Chapter Six: Storm Breathing!
『ＲＹＯＮ 』
Note: Special thanks to Andrew_313 🌹
This chapter is for you!
Enjoy~~~
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Six months passed.
To the outside world, it was merely half a year—two turns of the seasons. Autumn had transitioned into a bitter winter, and heavy snow draped Mount Sagiri in a pristine white shroud.
But for Yukihara Rin, these six months were nothing less than a complete rewriting of his DNA.
The beautiful child who had arrived from Akasaka with clean clothes was gone.
Standing now atop a jagged rock in the middle of a blizzard, bare-chested despite the bone-chilling frost, was a living statue of power. His muscles were not grotesquely large; rather, they were "compressed" and dense like steel—each fiber designed for killing, not for show. His long black hair whipped in the wind like a battle standard, and his emerald eyes radiated a brilliance that defied the storm.
"Ninety-nine..." Rin whispered, his voice emerging as thick steam.
On his back, he carried a boulder weighing a ton and a half. Yes, a ton and a half.
"One hundred!"
Ding!
The sweet sound of the System rang in his head like a bell of salvation.
[Congratulations!]
[You have broken the barrier of ordinary humans.]
* Strength: 101
* Speed/Agility: 105
* Endurance: 102
Rin tossed the rock off his back, causing the ground beneath him to tremble in a miniature earthquake.
"Finally..." He sighed with relief, looking at his palms where the skin had hardened and become as tough as iron. "I've passed one hundred. At this rate, my raw physical strength is approaching the level of a Hashira, even without using Breathing."
Over the past six months, Urokodaki had not been a merciful teacher.
Realizing Rin's potential, the old man decided to test his very limits of "death."
The nightly chases evolved from mere escapes into life-or-death battles. Urokodaki used real swords. Rin suffered fractures, bruises, and deep wounds, but he recovered thanks to Urokodaki's nutritious food and the Player's unique recovery system.
Rin remembered how Tanjiro struggled to slice the boulder in the anime; it took him two years.
Rin sliced a similar—perhaps larger—boulder in his second month. With a single strike. And with a wooden sword.
But the real challenge wasn't the body. It was "Breathing."
Rin sat in Urokodaki's warm hut, sipping hot tea while his master polished a sword in the corner.
"You have mastered the ten forms of Water Breathing," Urokodaki said without looking up. "The fluidity of your movement is perfect. Your adaptation to situations truly resembles water."
(Note: I don't know if the form Giyu created is No. 10 or 11 currently... so in this story, Water Breathing will have 10 forms, and Giyu will create his own 11th unless I find I was mistaken.)
"Thank you, Master," Rin replied, but his mind was elsewhere.
He was thinking about the "Thunder Breathing" granted to him by the System.
During his solitary training, Rin had been attempting something insane.
Water Breathing is defensive and flexible. Thunder Breathing is offensive and lightning-fast.
What if he merged them?
Rin recalled "Sun Breathing" or the "Hinokami Kagura"—the origin of all Breathings. It was the perfect blend of power, speed, and flexibility.
I don't have Yoriichi's memories, nor do I know the Hinokami dance, Rin thought, gazing at the fire in the hearth. But I understand the "concept." Mimicking Sun Breathing is impossible for now, but I can create a "hybrid" version that approaches it.
He named it "Storm Breathing" (Arashi no Kokyu).
The idea was simple in theory, suicidal in practice:
Use the "Total Concentration" of Water Breathing to maintain a continuous flow of movement without stopping, and at the moment of the strike, suddenly shift the flow of oxygen in the blood to trigger the "explosion" of Thunder Breathing in the muscles.
"I want to try something tomorrow, Master," Rin said suddenly, breaking the silence. "I want you to fight me... with the intent to kill."
Urokodaki stopped polishing. He slowly raised his red mask to look at his disciple.
"With the intent to kill?"
"Yes. I need real pressure to test my new theory."
The next morning, the two stood in the middle of a snow-covered forest.
Urokodaki held a pale blue Nichirin sword. Rin held a regular sword (not yet a Nichirin).
Without a starting signal, Urokodaki disappeared.
The speed was staggering—a former Hashira is not to be underestimated.
Urokodaki's blade appeared beside Rin's neck.
But Rin had already moved.
He had already begun attempting the fusion of two different Breathing techniques.
His movement wasn't linear like Thunder, nor was it softly circular like Water.
It was chaotic movement. Like a hurricane hitting the sea.
"Storm Breathing: First Form... Thundering Deluge!"
Rin screamed internally.
His body flowed like water to evade the strike, then in a fraction of a second, Urokodaki heard the sound of thunder—BOOM!
Rin launched from a crouching position with such speed that the snow around him evaporated from the friction.
Clank!
The swords met.
Urokodaki's eyes widened behind the mask. The force of the strike was incredibly heavy—heavier than water—and fast, faster than the naked eye could follow.
