Chapter 49: Muichiro Tokito's 'Mu' is the 'Mu' of infinity.
Eriri turned to the next page.
...
Tanjiro heard about the secret training ground from Mitsuri Kanroji, so he chose to go into the mountains to search for treasure the next morning.
He then encountered Muichiro Tokito, who was about to harm a child named Kotetsu, with the intention of taking the key from Kotetsu's hand to obtain something.
After interacting with him, Tanjiro realized that Muichiro Tokito was even colder than he had expected, with a blank expression and a complete lack of concern, making him even more disagreeable.
Upon seeing this plot point, readers finally gained a more precise understanding of the young man, who they had initially perceived as naturally air-headed.
He seemed even more annoying than imagined.
He completely ignored Tanjiro's advice, and his actions were quite rough, making him an utterly unreasonable person.
Logically speaking, anyone who could become a Pillar should not be someone who disregards life.
Whether it was the Flame Pillar or the Sound Pillar, or even the Wind Pillar, with whom there was some animosity, such a scene would never occur.
The same doubt existed not only in Tanjiro's heart but also in the hearts of the readers.
They temporarily suppressed their emotions and continued reading, believing that there must be some reason behind it.
Some more observant readers suddenly recalled Muichiro Tokito's words; he seemed to have issues with his memory, leading them to guess that he must have had even more special experiences.
Next, the appearance of a training dummy called 'Yoriichi Type Zero' once again captured everyone's attention.
The deliberate preservation of such a dummy's image clearly indicated that the original person must have been incredibly powerful, as it required six arms just to demonstrate a fraction of his skills.
Muichiro Tokito destroyed the dummy, but Kotetsu repaired it, allowing 'Yoriichi Type Zero' to provide special training to Tanjiro.
At this point, an illustration of the two fighting appeared.
Clearly, it wasn't meant to showcase Tanjiro's bravery but had another purpose.
When they saw the dummy's image, they couldn't help but be very surprised.
"This appearance, isn't that man!" Eriri exclaimed in surprise.
In the previous few volumes, glimpses of that person occasionally appeared, for example, when Kibutsuji Muzan first saw Tanjiro's earrings, 'that man' was described.
Of course, there was only one scene with a close-up illustration, and that was in the Entertainment District Arc when Tanjiro's rage awakened the Demon King's cellular memories within Daki.
Clearly, after collecting this information, readers, from their omniscient perspective, could reach a very astonishing conclusion.
That is, 'that man' was the original person whom this training dummy represented, his name was 'Yoriichi,' and he was very likely the founder of the original breathing style, and he had even left a profound impression on the Demon King, Kibutsuji Muzan!
Eriri couldn't help but become curious about such a mysterious and powerful character.
It should be said that being curious about 'Yoriichi' was only natural.
Kibutsuji Muzan, as the progenitor of demons, had once been defeated by a human, so how powerful could this person named 'Yoriichi' truly be?
This was something that made people very curious.
However, apart from this, information about 'that man' could still only be collected in fragments; it was clear that the current storyline had not yet progressed to that point.
The inheritance of the Sun Breathing to the Hinokami Kagura, the reason for Kibutsuji Muzan's fear... remained shrouded in mystery, known only to the author.
"It really knows how to keep people in suspense," Eriri grumbled, then lay back on her large bed and continued reading.
'Yoriichi Type Zero' was once again torn to pieces, and a rusty nichirin blade fell out of it.
As a result, Haganezuka Hotaru, who appeared nearby, volunteered to re-sharpen the blade.
Later that night, Tanjiro met Muichiro Tokito again, and his words finally moved him, almost making him recall long-sealed memories.
But then, the crucial plot point arrived.
The sudden appearance of Upper Moon Four, Hantengu, caused the crisis to escalate sharply.
Readers also knew that the upcoming battle was the true climax, so they couldn't be careless and read with even greater immersion.
Muichiro Tokito was fanned away by the 'Banana Fan' to another battlefield to fight against another invading Upper Moon, Gyokko.
Tanjiro, on the other hand, was engaged in a difficult struggle with Nezuko and Genya Shinazugawa, and the situation became extremely perilous.
However, at this moment, the scene suddenly shifted, focusing everyone's attention on the battle between Muichiro Tokito and Gyokko.
This battle still maintained its passionate main theme; due to Tanjiro's relationship with Kotetsu, Muichiro Tokito underwent several psychological changes.
First, he resolved to save someone he initially considered insignificant, and then, when he was in adversity and ready to give up, he was re-energized by the encouragement and help of others.
Especially after awakening his Demon Slayer Mark, he ultimately slayed Gyokko in a subsequent fair 1v1 battle!
This was also the first time in the work that a Pillar-level individual had solo-killed an Upper Moon.
This was truly a relief.
Because, from the readers' perspective, the Upper Moons had seemed too invincible before.
Upper Moon Three had defeated the Flame Pillar, who was considered a strong Pillar, without even being serious.
Although Upper Moon Six died under the combined assault of many, he also proved his strength; if the Sound Pillar had faced him alone, he would have only met his demise.
Furthermore, if it weren't for Nezuko's Blood Demon Art, so many people would have at most managed a mutual annihilation with Upper Moon Six.
But this scene now, that was truly exhilarating!
This indeed proved the power of 'Demon Slayer Mark Awakening.'
The gap between humans and demons was clearly greatly reduced because of this.
Given this situation, the upcoming battles shouldn't be so difficult, right?
There shouldn't be sacrifices like the Flame Pillar's before, right?
Some naive readers and fans thought this at the time.
The description of this plot also allowed them to experience very passionate emotions, not much different from their feelings during the Entertainment District Arc.
The back-and-forth battle between Blood Demon Arts and Mist Breathing was written in great detail and was equally exciting.
Especially the line from Muichiro Tokito's brother during the memory flashbacks—Muichiro's 'Mu' is the 'Mu' of infinite.
While being passionately chuunibyou, it was also very touching.
This is a scene many fans loved to see; besides the exhilarating battle scenes, the subtly described intricate emotions were also a reason to keep reading.
They hadn't seen such unadorned storytelling in a long time.
Not just Senju Muramasa, but many more people felt this charm.
This could also be considered an invisible form of progress.
Izumi Chihiro had always noticed the improvement in his abilities in this area, and now it was paying off, as it genuinely attracted more readers.
Furthermore, enhancing his descriptive skills in this area would also be very useful in other types of works in the future.
The portrayal of human emotions is always a highlight in any work.