Anime/Manga: Bankai Starting with Demon Slayer

“I believe that the five existing basic breathing techniques all contain at least one characteristic of the initial breathing, so I intend to reverse the process and recreate the initial breathing.”

"This is outrageous!" Shinazugawa Saneya's eyes were full of doubt: "The breathing techniques are the culmination of countless predecessors over hundreds of years. You want to deduce them from one person's intuition?"

"It's not just me, it's us together." Asuka's tone was firm:

“If following the rules could kill Wuchan, he would have died long ago. Just because our predecessors couldn’t learn a breathing technique doesn’t mean we can’t.”

“Amitabha…” Even in the hot spring, Beimingyu Xingming was still turning his prayer beads: “I understand Fei Niao’s idea. If this is truly the only way to save all living beings, this humble monk is willing to cooperate with all his might.”

"And then there's Tanjiro."

Asuka pointed to the bewildered boy from the Kamado Temple: "According to a... reliable source, your Kagura earrings are repeatedly flashing back in Muzan's memories. I believe your Hinokami Kagura is also key to our restoration of the Breath of the Sun, and I hope you will join the Pillar training as well."

"Me? Uh... but..."

Tanjiro wanted to say that he wasn't a Pillar-level swordsman and might be a burden, but Asuka ignored him.

He looked at Zenitsu Agatsuma, who had been quietly dozing by the hot spring, and calmly began to speak:

"Furthermore, given that Zenitsu Agatsuma only knows the First Form... I've decided to go to Momoyama to ask former Naruhashi Naruto, Jigoro Kuwashima, about the Thunder Breathing Sword Form."

"Ugh—!! Are you going to see Grandpa?!"

Zenitsu could no longer pretend to be asleep and cried out in alarm.

Chapter 95 The Old Man of Peach Mountain

Taoshan, as its name suggests, is covered with peach trees all over the mountains.

It was late autumn, but unfortunately we couldn't see the magnificent scene of peach blossoms in full bloom and pink clouds filling the sky, nor could we enjoy the plump and juicy peaches that Zenitsu was eating.

The bird walked alone on the winding mountain path, the fallen leaves rustling softly under its feet.

Originally, he meant well and wanted to invite Zenitsu to come to Momoyama to ask Kuwashima Jigoro for advice, so that Zenitsu could also come back and rest for a couple of days.

However, the child seemed to have some reservations about returning to Momoyama, preferring to stay at the mansion for intensive training rather than come.

After walking to a wide, flat area on the mountainside, this is the dojo of Thunder Breathing.

The Hachiman Training Center, with its grand scale and numerous disciples, was far superior to the Hachiman Training Center.

In front of the wooden house was a carefully leveled sandy area, with several thick wooden stakes driven deep into the ground, their shafts covered with a dense layer of dark gray moss.

Not far away, there was a huge old tree that looked like it had been struck by lightning, its entire body now a deep black.

Is this the Momoyama dojo? It looks quite peaceful, which suits my taste.

"Hey! You little brat over there, what are you staring at like that?!"

A loud, forceful shout that made the bird's ears ring came from behind him.

Immediately afterwards, a short figure rushed over in a flurry.

He wore a tan kimono, and his wooden prosthetic leg struck the ground with a rapid, powerful thud.

That face, covered in wrinkles and scars, wore a strange, mischievous smile, and its slightly murky eyes were scrutinizing the bird from head to toe.

"This is private property. We don't sell peaches here, nor do we take on apprentices!"

Asuka gazed silently at the former Sound Hashirama of the Demon Slayer Corps, sensing the aura emanating from his body.

The old man had completely suppressed his energy; if it weren't for his lightning-fast breathing, he would almost be mistaken for a harmless old man.

"I am Asuka from the Demon Slayer Corps. Nice to meet you." Asuka bowed slightly.

"Oh? So you're the Arashi Pillar that Kasugai said came here to train?" Kuwashima Jigoro narrowed his small eyes, took a few steps closer with his wooden cane, and scanned back and forth between Asuka's sword at her waist and her brand-new haori.

"I thought that a Pillar who could kill an Upper Moon demon would be a strong and muscular man like Gyomei, but I didn't expect him to be a kid."

He chuckled strangely, but it also sounded like he was angrily muttering to himself, "Tch... Mist Pillar or Serpent Pillar, how come all the kids these days are so amazing at such a young age... When will our Zenitsu become a Pillar...?"