Urokodaki retreated, his arm slightly numbed.
"This..." the old man muttered. "Water boiling at the speed of lightning?"
The fight lasted for an hour.
The forest was being literally destroyed. Trees were uprooted; snow melted in wide circles.
Rin was pressing his master. Although Urokodaki surpassed him in experience and refined technique, Rin's "brute force" and "insane speed," mixed with his strange hybrid style, made the battle terrifyingly equal.
In the end, Rin stopped, his sword pointed at Urokodaki's chest, while Urokodaki's sword was pointed at Rin's neck.
A draw. (Or so Urokodaki allowed him to feel, though the old man knew that if the fight continued, his stamina would have failed before the boy's).
Urokodaki lowered his sword.
"You have succeeded."
He said it quietly, but his voice was full of pride.
"I have nothing left to teach you here, Rin. You have passed the training phase. You are now ready for the Final Selection on Mount Fujikasane."
...
The day of farewell arrived.
Rin packed his small bag. He wore a simple black haori over his blue training uniform.
He stood before the door of the hut, where Urokodaki was waiting for him.
Over the six months, a strange bond had formed between them—a bond of father and son, or grandfather and a mischievous grandson.
Rin knew Urokodaki's history. He knew about Sabito, Makomo, and all the children who had died, causing the guilt that haunted this old man.
Rin felt a desire to lighten that burden.
"Master," Rin said as he tightened his boot laces. "Before I go, I want to tell you about a strange thing that happened to me two nights ago."
"Hmm?"
Rin gave a warm smile. "I had a dream. I saw a boy coming to you here. A boy a bit younger than me, with reddish-brown hair and very kind eyes... and a scar on his forehead like a fire tattoo."
Urokodaki's body stiffened slightly. The description was oddly accurate.
Rin continued, playing the role of the seer brilliantly: "In the dream, this boy was carrying a wooden box on his back, and he was asking you to train him. His scent... even in the dream, his scent was so pure. The scent of someone who never gives up, someone who will change this world."
Rin looked directly at his master's mask.
"I feel... that this dream will come true soon, Master. Another student will come to you. A student who will break the curse of sadness you carry. So, do not despair. Wait for him."
It was a white lie. Or rather, "spoilers" wrapped in the guise of prophecy.
Rin was certain Tanjiro would arrive in two or three years. He wanted to give Urokodaki a reason for hope during this waiting period.
Urokodaki remained silent for a while, then placed his hand on Rin's head and patted it gently.
"You are a strange boy, Rin. Strong, intelligent, and you sometimes speak as if you have lived a hundred years. Go. And do not die. That is my final order to you."
"Understood!"
Rin bowed deeply, then turned and took off running, leaping over the snow, moving away from the mountain that had been his home for six months.
As Rin ran down the mountain, his thoughts raced happily.
[Next Mission: Final Selection Exam]
"Alright, my calculations say I am now in the year (XXXX). Tanjiro is about 10 years old now, roughly the same as me or a year older. The story starts when he turns 13-14. So, I have at least a full year before Muzan attacks the Kamado family."
(I'm a mess, I know, keep your comments to yourself and just praise me 😉)
He leaped over a frozen river with a confident smile.
"I'll go pass the exam, become an official Demon Slayer, and then I'll convince the Corps to send me on a mission near Tanjiro's house. I'll intervene at the critical moment. I'll save his family and kill Muzan there if I can, or at least force him to flee. Yes, a perfect plan. I will change the tragic story."
Confidence filled him. Power blinded him. His foreknowledge of events made him feel like the "Master of the Game."
But he forgot one simple rule in the world of Demon Slayer:
Time waits for no one, and tragedy always strikes before the expected date.
Rin stopped suddenly at the foot of the mountain, where the path intersected with a road leading to a nearby village.
At that very moment, several kilometers away, on another snow-covered mountain path...
There was a red-haired boy running. Running as tears froze on his cheeks.
He carried his unconscious sister on his back.
And blood covered his clothes.
Kamado Tanjiro.
While Rin was boasting about his new power and planning to save them "next year," the massacre of the Kamado family had happened yesterday.
The mother was dead. The younger siblings were dead. Nezuko had turned into a demon.
And Tanjiro was now, at this very moment, facing Tomioka Giyu in the forest.
Rin did not know.
He stood there, smiling to himself, believing he was the "Savior" who had all the time in the world.
"I'll go to the exam, and then I'll search for them," Rin said with naive optimism, unaware that the carriage of fate had already run over everything he planned to protect.
Rin turned toward the east, toward Mount Fujikasane, leaving the western road behind.
As he moved away, a black crow circled above him, cawing in a sound that seemed like a mocking laugh at the arrogance of this "Player" who thought he could manipulate time.
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End of Chapter Six.
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