Zenitsu Agatsuma originally thought that after saying what he did, he would have to leave Suzuki Makoto's dojo. However, the other man still had him stay, saying he wanted to see his Thunder Breathing.
"Zenitsu, attack me. Don't hold back. I want to see your full power."
Suzuki Makoto turned his head and instructed Tanjiro and Inosuke, who were sitting to the side.
"You two, pay close attention to the details of how Zenitsu accumulates and releases power with his legs. Although you don't practice Thunder Breathing, aside from the Breathing Style itself, Zenitsu's movements and power generation habits are all in service of greater speed. Therefore, you can also learn from him how to increase your own speed."
"Yes, sir!" they both replied.
Zenitsu Agatsuma nervously raised his blade, but quickly took a deep breath to calm himself.
It's just a simple sparring match. He's a Hashira, not a Demon. Don't be scared, don't worry.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form—Thunderclap and Flash!"
The figures of the two flickered six consecutive times inside the dojo in an instant. The sound of clashes rang out six times before they came to a stop again. Zenitsu Agatsuma held his sword, adjusting his breathing rhythm, while Suzuki Makoto stood there, perfectly composed, his own sword still within its sheath.
So this is the strength of a Hashira? Each of those clashes just now wasn't Suzuki Makoto parrying. Instead, after I swung my blade, Suzuki Makoto's sheath would strike first despite moving second, hitting the back of my Nichirin Blade—six times in a row!
This is the kind of strength needed to defeat a Lower Rank. As I thought, I could never do something like that.
Suzuki Makoto, on the other hand, was quite satisfied. He could now confirm that Zenitsu Agatsuma's burst of power when facing Lower Rank One wasn't just some ridiculous situation like sleepwalking or a personality switch—he possessed that strength all along.
Perhaps it was just because Zenitsu was always so lacking in confidence, coupled with the human instinct for self-preservation, that he often tried to avoid fighting. If he couldn't escape, he could only leave everything to his body's instinctive defense mechanisms, which is why his combat scenes looked so bizarre.
But this kid wasn't a coward at heart, because a true coward could never learn Thunder Breathing's First Form.
Back on Mount Natagumo, Zenitsu Agatsuma had also rushed into the mountain and slayed a Demon. According to Shinobu Kocho's treatment records afterward, his study of Breathing Styles was quite profound. He could already use his Breathing Style to slow his blood flow, thereby suppressing bleeding and the spread of poison until help arrived.
"Thunderclap and Flash, Sixfold. That's a technique your master taught you to change your attack direction mid-course, right?"
"Yes."
"Then, do you understand what was sacrificed to allow Thunderclap and Flash to change direction continuously like that?"
Huh?
Zenitsu looked at Suzuki Makoto in confusion. He had never heard Grandpa Jigoro mention this. Grandpa Jigoro had only told him that it was fine if he only knew the First Form, that he was still the most outstanding Thunder Breathing swordsman, and then taught him this derivative technique of the First Form. Nothing more.
"Thunder Breathing is the most extreme of all the Breathing Styles. Its sole purpose is to make the swordsman faster, and it will sacrifice everything to achieve that, even the swordsman's own defense. The goal is to use ultimate speed to elevate the blade's killing power to an unparalleled level. That's why the First Form is the most important part of Thunder Breathing. All the subsequent forms are merely supplementary techniques for dealing with enemies and have no special characteristics of their own."
Suzuki Makoto tapped his own leg with his scabbard.
"Many people think high speed means agility, but that's not true for Thunder Breathing. Thunder Breathing can sacrifice agility as well, turning it into fuel for ultimate speed. Thunderclap and Flash, Sixfold, actually sacrifices speed in exchange for a degree of flexibility, leaving room to change direction in battle. In other words, you haven't focused all your power, all your breath, entirely on speed."
The boy blinked. His aptitude was, of course, extremely high. Connecting this to what Suzuki Makoto had said before, Zenitsu immediately understood his meaning.
"You mean... if I give up the room to change direction and put all my power into speed itself, without thinking about multi-hit directional changes, that's the ultimate secret of Thunder Breathing?"
"I wouldn't call it the ultimate secret, but it's definitely the strongest move in Thunder Breathing—a strike that abandons everything else, the sharpest blade swung at the most extreme speed."
Suzuki Makoto smiled at Zenitsu.
"So, want to give it a try?"
The blond-haired boy pressed his lips together and nodded seriously.
"Then, let's do it."
Zenitsu Agatsuma closed his eyes, casting aside all distracting thoughts. He thought about all the times he had used Thunderclap and Flash, abandoning all extra considerations—suppressing his speed out of fear, not pushing his legs to the absolute limit for the sake of changing direction, deliberately choosing a landing spot further away to avoid attacks...
"Thunder Breathing, First Form—Thunderclap and Flash!"
This time, there were no extra flickering figures, no additional sounds of metal clashing.
Zenitsu looked up excitedly. That last strike, Suzuki Makoto hadn't hit the back of his blade with his sheath; he had dodged the attack directly!
In other words, his speed had undoubtedly increased to the point where his opponent no longer had the leeway to strike first despite moving second. This meant he was almost able to... able to... touch the hem of Suzuki Makoto's clothes?
But as the tension in his heart slackened, the pain in his legs instantly overwhelmed him. Zenitsu immediately started rolling on the floor, wailing.
"Aaaah! It hurts! It hurts! Why does it hurt so much! It hurts even more than when I used to overtrain!"
Suzuki Makoto walked over to Zenitsu and poked his legs a few times. Several fine lines of blood sprayed from the boy's legs, and then Zenitsu discovered in amazement that the pain in his legs was instantly and greatly relieved. However, with the pain gone, the soreness and fatigue began to take full effect.
"Rest for a while. No more practice today. Think carefully about that last move. There are still some aspects of your power-generating posture that can be improved, not just for more speed, but also to protect your legs."
"Yes, sir."
Zenitsu endured the discomfort in his legs, got up, and bowed respectfully to Suzuki Makoto—
Then he quickly shuffled to the edge of the dojo. With a hint of anticipation and ninety-nine percent schadenfreude, he began to intently watch Tanjiro Kamado and Inosuke Hashibira, wondering what kind of training and guidance his two good friends would receive next from Suzuki Makoto.
____
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