What Obanai pursued was the fatal strike at the critical moment and an erratic, hard-to-track style of attack. Since he had a clear direction, Natsunishi had a solid foundation for making adjustments.
He adjusted most of the breathing nodes of Water Breathing to a shallower level, sufficient to lower Obanai's presence and conceal his offensive intent. It was as if a hunter were constantly accumulating potential energy in the darkness. Then, he waited until this accumulation tank was full before switching to a sharp, deep, and long breath.
This converted the accumulated power and momentum into the most lethal of sudden raids. To some extent, this shared a similar philosophy with the concept of "Iai."
The core of the Breathing Style's physical reinforcement was shifted. A portion of the weight was moved from Water Breathing's balanced, full-body coordination to the lumbar and abdominal regions. To strike from angles the opponent could never predict, the result relied on the spine and the core. Only with waist strength far exceeding that of an ordinary person could a swordsman be supported in twisting their torso from any angle under any circumstance.
Unlike when he guided Kyojuro, Natsunishi's instruction for Obanai was not limited to Breathing Styles. He also taught some basic but practical footwork and strategies. Footwork was for more efficiently mobilizing power and controlling the rhythm of offense and defense. It could be said that in the vast majority of fighting and martial arts systems, a stable lower half and agile steps were of paramount importance.
As for strategy—it referred to the combat mindset when attacking demons.
While the neck was undoubtedly the absolute weakness, it was also often the most heavily protected area. When strengths were matched, the difficulty of breaking through a frontal defense to complete a decapitation was extremely high. Therefore, one might as well turn their gaze toward other thin points of the human anatomy.
For example, one could start with the throat, the eye sockets, the wrists, the ankles, or even the joint connections. The goal was not necessarily to kill immediately, but to use these openings to break the stalemate. Attacking the eyes could briefly deprive them of vision. Piercing the eardrums would disrupt balance and hearing. Severing the tendons in the hands or feet could drastically limit mobility.
Even if a demon's regenerative abilities could heal these wounds within seconds, for a swordsman, those few seconds were enough to overturn the battle.
Of course, Natsunishi also handed the other boy a portion of Wisteria poison. He told Obanai to quietly smear it on his Nichirin Sword when fighting powerful demons. It was "Serpent" swordsmanship, after all—how could it be justified without a pair of venomous fangs?
Demons always loved to show off by relying on their regenerative powers. Nine out of ten demons would manifest their prowess through a cycle of [Being cut — Regenerating — Taunting the swordsman].
"The first few slashes don't have to be poisoned."
"During the critical strike, let the edge of the blade carry a dose that would be fatal with just a lick."
Natsunishi was quite looking forward to the expression on Obanai's opponents after they were poisoned.
After sending the two boys off to practice on their own, Natsunishi finally came before Shinobu Kocho. The girl looked at Natsunishi and tilted her head, pouting.
"Is it finally my turn, Kuguruma-kun?"
The tone was very much like that of a child who had been briefly neglected, inadvertently leaking a hint of aggrieved complaint upon regaining attention.
Natsunishi nodded. Expressionlessly, he tossed her a specially made wooden sword. It was as straight as a rapier and much heavier than a standard Nichirin Sword, with the tip wrapped in thick cloth soaked in pigment.
"Since you've already decided to use poison, then take this path to its absolute limit."
"So, Shinobu."
Natsunishi fell into a purely defensive stance.
"Use whatever method you can to stab me."
"Try to get the pigment on me."
Weak upper body strength was an objective fact. Rather than wasting time trying to patch a short board, it was better to bypass it entirely. Since she was already pursuing the injection of poison, it was better to focus the entirety of her Breathing Style's reinforcement and training on thrusting speed, precision, and evasion drills.
The former was for injecting poison into demons more efficiently. The latter was to ensure that she wouldn't fall first before the poison took effect.
As for the tools for injection? Whether they were customized by a swordsmith in the future or modified by Natsunishi himself after his forging skills improved, he would focus on optimizing the methods of storing and injecting the toxin. For instance, the blade could be made into a thicker but lighter hollow tube, with concentrated venom stored inside and injected via a mechanism the moment it pierced the target. Or, the tip of the blade could be designed with a replenishable barb structure; once it pierced the enemy, the barb would remain in their body, acting as a one-time poison capsule.
If the toxicity wasn't enough, make up for it with dosage.
"Practicing with this weighted sword isn't for training arm strength."
"It's to get you used to the feeling of condensing your entire body weight and the explosive power of your lower limbs through your arm and sword onto a single point."
"Like this."
Natsunishi crouched slightly. Then, as if he had teleported on level ground, his image suddenly blurred in Shinobu's field of vision. He appeared at her side almost instantaneously.