"Senior?"

Interrupted from her rambling by Asuka, Kuwashima chuckled somewhat sheepishly, turned around, and asked curiously:

"So what is there for me to practice here? You already have your own breathing techniques and fighting style, aren't you afraid of overdoing it?"

He earnestly advised, "You must understand that more strength and more techniques are not necessarily better. Sometimes, even if you only know one or two techniques, as long as you practice them to the highest level, they can still be unstoppable killing moves!"

Kuwashima Jigoro firmly believed in this.

"I understand. I just wanted to take a look at the characteristics of Thunder Breathing, but ultimately it's all about forging my own path."

Asuka answered crisply, "Furthermore, I wish to restore the breathing of the day."

I had already heard about this from my lord in his letter. Although it seemed a bit unbelievable, I had already prepared myself for it.

He looked at the bird again and found that the boy's eyes were extremely pure, without the impetuousness of those who became famous at a young age, but with a calmness.

He had seen that look in many people, but few could maintain such a thirst for knowledge as Asuka, even after becoming a Pillar.

But he still wanted to test the young man's personality again.

The strange old man chuckled mischievously and pointed with his wooden cane at a long-abandoned piece of land behind the temple.

"It's late autumn. I need to turn over all the soil there before the first snow falls, so I can plant the herbs for next spring."

"You, go and turn that place upside down."

What herbs? That's just barren land! This excuse was clearly made up on the spot.

The bird looked at the barren slope, then at the old man's back.

"it is good."

He took off his haori and tsunamis, picked up the hoe from the side of the dojo, and walked towards the cold slope.

For the next three days, Kuwashima Jigoro seemed to genuinely treat Asuka as free labor.

He moved a rattan chair to the edge of the slope, holding a chipped, rough earthenware bowl in his arms. He drank steaming hot brown rice porridge while gesturing at the birds.

"Hey! Kid! Are you a butcher? That chop was way too hard! The soil is supposed to be loose but not crumbly, but you just cleaved it in two!"

"Too slow! The essence of Thunder Breathing lies in 'a moment'! At your speed, before you even draw your sword, the demon will have plucked all the hair off your body!"

"Oh dear, these young people nowadays are as weak as paper. Back when I was training in Peach Mountain, this kind of work only took five minutes... Ah, that crybaby may be useless, but his talent for work is far superior to yours, you blockhead!"

Whenever the crybaby is mentioned, a hint of tenderness and a touch of pride always flashes across Kuwashima Jigoro's wrinkled face.

So what if he only knows the First Form? Didn't he still kill the Upper Moon alongside the Pillars? Zenitsu will definitely amount to something.

The bird was not agitated by the mockery.

He began to realize that Sangdao's mockery was merely an attempt to shake his resolve, and that the so-called soil-turning, under his direction, had transformed into a kind of sword-shaped training.

Under Sangdao's command, he compressed his physical strength to the extreme and then unleashed it in an instant through his legs and arms.

If this technique is mastered, it can be combined with spiritual pressure bursts in battle to achieve the effect of instantly killing the enemy.

By dusk on the third day, the once barren slope had become flat and soft.

"Old man, the tilling is finished."

Kuwashima Jigoro strolled over, opened the dojo door, and stomped his prosthetic leg on the ground, showing no intention of inspecting it.

"It's alright, come in. Don't just stand there waiting. If you catch a cold, I'll have to waste my medicine."

Inside the temple, the firewood in the hearth crackled and popped.

Kuwashima Jigoro sat cross-legged opposite Asuka, his expression becoming extremely serious, befitting a former grandmaster.

"Listen carefully, Asuka—Thunder Breathing is different from other breathing techniques. It pursues the ultimate explosion, the cruel exploitation of the body's limits. In addition, it requires the awareness and courage to draw the sword and charge forward no matter how powerful the enemy is!"

"Therefore, swordsmen who practice the Breath of Thunder are often more prone to injury or physical disability, as they are trading their lives for a moment of glory."

He picked up a pair of tongs and drew a straight line in the fire pit.

“Among my disciples, there was once a very talented fellow… Unfortunately, he never understood this point and could never draw the straightest line, so he could never master the First Form.” Kuwashima’s voice deepened, and a trace of heartache flashed in his eyes.

