A young boy named Kobayashi Akira was sitting at the edge of a small pond. His two little feet were dipped in the clear water.
His focus was on a pine tree, where a kiji, a green pheasant, rested on a branch. It chirped toward another bird perched a short distance away.
Moments later, the two birds took flight together.
That was enough observation for today. Akira wiped his wet feet with a cloth, folded it neatly, and placed it back into his bamboo basket filled with wood. He then picked up his axe, which had been embedded in a massive tree stump.
After walking deeper into the forest for some time, a wooden hut finally came into view in the distance.
He entered the house, taking off his bamboo sandals before stepping inside. An elderly man with almost completely white hair was preparing food.
The man looked up, noticed the boy's arrival, smiled gently, and gestured for him to come and eat.
Akira returned the smile and sat down beside him.
"How was your day, Akira?" asked the old man.
"It went fine, Grandpa," Akira replied as he began to eat.
Grandpa, Kobayashi Ren, was a retired demon slayer.
His parents had been killed by demons, and to prevent others from suffering the same fate, he took up a sword and began hunting them. He never married and never made friends, fearing that growing close to others would only lead to grief, as his profession was always close to death.
Yet death never came for him. He survived long enough to retire due to old age. From then on, he lived a solitary life away from people, in both peace and loneliness—until Akira appeared.
One day, as usual, Ren had gone out to cut wood. Afterward, he went to the river to wash his face, where he noticed a small bamboo basket floating downstream. Curious, he decided to inspect it and found a child inside. From that day on, he took care of the child.
As time passed, the child grew into a boy, and Ren grew older.
For young Akira, the elder before him was his only family in this world. Even in his earliest memories, the image of his grandfather's kind smile was the only thing that appeared.
Ren had long since shared the existence of demons and demon slayers with Akira. He believed it was better to tell him early rather than let him remain ignorant if he ever encountered one in the future.
Telling such things to a twelve-year-old was difficult, but surprisingly, Akira took it with remarkable maturity.
Suddenly, Akira spoke.
"Oh right, Grandpa, can you show me your breathing moves again tonight? I want to see them!"
"Haha, fine, boy. Since you worked hard today, I'll show them to you," Ren replied.
Later that night…
Ren and Akira lit a fire on the other side of the hut.
The old man drew out his Nichirin sword from his demon-slaying days, and instantly, the blade turned lime green. His kind eyes sharpened in an instant.
Wind Breathing, First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter.
Ren suddenly dashed forward at astounding speed, spinning as he slashed continuously in a horizontal cyclone of gusts that mimicked a tornado.
Second Form: Claws – Purifying Wind.
Ren lifted the sword upward to the right and unleashed four vertical slashes in a single swing, resembling claws.
Third Form: Clear Storm Wind Tree.
He swung his sword, unleashing a whirlwind of slashes around his body that acted as a protective layer, slicing everything around him.
Fourth Form: Rising Dust Storm.
The old man raised his sword before swinging it horizontally, releasing a powerful circular whirlwind of slashes.
Fifth Form: Cold Mountain Wind.
Ren jumped and charged forward in a swirling motion before sweeping his sword horizontally, creating arched, circular wind slashes.
Sixth Form: Black Wind Mountain Mist.
He rotated his body in an uppercut motion, creating an arcing slash.
Seventh Form: Gale – Sudden Gusts.
He leaped into the air again and, while upside down, swung his blade, generating gale-force winds.
Eighth Form: Primary Gale Slash.
Once more, he leaped into the air and swung his blade, creating circular torrents of wind.
Ninth Form: Idaten Typhoon.
He backflipped into the air and, while upside down, unleashed a powerful circular gust.
Akira watched his movements, mesmerized by the sheer power of each form. Though there was a lot of jumping involved, every motion carried a graceful fluidity that made it beautiful to behold.
After finishing, the old man was drenched in sweat, breathing heavily.
Akira helped him walk back to his seat and exclaimed with excitement,
"Woah, Grandpa! That was awesome!!"
"Huff… huff… glad to hear that," Ren replied with a tired smile.