Demon Slayer: My breathing technique went awry after Nezuko pushed me down.

Compared to the storyline, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke, the three little ones, while recovering from their injuries, were able to achieve combat proficiency in just one or two months while undergoing other training.

This clearly demonstrates Shirakawa Yu's lack of talent.

Urokodaki also noticed this problem, and in addition, Shirakawa Yu had gradually revealed the specifics of the Breath of Color to him over this period of time.

Knowing that there were cute girls around was a boost for Shirakawa Yu.

It doesn't mean that the lack of girls will diminish the appeal.

Urokodaki finally overcame the hurdle in his heart.

Shirakawa Yu is allowed to stay by Nezuko's side to train.

She even took the initiative to help Shirakawa Yu persuade Tanjiro to let Shirakawa Yu take care of Nezuko.

Of course, there are conditions to doing this.

From the day Shirakawa Yu stayed by Nezuko's side, he began to take over Tanjiro's trap-making work.

From that day on, the traps on the mountain became increasingly cunning.

The wooden stake that crashed into Tanjiro was sharpened.

The bamboo stick that was swung at Tanjiro was stained with sake.

In the trap where one's foot slips, besides the wooden stakes, there are many non-venomous scorpions and centipedes whose bites are extremely painful.

Sometimes, even when Tanjiro is sleeping, a nest of small snakes will suddenly appear in his bed.

It doesn't bite, but it's terrifying!

Shirakawa Yu even called it "vigilance training"!

Poor Tanjiro lived in this environment day after day, and was almost driven to a nervous breakdown by Shirakawa Yu.

During that time, he didn't know if it was a hallucination, but he always saw Bai Chuanyu hiding in some dark corner.

Holding a sharp knife, he squatted there, making dangerous traps while grinning slyly at him.

If it weren't for Shirakawa Yu's unwavering and despicable attempt to steal his sister Nezuko, Tanjiro would have truly wanted to beg that treacherous man for mercy.

But no!

He just wants me to give in!

I would never entrust my sister to someone like him!

With this mindset, the two have been competing with each other for a year. Tanjiro grits his teeth and endures it, while Shirakawa Yu racks his brains to find ways to mess with him.

Chapter 14: Time to give Nezuko a bath!

However, precisely because of this, neither of them was willing to back down.

This significantly increased Tanjiro's training intensity by several levels.

Of course, Shirakawa Yu did not come away empty-handed.

Not to mention the significant boost to his physique brought about by his daily inseparable contact with Nezuko and the increased efficiency of the Changzhong Breathing Technique (which increased by 70%).

(Shirakawa Yu usually makes traps and props around Nezuko, and only leaves for an hour or two when he goes up the mountain to set them up.)

To put it simply, it was an unexpected gain that even Shirakawa Yu himself hadn't anticipated.

Hide!

In order to create as many obstacles as possible between himself and Nezuko.

Shirakawa Hato specifically asked Urokodaki for his unique silent gait technique.

He even asked Urokodaki to get some basic ninja movement techniques from the Sound Hashira, Hanako.

Some people say that when people do bad things, they are tireless and never find it troublesome.

Absolutely right!

Over the course of a year, Bai Chuanyu not only reached the pinnacle of his trap-setting skills, but also improved his stealth abilities and physical dexterity by leaps and bounds.

To counter Tanjiro's invincible nose, he even developed the ability to conceal his aura using the same sense of smell-based breathing technique, Color Breathing.

To put it simply...

When in a complex environment such as a dense forest.

Shirakawa Yu is a devil!

You can't see it, you can't hear it, and you can't smell it!

Even Urokodaki himself didn't expect that he had entrusted the task of setting the trap to Shirakawa Yu just to have some peace and quiet.

As a result, they ended up producing two oddballs.

One with exceptional reflexes and unparalleled dodging skills.

The other one is even more terrifying!

In the past, he was the only one who walked silently, which would sometimes scare people.

Now, Shirakawa Yu suddenly appears beside him like a ghost.

