Demon Slayer : The Silent Journey

Chapter 165 - Tides of war

[3rd POV]

"Come and fight me Kanpachiro!!"

Inosuke bellowed like the absolute beast he was in the training yard owned by Giyu. His body had gone through a massive transformation over the months. What looked like a malnourished boy before now looked like a whole unit with muscles rippling every inch of his modest frame.

He only really needed proper food to get to where he was.

But instead of getting a reply from his rival, Inosuke was smacked at the back of his head by his sensei.

"Keep it down! We are not here to fight," Sanemi said, aware at this point exactly how to make Inosuke listen to him and it was not words.

For a boy like Insouke who was raised by animals, words mean shit. Action spoke louder than words.

They strode past the training ground and entered the lonely manor, which was home to the Water Hashira. The place was empty, and the huge compound made it feel even emptier.

Inside, they were greeted by Tanjiro, who was in a strange pose in the middle of the room. He was standing on one foot, his arms spread like a bird, and cups of water were on every joint of his limbs.

He also had a smaller cup of water on his head and he was crying. The cups were nearly filled to the brim with water so even the slightest tremble nearly made them spill.

"OY!! What are you doing Tanako!! Why did you not accept my challenge!!" Inosuke roared when he saw the state his rival was in.

Did Tanjiro really choose to pose like this over fighting him? Was he on something? No, this must be a way to try and beat him.

"Who do you think you are!! I know those scarecrows in the fields are not real! You won't scare me by pretending to be one," Inosuke said, recalling the time when he used to be scared of the strange unmoving man in rice fields.

But then a sudden voice came from one hidden corner of the room, spooking Inosuke and scaring him like never before.

"Quiet,"

"Huh?!" Inosuke was shocked by the sudden voice and was even more surprised when he saw Giyu sitting there.

A bead of sweat fell on his face behind his boar mask, but not because of the heat. It was because of the frightening realization that he did not know Giyu was there until he announced his presence.

The signature of a predator in nature was the ability to sneak up on prey. By that logic, Insouke was the prey while Giyu was the predator. And that freaked him out completely.

His instincts surpassed even other Hashira due to his upbringing. He should be able to smell, hear, see and feel Giyu better than anyone. But even now, as Inosuke gazed at him, it felt like looking at a tree, something natural and completely blending in with the rest of the world.

"What the-"

His sensei Sanemi on the other hand did not seem too surprised by the sudden presence of Giyu, likely due to experiencing it already or perhaps because he could sense Giyu.

"I said quiet, your friend is training. It's been seventeen minutes, only three more to go," Giyu said, his eyes lazily assessing them both before he closed them again to meditate.

"Traning?!" Inosuke asked Sanemi, his voice creaming a whisper. "What kind of training is that?"

"I have no clue but they believe those things help them in battle," Sanemi answered.

"Are they stupid? Who stays still in battle? Why are they training to stay still?" Inosuke asked again, getting more and more confused as he looked at Tanjiro.

"Even you know better than them. Just consider it a Water Breathing Style stuff," Sanemi said.

"Hohoho, Water Style users are such dum dums,"

"Indeed,"

The difference between the concept and philosophy of Water Breathing and Wind Breathing could not have been more different indeed. One prioritizes precision while the other unrelenting violence.

Three minutes passed as Sanmei and Inosuke whispered to each other. Giyu nearly popped a vein by the last minute as what started off as a whisper nearly became legit screams.

But thankfully, it was over.

"Release Tanjiro," Giyu said and the boy immediately fell apart like a stack of legos.

Inosuke immediately went to his side, slapping his back and urging him to get up, "Come one Tanano! Staying still can't be that hard!! Hohohoho,"

On the other hand, the two Hashiras went to another room to discuss, leaving their students to their own devices.

"So, what brings you here Sanemi," Giyu said and his walk came to a stop. There was a sudden stillness in the air as the atmosphere tensed to a serious tone the moment they went to a room without their naive students.

"Don't tell me..." Giyu said and turned back with narrowed eyes, "You've accepted my invitation to a tea party,"

"What?! Absolutely not!" Sanemi spat out in disgust.

"Why not? You accepted Mitsuri's invitation all the time," Giyu asked, seriously wanting to know the answer. "She said it's what friends do in their free time,"

"That's because I have no choice! She had my favour," Sanemi said.

At one point during Seiji's recovery, he set up an arm wrestle match between Mitsuri and Sanemi to quench his unending boredom. The result was just like anyone would expect, Mitdsuri easily dominated Sanemi.

But the Wind Hashira in all his male ego could not take the loss. He challenged her again and again, to the point that Mitsuri was annoyed so she started requesting one favour each time she beat him.

The end result was Sanemi owning nigh infinite favour to Mitsuri. When she asked even the most casual thing, he had to obey her. Mitsuri effectively enslaved the most violent Hashira that way.

"This is stupid! For once I came here to discuss something serious," Sanemis said and Giyu stilled for a moment before his expression became stoic.

"Tell me,"

"I encountered a new lower moon," Sanemi started and it sounded normal. Hashiras killed Lower Moons all the time so why did he bring that up with such seriousness in his eyes?

But then at that moment, Sanemi lifted up the shirt he was wearing to reveal a nasty wound that went diagonally from his chest to his oblique muscles. It was in the shape of a giant claw mark.

