Chapter 152: Where the Heart Belongs
After returning to the Ubuyashiki Estate, Kagaya thanked Kanzaki Akira profusely once more before finally letting him depart. Following a thorough, quiet discussion with the Tokito twins, the master of the Demon Slayer Corps arranged for them to be sent directly to Gyoumei Himejima's residence.
From that day forward, the two brothers began a grueling daily routine, sweating buckets under the Stone Hashira's relentless training regimen.
Time slipped away, and a little over a month passed in the blink of an eye.
On a crisp morning, Akira arrived at Gyoumei's sprawling estate.
Even from a distance, the rhythmic groans of physical exertion reached his ears. As he approached the courtyard, he spotted three young figures, each bearing a massive, rough-hewn log across their shoulders while performing deep, agonizing squats.
Naturally, it was Tanjiro alongside the Tokito brothers.
Tanjiro and Muichiro pushed through the grueling exercise with intense diligence. Their eyes remained locked forward, their breathing steady, and their movements carefully controlled to maintain perfect form. Beside them, however, Yuichiro's face was twisted into a dark scowl of pure resentment.
He had been officially affiliated with the Demon Slayer Corps for nearly two months now, and his entire existence had devolved into endless, mind-numbing physical labor. The mystical Breathing Techniques—the very skills supposedly meant to elevate human physical limits and grant them the power to slaughter demons—were completely absent from his curriculum.
Because of this glaring omission, Yuichiro harbored a deep, simmering dissatisfaction. More than once, his jaw had tightened as he considered throwing the heavy log to the dirt and screaming, "I'm quitting!"
Yet, the hyper-competitive Tanjiro was right there beside him, pushing through the pain with a bright, unwavering aura. Even worse, his own younger brother, Muichiro, had inexplicably joined in on the relentless grind without a single complaint. Yuichiro's pride stung at the thought. He knew that if he were the first to break, he would lose face entirely.
So, despite the absolute unwillingness churning in his gut, the older twin could only grit his teeth, adjust his grip on the splintering bark, and force himself back up alongside Tanjiro and Muichiro.
"Yo, training hard?" Akira called out, strolling forward with a relaxed gait.
"Big Brother Akira!" Tanjiro beamed, sweat dripping from his chin.
"Mr. Kanzaki," Muichiro added, his tone respectful, though his chest heaved slightly from the exertion.
Akira offered a warm nod to the pair, but when his gaze shifted, Yuichiro simply huffed and turned his head away, refusing to make eye contact.
Akira's lips twitched upward in a dry, knowing smile. He was fully aware of the boy's frustrations. After all, he was the one who had specifically advised Kagaya to temporarily withhold the Breathing Techniques from the Tokito brothers.
Regardless of the boy's complaints, a foundation of grueling physical exercise, paired with proper nutrition and specialized medicinal meals, would drastically improve their baseline stamina. More, this period of dull, repetitive suffering was designed to temper Yuichiro's volatile personality.
While Yuichiro possessed a sharper intuition for human nature than his younger brother, his actual temperament was far less grounded. His anger was a powder keg, flaring up just as explosively as Sanemi Shinazugawa's. But where the Wind Hashira possessed the ironclad discipline to leash his fury when it came to crucial missions, Yuichiro still lacked that vital restraint.
That was the core reason behind Akira's arrangement. A warrior whose temper detonates at the slightest provocation is not a comrade one can safely trust to watch their back on a blood-soaked battlefield.
"I'm just here to see Gyoumei. You guys keep at it," Akira said, not bothering to explain his hidden motives. With a brief wave, he bypassed the struggling trio and headed deeper into the estate, moving toward the secluded training grounds.
"Okay!" Tanjiro and Muichiro chorused in unison.
Hearing their earnest replies fade behind him, Akira let out a soft chuckle.
On the far side of the massive courtyard lay a wide, open expanse of flattened earth, a space belonging exclusively to the Stone Hashira.
As Akira stepped into the clearing, the ground trembled beneath his boots. He found Gyoumei pressing his massive hands against a colossal boulder—a jagged monolith nearly three meters in diameter. With every agonizing step, the blind giant pushed the immense stone forward, plowing a deep, ragged trench through the solid earth while chanting Buddhist scriptures under his breath.
No matter how many times Akira witnessed this sheer display of monstrous physical strength, the visual impact still made him pause, his eyes widening slightly at the raw, kinetic force on display.
