Days passed in a blur, and Lady Tamayo's work on the serum finally reached its closing stage.
As for Vincent Fox, his routine here was simple. The same old training regimen, then patrols outside.
Yushiro, on the other hand, clearly carried a deep hostility toward Vincent.
He just… didn't show it openly.
Back with the Demon Slayer Corps, Tanjiro had reached the final stage of Hashira-level training.
"This waterfall looks way too insane!" Zenitsu couldn't help complaining. "It feels like it'll snap your neck in a second!"
"And this place," he grumbled as they walked, "why is the house buried deep in the mountains? Is it so you can fight bears for fun?!"
They kept grumbling as they headed forward.
"Welcome to our training."
At the base of the waterfall, Gyomei Himejima stood in a horse stance, several logs as thick as a man's torso resting on his shoulders.
And then the training began.
At first, the requirement was simple.
Endure beneath the waterfall for a quarter of an hour.
It took Tanjiro about two days to adapt to the waterfall's crushing force.
Though the moment he relaxed even a little, it still felt like the water could break his neck clean off.
After that came carrying logs.
With Tanjiro's improved stamina, it wasn't much of a burden.
Then came the real wall.
Pushing a massive boulder.
Tanjiro strained with everything he had, but the rock didn't move even a hair.
"Haa… this thing is heavy," Tanjiro groaned, collapsing. He didn't even have the strength left to wipe sweat from his face. "Is there iron poured inside it or something…?"
"Oh?" A guy with spiky hair stepped into Tanjiro's view. "Tanjiro? Isn't the mark on your forehead darker than before?"
"Genya!" Tanjiro forced himself upright against the boulder and gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry… I can only sit like this right now."
"It's fine." Genya waved it off and sat beside him.
"But seriously," Genya asked again, "your mark… did it deepen?"
This time, Tanjiro actually paid attention.
He lifted his aching arm and touched the burn-like patch on his forehead.
It felt rough under his fingers… and strangely warm.
"If it really is getting darker, that'd be great!" Tanjiro said, suddenly excited. "That means all this training wasn't for nothing!"
"You're doing the boulder training, yeah?" Genya glanced at the giant rock behind him. "Me too."
Tanjiro scratched his head awkwardly. "Yeah… but it still hasn't moved at all. Can you make it move?"
"I can." Genya nodded. "Are you doing a repetitive action?"
Tanjiro blinked. That was the first time he'd heard the term.
"Repetitive action? What's that?"
"…You aren't?" Genya sighed. "Himejima is insanely strong, but he's not great at teaching. If you don't watch and steal the technique, it's hard to graduate."
"If you want to force your focus into one point, you need an action to anchor it."
"For me, I recite the scripture Himejima chants."
Tanjiro nodded. He had noticed that the Stone Hashira often murmured prayers during training.
Genya grinned. "Exactly. He's always going 'Namu, namu' and all that. That's the repetitive action."
Tanjiro nodded again, half understanding.
Genya continued, voice turning serious.
"First, use the repetitive action to forcibly concentrate your mind."
"Then, in your head, think about someone important. That makes the focus lock in faster."
"Once you've rested, try it."
Genya stood and pulled Tanjiro up with him.
Tanjiro took a deep breath and adjusted his body into the best stance he could manage.
"Rengoku-san said… set your heart ablaze…"
He repeated those words again and again, and the faces of his lost family rose in his mind.
"My lower body has way more muscle than my upper body… as long as my arms hold, I push with my hips and legs…"
He murmured through clenched teeth, sweat pouring off him in sheets.
Creak… creak…
Hard work never betrays you.
The boulder finally loosened, grinding against the ground.
Everyone nearby turned toward the sound.
"It's movinggggg!" Zenitsu's eyes bulged like he'd just witnessed a monster.
Inosuke's eyes bulged too.
You just couldn't see it under the boar mask.
"…Damn it," Inosuke snarled. "He actually beat me."
Rumble!
The rock dragged across the earth with a thunderous scrape.
Tanjiro felt it move and refused to relax.
The moment he loosened, it would stop.
Endure.
"I'm trying too!" Inosuke, hearing Genya's explanation and seeing results, immediately jumped in.
"Tempura!"
"Tempura! Tempura! Tempura! Tempura!!!"
Rumble!
Even Inosuke's boulder started shifting.
Zenitsu's jaw fell.
"What the hell?! Inosuke can push it too?"
"Are you all this serious?"
"So the only one slacking is me?! That makes me feel awful!"
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
Hiding behind a tree, Inosuke heard a familiar bird call and twisted around.
"Chuntaro? Is that a letter for me?"
On the other side, Tanjiro kept his mind locked tight, driving his whole body into the stone.
Finally, he pushed it a full ten feet.
"…I did it," Tanjiro wheezed, collapsing flat on his back. "Ten feet… I finally cleared Himejima-san's training…"
He couldn't move.
Not only that, sweat kept pouring off him, and his mouth wouldn't stop filling with saliva.
His vision spun.
"Is this… dehydration?" Tanjiro croaked. "Someone… water… please…"
He begged weakly.
No one noticed.
Splash!
A stream of clean water poured over his head, running right into his mouth.
"Th… thank you…"
Tanjiro looked up and saw Gyomei Himejima.
"The boulder training is complete," Gyomei said calmly. "And combined with the choices you made at the village… Tanjiro, you've earned my recognition."
"Th… thank you," Tanjiro stammered. "But… you don't have to give me water…"
Gyomei put the cup away, pressed his hands together, and walked off.
Only then did Genya notice Tanjiro's condition. He hurried over.
"You finished that fast… come on, let's go rest."
With that, Genya supported Tanjiro and helped him back toward the resting house.
Behind them…
An eyeball slowly pushed up through the soil.
At the same time, inside the Infinity Castle.
Nakime sat before a wall, the biwa still cradled in her arms.
She lifted her bangs, revealing an eye that nearly covered half her face.
In its pupil, the character for "Four" was carved deep.
Countless tendrils extended from her back, clinging to the walls, as her fingers plucked the biwa.
"We've found another Demon Slayer group," she said. "At this rate, we've already grasped sixty percent of their movements."
"But we still haven't found the demon girl who overcame sunlight… or the current head of the Ubuyashiki family."
Across from her, Kibutsuji Muzan sat with one leg crossed over the other, watching his newly promoted Upper Moon Four with satisfied eyes.
"Your growth has been fast," Muzan said. "Faster than I expected. Very good."
"It's my honor," Nakime replied.
Muzan tapped a point on the map with one finger.
"Next…"
"Here."
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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