Previously, no matter what techniques Suzuki Makoto learned from the Hashira, once he mastered them, he could always find some flaws or minor imperfections, but these flaws and imperfections were issues with the Breathing Styles themselves, not purely with the techniques. For a single Breathing Style, this was the limit of what could be achieved.
He had always been certain that by learning all the Breathing Styles and their techniques, he could reverse-engineer the original Sun Breathing. This was because the flaws in one Breathing Style's techniques could be solved by another.
But it wasn't until today, after watching Tanjiro Kamado's performance, that he realized his hypothesis was only half right.
The breathing method of Sun Breathing could indeed be reverse-engineered after learning the other Breathing Styles, which was why Suzuki Makoto could perform all the forms completely after watching Tanjiro's fragmented performance just once—he had already begun to integrate the other Breathing Styles and make fine adjustments to adapt to the thirteen forms of Sun Breathing.
The half that was wrong was that the techniques of Sun Breathing could not be reverse-engineered simply by mastering all the techniques of the other Breathing Styles.
The Breathing Styles derived from Sun Breathing were already highly specialized in themselves. Moreover, in the hundreds of years from the Sengoku period to the present, the Hashira who learned and taught the various Breathing Styles had also been constantly adjusting these techniques, which led to the current techniques retaining almost no trace of the original Sun Breathing forms.
And Tanjiro's earlier observation that Suzuki Makoto's silhouette was becoming more and more like his father's validated Suzuki Makoto's feelings from another perspective.
When Suzuki Makoto discovered that the final slash of the last form of the Hinokami Kagura could smoothly transition into the opening stance of the first form, he understood that he had made a mistake in his previous practice—he had been linking the thirteen forms based on the techniques of the other Breathing Styles he had learned, combined with his own swordsmanship habits.
The creator of Sun Breathing, Yoriichi Tsugikuni, clearly had a sword-swinging rhythm different from ordinary people.
Therefore, at the beginning of his second performance, he decisively abandoned his usual methods and began to analyze Yoriichi Tsugikuni's attack patterns through Tanjiro's previous movements, focusing on naturally linking each form through its own beginning and end.
That's why during the second time, Tanjiro felt Suzuki Makoto's movements were already very similar to his father's, and by the third time, when Suzuki Makoto had basically grasped the attack patterns of Yoriichi Tsugikuni's thirteen forms, he could perform them almost identically to his father.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni... truly a man worthy of creating Breathing Styles, and even modifying them into other Breathing Styles that lowered the talent requirement. If my master had met such a genius, he probably would have wanted to take him as a disciple.
"Mr. Suzuki, breakfast is ready!"
"I'm coming."
Thank you for your techniques. In exchange, I will take on the responsibility you could not fulfill.
The man strode forward, walking towards the bright daylight outside the house.
At the dining table, Suzuki Makoto's eyes lit up as he tasted the breakfast made by Tanjiro Kamado.
"You're a very skilled cook, Tanjiro."
"Thank you! Then please try this, Mr. Suzuki!"
Suzuki Makoto wasn't one for quiet meals, so he chatted with Tanjiro while eating, and as they talked, he discovered a big problem.
"Are you saying your father could perform the complete Hinokami Kagura, and even continue for an entire night?"
The man's voice was filled with obvious surprise.
"Yes, on the last day of every year, my father would perform the Hinokami Kagura in the snow. The ritual would last the entire night, until the sun rose the next day."
Even after Suzuki Makoto's emphatic question, Tanjiro Kamado still hadn't realized the implication.
"You just tried it yourself. Your current Breathing Style is insufficient to support the continuous use of the Hinokami Kagura—so why could your father continue for a whole night?"
The boy was stunned. He had never considered this question, because he had seen the scene so many times that it had become a complete blind spot for him.
That's right... I trained for so long with Mr. Urokodaki, fought demons until now, and even underwent intensive training to strengthen my Breathing Style at the Butterfly Mansion... Even so, I can only use one and a half forms of the Hinokami Kagura. Why could my father perform it so fluently for an entire night?
"Tanjiro, did your father really never teach you anything about Breathing Styles? And you've never heard anything from your parents either?"
Suzuki Makoto continued to press. If Tanjiro's father could use the techniques of Sun Breathing for an entire night, then he must have known the Sun Breathing method; otherwise, it would be impossible to accomplish such a feat—but it would be wrong to say he didn't teach this secret to Tanjiro, because his father had already passed away from illness before the tragedy struck.
Since he had Tanjiro learn and observe the Hinokami Kagura, he should have also passed down the Breathing Style before he died.
"My father did emphasize breathing to me, and said that the most crucial part of this all-night ritual was the rhythm of breathing, but he never mentioned anything about Breathing Styles, and I don't remember my parents ever talking about it."
The boy shook his head dejectedly; he truly had no memory of it.
Suzuki Makoto had a thoughtful expression. Of course, he didn't disbelieve Tanjiro's words, and he trusted Tanjiro's memory. However, if things were truly as the boy said, then perhaps... the Kamado family might have been producing geniuses for generations.
Because just now, he too had first learned the Hinokami Kagura and then reverse-engineered Sun Breathing from it.
Tanjiro Kamado's father might have had the same experience. Tanjiro's grandfather might have only taught him the Hinokami Kagura, and then in order to perform it, he deduced the breathing method on his own. Then, by combining the two, he gradually became proficient and was eventually able to maintain it for an entire night.
This would also explain why Tanjiro's father emphasized the importance of breathing to him but didn't tell him about Breathing Styles—because his father himself didn't know it was a Breathing Style, only thinking it was a personal method he had figured out to perform the Hinokami Kagura. He might have thought Tanjiro would figure out a different method, which is why he didn't teach him more.
If that's the case, then the origin of the Kamado family's 'Hinokami Kagura' is very interesting, because it would mean the Kamado family could not have been disciples taught by Yoriichi Tsugikuni; otherwise, it would be impossible for no trace of the Breathing Style to have been left behind.
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