Emmanuel_Capricorn
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DS : Chapter 171
🕑 Added 2025-04-01 16:37:22 +0000 UTC[3rd POV]
The Butterfly Mansion, a place of healing, was starting to look like a war zone.
On the north side of the compound, the sky had darkened and it was flashing with brilliant streaks of blue lightning that shattered the night like a thousand curses.
Kaigaku's onslaught was devastating and fast like rapid calamity. His electric aura vibrated violently and the ground cried beneath their feet.
Tanjiro’s breath was sharp and strained, his body aching as the aftermath of his last fight echoed through his muscles. A mission that required him to slay hundreds of demons with his comrades, he hadn't fully recovered yet.
But there was no excuse in battle.
Tanjiro could not fight on instinct, because his instincts told him to curl up and fall unconscious. A sharp pain followed each of his movements and that required him to consciously force himself to fight.
In this battle, Kanao was the more active one even though Tanjiro was starting to change that.
"Kaigaku!" Tanjiro roared, he might be injured but he wanted all the smoke.
Kaigaku’s grin grew wide at the naked rage in Tanjiro's voice "Can you feel the fraction of what I had to endure? How does it feel to be filled with rage but to be so powerless to do anything?"
With a snap of his wrist, Kaigaku’s body became a blur of blue lightning. His movements were nearly instantaneous. Had it not been for the roar of thunder and streak of lightning, they would think he teleported.
Tanjiro barely reacted in time, diving backwards, but the thunderous crack of the lightning struck the ground where he had stood, sending up a shower of sparks and debris. His feet barely touched the ground as he quickly regained his balance.
He tried to use Sun Breathing but something caught in his lungs, he was still far too weak to use Sun Breathing without a cost. With his injured body, it became nigh impossible to do so.
He quickly changed his breathing style.
“Water Breathing : First Form,"
Tanjiro’s sword sliced through the air in a graceful arc, unfitting the urgent situation. But the fluid movement of his Water Breathing formed a sleek ripple of energy that collided with Kaigaku’s next attack.
"Water Surface Slash!”
It barely did anything, but it was enough to defend.
Kaigaku let out a scoffing laugh, clearly amused. “You blocked that even though you are so much weaker than me. You're incredible Tanjiro, it's why I hate you so,"
The demon’s form blurred again.
'It never ends!!' Tanjiro screamed in his mind and through gritted teeth, he forced his body into motion.
It's either he moves or he dies.
“Water Breathing : Fifth Form!"
"Splashing Water Flow, Continuous!”
Tanjiro swung his sword in rapid succession, a flurry of controlled, calculated slashes that sought to overwhelm Kaigaku through sheer precision rather than power.
He gave his everything in the attack, but to the demon it looked like a baby swinging a wooden stick.
Kaigaku sneered, “Thunder Breathing : First Form!"
He was not able to learn the first form of Thunder Breathing in the original canon even after becoming a demon but this time he was much stronger due to the excessive amount of Muzan's blood.
He was finally able to use the first form of Thunder Breathing decently.
"Thunderclap and Flash!”
The crack of lightning struck like a whip, faster than Tanjiro could process, and through sheer luck and Kaigaku's inability to control his own speed, he managed to block the blow with his sword.
The force sent him skidding back, his feet dragging against the ground as the electric energy surged through him, making his muscles seize with pain. He was effectively paralyzed.
Tanjiro gritted his teeth, feeling the heat of Kaigaku’s power sizzling in his bones. But he wasn’t about to back down.
With a determined glare, Tanjiro closed his eyes for a fraction of a second. At that moment, he felt the weight of all the battles he endured so far.
The lesson he learned from the scroll left behind by Seiji and Giyu's own teaching replayed in his mind.
“Sun Breathing : First Form!"
The first form of Sun Breathing was a healing form as much as it was an attacking form.
"Hinokami Kagura!”
His sword erupted in a dazzling blaze of red, an intensity he never felt before surged deep within his body, They burned away the static electricity in his body and awoke every fibre of his muscles.
Kaigaku recoiled as the imaginary fire burned his skin and made his demonic instincts go haywire. The slash split the air, but he quickly regained his composure.
No matter the attack, he was leagues faster than the humans, so why should he be afraid of anything?
“Sun Breathing,” Kaigaku’s voice held a deep layer of disdain. “See how blessed you are Kamado. No matter how hard I work, I can never surpass people like you,"
As a result of the Seiji's influence, the golden trio reached their potential faster than ever. They stood out as the most talented in the Demon Slayer Corp, and Kaigaku was always envious of that.
To the point that he would turn himself into a demon to attain the same power.
Tanjiro, gritting his teeth through the pain, forced his body to move. His movement was a dance but he never caught Kaigaku. In the end, his efforts went to waste and he burned up like a candle.