"As for the other one..." Kuwashima's tone softened considerably, revealing a sense of satisfaction as if he had found a treasure: "Although he only knows the first form, he cries and shouts that he can't do it and wants to run away every day."

"But I know that he worked very hard to master the First Form to a level that even I admire."

"That child's name is Zenitsu. He will definitely become an even better Sound Pillar than me..."

"Now, watch carefully."

While Asuka was listening quietly, Kuwashima Jigoro suddenly drew his sword.

In that instant, Asuka felt as if the air in front of her had been cut open.

Without any fancy sword shape, a golden light so fast that it was beyond the limits of the naked eye flashed past him!

laugh--!

A straight sword aura traversed a distance of three meters, precisely slicing through a wooden stump opposite the fire pit.

"This is the First Form: Thunderclap Flash."

Kuwashima sheathed his sword in one fluid motion: "It is the foundation and the end of all Thunder Breathing techniques. If you can master this technique, your understanding of thunder will be complete."

Chapter 96 The Surging Ghosts

As night fell, Mount Momo was shrouded in a thick fog.

This was not the light, damp fog commonly seen in the mountains; it was more like a heavy, oppressive fog, as if lead powder had been sprinkled into the air.

The bird, who was sitting cross-legged indoors, had not yet noticed this strange phenomenon.

He closed his eyes, and his breathing rate began to change.

Through his constant attempts, he can now skillfully switch between the Flame and Wind breathing techniques and fuse them into his Arashi.

Now, he felt the scorching air rushing down his trachea into the deepest part of his lungs, and then spreading it to his limbs using the power of Thunder Breathing, quietly experiencing the changes in his body.

Crackling sound.

In the tranquil night, a faint black and red spark could be seen flashing at the tip of a bird's nose.

That was the resonance produced by his spiritual pressure after it was highly compressed, and the Thunder Breathing Technique.

“I see…” Asuka opened her eyes, a hint of understanding flashing in her dark pupils: “Looks like it’s time to go back.”

With these insights gained over the past few days, he has basically grasped the true meaning of Thunder Breathing.

Although he was still far from reaching the pinnacle, his purpose was not to train in Thunder Breathing, but to find the commonalities among different breathing techniques.

"Next, all I need to do is ask Tomioka and Morijima for advice, and then..."

A nauseatingly foul spiritual pressure was coming from all directions, carried by the mountain mist.

The aura of a ghost.

Moreover, it wasn't just one or two.

The bird instantly became alert, grabbed the raccoon, and rushed outside.

Standing in the middle of the sand, he gripped the hilt of his knife tightly, feeling the intense malice surging around him, and was puzzled.

How can there be so many ghosts?

Although he wasn't an expert in demonology, he knew that demons didn't act on such a large scale; they all had their own territories and ways of behaving.

Could it be... Muzan's command?

"Old man, wake up," Feiniao whispered into the house.

"Tch, what are you doing so late at night? I'm already asleep!" Kuwashima Jigoro's voice came from inside the house, carrying a hint of annoyance at being disturbed from his sleep.

As the door opened, the old man's sleepy eyes sharpened like a hawk the moment he sensed the malice in the air.

Although he lost a leg and has been retired for many years, his instinct as a pillar is still ingrained in his bones.

In the shadows of the thick fog, ferocious figures slowly emerged.

They tumbled down from the treetops and crawled out from behind the earthen slope; a rough count revealed that there were more than fifteen of them.

Sangdao frowned deeply: "Although their auras are not strong, what's with the number? Momoyama's location is extremely secretive, and no evil spirits have ever infiltrated it in all these years."

These demons weren't top-tier in strength; most of them couldn't even reach the threshold of the Lower Moon. However, their steps were synchronized and their goal was extremely clear—they were after Kuwashima Jigoro.

"Hehehe... So it really is here..." A demon with three eyes emerged from behind the old peach tree, drooling greedily. "That retired Sound Pillar... Oh? And an unexpected bonus, a young swordsman?"

"Kill them! Lord Ghost Moon will reward you!"

The ghosts let out sharp roars, and a stench instantly filled the entire courtyard.

Kuwashima Jigoro snorted coldly, threw down his cane, and placed his right hand on the hilt of his Nichirin Blade at his waist: "Although I am old, I am not old enough to let you scum run wild in my yard!"