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"Are you sure injecting this much is safe?" A swordsman watched Yushiro administering dose after dose to Tanjiro.
"Shut up—you're giving me a headache! He's been poisoned for too long! The situation's critical—toxins have spread from his shoulder across half his body! Hey, what are you doing??"
Murata was trying to pry Tanjiro's fingers open, but they wouldn't budge.
"I'm trying to... make him release the blade... but he won't let go. Even unconscious, he's gripping it with everything he's got!"
"This kid still has the will to fight." Yushiro's assessment was grudging but respectful.
"Tanjiro... if you don't hurry, Muzan will escape!"
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Within his dream consciousness, Tanjiro had become his ancestor—Sumiyoshi Kamado—watching Yoriichi Tsugikuni demonstrate Sun Breathing over and over.
Yoriichi-san was a calm, humble man. The kind who would demonstrate his techniques whenever Suyako asked—gentle to a fault.
Sumiyoshi-san watched with absolute focus, burning every movement into his pupils without missing a single detail. That's why it survived as Hinokami Kagura—passed down through generations.
When Yoriichi-san wielded his blade, he didn't seem human. He moved like a spirit.
But when Suyako-san and the children laughed together, he ducked his head sheepishly.
Though Sumiyoshi said "come visit again," I knew—Yoriichi-san would never return to this place.
At their parting, Yoriichi-san gave Sumiyoshi the earrings. Watching that lonely, grief-stricken figure walk away—tears wouldn't stop falling.
"Yoriichi-san, we will pass it down! With the lives you saved... you are NOT worthless! Don't ever say you accomplished nothing! I won't let anyone say that! I swear to you—I will pass these earrings and Sun Breathing to my descendants!"
Yoriichi Tsugikuni turned back, looking at the Kamado family. He smiled. "Thank you."
'No, Yoriichi-san—thank YOU for helping our ancestors.'
The scene shifted. Tanjiro's surroundings transformed into the present battlefield.
"This is... everyone fighting Muzan right now!"
'MUZAN! YOUR LIFE IS FORFEIT!'
'Dragon Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dragon Dominates the Heaven!'
'EVERYONE CLEAR OUT!'
"Kaido-san! Himejima-san, Tengen-san, Rengoku-san... everyone... I have to fight. I have to wake up and help them! Wake up! WAKE UP!"
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"Tanjiro, wake up! WAKE UP! Dawn is coming! Go defeat Muzan!"
"We've pushed him this far! Let's finish him together, Tanjiro!"
"Tanjiro! Wake up! If you don't hurry, Muzan will escape!"
SNAP!!
The moment Murata finished speaking, Tanjiro's grip tightened on his sword hilt. His eyes shot open.
"Tanjiro! Thank god—you're awake!"
Ignoring Murata's relief, Tanjiro stood—blade raised—and charged toward Muzan.
"Hinokami Kagura: Beneficent Radiance!"
As Muzan's thorned whip descended toward Kaido, Mitsuri rushed from another angle—grabbing him and carrying him to safety.
Tanjiro struck simultaneously, severing Muzan's freshly regenerated arm.
Yoriichi's demonstrations flooded Tanjiro's consciousness—all twelve Sun Breathing forms flowing through his mind in perfect sequence.
'Thank you, Yoriichi-san. Because you demonstrated Sun Breathing, I can fight here and now. Twelve forms passed down across centuries with miraculous accuracy!'
Understanding crystallized. The so-called Thirteenth Form wasn't a separate technique—it was all twelve forms connected in an endless cycle.
Months ago, Shinjuro Rengoku had shared information from ancestral records—Sun Breathing possessed thirteen forms.
Since then, Tanjiro had pondered the thirteenth relentlessly. He'd paid attention to technique names: "Round Dance" and "Burning Bones"—their pronunciations shared similarities.
His father had once told him: 'If you breathe correctly, Tanjiro, you can keep dancing forever.'
Now he understood. The Thirteenth Form was the twelve forms repeated continuously—forming an endless circle.
"Let's finish this, Muzan!"
They locked eyes. Tanjiro attacked first. Muzan's tube whips lashed forward, radiating powerful suction force.
'I see it now. Everyone was defeated because of Muzan's nine back whips, two arm whips, and eight leg whips.'
Tanjiro tracked every attack trajectory—evading with precision.