But that was enough. Kanao finally came into the fight once more.
She hadn’t been able to intervene earlier since Kaigaku focused solely on Tanjiro. But with him forcing Kaigaku back even just for a few seconds, it gave her the opportunity to re-enter the fight.
"Flower Breathing: Fifth Form!"
Kanao’s movements were a whirlwind of elegance, each strike fast and flowing.
“Peonies of Futility,"
Kaigaku’s eyes flicked to her for a brief moment, but his arrogance made him underestimate her. He didn't move back like he did for Tanjiro and prepared himself to meet her.
Wrong move.
Kanao shared the last name Shigan, unlike in another timeline where she was Kocho.
She had been raised by the strongest and trained by the strongest. Under such an opportunity, even the dullest blade turned deadly.
Kanao's eyes flashed with a scary light and she delivered a flurry of nine consecutive blows that weaved in on themselves. Nine swings stitched together like one.
One swing, nine-fold.
One swing managed to land on Kaigaku. That was what it looked like, that was what it felt like, even to the demon himself.
Wrong.
Nine swings landed on Kaigaku.
One hit landed and bloomed into nine.
The demon staggered back, his body deformed and finely sliced into sections. It burned, it hurt.
It hurts still.
"AHHHHHH!!!!"
Sometimes, a little prick of a thorn could hurt more than a stab of a sword. Kanao attacked the points in the body with the most amount of nerves. She could not see them but Seiji had taught her since young, where those points were.
Tanjiro's heart raced. Kanao had given him the opening he needed.
But...
But he couldn't move. His body betrayed his determined soul.
Time seemed to stop, reality became black and white as he saw a red string tightening in the air. One end was attached to his sword while the other was to the demon's neck.
It looked so easy.
'Move'
But his body just wouldn't listen.
'Move'
His mind didn't know what to do.
'Move'
....
He had been told once, by his idol that they were alike. While others grew with training or experience, they grew in the situation.
They grew stronger in battle.
That moment of desperation gave birth to enlightenment for Tanjiro.
A new path, a new way.
With a flash of understanding, a dangerous idea bloomed in his mind, something he had not yet tried before, only thought of.
He took a deep breath, holding both the water and the sun within him.
His body finally moved upon the new path he carved at that very moment.
“Water Sun Breathing : First Form,"
The world held its breath.
And then screamed the moment Tanjiro burst into action, a trail of water and fire traced the trajectory of his sword.
"Combined Flame Flow.”
Kaigaku who screamed in pain did not have time to even see the attack. Speed without purpose was still.
Tanjiro's eyes were fully white, the scars on his forehead changed colour to dark red and he let the red string guide his blade.
The aftermath resulted in Kaigaku's head falling off from his shoulder.
..
..
..
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Tanjrio collapsed to his knees, his body trembled and gave the fuck up. His arms went limp on his side.
"Tanjiro!!" Kanao immediately came to his side, her voice laced with worry. Her eyes shook in concern for him.
"Are you okay?"
One deep breath.
Two deep breaths.
Three.....and then four.
"I'm fine," he finally answered, swallowing air like it was solid, "I'm fine,"
They won the battle.
And I wish I could tell a kinder tale but the war was just beginning.
"How pathetic,"
The voice that came from the wall froze both Kanao and Tanjiro. The moment the voice came, the demon's presence was also finally revealed.
It was....
It was not just strong. It was suffocating. Thier minds couldn't even process the powerful presence that was before them.
"All arrogance and he died to a couple of kids," the demon chuckled as he sat on top of the wall. From his easy posture, you could tell he witnessed the whole fight but did not intervene.
"Although I must admit, you kids sure are impressive,"
Finally, Tanjiro and Kanao turned their frozen body to stare at the demon.
They saw Akaza.
..
..
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NEXT CHAPTER IS OUT IN A FEW MINUTES FOR SUN TIER.
Auhtor : This arc will be fleshed out. We show a bit of Seiji's influence in this fight as well, he is affecting things even if he is not there.
And the man himself will also appear in this war. I hope that answers your question, Martin, our boy will be back soon.
I planned on making him return first and then let the attack happen, but then I wanted to focus a little bit more on other characters and how they deal with this situation without MC always being there to save the day.
Thanks for reading.
Comments
Martin Lervoll
Alright that's good enough 👍 I just really wanna see Seiji, you've been hyping him up now for a while with all this "training" he's been doing and hella long as well. I couldn't commit to the stacking 2 chapters was enough 😂
Martin Lervoll
Welp I hope Seiji is here in this chapter or the next, otherwise I would've been scammed. Haven't read it yet but, amazing chapter 👍
