into silence, and then into an incomprehensible gaze.

He watched with his own eyes as the birds fell down time and time again, only to rise again and again.

That wasn't training; it was a desperate struggle, like burning their own lives for a sliver of hope to become stronger.

This ruthlessness put him under pressure, and even... made him admire it.

When Asuka was finally able to maintain this breathing for more than half an hour amidst intense pain and no longer fainted, Arashizaki handed him his first training wooden sword.

"Starting tomorrow, we'll begin physical training!"

This does not mean liberation, but rather a more painful ordeal.

In the indoor training ground, Arashizaki demonstrated the most basic sword-holding posture: "Without a solid foundation, even the most gorgeous moves are just castles in the air. Keep this in mind!"

So, Asuka began the maddeningly monotonous basic sword-wielding training.

Chop! Slash! Slash! Thrust!

Time and time again, day after day, the bird repeated the simplest and most monotonous movements.

Holding the heavy wooden sword in both hands, he carefully swung it according to Arashizaki's instructions regarding every angle and every force.

Every swing of the knife must be coordinated with the rhythm of breathing.

Inhale, gather strength

Sword swing, explosion

Exhale, return to the starting position.

The movements must be standard, and the breathing must be synchronized.

After completing the required number of sword swings, Kenichi and several other classmates went on to practice more complex footwork or sparring.

Only the birds, like tireless machines, remained standing in the same spot, swinging their wooden swords again and again.

My arms felt like they were filled with lead, making each lift incredibly difficult. The rough wooden handle chafed my thumbs and forefingers, drawing blood that seeped into the hilt of the sword. Sweat seeped into the wounds, causing excruciating pain. My lower back ached unbearably, as if it might break at any moment.

"That's enough! That's enough for today! Do you want to ruin yourself?" Kenichi finally couldn't hold back and shouted at Asuka, who was still doing extra training, after a training session.

Feiniao's movements did not pause for a moment, sweat dripped down his taut jawline and fell onto the wooden plank beneath his feet, without uttering a word.

He didn't know what muscle soreness was; he only knew that his back would hurt even more when the thugs' sticks came down!

Early morning, dusk, noon, evening, and even late at night.

Thousands of times, tens of thousands of times, hundreds of thousands of times...

The blisters on my hands broke and scabbed over, eventually turning into a thick layer of old cocoon.

This went on for seven months.

Until Kenichi told him with admiration:

"...Asuka, you're amazing! The teacher said you can start your [off-site training] tomorrow!"

Chapter 8 Refined Through a Thousand Hammers

In seven months, the once thin bird began to grow strong and taller.

His sword-wielding movements, which were initially stiff and clumsy, became fluid and swift, with each strike accompanied by a sharp whistling sound.

Although it is far from reaching the level of the tearing storm that Arashizaki demonstrated, its sense of power and stability is incomparable to what it used to be.

The next day, Asuka arrived at the foot of the most precipitous peak of Hayama, as Arashizaki had requested.

"The wind is formless and intangible, its gathering and dispersing are unpredictable! Don't try to fight it, but feel its flow and its power!"

"Immerse yourself in it! Swordsmen of the Breath of the Wind must not fear the wind! Be as free as the wind, as all-pervasive as the wind, as destructive as the wind!"

The wind here is even more violent, like an invisible giant hand tearing at people's bodies; a slight misstep could send you flying off the cliff.

"You've laid a solid foundation; it's time to begin training in [Total Concentration Breathing]..."

"Focus on breathing. You need to continue to strengthen the breathing techniques you were taught before, expand your lungs, deliver oxygen to every blood vessel in your body, and accelerate blood circulation and heartbeat!"

"In this way, your body temperature will rise rapidly, and your bones and muscles will become burning hot, allowing you, with a human body, to gain power as great as a demon!"

Arashi stood at the foot of the mountain, his expression serious. "Asuka... From today onwards, you will climb to the summit every day with your bare hands! There you will practice Total Concentration Breathing and daily sword stances, and then climb down the mountain!"

"Come find me when you can finish all this in two hours!"

"Have the belief that you're going to die, and keep going."

Arashizaki Tesshin didn't give any further explanation, leaving Asuka alone.

He believed that even if he were alone, a flame would ignite within the boy's heart, urging him to complete his training.

Initially, the biggest challenge was climbing the mountain in the strong winds.

The howling wind could blow him down the mountain stream at any moment, turning him into a pile of minced meat, but after gradually becoming familiar with the mountain path, it became the easiest task.

The fierce winds from the peak rushed into his mouth and nose, and the thin oxygen made it extremely difficult for him to even breathe, let alone maintain full concentration.

His body swayed violently in the wind, making each swing of the knife extremely difficult and his movements severely distorted.

But he did not back down. Instead, he faced the wind, breathing more deeply and adjusting his center of gravity and point of exertion more precisely.

He struggled in the gale, like a lone wolf fighting in a storm, blown about again and again, but each time regaining his balance and swinging the wooden sword that carried his indomitable will.

The time allotted for cultivation was continuously compressed until he could complete it all in about an hour.

Over the months, the bird's skin became dark and rough from the mountain winds, but its eyes became sharper and sharper, like the edge of a knife that had been honed by wind and frost.

His movement on the mountaintop became increasingly stable, and his sword-wielding movements gradually became fluid even in the gale. He could even subtly use the wind to adjust his attack angle.

When he appeared in front of Arashizaki Teshin, the latter had no intention of testing Asuka's ability to do it herself, but instead took him to the back of Hayama, to a secluded training ground.

The ancient trees here are towering and lush, and the dim light makes it look both quiet and dangerous.

For the next year, apart from Miss Rika who went in and out of the back mountain every day and Arashizaki Teshin who would occasionally come out of the back mountain to instruct other disciples, no one saw Asuka again.