Watching him, Muzan saw Yoriichi's ghost superimposed over the boy. Bloodshot eyes widened. "You damned phantom!"
"Sun Breathing, First Form: Dance—Fake Rainbow!"
Tanjiro carved a flame-wreathed arc toward the attacking whips, then immediately followed with a deep crimson horizontal slash—severing whips converging from other angles.
"Sun Breathing, Fifth Form: Setting Sun Transformation!"
A mid-air flip, then a vertical flame-wrapped slash—cutting another whip.
Muzan's thorned whip struck from the side. Tanjiro blocked with his blade—the impact launching him several meters backward.
'The forms really do connect! Next—I'll link all twelve together!' He charged Muzan again.
"Sun Breathing, First Form: Dance!"
"Sun Breathing, Second Form: Clear Blue Sky!"
"Sun Breathing, Third Form..."
With each technique deployed, Tanjiro's lungs felt pummeled, his limbs torn, his heart compressed to bursting.
'I can do this! Hold on! Six forms connected—keep going!'
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"Mitsuri... san..."
"Leave the rest to us, Kaido-kun."
After carrying Kaido to safety, Mitsuri assessed his wounds. Every injury was severe—especially the abdominal puncture. Without that makeshift wooden plug, he would've bled out already.
But the pain he must be enduring...
After settling him, she retrieved her weapon and returned to the battle.
Kaido tried reaching out to stop her—but agonizing pain and complete mental exhaustion rendered him immobile. He couldn't even speak.
"CAW! FORTY MINUTES UNTIL DAWN! FORTY MINUTES!"
'Forty minutes?? The clones only last three hours total. At this rate...'
"You look like hell, kid." Kaido looked up—Yushiro stood there holding syringes.
He crouched down, injecting antidote—suppressing Muzan's blood toxin spread.
The brief respite and medical treatment allowed Kaido to force himself upright. He staggered toward the battle again.
"Kid... thank you. All of you better come back alive."
Kaido glanced back with a faint smile. "We will."
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"Stop dodging around like a damn cockroach!" Muzan's frustration mounted as every attack missed.
"Sun Breathing, Tenth Form: Beneficent Radiance!"
"Sun Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dragon Sun Halo Head Dance!"
"Sun Breathing, Twelfth Form: Flame Dance!"
As techniques flowed continuously, Tanjiro completed the full cycle—First Form through Twelfth Form, all connected.
'They're linked! All twelve forms connected! I need to repeat this cycle faster, more accurately—until dawn breaks!'
Despite his battered body, despite approaching his absolute limit—he didn't waver. Only determination remained.
But battlefields shift in heartbeats. Though the antidote had suppressed his wounds, time was eroding its effectiveness. The toxins were spreading again—reaching his eyes.
'Vision's blurring...! Stay calm. Even blind, I can track movement through scent. I can do this. I have to survive until dawn!'
Extended Sun Breathing deployment taxed his body beyond capacity. His foot slipped—balance faltered.
Muzan seized the opportunity. Tube whips descended to execute him—
"Serpent Breathing, Third Form: Coil Choke!"
Obanai had recovered enough to fight. He arrived at the critical moment—multiple slashing trajectories deflecting Muzan's whips while rescuing Tanjiro simultaneously.
But the whips' shockwave blasted forward, demolishing a nearby building.
"IGURO-SAN!"
"Can you still move? If so, I'm letting go!"
"Yes..."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Tanjiro realized Muzan was using surrounding buildings as leverage—propelling himself upward to pursue them relentlessly.
As he closed distance, thorned whips lashed out. Obanai hurled Tanjiro to safety—then used his smaller frame and momentum to evade the strike himself.
CRASH!!
The devastating whip obliterated half the building's corner. A direct hit would've pulverized them both.
Then Tanjiro noticed something. Muzan's body looked different—face, arms, legs, upper torso all bore scar-like markings.
"Those are... wounds?? Old injuries! Of course—these are scars Yoriichi-san left behind! Even after centuries, they haven't healed! They're still burning Muzan's cells!"
"Those scars are Muzan's weak points! Yoriichi-san is showing us the path forward...!"
Muzan realized his ancient wounds had been exposed. Seeing them, his pupils contracted.
"What the hell?? How is this possible?? Tamayo's drugs are causing this?? That witch!"
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