With three new patients admitted, the Butterfly Estate's infirmary instantly became lively—though that liveliness gave everyone there quite a headache.
Tanjiro himself was fine—well-behaved and considerate—but unfortunately, his two roommates were… somewhat mentally questionable.
Thankfully, Shinobu kept things under control. Zenitsu had been much more well-behaved lately, though one pig-headed boy who clearly couldn't read the room would occasionally shout a few things and especially loved roughhousing with Zenitsu.
Despite being punished repeatedly and never learning his lesson, his brain could only be described as reinforced steel.
Kanae's progress with Snow Breathing wasn't smooth. Yuko obtained the manuals that had been passed down from her—these were no longer the originals, but copies.
And even those copies showed their age. Of the original eight sword forms, only three or four remained intact.
They were:
First Form: Whirling Blizzard
Fourth Form: Warm Snow
Seventh Form: Snow — A Line to the Heavens
Eighth Form: Endless Snow
Among them, the Fourth and Seventh Forms were not pure Snow Breathing, instead incorporating elements of Flame Breathing and Thunder Breathing.
Kanae pointed at the manuscript and said,
"Whenever I use the Fourth or Seventh Form, my lungs ache badly, and my breathing feels noticeably obstructed."
Yuko closed the slightly yellowed pages and handed them back to Kanae.
"That means your constitution isn't suited for those two forms."
"Although Snow Breathing branched off from Wind and Water Breathing, more than half of its techniques incorporate other breathing styles. If your body isn't suited to them, using those forms will indeed only cause side effects."
The Five Basic Breathing Styles were, after all, the most fundamental forms—there was virtually no barrier to learning them.
If one specialized in a single breathing style, training would at worst result in slower or faster progress, but it would never impose a burden the body couldn't withstand.
Snow Breathing, however, was different.
Pure Snow Breathing only required compatibility with Wind and Water Breathing. But once mixed forms were involved, it was no longer a simple matter of one plus one equaling two.
It required compatibility not only with Snow Breathing itself, but also with multiple core breathing styles. The difficulty skyrocketed—especially during combat transitions, where injury was extremely easy.
Snow Breathing was the kind of style where you might learn most of the forms, but never all of them.
According to Kanae, as Snow Breathing continued to be passed down, some people even began treating certain techniques as flashy tricks meant to fool others.
At present, aside from Stone Breathing—which required heavy weapons to fully utilize—Snow Breathing incorporated nearly every other breathing style.
Finding someone compatible with all five fundamental styles?
Extremely difficult.
Kanae asked,
"Are there any forms I can learn?"
She currently knew Water Breathing, Flower Breathing, and Snow Breathing.
Her talent for Water Breathing was limited, preventing full development, while Flower Breathing suited her well. However, as a derivative style, it lacked the raw strength of the Five Basics and was used mainly because it fit her.
Snow Breathing, on the other hand, was something she learned by coincidence—a derivative born from two foundational styles—and unexpectedly, it suited her very well.
From Kanae's perspective, Snow Breathing might be a derivative, but it was by no means weaker than the Five Basics—it was simply unusual in certain aspects.
Yuko thought for a moment.
"I'll organize the Snow Breathing forms first. Kanae, study them for now. You should have no trouble mastering the pure Snow Breathing forms."
Although Snow Breathing had been developed up to the Eleventh Form, the pure forms ended at the Eighth.
This was essentially filling in the missing techniques that the manuscript had lost.
The usable forms would likely only be the First, Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth.
"Then I'll be in your care, Miss Yuko."
Yuko smiled and shook her head.
"No need to be polite. I'm just glad I can help."
Kanae opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end simply smiled and nodded.
Yuko copied down the forms, instructing Kanae to practice only the pure Snow Breathing techniques.
For pillars with such exceptional talent, learning sword forms was not difficult. Kanae, already proficient in breathing techniques, fully mastered them after some practice.
Just as Yuko was about to help Kanae attempt to awaken her mark, orders from the Ubuyashiki family disrupted their plans.
Yuko was assigned to cooperate with the Wind Hashira, Shinazugawa Sanemi, to eliminate a Lower Rank demon.
The news surprised Yuko. She pulled out her small notebook, which clearly recorded that Muzan would purge the Lower Ranks after the Mount Natagumo incident.
But now… another Lower Rank had appeared.
Had Muzan not carried out the purge?
Shinobu grew curious about the notebook in Yuko's hands and scooted closer, tilting her head to look.
Yuko glanced back, stiffened slightly, then forced herself to sit properly.
She simply handed the notebook over and asked Kanae,
"Is the intelligence reliable? Has it been confirmed as a Lower Rank?"
"Yes," Kanae replied. "According to the swordsman who escaped, it should be Lower Rank Four of the Twelve Kizuki."
Information on the Twelve Kizuki was either unknown—or absolutely certain.
The numbers in their eyes never lied.
Shinobu, confused as she looked at the notebook, raised her head upon hearing this.
"Sister, please be very careful."
Kanae reassured her gently.
"Don't worry. With Shinazugawa-san there, nothing should happen."
Shinobu nodded slightly. When Sanemi was with her sister, he at least behaved like a human being.
"I'll go prepare now. Please excuse me." Kanae bowed lightly to Yuko and Shinobu before leaving.
"Safe travels, Sister."
Shinobu returned her attention to the notebook, only to find it filled with symbols and writing she couldn't understand.
Flipping back, the earlier pages contained Upper Rank intelligence—material even the Master possessed and had already shared within the Demon Slayer Corps.
That part was readable. Everything after that wasn't.
She turned to ask about it, only to see Yuko frowning, looking absent-minded.
Shinobu gently nudged her.
"Yuko?"
"Hm?" Yuko's eyes cleared.
Shinobu couldn't help but worry.
"Are you alright?"
Yuko paused, then shook her head.
"I'm fine."
She was simply puzzled as to why Muzan hadn't purged the Lower Ranks—not worried that these demons posed a threat.
Lower Rank demons, after all, were hardly combat forces.
The gap between them and the Hashira was far greater than the gap between the Hashira and the Upper Ranks.
Any Hashira—even without an awakened mark—could deal with them easily.
Otherwise, Muzan wouldn't have eliminated them so decisively.
Seeing that Yuko truly seemed fine, the tension in Shinobu's brow eased, and she smiled.
"Then that's perfect, I—"
"Hahahaha! I'm fully revived!"
"Boar Rush! Boar Rush!!"
Shinobu: "..."
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Currently at chapter 489 for advance chapters
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