It seems he used a Breath Style?
Since it's different from all the Breath Styles Yoizumi-nii knows, that can only mean...
This is... his unique Breath Style!
Let's try again.
Yoizumi closed his eyes, exhaling a turbid breath.
"Hiss..."
His breathing was very clear in the silent night, and his frost-white nichirin blade had ice and snow clinging to it.
Then a few snowflakes appeared out of thin air, followed by more!
It was weather that shouldn't have appeared; the snowflakes and ice crystals melted as they fell to the ground, leaving damp marks on the dry earth.
Yoizumi stood tall and straight, showing no sign of using any sword technique. Accompanied by a breath, Yoizumi moved.
With incredible stillness.
In the blink of an eye, he reached the stone pillar where the wooden stakes were placed. Snowflakes danced with the blade, simulating the scene of snow falling from a tall tree.
During this process, there was only the sound of the wooden stake splitting in two and rolling to the ground.
"Breath of Snow First Form: Falling Snow," Yoizumi whispered as he withdrew his nichirin blade.
His Breath Style was Breath of Snow.
Currently, having only one sword technique is far from enough. Gripping the scabbard, his Blood Demon Art can at most only cause auxiliary damage to demons; he definitely needs to use his nichirin blade to kill them in the end.
He must comprehend more sword techniques!
He needs to master Total Concentration Breathing. Through over ten days of observing Tanjirou, Yoizumi understood the key points of Total Concentration Breathing well enough. Training at night and being unable to go out during the day, using sword techniques indoors wasn't realistic. If he damaged the house... Miss Shinobu would be angry.
Recalling Shinobu's question from the evening, he needed to ponder it carefully.
A good person?
A very good person?
"..."
He should read more during the day.
Yoizumi thought.
A week passed in a flash.
Every day, Yoizumi tried his best to maintain Total Concentration Breathing, reading and practicing calligraphy during the day while maintaining his Breath Style, and practicing Breath of Snow at night.
Within a week, Yoizumi successfully comprehended another sword form.
Holding his nichirin blade at his side.
"Breath of Snow Second Form: Snow Concealment."
Yoizumi's figure became ethereal, with several afterimages appearing, all attacking towards the wooden stake. The deceptive ability made it impossible to distinguish which was the real body. Approaching the wooden stake, he slashed with his nichirin blade; a silver sword light flashed, and he sheathed his blade, all in one smooth motion.
This was inspired by his Blood Demon Art: Instant Shadow. His Blood Demon Art had too many drawbacks. If he could use Breath of Snow to compensate for its weaknesses, his combat ability would soar.
He took a breath and stopped practicing. It was almost dawn. He stacked all the wood used for night practice, and as before, moved it to the kitchen. Butterfly Mansion wouldn't be short of firewood for cooking for a long time... "Miss Shinobu! Good morning!"
"Oh my~ Tanjirou, good morning~"
Tanjirou politely greeted Shinobu.
"By the way, Miss Shinobu, there's something I wanted to ask you."
"You can," Shinobu nodded, indicating her agreement.
"Have you heard of Hinokami Kagura?" Faced with Tanjirou's confident expression, Shinobu smiled and shook her head.
"No, I haven't~"
"Eh? Then... what about the Breath of Fire or something?" Tanjirou's face fell, and he asked uncertainly.
"No."
"How can that be? This starts from when I was a child."
"Hmm... I see." Shinobu pondered for a moment before speaking again, "I'm sorry, I don't know much about this either. Mr. Rengoku, the Flame Pillar, should know some things, but unfortunately, he's away on a mission."
"Okay, thank you, I understand!" Tanjirou bowed to Shinobu, "I will ask Mr. Rengoku when I see him next time."
As Tanjirou was about to leave, Shinobu's gentle voice called out to him.
"I have high hopes for you."
"Yes!"
Miss Shinobu is a very kind person!
Oh, right! Let's go see what Yoizumi-nii is doing. Lately, Yoizumi-nii always seems very busy, cooped up in his room reading during the day and nowhere to be seen at night.
"Yoizumi-nii, are you there?" Tanjirou asked.
"Hmm, come in."
"Nezuko ran into Yoizumi-nii's room again." Tanjirou picked up Nezuko, who was wriggling on the floor like a caterpillar, and placed her on a stool.
"Sorry, Nezuko, I haven't had time to play with you lately. It must be boring."
"Mmm~" Nezuko shook her little head and pointed at Yoizumi at the desk.
"Is that so? You're not bored when Yoizumi-nii is with you." Tanjirou smiled and walked to the desk, seeing the half-finished jar of konpeito still there.
"Yoizumi-nii, still reading?"
"Yes." Yoizumi nodded, diligently reading the contents of the book.
"Time flies so fast. Before I knew it, I've been at Butterfly Mansion for almost two months." Tanjirou sighed, realizing he would soon be going on missions. He opened his palms, revealing thick calluses of various sizes, covering hands that didn't belong to a young boy.
Defeating demons, collecting the blood of the Twelve Kizuki, can he do it well now?
"What are you thinking about?" Yoizumi asked, seeing Tanjirou staring at his hands in a daze.
"I'm about to go on a mission, and I'm a little worried..."
"If it's Tanjirou, you'll definitely be fine." Yoizumi patted Tanjirou's head, a faint, gentle smile on his face. He works very hard; his determination to protect his family and avenge them drives Tanjirou to run forward with all his might.
He is his older brother, so what Yoizumi needs to do is become his support, always by his side.
His gaze fell on Tanjirou's hands. Yoizumi raised his hand and held them, just as Tanjirou had held his before. The warmth transmitted from the boy's small palms, Yoizumi would never forget.
Yoizumi-nii, let's go home!
"Nezuko and I will be with you, don't be afraid." Yoizumi's voice was calm, but Tanjirou, who knew him well, heard these words and nodded with a smile.
"Yes, when everything is over, let's go back to our old home together! Yoizumi-nii!"
...The Breath of Snow training ended again. The sky was also dimly lit. The morning dew was frozen into ice by the cold, and a layer of ice film covered the surface of the plants.
"Good morning~" Shinobu appeared silently. Yoizumi looked at her, saw the fatigue on her face, and realized she had just returned from a mission.
"Good morning." Before the sun was fully out, he returned to the house and came to Shinobu's side.
"It's so cold here, even the dew has frozen." Shinobu was surprised, then turned to look at the nichirin blade in Yoizumi's hand.
Yoizumi was performing Total Concentration Breathing.
This weather couldn't cause such a sight, which means it was Yoizumi who did this?!
"Was it you, Yoizumi?"
"Yes." Yoizumi didn't intend to hide it. Although Breath of Snow wasn't very mature yet, it still had many merits.
"I came up with a Breath Style myself. I call it Breath of Snow."
"Self-created? Breath of Snow?" Shinobu, who was so tired she could barely stand, was startled awake by this news.
After only a week of getting his nichirin blade, he had created his own Breath Style. Was Yoizumi not only a special demon but also a genius?
What other surprises did he have that she didn't know about?
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