The next day, early morning.
Tanjiro suddenly sat upright in his sleep. He opened his eyes, looked around, but couldn't find Aomori.
He jumped out of bed, ran out of the room, and, as expected, saw Aomori doing his morning exercises in the courtyard.
"Ao… Kakado-nii! Listen to me, listen to me."
"Mhm, I'm listening."
"Last night, I dreamed of my father. Every New Year, my father would perform a dance called the Hinokami Kagura to pray for peace for the 'Fire God.' The movements of that dance are incredibly similar to the movements of that Mechanical Doll last night!" Tanjiro said, demonstrating the moves.
"Is that so?" Aomori broke off a tree branch and danced gracefully right there in the courtyard, performing a series of twelve movements without any difficulty.
"Yes..." Tanjiro nodded, dumbfounded. "That's right, that's the Hinokami Kagura. Kakado-nii, why are you more practiced at it than I am?"
'Is Aomori-nii Father's child from outside? No, no, Father wouldn't do that! Is he Father's brother? Or a relative from a previous generation?' Tanjiro's mind was a mess.
"Tanjiro, stop getting lost in thought."
"Unc— Kakado-nii, I'm not getting lost in thought."
"Alright, Tanjiro, you can go home now. I apologize for taking up so much of your time."
Aomori had kept Tanjiro around to awaken his memories related to Sun Breathing, which would help Aomori restore the technique.
However, he had underestimated his own talent. After his research on the Breathing Style documents and the movements of "Yoriichi Type Zero" last night, he was already able to recreate ninety percent of Sun Breathing. The remaining ten percent would likely be completed in a few days.
Therefore, there was no point in keeping Tanjiro here. He might as well go home and sell charcoal.
"Huh? But I can still help you! You've shown great kindness to my family, and I want to properly repay you! My mother also told me to stay by your side and help you!" Tanjiro exclaimed.
"There's no need, Tanjiro. You've already helped me a lot. Now, go back and take good care of your family." Aomori gently stroked Tanjiro's head and smiled warmly.
Tanjiro looked up, met Aomori's gaze for a moment, and then nodded seriously.
"Okay!"
…
After breakfast, Tanjiro departed. A member of the logistics team would escort him home.
Aomori and Kanae then headed together to the Ubuyashiki Estate to attend the Hashira Meeting once more.
Aside from Sanemi, who looked rather shocking with a head full of bandages, the others appeared much the same as they had yesterday, showcasing the Hashira's extraordinary recovery capabilities.
The same place, the same people, but their attitudes were different.
"Kakado, good morning! How about we have another high-spirited battle later?" Kyojuro, who was always friendly, laughed and patted Aomori's back, which the latter deftly dodged.
"I, the flamboyant God of Festivities, approve of you." Tengen dramatically tossed his hair.
"Hmph!" Sanemi stayed in the corner, preferring not to speak.
Gyomei: "Namu Amida Butsu..."
Aomori returned their greetings with a smile.
This time, Kagaya came out quickly. After a simple exchange of pleasantries, the Hashira Meeting officially began.
"First, let us celebrate the addition of another reliable comrade to the Demon Slayer Corps—Kakado, the Rumble Hashira!"
Clap, clap, clap!
"With this, we once again have nine Hashira. Cough, cough, cough..." Kagaya was likely overly excited. The effort of speaking forcefully caused him to cough violently, to the point where he couldn't straighten his back.
"Oyakata-sama!" The Hashira were all deeply concerned.
"I am fine, cough, cough, cough..." Kagaya's complexion was poor.
Kanae stepped forward to help Kagaya lie down. After examining him, she said, "Oyakata-sama has suffered significant mental exhaustion and requires a long period of rest."
"It seems the Hashira Meeting will have to be postponed again."
"Oyakata-sama's health is the most important."
"Um," Aomori raised his right hand at this moment, "perhaps I can be of assistance and help him feel more comfortable."
"Are you a physician as well?" Kanae asked.
"I have some knowledge."
"Come. It can't get much worse than this," Kagaya allowed Aomori to proceed.
Thus, Aomori stood close to him and extended both hands, holding them hovering above his heart.
Healing Spell!
