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Chapter 90: The Secret of Breathing Styles
Regarding the Hinokami Kagura that Tanjiro just demonstrated, Suyan only had one word to describe it: Weird.
Incredibly weird!
Logically speaking, as the strongest Breathing Style in Demon Slayer, Sun Breathing should have something special about it, right? But judging from the movements Tanjiro had just displayed, it felt somewhat... underwhelming.
Suyan glanced at Saeko beside him and noticed a similar reaction on her face. She was also rather disappointed with this so-called Sun Breathing.
Suyan pondered for a moment. That shouldn't be right. Even just using Water Breathing—a derivative of Sun Breathing—Tanjiro was able to slice a boulder larger than himself cleanly in half once he mastered it.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Suyan. He looked back at Tanjiro, who was still executing the forms of Sun Breathing a short distance away.
As I thought!
This time, he finally noticed the hidden profundity of the Breathing Style. In his heart, he couldn't help but marvel at Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the man who had created this technique during the Sengoku period.
However, he chose not to reveal this secret to Saeko right away. Instead, he quietly watched Tanjiro until the boy had demonstrated the entire sequence of Sun Breathing forms for them.
Only then did Suyan turn to ask, "Saeko-senpai, what do you think?"
"I'm highly disappointed." Saeko shook her head, speaking with absolute candor.
"Huh?" Nezuko was stunned upon hearing Saeko's evaluation of her older brother's dance. "How could that be?"
Wasn't this supposedly created by the strongest swordsman? Why would this older sister give it such a poor review?
Did Tanjiro execute it incorrectly? Or had the Hinokami Kagura somehow degraded over hundreds of years of inheritance? If that's the case, could it even still be used to kill demons?
"Don't worry about it. This sword style isn't as bad as she thinks," Suyan said, patting Nezuko's head to comfort her. "On the contrary, in my eyes, your family's Hinokami Kagura is actually quite terrifying."
"Terrifying?" Saeko paused in surprise.
She subconsciously began to reflect on whether she had missed something. Why else would Suyan give such an incredibly high evaluation to such an ordinary sword style? She immediately looked at him, eagerly awaiting his explanation.
"Mr. Suyan, how was it?" Tanjiro, having finished the entire Hinokami Kagura dance sequence, walked back over and asked curiously.
Suyan replied, "Tanjiro, could I trouble you to demonstrate it one more time? My friend here didn't get a clear look."
"Alright." Tanjiro didn't refuse. He stepped back into the clearing and prepared to begin the Hinokami Kagura once more.
"Saeko-senpai, watch him again, but this time, remember to use Gyo." Only then did Suyan lean in and share the secret he had uncovered.
"Gyo?" Saeko blinked, her eyes widening as realization began to dawn. "Are you saying—"
"Just watch first." Suyan chuckled softly, not elaborating any further.
With that said, he fell silent, gently ruffling Nezuko's hair as they both turned to watch Tanjiro's performance again.
This time, Saeko did as Suyan suggested. She concentrated her Nen into her eyes, activating the advanced aura application known as Gyo. She then looked at Tanjiro.
And she saw it.
As he flowed through the Sun Breathing forms, the weapon in his hands radiated a brilliant, golden-flame-like hue. Furthermore, his entire body was shrouded in a thin layer of Nen. Although it was incredibly faint and flickered in and out of perception, it was undeniably there.
"This—" Saeko looked at Suyan, absolute disbelief written across her face.
Suyan nodded. He had suspected from the start that the Breathing Styles couldn't be so unremarkable. Then, he recalled a specific detail regarding the Breathing Styles in Demon Slayer.
The techniques themselves didn't actually generate real elemental effects; the roaring flames and crashing waves depicted in the anime were just visual illusions. However, the more deeply a swordsman mastered their Breathing Style, the more intensely those around them would experience the illusion of those elements manifesting alongside the blade.
That was what had sparked Suyan's sudden realization—the idea to observe the Breathing Style using Gyo. And taking that closer look had allowed him to completely uncover the hidden secret within the technique.
He discovered that when Tanjiro performed the Sun Breathing forms in tandem with that specific breathing rhythm, his body was instinctively manipulating Nen. Although it was incredibly weak and completely lacked the conscious control of a true Nen user, the aura was active.
Perhaps Yoriichi Tsugikuni was a natural-born Nen user four hundred years ago, Suyan deduced internally.
Because he had no one to guide him, he ended up inventing Breathing Styles—a rudimentary method that relied purely on physical instinct to harness a superficial amount of aura. He had to admit, Yoriichi Tsugikuni was a true genius.
To single-handedly create a breathing method that allowed ordinary people to instinctively harness their life energy—all without any formal instruction... it was simply unbelievable.
To put it into perspective, even with explicit knowledge of Nen and direct guidance, it had still taken them over a year to finally help Minami Rika successfully grasp the life energy within her own body.
If they had possessed a skill like these Breathing Styles earlier, who knows how much time it would have saved her.
But it wasn't too late. Originally, Suyan hadn't been terribly interested in these so-called Breathing Styles. Yet now, it seemed that before they could travel to the Hunter x Hunter world to learn the orthodox Nen system, the utility of these Breathing techniques might be far more vital to their group than he had initially anticipated.
"Mr. Suyan, do you need me to demonstrate it again?" Despite having performed the sequence twice already, Tanjiro didn't look fatigued in the slightest.
"No need," Suyan replied. "We've memorized it."
"That fast?" Tanjiro was slightly taken aback but quickly accepted it. "In that case, I'll teach you the breathing techniques for the Hinokami Kagura now."
"I'll be troubling you, then," Suyan said politely.
"It's no trouble at all!" Tanjiro hastily waved his hands.
He then began explaining the specific rhythm of Sun Breathing to Suyan, detailing exactly how the breathing techniques needed to synchronize with the sword forms. He made no effort to hide the teachings from Saeko or Nezuko, openly sharing the knowledge.
"Um—" Only after pouring out every piece of information he knew about the Hinokami Kagura to Suyan and the others, and waiting for a brief lull, did Tanjiro finally muster the courage to speak up. "Mr. Suyan, since you know so much, you must be someone who specializes in dealing with demons, right?"
"I wanted to ask... if I wanted to join you, what would I need to do?"
"I know my own strength is very weak right now, but—"
"But I never want to see anyone else suffer what happened to my mother and the others ever again."
"I want to lend my strength to stop it!"
"Three—" Faced with Tanjiro's earnest plea, Suyan didn't rush to answer his question. Instead, he slowly let a single word slip from his lips.
"What?" Tanjiro was completely bewildered.
"Two—!" Suyan continued smoothly.
As Suyan's countdown concluded, a figure draped in a two-toned haori emerged from the surrounding darkness. His right hand rested casually, yet deliberately, on the hilt of the sword at his waist. The newcomer shot a glance at Kamado Kie and the others who were tied up off to the side, before locking his gaze onto the most conspicuous person by the campfire: Suyan.
His face was entirely devoid of emotion as his cold voice cut through the air. "The scent of blood here is extremely heavy. What happened?"
"Did a demon appear? Or could it be—" The man glared hostilely at Suyan, his eyes catching the gleaming silver-white chains grasped in Suyan's hand.
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