Time gradually came to the afternoon.
In the open space in front of the wooden house.
"Mom, what is Dad doing?" Takeo tugged at Kie's sleeve and looked at Tanjuro, who was sitting on the corridor, thinking with his head down.
Kie smiled and pulled Shigeru away.
"Your Father is thinking about something, don't bother him. Go to the charcoal kiln and help Takeo with the fire."
"Fire?"
Shigeru seemed a little confused. He looked up at his mother, not understanding why she was starting a fire just after the snow had stopped
---
Tanjuro lowered his head, his hands crossed, his brow furrowed.
Tanjuro's first reaction when facing Muzan was to run.
He is not alone here, his wife and children are also with him.
It is impossible to stay, and the result of staying is bound to court death.
But if the whole family ran away together, there was a possibility that Muzan would follow their scent and chase them.
The speed of a demon is much faster than that of human beings.
Tanjuro did not dare to gamble with the lives of his family.
So.
He raised his head and looked at Shigeru and Rokuta, who were playing in the open space in front of the house, and Hanako and Nezuko, who were clapping their hands and smiling.
Having experienced more than 30 years of torment in Sekiro, he did not want to experience the feeling of losing his family again.
Tanjuro planned to stay behind to cover the retreat.
Despite it resulting in his death.
But it was better for him to die alone than for his whole family to be slaughtered.
And he'd died enough times as Wolf.
In the world of Demon Slayer, there are man-eating demons led by the Demon King—Kibutsuji Muzan.
They are scattered all over Japan and numerous in numbers.
Demons eat people, and their speed and strength far surpass those of ordinary people. They can regenerate even if their limbs or heads are cut off.
If an ordinary person were to encounter it, there would only be one path for them: death.
It is impossible to kill a demon completely unless its head is cut off with a specific weapon or when they are exposed to sunlight.
Among the demons, the Twelve Kizukis are the most powerful.
The strength of the Kizuki members, if placed in the ancient Japanese mythology, would be equivalent to great Yokai of legends.
The strength of the Demon King—Kibutsuji Muzan is above all the Kizukis.
After all, the Twelve Kizukis were just subordinates he created.
Tanjuro hoped against hope.
'With my current strength, I wouldn't be able to survive a few breaths in Muzan's hands.'
'It is even more impossible to defeat Muzan head-on.'
'My current body is too weak. I might be able to swing a few decent strikes, but I would soon be exhausted.'
But even if he was at full health, the chance of escaping from Muzan was still very small.
Not to mention defeating him.
However,
The demon king Muzan has a "weakness".
He was extremely timid...
No, more like, very cautious.
This "caution" originated in the Warring States Period.
You see,
In the Warring States Period, a human genius was born.
This genius is called Tsugikuni Yoriichi.
He was born with the ability to see how everything in the world works - the Transparent World.
Born with extremely strong physical qualities, and body limiter removal – the Demon Slayer Marks.
He was born with an extremely strong talent for swordsmanship. When he was young, he defeated a warrior who had been fighting on the battlefield for many years the first time he held a knife.
The special breathing rhythm that he invented is an ability to compress a large amount of oxygen into the lungs at one time, so that your physical fitness can leap forward is the Sun breathing technique.
And the special skill that can make the blade turn red hot with just the grip, and has a targeted and miraculous effect on cutting demon down - the red blade - permanently.
Tanjiro thought of this and suddenly felt a little silent.
Although he knew it, he was still in awe by the terrifying talent of Tsugikuni Yoriichi after thinking about it carefully.
In his previous life, there was a word that could be used to describe Tsugikuni Yoriichi.
——Cheat.
Every trait he possessed seemed to have been born to target the existence of demons.
So that when he first met the Demon King, he was able to give the young and arrogant Demon King a double blow to his body and mind.
Even tho Muzan realized he had underestimated his opponent and tried to split into more than 1,800 pieces of flesh to escape,
In an instant, Yoriichi, who possessed inhuman reaction speed, drew his sword and killed more than 1,500 of them.
The demon king managed to escape from Yoriichi's clutches, but he never dared to show his face again.
