"This is bad, we've been left behind too far," Zenitsu and Inosuke said, sprawled at the training room door, watching Tanjirou's increasingly fast movements, almost catching up to Kanao.
The two exchanged glances. They couldn't let this continue. In fact, they had both witnessed Tanjirou's efforts over the past ten-plus days, and had to admit that Tanjirou's perseverance in this regard far surpassed their own.
At dawn,
When Agatsuma Zenitsu woke up, Tanjirou's bed was already empty. He was waking up earlier and earlier.
After a long internal struggle, Agatsuma Zenitsu sat up.
"Alright, I guess I'll have to push myself a bit too."
Inosuke next to him also stirred, standing on his bed with a puff of white steam erupting from his boar mask.
"Let's go, Wen Yi!"
"Wen Yi? Who's that?!"
The two found Shinobu, and from her, they learned that what Tanjirou wanted to master was a breathing technique called Total Concentration: Constant.
However, after they tried it...
Both collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.
"No! Absolutely not! I can't do it!" Agatsuma Zenitsu rolled on the ground.
"Is this something a human can really do?"
"Ah! Zenitsu, Inosuke, you're here to train!" Tanjirou walked in and spotted them, very happy. Seeing Miss Shinobu, he bowed to her.
"Good morning, Miss Shinobu!"
"Good morning~"
"Eh~ If I don't maintain a high level of concentration right now, I still can't maintain Total Concentration Breathing all day."
"Let me think."
"It's like this! You have to expand your lungs!"
"Then your body will make 'boom boom' sounds."
"After that, it's training to the death!"
Tanjirou described it with his hands and feet, but despite his vivid description, Zenitsu and Inosuke didn't understand it at all.
They looked complexly at the confident Tanjirou.
What was he talking about?
Shinobu sat nearby, chuckled softly, and then her gentle, pleasant voice rang out: "Oh well, it's natural to be able to do this."
"But you also have to put in the corresponding effort~"
She walked over to Inosuke, placed her small hand on his shoulder, patted it, and said with a smile.
"It's only natural to be able to do it, you know~"
"I actually thought Inosuke would be able to do it easily."
"But you can't?"
"Even though it's only natural..."
"If you can't do it, then forget it."
"No choice, no choice~"
Hmph... Inosuke's angry cheeks twitched, and he gritted his teeth so hard they made a grinding sound, then he roared.
"Ah?! Of course, I can do it!"
"Don't underestimate me, you hateful woman!"
Shinobu, unfazed, walked over to Zenitsu, covering her face with one hand, and said casually.
"Actually, when Zenitsu was practicing, Nezuko-chan was watching outside."
"I even asked her, and she thinks a serious Zenitsu is very cool~"
"Really?!" Zenitsu shouted excitedly, his face flushed red with agitation. He sprang to his feet, incomparably thrilled.
"Ah! Nezuko-chan! Is watching me train!!!"
"I will definitely learn it, Nezuko, please watch me closely!!!"
"Yahoo!"
"Train! Train!" The two rushed out to train with high spirits.
How amazing!
Miss Shinobu is so strong!
Tanjirou stared dumbfounded at Shinobu. Before, no matter what he said, he couldn't get Zenitsu and Inosuke to train, but Miss Shinobu had managed it with just a few words!
"Tanjirou, you should also work hard," Shinobu said.
"Yes!"
Tanjirou also ran out to join the enthusiastic training... "Hmm, this still needs this added..." Amidst a pile of bottles and jars, Shinobu picked up a vial of medicine and carefully added it to a bottle of liquid, carefully observing the changes and recording them.
"Knock knock knock"
"Please come in." After meticulously recording the experiment's contents, Shinobu was holding a pen and transcribing into a notebook, without looking up, until a shadow fell over her. Only then did she spare a glance.
"Yoizumi?"
Yoizumi evidently hadn't expected her to stop what she was doing. He paused before speaking.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you."
"It's fine."
After quickly finishing her notes, she put down her pen and Shinobu stood up, leading Yoizumi to another area. After all, many of the medicines here were highly damaging to demons, and it wouldn't be good if he accidentally touched them.
The two sat facing each other, and Shinobu offered a cup of hot tea, her voice soft.
"What's wrong? Why did you come to see me?"
He took a sip of the clear tea, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, but Shinobu caught it nonetheless.
He calmly put down the teacup, not picking it up again.
It was so bitter.
"I want to ask you to take me to see Ubuyashiki."
"See the Master?" Shinobu asked, surprised.
"I promised him earlier, uh..." Yoizumi suddenly got stuck halfway through his sentence. He remembered that Shinobu had told him not to use his Blood Demon Art casually last time, but now... what should he do?
"...I promised him I'd help him with his treatment and see."
He couldn't lie to Shinobu.
"..." Shinobu didn't respond after hearing him. Her fingertips tapped on the table, one tap after another.
While waiting for her to speak, Yoizumi suddenly felt parched. All that was available was that cup of tea. He picked it up, took a sip, and closed his eyes.
It was so bitter.
On the other side, Shinobu had already made up her mind, her expression stern.
"In that case, I truly cannot stop you, but please do not push yourself too hard."
"It would be wonderful if the Master could get better, but similarly..." Shinobu turned her face away, her voice still clearly audible.
"I also don't want anything to happen to you."
"Mhm." Yoizumi nodded. It was good that she wasn't angry.
"I need to ask the Master first. Once I get a reply, I'll take you over."
"Oh, right." Yoizumi remembered the content she was writing when he came in—something about wisteria concentration, tolerance limits, and many characters he didn't quite recognize.
"Are you researching the damage wisteria causes to demons?"
"Eh..." Shinobu was flustered for a moment before calming down: "Yes, that's right."
"If you need my help with anything, you can come to me."
If it weren't for Yoizumi's overly natural expression, Shinobu would have thought something was wrong with him. Was he trying to test the poison on himself?
Was he ignoring her words?
Or did he think she was the kind of person who would do such a thing?
"If you need my blood, I'm available anytime."
He wondered if the blood she had taken before had been used up.
She gripped the teacup tightly, and with a faint crackling sound, several cracks appeared on the cup. Shinobu suppressed her anger.
"No!"
Couldn't he just say everything at once?
Shinobu decided: next time, she would brew the tea to be the bitterest, so bitter that Yoizumi couldn't say a word!
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