Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
---
The mountain range was empty with only a peach forest in the distance.
There was a dampness in the air.
Tanjuro looked around and nodded as he looked at the empty and uninhabited environment around him.
It's a good place to attract lightning.
He had thought that there might be some problems with his words, which led to Sakonji misunderstanding.
But it seems he was just overthinking things.
"Thank you, Urokodaki-san." Tanjuro said with a smile, turning to face Sakonji.
"It's just a small favor." Sakonji shook his head, denying Tanjuro's gratitude. He turned around to leave.
"In that case, I'll be taking my leave."
"Goodbye, Kamado-san."
With a whoosh, the tengu-masked man fluttered, leaving only an afterimage in his place.
"Okay."
Tanjuro turned his attention back to the clearing and reached into his clothes to pull out a paper doll.
He concentrated on the doll in his hand and muttered to himself.
"Let's start our experiment."
---
This mountain range is called the Peach Mountain.
It is the residence of his good friend, the former Thunder Hashira and the current Thunder Breathing trainer, Kuwajima Jigoro.
Sakonji's figure can be seen moving through the mountains. Having lived on Sagiri Mountain for many years, he was very familiar with the mountain terrain.
His eyes were in deep contemplation as the surprised he felt from Tanjuro-san knowing Thunder Breathing wore off.
To be honest, he wasn't expecting that...
When he met Tanjuro, he felt that the man was different from every breathing user he had seen before from the subtle movements of Tanjuro's body and his smell.
Sakonji had thought that Tanjuro might be a user of a self-created breathing technique.
When Tanjuro requested that he wanted to find a suitable place to "practice lightning," that was when Sakonji realized.
He immediately led the man to the mountain range of the Thunder Breathing instructor.
A user of Thunder Breathing who can repel Upper Moon One, Jigoro must be very happy to see him.
Sakonji hopped on one foot at a thick branch of one of the trees and looked back in the direction of Peach Mountain.
He took a deep breath and observed the weather suddenly turning cloudy. "It's going to rain..." he muttered.
He recalled Tanjuro seems to get excited when seeing that the weather was going to be rainy. He thought about what could be the reason for such giddiness.
"Is he trying to overcome Thunder Breathing weakness... in such terrible weather?"
The more he thought about it, the more Sakonji became curious about Tanjuro's swordsmanship.
What kind of Thunder Breathing technique allows such a disadvantaged man to face the Upper Moon One alone?
Sakonji was eager to find out.
Meanwhile, a mass of dark clouds gradually gathered in the sky and began to emit thunderous sounds in the Peach Mountain area.
Sakonji looked up. His gaze overseeing the horizon through the eaves and the distant sky.
Crack!
The dark clouds were as thick as ink, and there was a flash of lightning.
Sakonji withdrew his gaze and was about to continue his journey to the Butterfly Mansion.
When a phenomenon happens in front of his eyes...
Rumble!
Just above the location where Tanjuro trains, a golden lightning bolt suddenly struck down!
The twisted and terrifying force of nature smote down from above and locked in on Tanjuro. The roaring thunder rumbles thereafter. The lightning looked like a shooting star coming down from the sky.
BOOMM!!
The power of the lightning was so strong that, even from his location, it illuminated Sakonji's tengu mask.
He stared in disbelief at the phenomenon that occurred.
Holding onto the tree trunk with trembling hand, he was stunned for a moment before he snapped himself out and jumped down. He started rushing toward Tanjuro's location as soon as his feet reached the ground.
'That! Is not a sword technique! Kamado-san!'
Sakonji break out in cold sweat all over his body as his imagination run wild.
---
With the man in question, though.
Tanjuro pinched the paper doll and wrapped it to Kusabimaru in his hand. Then, he raised his weapon and pointed it straight at the gloomy sky.
The Way of Tomoe is to draw lightning from the sky to your weapon by means of special items or the mutated bloodlines.
Then use the lightning to deal a large amount of damage and apply a stun effect on the enemy.
Unlike the defensive move 'Kaminari Gaeshi,' The Way of Tomoe allows the user to summon lightning at any time to attack.
This sword technique was taught to Ashina by a person named Tomoe.
However, strictly speaking, the only person to ever learn the technique is Genichiro Ashina.
The man was a true genius.
A genius of hard work.
Without consuming the Fountainhead Water, without the bloodlines mutation, and without being an Okami Warrior, Genichiro had little hope of mastering The Way of Tomoe, let alone learning it.
But he trained his arms until they were charred black and his body covered in scars.
In the end, Genichiro successfully become the second person in Ashina Clan who could directly use his body to attract lightning to attack his enemy without using any external props.
Respect.
Unfortunately, Ashina's long night never saw the dawn.
Remembering every detail of the battle with Genichiro in his memory, how the man attracted lightning from the sky.
Bzrt!
Kusabimaru suddenly had a condensed light rising from the guard to the tip of the blade.
Staring at the cloudy sky, the paper doll attached to Kusabimaru began to emit a faint white light.
A wave of tingling sensation rushed over Tanjuro's body.
Lightning gathered between the clouds.
Tanjuro stared intently at his blade, ready to jump the instant lightning struck.
His dark red eyes were full of concentration as it reflected the gloomy sky.
Rumble—
'Here it comes!' Tanjuro's eyes narrowed.
Thunder roared, and golden lightning struck down from the clouds, immediately drawn to Kusabimaru!
However, before Tanjuro could jump and absorb the lightning with his sword, the paper doll fell off.
Maybe it was because it was his first time trying this technique or maybe because the property of the paper doll was different.
Either way, the paper doll was detached and blown by the wind too quickly for Tanjuro to react.
"Shit!" Tanjuro's pupils contracted as his eyes followed the blown doll.
Crack!
The directed lightning was suddenly thrown out of control like a wild horse that had broken free of its rein and changed its trajectory of striking.
It actually curves 90 degrees in the air.
The lightning flashed and the rumbles lingered avoiding Tanjuro and blasting toward the distant mountain top.
Thump.
Tanjuro landed on the ground in surprise as he held Kusabimaru down toward the earth.
At the same time,
Kaboom!!
The lightning finally struck something on the mountaintop.
And immediately,
"AAAHHHH!!!"
A heart-wrenching scream sounded toward the land.
"Zenitsu!!"
Followed by an older, terrified voice that echoed through the mountain.
Tanjuro stiffly stood in the clearing as he looked at the direction of the lightning strike.
A plume of black smoke slowly emits from said location.
Cold sweat trickled down his forehead.