In the courtyard outside, a shirtless, boar-headed boy was sprinting wildly.
"Wait! Inosuke!"
"Inosuke-san! Your injuries haven't healed yet—come back!"
Tanjiro, still in his patient robes, and Kanzaki Aoi came running out from the corridor. The three of them took off at full speed, circling the courtyard.
Yuko couldn't help but laugh.
"He really is full of energy. Shinobu, what do you think—"
She turned her head mid-sentence, then abruptly stopped.
…Whoa. That expression is terrifying.
A shadow fell across Shinobu's face as she silently stood up.
"Yuko, please sit for a moment."
"…Okay."
Yuko feared the next sentence might be, 'I'm going to take someone's head.'
"Hahaha! Boar Rush! Boar Rush!!"
Inosuke ran happily forward when a figure suddenly appeared in front of him. He slammed on the brakes just in time, stopping right before crashing into Shinobu.
The boar head lowered slowly.
Shinobu smiled gently and reached out, softly patting his head.
"No, no. You can't run around like this."
A faint, suspicious blush appeared on the boar mask.
"Y-Yeah…"
Just as he spoke, his beast-like instincts suddenly screamed in warning.
The smiling girl's expression vanished in an instant. Her face went blank as a fist the size of a sandbag swung toward him.
Even with his instincts, Inosuke was injured and facing a Hashira stronger than him—there was no way to dodge.
With a solid impact, he collapsed stiffly to the ground. Bubbles suspiciously leaked from beneath the mask, and a huge red lump burst through it.
Tanjiro and Aoi arrived moments later. Seeing the dark aura radiating from the girl, both of them swallowed hard.
Shinobu said coldly,
"Take him back. Watch him strictly. Tie him to the bed."
"Yes!!" they shouted.
Terrifying! Shinobu-san is terrifying!
They didn't dare say another word. Lifting Inosuke, they fled immediately, afraid that if they hesitated even a second, Shinobu might beat them too.
Watching the three disappear, Shinobu sighed and returned to Yuko's side.
"Honestly… causing trouble before fully recovering. He was almost healed—now he'll have to stay in bed a few more days."
Yuko's lips twitched slightly.
No… she felt that had quite a lot to do with you.
…
Yuko could tell that although Shinobu was furious with the three troublemakers, she was also enjoying it in her own way.
The atmosphere within the Demon Slayer Corps had never been particularly cheerful. The constant pressure from demons made it hard for anyone to relax.
But the arrival of these three brought rare liveliness to the Butterfly Estate. When it came to causing chaos, they were practically an army of one.
As they gradually recovered, the rehabilitation training led by Kanzaki Aoi became surprisingly entertaining.
Perhaps because he'd learned that Tanjiro had single-handedly defeated Lower Rank Five, Inosuke's energy visibly surged. He participated enthusiastically in every training session.
Zenitsu was also enthusiastic—though his motivation always seemed a little questionable.
For example—
"Um, Miss Yuko, could I ask you to help me with my rehabilitation training?"
Zenitsu flicked his hair with exaggerated flair.
Shinobu's expression darkened, and she was about to speak when Yuko stopped her.
Yuko smiled.
"Sure."
"That's great!" Zenitsu turned around and clenched his fists.
He'd already asked Tanjiro—Miss Yuko wasn't a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, just a guest.
Advantage: him.
The two sat properly at a table with several cups of tea laid out.
Zenitsu's eyes sparkled.
"Miss Yuko, please."
"Shall we start?"
"Yes, ladies fir—"
Splash.
His face was instantly soaked with tea.
Zenitsu froze.
"I—I wasn't ready just now."
"Alright, let's start again."
Splash.
"I just—"
Fifteen minutes later, Yuko stood up in high spirits.
Zenitsu, meanwhile, sat there completely drenched.
Yuko nodded in satisfaction. The entire game, his attention had been glued to her hands—there was really no saving him.
"Shinobu, let's go get some sun."
Shinobu smiled.
"Mm."
…
After that small incident, Tanjiro was the first to defeat the final boss—Kanao—while the other two continued training.
As for Total Concentration Breathing: Constant, Tanjiro fully mastered it during the exhausting process of defeating Lower Rank Five—perfectly fitting the protagonist's "breakthrough in battle" trope.
Inosuke and Zenitsu trained even harder and quickly mastered the technique as well.
Zenitsu always gave the impression of being unreliable, but his foundation was no worse than Tanjiro's.
Attitude could lie. The body couldn't.
After watching him unknowingly practice breathing techniques while sleepwalking in the courtyard, Yuko understood—his effort was simply directed in a strange way. He wasn't slacking off.
During this time, for some unknown reason, disturbances caused by Lower Rank demons occurred repeatedly, leaving the Hashira constantly dispatched and the headquarters nearly empty.
Then, one day after Tanjiro and the others had mastered Constant Concentration—
Yuko and Shinobu were inside discussing the relative strength of breathing techniques. Shinobu was smiling as she spoke when her gaze drifted outside, her face instantly stiffening.
Before Yuko could even turn around, she sensed a nauseating wave of malicious intent from behind.
She turned her head.
A man wearing a fire-man mask and a patterned kimono was crawling gloomily along the corridor, peering at them.
"…"
Is this guy poisoned or something?
As if completely oblivious to their presence, Haganezuka Hotaru crawled forward, wriggling his way beside Yuko and reaching for the Nichirin sword resting on the tatami.
Just as he was about to grab it, a foot clad in white tabi socks came down coldly.
…
Inside the room, Tanjiro glanced at the trembling Haganezuka, who sat obediently to one side after being dealt with. He wiped his sweat nervously.
"Haganezuka-san came along with Kanamori-san to deliver Inosuke's swords."
Delivering swords?
Yuko shot him a sideways glance.
"Eeek!" Haganezuka shuddered.
Kanamori, also wearing a fire-man mask, introduced himself calmly.
"My name is Kanamori Kozo. I am the swordsmith who forged blades for Lord Inosuke."
"If my work can aid him in battle, it would be my honor."
Yuko let out a quiet sigh of relief and nodded to herself.
At least there's one normal person.
"Lord Inosuke?"
Before Yuko could finish her thought, chaos erupted nearby.
Under everyone's stunned gazes, Inosuke walked into the courtyard, picked up a stone, and began smashing the two brand-new Nichirin swords until they looked like serrated blades.
"..."
After a brief silence, Kanamori exploded.
"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU BRAT!"
Thankfully, Tanjiro stepped in to stop him—otherwise, Inosuke might have died at the hands of a swordsmith.
What exactly did this group come here to do?
Yuko rubbed her temples in a headache. Just as she massaged them lightly, a pair of cold hands suddenly pressed against her from behind.
She looked up to see Shinobu leaning over her with a gentle smile.
"Yuko, would you like to try a professional physician's technique?"
---
Currently at chapter 489 for advance chapters
https:// ko-fi.com/rabi08
[email protected]/Rabi08