[Location: Tamayo's Hidden Estate - Garden]Time: The Training Weeks
While Tamayo prepared the complex logistics for moving her research to the Ubuyashiki Estate, Manjiro did not sit idle. He had a new power, and he had three weeks to master it before the war began.
[Week 1]
"The problem is maintaining it," Manjiro muttered to himself. "Demon Slayers use 'Total Concentration: Constant' to keep their stats up 24/7. I need to do the same with Hamon."
Manjiro stood on top of the garden pond's stepping stones. In his hand, he held a cup of wine filled to the very brim.
The Drill:
Perform a kata (forms) with the sword.
Maintain the Hamon Breathing Rhythm.
Do not spill the wine. Constraint: If the Hamon stops, the surface tension breaks, and the wine spills.
He took a breath. Ko-oooooo. As he swung his blade.
Whoosh.
He gasped, his rhythm faltering for a second. A drop of wine spilled.
"That's the fifth cup," Yushiro called out from the roof, watching with undisguised glee. "You owe Lady Tamayo for that vintage."
"Shut up," Manjiro snapped.
He reset. He focused on his diaphragm. In Demon Slayer, they push air to the legs. In Hamon, he had to push air into the blood for energy.
Ko-oooooo.
He swung the sword again. This time, the wine stayed flat, held in place by the Ripple traveling through his arm, into the cup, creating a magnetic-like seal.
"I see..." Manjiro whispered, watching the golden ripple spin in the red liquid. "It's not about force. It's about flow."
For the rest of the week, the courtyard became a site of repeated disaster. Manjiro attempted to walk across the surface of the estate's pond by maintaining a constant Ripple through the soles of his feet.
SPLASH.
Manjiro surfaced, spitting out pond water.
"I read that drowning was supposed to be peaceful just you and your mind," he complained, shivering. "This is just cold and annoying."
"Day six, and you still can't even stand on water!" Yushiro laughed, pointing a finger. "Pathetic!"
Manjiro wiped his face, smiling dangerously. "Is that so? Then perhaps I should try standing on your head next?"
He climbed out, shivering, but his eyes were determined.
[Week 2]
Shinobu delivered the package via Kasugai Crow. Manjiro unwrapped the long, white bandages woven from Wisteria and Satiporoja Beetle thread. The total length was approximately 8 meters (26 feet).
[Note: The yarn of the Satiporoja Beetle (native to Southeast Asia) conducts Hamon at 100% efficiency. Ordinary weapons conduct at roughly 5-10% unless they are oil/liquid.]
Manjiro sat shirtless on the porch, holding the specialized bandages. "Tamayo-san, could you?"
"WRAP THEM YOURSELF, YOU…" Yushiro started.
"Of course," Tamayo interrupted gently. She knelt beside him. With precise, motherly movements, she wrapped the bandages around his arms and neck, leaving the ends loose.
"You have the hands of an angel, Tamayo-san," Manjiro sighed contentedly. "If I ever lose an arm, I hope you're the one to sew it back on. Ideally while feeding me."
Tamayo chuckled softly, tightening the knot. "You are hopeless. It suits you. But how will you use it with the Hamon?"
"Watch," Manjiro said, standing up. "Let's test the theory."
He channeled the Ripple. The soft cloth snapped rigid. It hovered behind him like the tentacles of a creature.
"Snake Muffler!"
The scarf shot out, extending nearly two meters. It wrapped around Yushiro's ankle as he tried to sneak away. Before Yushiro could shout, Manjiro sent a soft pulse of Hamon through it.
"GYAH! It burns!" Yushiro yelped.
Manjiro yanked. Yushiro flew into the air, upside down. Manjiro stiffened the scarf again, turning it into a pole, holding Yushiro suspended five feet in the air.
Then, he snapped his wrist. The bandage lashed out again, this time gently picking up a teacup from the table five feet away and bringing it to his lips without him using his hands.
The art of laziness.
"It has the reach of a whip, the strength of steel when charged, and the cutting power of a blade.
He released Yushiro (who landed on his face).
Manjiro's mind raced with possibilities. 'It functions like Daki's obi sashes... or Eraserhead's capture tape.'
"Incredible..." Tamayo murmured, eyes wide. "It functions similarly to a high-level Blood Demon Art specifically manipulation types. Yet it radiates pure energy opposite of the blood demon art."
[Week 3]
Manjiro decided to recall some other techniques from his knowledge of JoJo.
Technique: Zoom Punch: The attack uses the Ripple breathing technique to dislocate and stretch the user's arm's joints to extend the arm.
Manjiro touched his shoulder, simulating the feeling.
'Dislocate my shoulder? On purpose? To punch someone three inches further away?'
He looked at his scarf, which had a 2-meter reach. He looked at his arm, which had a reach of... well, an arm.
He shuddered visibly.
"Absolutely not," he said aloud. "That sounds excruciating. Zeppeli was insane. I have a sword. I have this scarf. Why would I torture myself? Hard pass."
Later that day, Manjiro sat on the roof, panting. His veins glowed with faint gold sparks. He had realized a dangerous synergy.
The Demon Slayer Mark: Raises body temperature to 39°C.
Hamon: Generates solar heat in the blood.
"If I use both at 100%, I might literally cook myself," Manjiro muttered, looking at his steaming hands. "It's like using Kaio-ken x20. My body will break down if I hold it too long."
He clenched his fist. "But... if I can learn Sun Breathing from Tanjiro later, and combine it with this? Muzan doesn't stand a chance. The rat would run the moment he sees me."
"Which is why," he whispered to the moon, "I have to take the long way."
---
As night fell over the estate for the last time, Manjiro stood under the moonlight. He drew his Nichirin blade.
"One last test," he said. "The Crimson Red Nichirin Blade."
He wrapped the Satiporoja Scarf around the hilt of his katana, ensuring his hand touched the conductive fabric, which touched the steel.
He breathed. The sound was deafening now a turbine spinning up inside his chest.
"Metal Silver Overdrive!"
The Hamon traveled from his lungs, to his blood, to the scarf, into the steel.
The blade screamed. The grey metal turned pink. Then red. Then a brilliant, glowing crimson that illuminated the dark garden like a torch.
He held it for a moment, the heat intense enough to warp the air, before cutting the flow. The glow faded. He sheathed the blade.
"We're leaving tonight, right?" Manjiro asked, turning to the two demons behind him.