Just as Akira shook off his brief daze and opened his mouth to call out, the grinding of stone against dirt ceased. Gyoumei had already stopped, turning his towering frame toward the newcomer.
"Namu Amida Butsu. Little Akira, you have come."
"Yeah, it's been a while since I dropped by for a session. If I slack off any longer, my stamina might actually start dropping," Akira replied, nodding as he studied the giant with a sudden flicker of uncertainty.
Now that the grinding noise of the boulder had stopped, a strange realization washed over Akira. Even though Gyoumei stood mere paces away, Akira's finely honed instincts registered absolutely nothing.
With his eyes open, he could clearly see the two-meter-tall titan standing right in front of him. But the moment Akira blinked, relying solely on his heightened senses, he couldn't detect a single trace of the man's presence. It was as if Gyoumei's heartbeat, his muscle tension, and his very breathing had dissolved smoothly into the gentle breeze sweeping through the courtyard.
Thinking back on his approach, Akira realized he hadn't felt the Stone Hashira's aura at all since stepping into the clearing. That heavy, oppressive pressure that usually clung to Gyoumei—even when he actively tried to restrain it—was completely gone. The only reason Akira knew where to find him was the deafening sound of the boulder tearing up the earth, combined with his basic knowledge of the estate's layout.
A sudden, electrifying thought pierced Akira's mind.
"Have you already mastered the Transparent World?" he asked, his voice tightening with anticipation, though he was already eighty to ninety percent certain of the answer.
"Yes," Gyoumei nodded slowly, his sightless eyes facing the sky. "Not long ago, after concluding my daily regimen, I felt a sudden connection within my heart. By the grace of the heavens, I attained this realm."
"What does it feel like? Tell me everything. I've been stuck at a bottleneck for months now," Akira pressed, stepping closer, his usual calm demeanor giving way to intense curiosity.
Even though concepts rooted entirely in one's state of mind were notoriously difficult to articulate, hearing another person's firsthand experience might just be the catalyst Akira needed to break through his own wall.
"Amida Butsu. Forgive me, for words may fail to accurately capture the sensation," Gyoumei murmured, pressing his thick palms together in prayer before attempting to unravel the deep mystery he had experienced.
"During that particular session, I vaguely sensed my spirit brushing against a barrier. I pushed harder, increasing the intensity until I shattered my previous physical limits. In that final, agonizing moment, I felt myself break through... and the entire world became exceptionally clear in an instant."
The giant paused, his broad chest rising and falling in a slow, rhythmic breath. "I, who have been blind since childhood, 'saw'colors once again. I'saw'the true shape of this world. And stepping beyond that, I'saw' the fundamental truths... the absolute laws governing how all things operate, the rhythmic pulse of the life and death cycles binding all spirits."
Gyoumei tilted his head slightly. "'Transparent World' is indeed a fitting name. This realm is far more deep than simply peering through another's flesh and bones. It is akin to perceiving reality from an unmatched, omniscient vantage point. Or rather... only after entering this state can one be considered to have truly seen the world clearly. To have merged into it entirely."
For a man who rarely spoke more than a few necessary sentences, Gyoumei had suddenly become incredibly eloquent. Akira realized with a start that the total number of words he had heard the Stone Hashira speak over the past few years barely equaled this single, deep monologue.
Unfortunately, while the description was stunning, it focused entirely on the feeling of the Transparent World rather than the actual method of achieving it. Gyoumei's poetic explanation did little to guide Akira; it only poured fuel on the burning desire in his chest to reach that elusive peak.
Of course, Akira couldn't blame him. The Transparent World was an inherently mystical, abstract concept. Even Tanjuro Kamado had only managed to piece together rough prerequisites based on his own past experiences. The fact that Gyoumei could supplement those theories with fresh insights was already a massive boon.
At the very least, it deepened Akira's conceptual understanding of the realm.
"So, in your opinion, why have I been unable to cross that threshold for so long?" Akira asked, voicing the frustration that had gnawed at him for months. "I can clearly 'see'myself with my heart. I know every fiber of my being. Yet, I've never been able to'see' the world around me."
Gyoumei remained silent for a long moment, his sightless gaze resting on Akira's face.
"Perhaps," the giant finally spoke, his deep voice rumbling like distant thunder, "it is because your heart is not still."
He paused, the prayer beads slipping softly through his thick fingers.
"Or perhaps... your heart has simply not yet found its home in this world."
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