Giyu's eyes shook in his socket.

Sanemi was the third strongest Hashira. If Giyu himself could slay a Lower Moon with one swing, Sanmei should be able to kill him with his mere presence.

But this..

"Lower Moon 11," Sanmei said and the words came out hard and mixed with shame, "That is the demon that wounded me. He caught me by surprise,"

But even still....

"Giyu, the Lower Moon was as strong as an Upper Moon. And I'm afraid that goes for every other member, he was not an exception," Sanemi said.

"This means, they are getting stronger," Giyu said, his words fell.

"Indeed, but luckily that seemed to be the only thing. They ain't getting better but they are getting stronger," he said, "The one who jumped me was more demonic than any other I met before. He was strong but he behaved more like a lesser demon with barely any intelligence,"

"So this is the consequence of the Failed Purge that he won't stop talking about," Giyu muttered to himself, the image of a purple-haired friend flashed in his mind.

"I came here to warn you and also to ask for help protecting my territory while I heal my wounds. We need to be careful more than ever, especially with our students," Sanemi said.

Giyu nodded in agreement.

They knew now that Muzan Kibutsuji was working in his own way to defeat them. They deduced that the Demon Lord was making his demons stronger to fight. They feared that they might be overwhelmed as time went on.

They need to work harder than ever to make sure that doesn't happen.

...

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[3rd POV]

The afternoon sun bathed the training grounds of the Butterfly Mansion in a golden glow, casting its equally loving and cruel heat upon the two sisters Kanae and Shinobu.

Shinobu's breath came out quickly, opposite to Kanae's calm and serene breath. It had been nearly a year since the last time they properly had a spar, and the thing was that Shinobu thought things would change.

The Insect Hashira thought that she would be able to easily defeat the retired Flower Hashira who had not been training for a long time and had just now gotten her eyes back. She even thought she would have to go easy on Kanae.

But the current situation was the opposite of that.

"Shinobu." Kanae's voice was soft, but there was a sharpness to it that hadn't been there before. Her lilac eyes were now tinged with an eerie crimson hue that caught in the sunlight, reflecting a gleam that made Shinobu a little unsettled.

"You can try harder," she said.

Bitch I'm giving everything I have! Shinobu wanted to scream out. But her sister still thought she was going easy.

Still, Shinobu nodded, her throat dry. She took her stance, her feet sliding into position with practised ease.

For a moment, everything was still.

Shinobu was about to make a move but Kanae beat her to it.

Fast.

It was not like before. Kanae's movement was not like the delicate dance that mimicked a flower blooming in battle. No, this was... mechanical. Her body flickered forward, her movements precise but devoid of the natural rhythm she once carried. Shinobu's blade barely came up in time to block.

Clang!!

The force behind Kanae's strike sent a sharp jolt through Shinobu's arms. Her eyes widened, it was official, Kanae was stronger than before she even became blind.

How? Even with all their combined medical knowledge, they wouldn't know. It couldn't be that the demon cells spread either, Kanae was clearly standing under the sun.

They exchanged strikes that created sparks and sent soft shockwaves through the air. They both moved like feathers but hit like a truck. The contrast was mindboggling.

For a moment, it looked like the past where they would both spar with each other, their fight proof that there was beauty in violence. But it wasn't like in the past. Almost, but it was not quite there.

Shinobu noticed it.

She had grown better with her style and Kanae had changed. There were no lingering petal-like steps in her footwork, no drifting breeze with her attacks, it was almost like she could see the future so she no longer hesitated.

She was like...

"You are fighting like him!!" Shinobu announced in surprise and after that discovery, the similarity in their style became even more apparent.

She swung her sword at Kanae, the special design of her sword and lightweight allowed her to swing at a precise angle that no other katana could cut. But Kanae countered easily.

Her sword came down at just the right angle to deflect Shinobu's strike, and in that moment, Shinobu felt it - anticipation. Kanae wasn't reacting. She knew where Shinobu's blade would be.

"Damn it." Shinobu gritted her teeth, so frickin annoying.

She twisted her body mid-motion, trying to regain control of Kanae's perfect counter. But it was all too late.

"Third Form: Falling Camellia."

The curve of Kanae's blade traced a perfect arc, but it wasn't the delicate bloom Shinobu was used to. It was sharper, faster and there was no hesitation in its descent. Shinobu barely sidestepped, feeling the breeze of the strike cut too close to her cheek.

"That was..." Shinobu's voice trailed off, "....wrong,"

Kanae moved back to a safe distance, her breathing finally became a bit heavy as months of not training showed in her limited stamina.

"My eyes, they were better than ever before," Kanae admitted. Her eyes had surpassed the limit of humanity.

The demon-infused sight that Kanae had gained after the partial demonization surgery wasn't just restoring her vision. It was giving her unnatural clarity.

It was not overpowered like Seiji's that could casually see every little detail and perfectly predict the future but with Flower Breathing that based its technique around the eyes, her new supernatural sense was utilized to the absolute limit.

"You're stronger now," Shinobu murmured, her gaze locked on Kanae's eyes.

"You think so?" Kanae asked softly while relaxing her posture.

"I know so," she replied.

Indeed, time passed, and seasons changed.

The flower bloomed again.

..

..

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Stone