Suzuki Makoto didn't stay the night. After all, Tanjiro was about to leave for the Demon Slayer Corps trial, so it was better to leave this night for the master and his disciple. As for him—
"Still haven't slept enough, Swain? Hurry up and bring me back information on the demons."
The Kasugai Crow resentfully got up and listlessly flapped its wings, flying into the night sky.
It felt like it would probably be the first Kasugai Crow to die of exhaustion.
Meanwhile, Suzuki Makoto lay peacefully on a blanket, blissfully closing his eyes.
Indeed, after exploiting someone else, even sleep becomes sweeter.
A night passed, and the Kasugai Crow had not returned. However, Suzuki Makoto wasn't concerned. After all, although Swain liked to slack off, he never cut corners on his work. At the very least, he would have other crows help deliver the message. The information this time was probably from far away.
When Suzuki Makoto returned to the small house, only Sakonji Urokodaki was left.
"Has Tanjiro left already?"
"Yes. I hope he returns safely."
Sakonji Urokodaki's voice sounded weary and sad—since Giyu Tomioka, he had never seen any of his other disciples return.
If Tanjiro hadn't been recommended by Giyu, he wouldn't have taken on another disciple at all.
"He definitely will. With his ability to smell the 'opening thread', ordinary demons are no match for him. It would take at least a demon with strength close to... a Lower Rank Six."
"Have you encountered a Lower Rank Six? Right, after all, to become a Hashira, you have to kill one of the Twelve Kizuki."
Sakonji Urokodaki's surprise was fleeting; he then took a booklet from his robes.
"These are all the forms of Water Breathing, along with my years of experience using it."
"Thank you, Master Urokodaki."
After taking the booklet, Suzuki Makoto began to read it carefully.
It was, after all, the insights of the Former Water Hashira. It helped Suzuki Makoto avoid many detours and allowed him to grasp the essence of Water Breathing more quickly.
Stone Breathing focuses on honing the physical body, aiming to train oneself and build a solid foundation, while Water Breathing emphasizes breath control and the fluidity of its forms, ensuring endurance in battle.
He already had some understanding of Wind Breathing, which clearly focused on slaughter. The remaining two derivative Breathing Styles, then, must focus on other aspects.
"It seems that over so many years, the various Breathing Styles have become quite well-developed. It probably won't be easy to reverse-engineer the original Sun Breathing. However, I should be able to integrate them into a new one—but that wouldn't be Sun Breathing, would it?"
Suzuki Makoto felt it was a pity. After all, it was something that hadn't been passed down for hundreds of years. Unless someone could demonstrate it for him, there was no way he could completely replicate the original Sun Breathing.
After finishing the book and discussing some details of Water Breathing with Sakonji Urokodaki, Suzuki Makoto took his leave.
"Master Suzuki, if it's possible in the future, please look after Tanjiro—after all, as you know, his sister is a demon. She is bound to face criticism within the Demon Slayer Corps."
"Rest assured, Master Urokodaki. I am also fond of Tanjiro. I won't stand by and watch him be blamed. As long as Nezuko can be restrained and she continues to not eat humans, I will protect the two siblings."
The old man breathed a sigh of relief. Now he wouldn't have to worry. Although Giyu was the Water Hashira, he stood alone. With a newly appointed Hashira speaking up for them, Tanjiro shouldn't have problems because of Nezuko after joining the Demon Slayer Corps.
"Then, I shall take my leave."
"Farewell, Master Suzuki."
By the time Suzuki Makoto was on the road again, Swain still hadn't returned. Even when evening came and Suzuki Makoto was looking for a place to rest, he was still gone. This surprised Suzuki Makoto slightly, as this had never happened before. No matter how tired the crow was, it should have been back within a day.
Looking at the still-empty birdcage, Suzuki Makoto decided that if Swain hadn't returned by the next morning, he would first go back to the Ubuyashiki Estate and ask the other Kasugai Crows for help finding him.
Fortunately, however, Swain had not met with any misfortune.
The next day, as Suzuki Makoto was getting up and washing, he heard the sound of flapping wings.
"Mount Natagumo. Suspected den of demons. Investigation in progress."
Where is that?
Confused, Suzuki Makoto placed the Kasugai Crow, which had fallen asleep instantly, into its cage. Then he opened a map and began to search, finally finding the location of Mount Natagumo in a remote corner.
"That's so far away! No wonder Swain flew for so long. Even if a crow was sent from there with a message, it would indeed take this long for them to meet and exchange information."
Seeing the distance, Suzuki Makoto's burning desire to hunt demons calmed a little. After all, the information was still being verified, so there might not even be any demons there. Besides, the distance was too great. It would be more practical to start heading in that direction and, along the way, pay a visit to the other two Hashira.
The former Flame Hashira and the former Thunder Hashira were about the same distance from his current location, but their paths diverged. Suzuki Makoto made his decision without much difficulty: he would go to the Thunder Hashira's place first.
After all, to this day, no new Thunder Hashira had appeared in the Demon Slayer Corps. Even the Sound Hashira used Sound Breathing, a derivative of Thunder Breathing. Clearly, mastering Thunder Breathing was not much easier than mastering Stone Breathing.
Carrying the birdcage, Suzuki Makoto spurred his horse toward the Thunder Hashira's place of seclusion.
A few days later, Suzuki Makoto arrived at a peach orchard.
"Hey, who are you!"
A black-haired man rudely questioned Suzuki Makoto.
"I'm here to see the Former Thunder Hashira."
"What are you here for? To become his disciple? What a joke! Do you think becoming a disciple of a Hashira is that simple? A skinny pretty boy like you should just get lost!"
What's with this guy?
Suzuki Makoto looked at him, puzzled. Thinking back to Tanjiro, wasn't the difference between people a bit too vast?
"What are you looking at! I am the great Kaigaku! The Tsuguko of the Former Thunder Hashira! As long as I'm here, you can forget about becoming his disciple!"
"So, are you going to announce my presence to the Thunder Hashira or not?"
"Are you deaf or something—"
Kaigaku abruptly fell silent, feeling the cold steel against his neck, not daring to even breathe.
"Now, can you take me to see the Former Thunder Hashira?"
"Y-yes, yes, yes! This way, please."
Suzuki Makoto unenthusiastically sheathed his sword. Arrogant one moment, obsequious the next. So, guys like this existed in the Demon Slayer Corps, too?
Kaigaku's almost fawning smile received no reaction. Suzuki Makoto simply led his horse and followed behind him, a little worried.
After all, you could tell a lot about a master from their disciple. The relationship between Tanjiro and Urokodaki was a perfect example. With a disciple like Kaigaku, this old Thunder Hashira probably wasn't going to be easy to get along with.
_____
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