Sumiyoshi focused with all his attention, as if trying to etch every movement into his eyes without missing a single detail.
Noticing his expression, Yuko suddenly understood.
The forms of the Sun Breathing — so beautiful they could make one forget to breathe — made Yoriichi look like a spirit dancing within flames.
This must be how the kagura dance passed down through Kamado's family had been preserved across generations.
Every technique of the Sun Breathing style was engraved firmly into Sumiyoshi's pupils.
After the dance, Suyako happily praised Yoriichi's sword forms while holding her daughter in her arms.
Yoriichi lowered his head shyly.
Sumiyoshi said excitedly, "Mr. Yoriichi, Miss Yuko, please come visit often when you have time!"
Yoriichi didn't say much. Instead, he suddenly removed his earrings and handed them to Sumiyoshi.
Sumiyoshi accepted them solemnly with both hands. He had a feeling.
Mr. Yoriichi… would probably never come again.
"Mr. Yoriichi! We will carry on… with the lives you saved…"
Sumiyoshi suddenly stepped forward and shouted with all his strength.
"You are absolutely not a worthless person! Don't ever think you accomplished nothing!"
"I won't allow anyone to say that about you, I…"
"I swear, I will pass these earrings and the Sun Breathing to future generations!"
For a moment, his silhouette overlapped in Yuko's eyes with that of a certain boy who had a scar on his forehead.
Both of them were such gentle souls.
Seeing the sadness in Yoriichi's heart, Yuko comforted him. "Don't worry. We'll come often."
She still hadn't found her blue spider lily.
Of course she would come back.
"Miss Yuko…" Seeing her gentle smile, Sumiyoshi froze for a second before coming back to himself.
Mr. Yoriichi… was not alone.
Sumiyoshi's lips trembled slightly. "Miss Yuko, please take care of Mr. Yoriichi."
"Yes. Please leave him to me."
At that moment, Yoriichi turned back softly.
"Thank you."
…
The two returned home together. The moment they stepped through the door, Yuko collapsed onto the tatami mat.
"Brother, I'm huuungry~"
Yoriichi: "…"
What in the world was this adorable creature?
After feeding his sister, Yuko treated Yoriichi's wounds.
"Brother." Yuko looked at him with solemn seriousness.
"What is it?" Yoriichi lowered his sleeves, confused.
"Since Muzan most likely won't appear again, I want to make preparations for the future."
"What kind?"
Yoriichi fetched paper and brush.
"You still remember Muzan's physical structure clearly, right?"
"If you can draw it, I want to—"
Before she finished speaking, Yoriichi interrupted softly.
"No need…"
A vein twitched at Yuko's temple.
"Brother."
"…Yes?"
Yuko smiled a deathly smile. "You know… gloomy handsome men like you are kind of out of fashion now."
"?"
Her smile faded, replaced by gentle sadness. "Why do you always take all the responsibility onto yourself?"
"It wasn't your fault."
Hearing this, Yoriichi simply lowered his eyelids.
Comforting words…
For adults, they rarely work.
If a child performs poorly on a test, you can encourage him with the idea that he can work harder next time.
But for an adult, such words hardly help. The only thing that can truly comfort them is success.
But the fact that Yoriichi failed to protect his family and failed to kill Muzan was already irreversible.
Before someone who has already failed — with no room to undo it — comforting words are useless.
Yuko suddenly said, "Leave it to me."
"?" Yoriichi looked up, puzzled.
"The task of killing Muzan," Yuko said solemnly. "No matter how many years it takes, I will fulfill the wish you could not realize."
Those who pursue the path to its end will all reach the same destination.
It sounded profound, but in truth, this idea summarized Yoriichi's so-called "incompetent" life.
Those who delve deep into a field will ultimately reach similar conclusions.
This is similar to believing in the wisdom of future generations — but that belief is flawed.
Or rather, too one-sided.
Human progress has never been horizontal.
If predecessors don't do everything they can to pass down their knowledge, later generations cannot develop anything at all.
Thousands of years of human history were not built on the talent of one person or one group, but on everyone's collective effort.
Everyone, in big or small ways, influences everything around them.
To Yuko, Yoriichi was simply running away from his so-called lifetime of "incompetence," like someone giving up on himself.
I'm so useless anyway. I probably can't do anything.
Someone better than me might already be born. It doesn't matter whether I pass down my breathing style.
Yoriichi was gentle — but also weak.
"Brother? Brother, can you hear me?" Yuko tilted her head and waved a hand in front of his eyes.
Ever since she said that sentence, Yoriichi had fallen into a dazed state.
Was he moved?
Well, it made sense.
After all, this was a PUA technique hundreds of years ahead of the era — normal people wouldn't be able to withstand it.
Yoriichi stared blankly at Yuko, tears forming at the corners of his eyes.
As Yuko froze for a moment in surprise, Yoriichi suddenly pulled her into an embrace.
She was startled for an instant, then gently patted his back, speaking softly.
"It's okay. Brother, you've already done your best."
"Leave the rest to me."
…
"Seven hearts, five brains…" After Yoriichi finished drawing the diagram, Yuko couldn't help but complain. "This guy really is something else."
"So that means, to kill him, we must sever all twelve weak points in an instant?"
"I'm afraid not." Yoriichi shook his head, eyes tinged with disappointment. "At that time, my forms severed all of his weak points completely, yet he did not die."
This was the direct reason he hadn't expected Muzan to have a backup method.
Yuko said gloomily, "…So only sunlight, then?"
Yoriichi started to nod, but hesitated and shook his head again. "At that time, he suddenly split into more than eighteen hundred pieces of flesh."
"I think… if I had completely cut apart those pieces, he might not have been able to regenerate."
"Sever his neck along with the twelve weak points… then destroy the divided flesh." Yuko muttered, her mouth twitching. "I feel like waiting for sunrise might still have a higher chance."
Even if she were to become a demon with dramatically enhanced physical strength and a Blood Demon Art, she would still never compare to Yoriichi.
And even if Muzan wasn't on Yoriichi's level, he was still far beyond anything she or Yoriichi's successors could match.
From what she knew, the Demon Slayer Corps only defeated Muzan due to plot armor.
In other words, even Tanjiro and his group did not kill Muzan head-on.
Plot armor was a strange force — one that made Yuko unable to calmly wait for a guaranteed happy ending where Muzan was killed.
Because with her being an outsider, something might have already changed.
The butterfly effect… she absolutely could not ignore its consequences.
---
Currently at chapter 189 for advance chapters
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