His right fist boomed out like a cannonball. It turned into a white flash that grazed the girl's temple, and only then did a faint sonic boom reach her ears.
"When you can use this heavy sword to thrust with lightning speed, returning to your real blade will naturally make your speed and execution even more effortless."
The girl raised the wooden sword, seemingly not at all surprised by Natsunishi's punch.
"Kuguruma-kun, you're not allowed to hit back—"
In the next second, a thrust unique to Insect Breathing suddenly erupted in the courtyard. It was as straight as a beam of light, like the stinger of a giant hornet lunging forward.
Dance of the Bee Sting: True Flutter.
Natsunishi merely tilted his head slightly, and the sharp thrust grazed the side of his neck.
Shinobu Kocho had weak hand strength. But that didn't mean she was useless in other areas. Setting aside her habitual use of toxins, her lower body strength and the resilience of her core and waist far exceeded those of ordinary female swordsmen, and were even stronger than many male members of the Corps. Coupled with her light body weight, her explosive speed in short-distance thrusts far surpassed those of her peers.
Shinobu naturally knew a single strike wouldn't land. She quickly pulled back the wooden sword. In the next instant, she turned into several afterimages that were hard to distinguish from reality, enveloping several of Natsunishi's vital points. If he were hit, even if he weren't poisoned, it would hurt for days.
Dance of the Dragonfly: Compound Eye Hexagon.
Natsunishi's footsteps moved slightly.
"Explode the force from the soles of your feet, rush it up your spine to your shoulders, and then spray it out from the tip of the sword like venom."
"Don't just stare at the neck. Eyes, joints."
"Your fighting style is different from Obanai's. You are looking for locations that are convenient for the poison to spread."
He continuously used words and slight parries to guide and force Shinobu to adjust her posture, angles, and breathing rhythm.
"Good, that one was faster than before."
"Faster. Don't let the poison become ineffective."
Gradually, Shinobu's thrusts began to change. The starting stances were discarded, and redundant movements were trimmed away. Every step and thrust became concise and crisp, carrying a calm efficiency born from discarding all excess for the sake of "hitting" the target.
The rhythm of her breathing also shifted quietly. Insect Breathing was derived from Flower Breathing, and Flower Breathing was a derivative of Water Breathing. Thus, it usually possessed a hint of lightness and continuity. Now, however, it transformed into a shorter, more violent, explosive style of breathing. Compared to Water and Flower, it was closer to Thunder Breathing.
Finally—under Natsunishi's intentional opening, Shinobu's wooden sword finally tapped the side of his shoulder for the first time. The boy mainly suspected that if he didn't let her succeed, the girl might actually train until she fainted from exhaustion.
He handed Shinobu a towel to wipe her sweat. Natsunishi glanced at the other two little ones who were still training alone.
He then looked at Shinobu and said, "In addition to 'stabbing,' you can try to get in touch with hidden weapons or throwing techniques later."
"Hidden weapons?" Shinobu was somewhat surprised.
"Yes," Natsunishi nodded. "The logic is the same."
"The essence is to send the 'poison' into the enemy's body. When your sword is parried, or when the combat situation makes it impossible to attack at close range, a poisoned kunai or flying needle might be the key to breaking the balance."
Shinobu couldn't help but think of those legendary shinobi and their strange hidden weapons.
If she continued practicing according to Natsunishi's way... would she really turn into a strange, venomous assassin? It felt as though she was drifting further and further away from the traditional image of a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman.
As if seeing her hesitation, Natsunishi asked directly, "Do you want to kill demons, or do you want to be a swordsman?"
This question caused the girl to fall silent for a short moment. Did she need to choose? Of course not.
Shinobu wiped the sweat from her forehead, and her trademark smile gained a hint of sharpness and resolve.
"I will master it. My own complete Insect Breathing."
Perhaps at that time, it wouldn't be out of the question to call it Poison Breathing.
A gust of wind blew past, shaking the branches in the courtyard that didn't have many leaves left, swaying down a withered yellow leaf. Shinobu's figure moved. That heavy wooden sword actually emitted a short, sharp whistle, piercing the drifting withered leaf like a flash of lightning and pinning it into the tree trunk.
The pigment on the tip of the sword only left a tiny but deep red dot on the trunk.
The feeling had arrived!
Shinobu's eyes sparkled as she turned to look at Natsunishi. "How was that, Big Radish—"
Then, what she saw was Natsunishi staring at the withered tree in a daze.
Natsunishi: Eh? A Great Success?!
Shinobu Kocho's Insect Breathing and attributes had suddenly jumped up a level. Furthermore, his own [Instruction] skill had also reached LV.3. It was faster than the previous increases. Could it be that teaching swordsmen with better talent resulted in a larger gain?
This wave was a win-win.
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