For more than 60 years during the time Yoriichi was alive, Muzan never appeared in the sight of humans again.
It was not until Yoriichi died of old age that Muzan dared to gradually show his face.
It can be seen from this that Muzan is indeed very "cautious".
This "caution" is worth taking advantage of.
Tanjuro lowered his head and thot about the cards he currently had.
In his youth, he practiced the Kagura dance every day, and finally reached the "highest realm" - the transparent world.
This is one of them.
In the world of "Sekiro", it is a special mark that he is born with.
——Demon Slayer Marks.
It was the dark red, hideous markings on his left forehead.
The appearance of the marks represents a qualitative surge in physical fitness.
Tanjuro could clearly sense that as long as he wanted to, he could make the mark on his left forehead appear at any time.
This removal limiter will accelerate your heartbeat to over 200 and raise your body temperature to 39 degrees, in exchange for a significant increase in combat capability.
In normal circumstances, the mark on the left side of Tanjuro's forehead is just a birthmark that looks like a burn.
The second is his appearances.
Third, it is also the biggest trump card of Tanjiro at present.
The Kagura dance passed down thru the Kamado family for generations, dedicated to the Fire God - the Hinokami Kagura.
Tanjuro now knows better than anyone what this so-called dance is.
——Sun Breathing.
And the thirteen sword forms that go with it.
Because the Sun Breathing was too domineering, none of the human swordsmen at the time were able to inherit Tsugikuni Yoriichi's mantle.
But there were many people who recorded and witnessed it, but these records were found and destroyed by Kokushibo one by one after Yoriichi's death.
Except for one person - the ancestor of the Kamado family, Kamado Sumiyoshi.
Sumiyoshi and Yoriichi are good friends.
Yoriichi also gave his two hanafuda earrings to Sumiyoshi.
After Sumiyoshi saw Yoriichi perform the thirteen forms of the Sun Breathing once, he engraved them deeply in his mind.
It was then compiled into a Kagura dance, renamed the Hinokami Kagura, and passed down thru the generations along with the earrings.
And now, Tanjuro has been dancing the "Hinokami Kagura" for nearly thirty years.
The breathing rhythm and the key points of the movements were all familiar to him.
Yoriichi's earrings were also hanging on his ears.
Tanjuro clapped his hands, straightened his body, and slowly stood up.
After a period of calm reflection, he felt much more confident than before.
It is not necessary to defeat Muzan head-on.
He took two steps forward and walked into the snow.
Slowly close his eyes.
"Hyuu--"
Tanjuro took a deep breath, and his muscle memory gradually made his breathing rhythm match the breathing rhythm of the Hinokami Kagura.
As a large amount of oxygen was compressed into his lungs, Tanjuro's body temperature gradually rose, and his heartbeat began to accelerate.
"Hiss——!"
Like the sound of water evaporating at high temperature, Tanjuro exhaled from his mouth slightly, and a hot white gas floated out of the corner of his mouth.
It turned into white steam in the cold snow, slowly drifting away with the wind.
Then, his left forehead burn mark spread.
Dark red and hideous marking appeared on the surface of the skin, covering the shallow burn marks.
Two earrings with sun patterns fluttered slightly in the cold wind.
His long crimson hair was tied into a high ponytail that hung down his back.
Tanjuro opened his eyes, his deep red pupils calmly looking into the distance.
He also possessed what Yoriichi had.
It doesn't need to have substantial strength, what Tanjiro wants now is just the appearance.
Marks, earrings, eye color, and hair.
Except for his clothes and complexion, he seemed to be a clone of the Yoriichi in his memory.
Still missing the Crimson Blade.
Thinking this, he turned around and walked back into the room.
Reach out and took his katana from his futon.
~Click!~
A black katana was pulled out from the sheath.
Tanjuro looked down at the katana.
The smooth blade reflected Tanjuro's face.
Kusabimaru.
Wolf's katana.
Perhaps it was because he was holding the Kusabimaru tightly in his hand when he woke up that the sword came with him.
"It will do," he thought.
Turning around, he looked outside, in the direction of the charcoal kiln.
He poked his head out and asked:
"Takeo, is the fire ready?"