"Go, you can do it!" + 3
At the Butterfly Mansion, three little twin lolis were applauding and cheering for Tanjiro and the others.
Tanjiro and the two others had pushed their Breathing Technique training to the extreme, now able to maintain it subconsciously from morning till night.
And being able to maintain a Breathing Technique for twenty-four hours is something only Pillars can achieve... meaning, only those who can reach this stage have the potential to enter the Pillar's domain.
Now was their final test: blowing up a large wooden gourd.
From initial speed and agility, to Breathing Technique, now it was about cultivating powerful lung expansion. Simply put, their breathing had to be strong enough to blow up a half-man-sized gourd with air.
If they could do that, their internal organs would also become extremely powerful, and training the body and strengthening the internal organs is precisely the essence of the Breathing Technique.
"Ah... Hmph~" + 3 The three little ones held their breath and blew with all their might. Finally, after their faces turned red, the gourd exploded with a boom.
"Yay We succeeded, hahaha"
"Haha, as expected, I, Inosuke the great, am the strongest~"
"Haha, we can go find Nagi-aniki (Nagi, older brother) now~"
"If you can't bear to part with me, I can stay for you..."
Shinobu Kocho looked at the three fledgling youths and smiled slightly, as if recalling her own past.
Just the day before, Tanjiro had specifically asked her about Hinokami Kagura. His ancestral Kagura Dance had been used by him during a battle.
However, Shinobu Kocho firmly told him that there was only Flame Breathing; she had never heard of Hinokami Kagura. But she suggested he could ask the Flame Pillar, as Flame Breathing was also fire-attributed, and the Flame Pillar might know something.
Then she reported to Kagaya Ubuyashiki and requested a mission for them to support the Flame Pillar. Kagaya Ubuyashiki smiled slightly upon hearing this, further confirming his premonition that Tanjiro was connected to Sun Breathing.
Only Sun Breathing was what Muzan feared most, which was why he was so intent on sending people to hunt them down.
Thus, to allow them to train and grow, he sent them to support the Flame Pillar and participate in the investigation of the missing Mugen Train incident.
------
"Get out of the way, I'll take care of this monster! Watch me cut it down with one slash!" Inosuke roared, drawing his sword and preparing to attack the train engine.
"Don't embarrass yourself, that's a train~" Zenitsu, mortified, hugged him, otherwise, he would have attacked the train. Inosuke, raised by wild boars and growing up in the deep mountains, had never seen a train and thought it was a monster... "Let me open this monster's belly."
Thump~
Inosuke forcefully slammed his head against the train car... "How embarrassing..." + 2
The three boarded the train, and shortly after it started moving, they began searching for the Flame Pillar in the carriages.
"Wahahaha, this monster runs so fast~" Inosuke stuck his head out the window, shouting excitedly.
"Don't embarrass yourself, let's go~" Zenitsu, blushing, pulled him along, apologizing to the surrounding passengers, "Sorry, sorry."
The three passed through carriage after carriage. Since Tanjiro had seen him once at a meeting, they were looking for someone with flame-colored hair.
"Will the Flame Pillar be difficult to talk to, Tanjiro~" Zenitsu asked worriedly.
"Uh, Miss Shinobu Kocho said that although he sometimes speaks nonsensically, he's a warm and cheerful big brother~" Tanjiro mused, stroking his chin.
"And Mr. Tomioka said he always tries to talk to him... In short, he should be a relatively easy person to get along with."
Finally, upon opening a carriage, they heard a deafening, hearty, and clear voice:
"Delicious—"
"Delicious—"
"Mmm mmm~ Delicious—"
Uchiha Nagi watched the towering stack of bento boxes on the table, speechless. He knew that those who trained in physical techniques could eat a lot, and his own appetite had increased considerably recently, but someone who could eat this much could almost rival Hinata.
On the table, there were already more than a dozen stacked bento boxes, with another dozen unopened ones placed to the side.
The Flame Pillar, Kyojuro Rengoku, was eating with oil dripping from his mouth~
He kept shouting "Delicious" as he ate. Only his eyes seemed a bit off, constantly staring blankly ahead. Uchiha Nagi was clearly on the window opposite him, yet he stared straight ahead... "Ah, I found them, Nagi-aniki (Nagi, older brother), Mr. Kyojuro Rengoku." Tanjiro exclaimed with joy.
Uchiha Nagi looked up and saw it was the three members of the protagonist group.
"Oh, it's you three. It's been half a month, how have you been? Tanjiro, it seems you've already mastered maintaining your Breathing Technique all day, that's very impressive." Uchiha Nagi smiled.
"Not at all, Nagi-aniki (Nagi, older brother), you're already a Pillar, you're the truly impressive one..." Tanjiro said, scratching his head bashfully.
"Awoo awoo, two Pillars! One of you fight me, I want to challenge you— Mmm mmm..."
Before Inosuke could finish, Zenitsu covered his mouth and pulled him aside.
"This is Tanjiro," Uchiha Nagi introduced.
"Those two are Inosuke and Zenitsu. These three are potential future Pillars..."
"Delicious— Mmm mmm." Kyojuro Rengoku said cheerfully while eating, "I can tell, all three of you have been training with me, right?"
"Oh, by the way, why are you three here?" Kyojuro Rengoku asked.
"It's like this, the crow delivered an order saying that the victims of the Mugen Train have increased, and told us to meet up with you. And coincidentally, I also have some things I'd like to ask Mr. Kyojuro Rengoku," Tanjiro said.
"Oh, what is it~" Kyojuro Rengoku had already finished all his bento boxes and let out a comfortable burp.
Inosuke, meanwhile, had long forgotten his earlier shouts about challenging the two Pillars. At this moment, half his body was already hanging out of the train window.
Inosuke excitedly waved his hands out the window, "Hahahaha, this steel monster runs so fast! Don't stop me, I want to get off and race it to see who's faster~"
Zenitsu, who was holding onto his legs from behind, was on the verge of collapsing, "You stop it right now! How can anyone be this idiotic!!"
Uchiha Nagi watched with amusement. This Xiao Zhuzhu was truly a joy, amusing people without even trying.
Tanjiro said, "It's about my father. He was naturally frail and sickly, but even so, he could perform the Kagura Dance in the bone-chilling snow."
Kyojuro Rengoku exclaimed loudly, "That's wonderful~"
Tanjiro shouted, "Please tell me~"
Kyojuro Rengoku shouted even louder, "Speak!"
Uchiha Nagi watched the two of them, speechless. Are all protagonists' personalities this... 'disc-like'?
Their conversation was simply... "Hinokami Kagura, Round Dance, I used it subconsciously. They were all dances my father taught me when I was a child. So I wanted to ask, Mr. Rengoku, have you ever heard of Hinokami Kagura?"
"Hmm, I haven't heard of it—"