Warm, pure Holy Light energy flowed from Aomori's hands, gradually spreading over Kagaya's body until it covered him completely.
"This power is..."
"It's like sunlight..."
"Did he use this power during his fight with Muzan?"
"It's sorcery, it must be sorcery! To have a spell like this, it's incredible."
"It is hope. This power contains hope! Namu Amida Butsu..."
"Look!" Everyone's gaze was fixed on Kagaya.
They saw thin wisps of black smoke rising from Kagaya's body. Under the illumination of the Holy Light, the smoke unwillingly vanished without a trace.
After about ten minutes, the black wisps stopped emerging. Aomori withdrew the Holy Light and let out a long breath. If he had continued for a few more hours, he wouldn't have been able to sustain it.
Kagaya felt warm all over, as if all his sickness and pain had vanished. He opened his eyes and could see blurry shapes.
Two streams of clear tears rolled down his face. Kagaya bowed his head and prostrated himself to Aomori. "I thank you immensely. I believed I had no hope of seeing light again in this life. Thank you for your benevolence."
Aomori waved his hand, saying, "The root of the curse has not been removed, and you will soon lose your sight again."
"This is more than enough," Kagaya had expected this.
After expressions of gratitude and compliments, Aomori began to establish his backstory.
"My ancestor fought alongside Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the creator of the Sun Breathing, during the Sengoku period. However, limited by his physique, he was unable to master the advanced Breathing Styles. After Yoriichi Tsugikuni was expelled from the Demon Slayer Corps, my ancestor grew disheartened and decided to travel abroad to find a way to defeat Demons."
"After leaving the country, my ancestor discovered that other places also harbored terrifying creatures similar to Demons. In the Celestial Dynasty, people who died and were consumed by resentment would turn into Jiangshi. Jiangshi are impervious to blades and guns, and can fly and tunnel, making them even more troublesome than Demons. There, Taoist priests who practice sorcery fight against them."
"In the West, there is an evil artifact called the Stone Mask, which can turn humans into Vampires. Similar to Demons, Vampires crave blood and fear sunlight. The people there fight Vampires using a technique called Hamon (Ripple), a form of Qigong (Life Energy Cultivation) that uses breathing. The principle of Hamon is similar to the Breathing Styles, as both use the effects of breathing to enhance the body. The difference is that Hamon mimics the properties of the sun, granting it the inherent ability to purify Vampires without the need for a Nichirin Sword."
Aomori spoke earnestly, broadening everyone's horizons.
"To think such monsters exist in other places too. Humanity is truly besieged by misfortune. Namu Amida Butsu," Gyomei sighed, turning his prayer beads.
"Then, was what you just used sorcery or Hamon?"
"I know! Sorcery! It's sorcery!" Kanae eagerly answered.
"Calling it sorcery isn't wrong, but strictly speaking, it belongs to the Holy Light power of the Western Ecclesiastical Church," Aomori explained.
"Holy Light power of the Western Ecclesiastical Church, huh." It sounded very distinguished.
"Kakado!" Sanemi suddenly knelt before Aomori, his forehead hitting the ground with a thud. "Whether it's sorcery, Hamon, or Holy Light power, please teach it to me! I want to exterminate Muzan and all the Demons! I beg you!"
"Sanemi..." Kagaya sighed and interceded, "Kakado, if it is possible, please help these children."
Everyone else also expressed the same request.
"I apologize," Aomori refused. Seeing their disappointed expressions, he explained, "It's not that I don't want to teach you. It's just that mastering these powers is not something that can be achieved overnight. It's difficult to see results without eight to ten years of practice. You'd be better off developing the Breathing Styles you already have."
"Therefore, I will teach you the deeper-level Breathing Styles."
The "deeper-level Breathing Styles" here did not refer to the fully restored Sun Breathing, which required a higher level of physical constitution and could not be mastered by ordinary people, but rather the second-stage Breathing Styles of the other derivatives, similar to the improved second-stage Thunder Breathing of Bang.
It was estimated to be slightly weaker than activating the Demon Slayer Mark, but not by much.
Given the Hashira's talent, they could master it within a week. Once they did, the full-scale war against Muzan could begin.
————
You can read the ahead chapter on Patr if you're interested: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]