Chapter 40: Dancing
Tanjiro blanked for a moment, then nodded vigorously.
"Alright, Father!"
Every so often, his father would have him learn that Dance called "Hinokami Kagura."
Although Tanjiro didn't understand why they had to Dance in such cold weather,
nor did he understand what the point of the Dance was,
he knew it was a family tradition and his father's expectation.
Moreover, every time he watched his father Dance, he could feel a solemn and mysterious power.
"Tanjiro really is a good boy."
Hearing the conversation between father and son, Kanae stopped what she was doing and said with a smile.
Tanjuro turned around, his gaze softening as he looked at Kanae and Tatsu.
"Miss Kanae, Mr. Tatsu."
"If you don't mind, you're welcome to come and watch as well."
"Eh?"
Kanae blinked in surprise, her face quickly lighting up with delight.
Tatsu had mentioned to her before that the "Hinokami Kagura" this family performed
was actually the legendary, long-lost original Breathing Style—Sun Breathing.
As a Flower Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Kanae naturally understood the significance of Sun Breathing.
It was the source of all Breathing Styles and the ultimate power against Muzan Kibutsuji.
She had always been full of curiosity about this legendary Breathing Style, and never expected to have the chance to see it with her own eyes today.
"Is it really alright?"
Kanae asked, feeling a bit bashful,
"This is your family's secret technique, isn't it?"
"It doesn't matter."
Tanjuro smiled faintly, a smile carrying the open-mindedness of someone who had seen through the world,
"A Dance is meant to be seen.
Besides, I feel that if it's you two, you might be able to see something in it."
"Then we shall intrude!"
Kanae accepted immediately, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Tatsu was also a bit surprised.
He hadn't expected Tanjuro to invite them of his own accord.
"He's already accepted me this quickly?"
Tatsu rubbed his chin, thinking to himself.
To gain his approval, did that mean his "good guy" act was quite successful?
He instinctively looked at Kanae.
He saw the young woman excitedly straightening her Haori.
"It's probably thanks to Kanae."
Tatsu had a good idea.
Tanjuro was likely extending his kindness to him because of Kanae.
After all, who could refuse a gentle, beautiful older sister who was also good with children?
"Alright, then I'll join in on the excitement too."
Tatsu nodded with a smile and said to Tanjuro.
"Please follow me."
Tanjuro nodded and turned to walk toward the woods behind the house.
Tanjiro put down his axe, wiped his sweat, and quickly followed behind his father.
"Be good and stay at home, don't go running around."
Kanae gently instructed the children, then joined Tatsu in following the father and son.
Nezuko watched the four depart, sensibly taking her younger siblings' hands.
"Alright, let's go back inside, it's cold out here."
...
Passing through a dense pine forest, the view suddenly opened up.
It was a clearing halfway up the mountain, surrounded by tall cedar trees, forming a natural stage.
Tanjuro walked to the center of the clearing and stopped.
He took off his outer Haori, wearing only thin ceremonial robes.
The cold wind whipped against his frail body, but he seemed completely oblivious to it.
In his hand, he held a specially made seven-branched sword, a ritual tool used specifically for dancing the Hinokami Kagura.
"Tanjiro, watch closely."
Tanjuro's voice became low and solemn, as if he had become a different person.
His frailty vanished in an instant, replaced by a vast presence that seemed to merge with heaven and earth.
"Breathe."
"Adjust your breathing."
"Let the air fill every one of your cells, let your blood boil, let your body burn."
Tanjuro slowly raised the seven-branched sword, its tip pointing straight at the bright moon in the sky.
Tatsu and Kanae stood to the side, watching the scene with bated breath.
Kanae's eyes widened.
She could feel that with Tanjuro's breathing, the surrounding air seemed to change.
A scorching aura filled with vitality was bursting forth from Tanjuro's body.
"Is this... Sun Breathing?"
Kanae murmured to herself, her heart filled with shock.
Tatsu leaned against a tree trunk, arms crossed, his gaze deep.
He knew that the scene to follow would be a display of the most primal and powerful force in this world.
Tanjuro moved.
He began to Dance.
It was not just a Dance;
it was the flow of flames,
the trajectory of the sun, the most primal and scorching rhythm of life.
In this silent night, on Mount Kumotori, the Hinokami Kagura quietly bloomed.
"Inhale... Exhale..."
As a long trail of white mist was exhaled from Tanjuro's mouth,
the surrounding air seemed to freeze for an instant before being ignited by some invisible force.
Tatsu leaned against the tree trunk, his eyes narrowing slightly.
[Astonishing Insight has been triggered.]
Dance.
The seven-branched sword in Tanjuro's hand traced a perfect arc.
The movement seemed slow but was actually fast to the extreme,
leaving a crimson afterimage in the air.
It wasn't just the sword's path; it was more like flames burning, the sun rising.
"It looks like a Dance, but it's actually a sword technique."
Tatsu's mind raced frantically, countless streams of information washing over his nerves like a waterfall.
Tanjuro's steps were light yet steady, every contact between his sole and the ground was perfect,
neither wasting a shred of effort nor failing to use the ground's reaction force to propel his body's rotation.
His breathing rhythm was in perfect harmony with his movements.
Every inhalation seemed to draw in the surrounding cold air,
transforming it into internal heat;
every exhalation was accompanied by an explosive strike.
"Blue Heaven."
The seven-branched sword in Tanjuro's hand spun overhead,
as if painting a clear blue sky across the firmament, dispersing all gloom.
The movements were grand yet intricate, as if praying to heaven and earth, or conversing with the gods.
Tatsu's gaze grew increasingly fervent.
Under the blessing of [Astonishing Insight], what he saw were not simple moves, but the principles behind them.
"By using a specific breathing frequency, he forcibly enhances cardiopulmonary function,
allowing the blood to carry more oxygen, thereby exploding with power that transcends human limits in an instant..."
Tatsu murmured to himself,
"and this Breathing Style... is simulating the sun."
He could clearly feel a heat current surging within Tanjuro's body,
flowing through the meridians to every part of his body, finally converging on the seven-branched sword in his hand.
Although Tanjuro wasn't using a nichirin sword and no real flames appeared,
in Tatsu's perception, it was a ball of burning fire.
"Burning Sun, Crimson Mirror."
Tanjuro turned the blade's edge, swinging it left and right like two crimson mirrors reflecting the world's sins and filth.
Standing to the side, Kanae Kocho was already dazed.
Her mouth was slightly agape, her purple eyes reflecting Tanjuro's dancing figure.
As the Flower Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, she had seen the sword techniques of countless experts and various schools of Breathing Styles.
But never had a Breathing Style brought her such direct shock as the one before her.
There was no biting killing intent, nor any overbearing sharpness;
there was only a warm, grand, and all-encompassing aura.
"So hot..."
Kanae instinctively pulled her Haori tighter; though it was a cold spring night, she felt as if she were standing next to a heater.
That heat wasn't a physical temperature, but a warmth surging from the depths of her soul.
"Is this Sun Breathing? The progenitor of all Breathing Styles..."
Kanae's heart was filled with awe.
"If it were executed with a real nichirin sword, what kind of power would it have?"
Compared to Kanae's emotional perception, Tatsu's "learning" was more rational and domineering.
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