It's fortunate that he doesn't have heart disease!

Otherwise, I would have been scared to death by this little brat!

And today, the time has finally come to end it all.

He said to Tanjiro, "I have nothing more to teach you."

Urokodaki led the two to the boulder with the knotted rope attached.

"Tanjiro, if you can split this rock, I will allow you to participate in the final trial."

Tanjiro stared blankly at the giant rock weighing tens of tons in front of him, completely dumbfounded.

Can this thing be cleaved in two? With a knife?

Ignoring the stunned Tanjiro, Urokodaki turned to Shirakawa Yu and said, "Do you want to participate in this year's final trial? If you do, then get ready."

Tanjiro was even more confused. "Master! Why doesn't he have to split rocks?"

Urokodaki's voice remained completely calm as he said indifferently, "Do you think this stone is naturally round?"

Before Tanjiro could react, Shirakawa Yu walked up to him with a smile and started patting his back with "pia~pia~pia~".

"My foolish junior brother, this was carved out for you by your senior brother, stroke by stroke. You must cherish it~"

One slice... one slice... it was shaved out! ! ?

!!!∑(?Д?ノ)ノ

Tanjiro looked at the perfectly round boulder, then at his seemingly harmless senior brother, Shirakawa Yu.

The shock was undisguised in her large, fiery red eyes.

He always thought he was making rapid progress.

Master often said that his senior brother was stupid and that his talent was not as good as his own.

Even though I started learning eight months later, I'm not much worse than my senior brother. In fact, his traps can no longer harm me at this stage.

He even wrote it down in his diary with a touch of pride.

I...didn't expect that...

My test is to cut this ball open.

And senior brother, have you already started carving...?

Shirakawa Yu was very satisfied with Tanjiro's current expression.

Although he understood perfectly well that this was Master Urokodaki's way of teaching according to individual aptitude.

His first form, the Heroine, is incredibly strong, possessing immense power, capable of easily splitting rocks.

Conversely, this will result in a lack of dexterity.

Therefore, Urokodaki's trial for him was to carve a huge rock into a circle.

Tanjiro's Water Breathing, on the other hand, is quite the opposite. Water is versatile, but it lacks powerful offensive capabilities.

Therefore, his trial was to split the rock.

After patting Tanjiro's head, Shirakawa Yu turned to look at Urokodaki.

“Master, I won’t participate this year. I’ll wait until next year. If Tanjiro can split rocks, I’ll go with him and take care of him.”

"Who...who needs your care..." Tanjiro said, head down, his words tough, but inside...he felt a warm glow.

Shirakawa Yu's words were quite profound; Tanjiro didn't understand them, but Urokodaki... naturally did.

He gave Shirakawa Yu a deep look, left with a slightly dry "Whatever," and then departed dejectedly.

"Bai... Senior Brother, what's wrong with Master?" Tanjiro asked, puzzled. "I smell a strong scent of sadness on him."

Shirakawa Yu glanced at Urokodaki's desolate figure, then turned around and kicked Tanjiro's butt in an annoyed tone. "Hurry up and chop your rock. If you delay my trip to the final trial a year from now, I'll chop you up!"

After saying that, Shirakawa Yu turned and left.

Tanjiro: (▼ヘ▼#) "Who is it?!"

"If you don't want to talk, then don't! Why kick me?"

Rubbing his bottom, Tanjiro drew his sword. The thought that Shirakawa Yu could carve this rock into such a shape gave him more confidence in splitting the rock himself!

I won't even need a year! I'll chop it up in a month and show you!

Take a deep breath, raise your sword and strike!

Clang! ~~~~~

The boulder did not react at all; instead, a huge shockwave traveled along the longsword, back through his arm and body, all the way to the soles of his feet.

The shock jolted Tanjiro awake, and a tingling sensation spread throughout his body.

He stared blankly at his hand, which was throbbing with pain from the impact.

"This...how is it possible to split it? Master...you're not lying to me, are you? Senior...Senior Brother...how did you do that?"