Kaigaku, furious to the point of laughter, gripped his Nichirin Blade tightly.
"You're just a piece of trash who can only use the First Form! What right do you have to shout here?!"
Zenitsu lowered his head and said quietly,
"Tanjiro, Inosuke—this is my fight. Please don't interfere."
Feeling Zenitsu's resolve, Tanjiro and Inosuke respected his decision and stepped back to watch.
The battle between the inheritors of Thunder Breathing was about to begin.
The flames from the ruined village illuminated Zenitsu and Kaigaku's faces from the side—two disciples of the same master, now forced to cross blades.
Yet deep within, Zenitsu still held onto a sliver of hope.
Perhaps his senior brother had only been blinded by power, perhaps he could still be brought back to his senses through this battle.
But Kaigaku showed no mercy as he launched the first strike.
"Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Rice Spirit!"
Golden lightning danced across his blade as he unleashed five consecutive slashes of thunder toward Zenitsu.
Amidst the roaring flashes, Zenitsu twisted and leapt, barely dodging each strike.
And in that brief opening between Kaigaku's attacks, Zenitsu had a chance to counter—but the hand that had raised his blade… slowly lowered it again.
Kaigaku mistook Zenitsu's hesitation.
He believed Zenitsu's extraordinary speed when using Thunder Breathing, First Form—a speed that even he couldn't match—must have come with a heavy drawback.
"Heh. So what if you can kill a demon with a single blow?
You can barely lift your sword now! What right do you have to make me apologize?
Thunder Breathing, Third Form: Thunder Swarm!"
Kaigaku spun rapidly around Zenitsu, his spiraling trajectory leaving behind waves of lightning that exploded outward, blasting Zenitsu off his feet.
Watching from the sidelines, Inosuke and Tanjiro grew increasingly anxious.
"What the hell's Zen-guy doing?! Why isn't he fighting back?!"
Inosuke stomped furiously. They knew Zenitsu's strength better than anyone—there's no way he'd be out of energy after one Thunderclap and Flash.
Tanjiro's keen nose caught the scent in the air—grief, heaviness… and hope.
"Maybe… Zenitsu still hopes Kaigaku can change."
From the shadows, Yosuke continued to observe without intervening.
He could see it—Zenitsu was transforming.
The timid boy who always lacked confidence, who trembled and fled from battle, was disappearing.
If Zenitsu could fight at full power while conscious, his strength would ascend to an entirely new level.
"Thunder Breathing, Fifth Form: Heat Lightning!"
Scorching thunderbolts exploded toward Zenitsu, who still didn't counterattack. His body was covered in wounds, and the yellow haori his master had given him was now in tattered shreds.
Struggling to his feet, Zenitsu looked down at the fragments of his haori, sorrow filling his heart.
"I was abandoned by my parents the moment I was born…
I lived alone in the city for fifteen years—until Master took me in. He accepted me as his disciple and taught me with all his heart."
"Even though Master was strict, pushing me through hellish training every day, I never hated him.
He was my family. That's why I always called him Ojiichan."
"I was always afraid… afraid that with no talent, I'd disappoint him.
I couldn't bear to see him look at me with disappointment, so even when I tried to run away from training, he'd always catch me—never giving up on me."
"I just wanted to repay him somehow.
Ojiichan wanted me to get along with you, Kaigaku.
So even when you insulted and humiliated me every time, I endured it… because that was his wish."
"But Kaigaku—have you forgotten his teachings?
Forgotten how deeply he cared for us both?
Have you forgotten everything Ojiichan did for us?!"
Zenitsu's voice trembled with pain as he cried out.
Kaigaku sneered at his words.
"'Master'? 'Ojiichan'? Don't make me laugh.
Jigoro Kuwajima and you are the same pathetic trash.
Why should I have to share the inheritance of Thunder Breathing with someone I despise?!
You're both garbage! You and that old man deserve to die—die in agony!"
"Kaigaku… you no longer deserve to be called human."
The last flicker of hope within Zenitsu vanished. His disappointment turned into unwavering resolve. He knew it was time for their paths to part forever.
"What's wrong? Angry now?" Kaigaku mocked. "You're already half-dead. It's time I ended this.
Don't worry—I won't kill you. After all, the Demon Slayer Corps forbids harming comrades, right?
I'll just crush your limbs so you can't move or speak again.
Once I deal with you, I'll take care of your friends next!"
"I'm the only one worthy of inheriting Thunder Breathing—me, Kaigaku!
And you, a failure who can only use the First Form, will live as a cripple—pathetic and forgotten!"
Kaigaku laughed maniacally.
Zenitsu, however, retorted coldly,
"If I'm just a 'failure' who can only use the First Form…
then you're nothing but trash who couldn't even master that."
Kaigaku's face twisted in rage.
"Thunder Breathing, Sixth Form: Rumble and Flash!"
From his body, countless lightning-shaped slashes exploded outward in all directions.
But Zenitsu moved differently now—graceful, focused, untouchable.
He weaved through the storm of lightning strikes, each one missing him by mere inches.
"Senior Brother… this is the last time I'll call you that."
Zenitsu drew in a deep breath, electricity crackling across his entire body. His stance lowered, his muscles tensed.
"I've made up my mind. It ends here.
The true will of Thunder Breathing—
will be carried on by me!"
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash—God Speed!"
The pinnacle of Thunderclap and Flash—the ultimate strike of absolute speed.
If an ordinary Thunderclap and Flash left behind a visible trail, then God Speed was beyond perception itself.
Before Kaigaku could even see him move, he felt a tremendous force crash into his sword.
The next instant, Zenitsu was already behind him.
The sheer power of the strike numbed Kaigaku's arms, splitting the flesh between his thumbs and forefingers.
His finger bones shattered, bending grotesquely, and his Nichirin Blade broke clean in two.
Kaigaku stared at his mangled hands in disbelief, pain searing through his nerves until he fell to his knees, screaming.
"What—what is this form?! I've never seen it before!
That old man must have hidden it from me!
He taught you something he refused to teach me! Why?!
I'm the rightful heir of Thunder Breathing—why wasn't I taught this?!"
Zenitsu looked down at him calmly.
"Ojiichan didn't hide anything from you.
This is still Thunderclap and Flash—the same technique you always looked down on."
Pls drop some power stones supper me at my
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