"Urokodaki-sensei, we're back." Ryoma smiled and bowed.
Sakonji simply strode over without saying a word.
He stretched out his calloused, broad arms and tightly embraced Ryoma, Tanjiro, and Nezuko, who was still on the ground.
Now, Ryoma could see the tears sliding down behind his mask more clearly.
"Welcome back..."
His aged voice had a heavy nasal tone.
"You...you're all back alive...that's wonderful..."
After this emotional outburst, Tanjiro finally returned to his usual self.
As the two of them had returned safely, Sakonji was relieved of the long-standing resentment that had been weighing on his heart.
After returning to the cabin, the group began to talk about what had happened during the assessment.
That night, the fire in the wooden house burned exceptionally brightly.
After listening to Ryoma and Tanjiro recount the whole story of slaying the demon, Sakonji remained silent for a long time.
"Really? You killed that demon."
"I never imagined this was all because of me."
"It's good that you came back alive."
Sakonji felt very guilty about this. However, he was relieved that Ryoma had successfully killed the demon and returned safely.
He reiterated his knowledge about demons to the two of them.
"There are several kinds of demons, including the kind I mentioned before, which can use special techniques, blood demon art."
"These are the so-called caster demons, and you will be fighting those demons in the future."
"Fighting them will be much more difficult than it is now."
...
There was still some time before the completion of the custom-made Nichirin Blade.
This free time was perfect for Ryoma to go to the waterfall where he had practiced before to train his breathing style.
He strived to reach the level of Total Concentration Breathing as soon as possible.
—
The morning mist had not yet completely dissipated.
The water cascaded down from a great height, crashing against the rocks with a thunderous sound.
Ryoma closed his eyes, feeling the coolness brought by the mist, and began to regulate his breathing.
"Hoo..."
As he practiced the breathing technique, the magic power within his body began to flow slowly, perfectly matching the rhythm of the breath.
After the final selection, he felt that his understanding of breathing techniques had deepened considerably.
Ice Breathing: Third Form: Thousand Ice Blades!
Ryoma had created this technique based on the agile movement technique of the Third form of Water Breathing, Flowing Dance.
With each dodge, slide, and turn, magic power would instantly condense into a large number of sharp ice spikes at the end of his movement trajectory or beside him and shoot out.
These icicles followed tricky paths, like an extension of his dance steps, capable of both pursuing enemies and blocking their movement.
The perfect integration of magic power significantly enhanced the power of the breathing style.
For the next few days, Ryoma would come to the waterfall every day to practice. He kept trying to combine magic with various breathing techniques.
Ice Breathing: First Form: Ice Surface Slash!
Ryoma drew his sword and unleashed a slash. A faint icy blue light could be seen flashing along the trajectory of the blade.
Ice Breathing: Third Form: Thousand Ice Blades!
Ryoma's skills improved with practice, and his continuous slashes flowed smoothly like water, each strike carrying a chilling aura.
"It seems your training has been very effective." Sakonji's voice sounded from behind.
Ryoma turned around and bowed. "Urokodaki-sensei."
"I saw the move just now." Sakonji walked up to Ryoma.
"There seems to be a peculiar power in your breathing technique."
"Yes."
Ryoma did not hide anything.
"I'm trying to combine my special abilities with breathing styles."
Sakonji nodded. "Yes, that's the right thing to do. Every swordsman should find their own way of fighting."
"But remember, the basics are always the most important. No matter how powerful the technique, if the foundation is not solid, it is just a castle in the air."
"I understand, sensei."
This continued until the fifteenth day.
As Ryoma was practicing his breathing techniques near the waterfall as usual, he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder.
He opened his eyes and found the aloof raven perched steadily on his shoulder. Its bright black eyes were fixed on the waterfall, seemingly quite interested in this method of training.
"Would you like to try it too?" Ryoma joked.
The crow tilted its head, cawed, and then patted Ryoma's cheek with its wing.
"Hey, stop messing around."
Ryoma reached out to shoo it away, but found that the crow was unusually agile and easily dodged his hand.
"Caw! Caw! Caw!"
The crow made a cawing sound that resembled laughter, appearing quite pleased with itself.
Ryoma shook his head helplessly and continued his training.
"Ryoma! We have a guest!"
Just as Ryoma was immersed in his training, Tanjiro's voice sounded from afar.
"The swordsmith has arrived?"
Ryoma's eyes lit up. This was much faster than he had expected.
He stopped the training and hurried towards the wooden house.
In front of the wooden house, a man wearing a large hat with floral wind chimes hanging to them and a mask had already sat down impatiently. The huge package beside him exuded the aura of steel and furnace fire.
He was none other than Haganezuka Hotaru.
Seeing Ryoma and Tanjiro approaching, he eagerly patted the package, his voice sounding from beneath his mask. "My name is Haganezuka. The swords for Ryoma and Tanjiro have been forged, and I'm here to deliver them."
Tanjiro was about to invite him inside to sit down and talk.
However, Hotaru acted as if he hadn't heard anything at all, and simply sat down and took out a box from the package on his back.
"This is a Nichirin Blade, a blade I forged."
"The raw materials for Nichirin Blades are Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand and Scarlet Ore collected from the highest mountain closest to the sun, so the iron forged can absorb sunlight."
"..."
"..."
"Your blade might be red."
Hotaru spoke excitedly, then looked at Ryoma.
"Ice Breathing? I really look forward to seeing what color your sword will turn."
After he had finally finished talking to himself, Hotaru was about to go inside to hand the sword to the two of them.
Ryoma was somewhat helpless. This guy really didn't listen to anyone at all. There was no way to interrupt him, he could only listen to him finish.
After entering the room, Ryoma, Tanjiro, and Hotaru sat facing each other.
Hotaru eagerly handed the two swords to Ryoma and Tanjiro.
"It was forged from the piece of ore that you chose."
Then he began urging the two to draw their swords.
"Alright, hurry up and draw your sword. Nichirin swords are also known as color-changing katanas, because the blade changes color depending on its owner."
Tanjiro took a deep breath and slowly drew his sword.
A few seconds after the blade came into contact with the air, its silvery-white steel color gradually turned into a deep, serene black.
"Black?"
Hotaru seemed somewhat disappointed with the color that Tanjiro's sword had changed into.
Tanjiro, seeing this, became a little nervous and asked, "Isn't a black blade bad?! Is it unlucky?"
Sakonji spoke up to explain, "No, there's no such saying. It's just that it's rare to see such a jet-black blade."
However, at this moment, Hotaru went berserk.
"I thought I was going to see a bright red blade! I'm so angry!"
Hotaru's fury could only be directed towards his last hope, he stared intently at Ryoma.
"You! Quick! At least give me a little surprise!"