Chapter 5: Training
"Hah—"
Nanaha stood with his eyes closed before a giant tree that would take several people to encircle with their arms.
At some point, a short blade had appeared in his hand. A flash of steel passed across his palm.
Before the blood could even drip, it abruptly gathered and stretched out—
in an instant, a crimson long sword took shape, steady in his hand.
"Flower Breathing, First Form: Hanging Sakura!"
In that instant, Nanaha lowered his center of gravity. He dashed forward in a straight line at high speed, slashing upward from a diagonal angle, then immediately switching into a diagonal downward cut.
The trajectory of the blade was elegant and smooth. As he advanced, scattered crimson petals drifted through the air, like drooping cherry blossoms swaying and falling in the spring breeze.
"Second Form: Twin Leaves—"
At nearly point-blank range against the tree trunk, the blade made a light sweep. Borrowing the momentum, he spun and unleashed the second slash at an even faster and sharper angle.
Like two red leaves fluttering in the wind, light and interwoven, yet concealing deadly intent.
"Hah—"
Nanaha slowly withdrew his stance, and the blood sword in his hand disappeared along with it. The wound in his palm also quietly healed with his breathing.
"My, my, Nanaha-kun really is amazing. You can already chain all of the forms together this smoothly."
Kanae could not help praising him from within his body.
"It still feels like I have a long way to go."
"My, you really are strict with yourself." Kanae laughed softly. "I've never seen anyone master all the forms of Flower Breathing so skillfully in just two months."
Normally, an average Demon Slayer Corps member needed at least five years to become a Hashira, and the fast ones still took two.
And the conditions were extremely harsh.
They had to defeat one of the Twelve Kizuki, or slay fifty demons on their own.
As the former Flower Hashira, Kocho Kanae had seen many members of the Demon Slayer Corps, but until now, she had never met anyone with more talent than Nanaha.
Nanaha smiled without replying, then turned to gather the leftover firewood from last night to make something to eat. Before transmigrating, he had messed around with wilderness survival for video content, and he had not expected it to come in handy here.
For the past two months, he had basically been living in the forest. Occasionally, he would go to Caomang Town and do odd jobs in exchange for salt and cloth. The townspeople remembered his kindness and always wanted to give him more, but he usually only took what he needed.
It was now mid-November. The deep autumn wind already carried a chill, and fallen leaves had piled up throughout the forest.
Winter was about to arrive.
Sleeping out in the open would definitely no longer be an option.
"By the way, Kanae." Nanaha poked at the fire and suddenly asked, "How exactly do you join the Demon Slayer Corps?"
"Generally speaking, you need a cultivator to guide you. Once you learn a breathing technique and the basics of swordsmanship, you only need to pass the Final Selection test." Kanae answered almost without thinking.
Nanaha nodded. It was the same as in the original story. He had remembered correctly.
"Then how am I supposed to find a cultivator? Come to think of it, who was your cultivator?"
At Nanaha's question, Kanae fell into a brief daze, and her tone became full of bitterness.
She was silent for a moment.
"...He was a senior skilled in Water Breathing, someone who had trained under the same master as the previous Water Hashira." Her voice became softer, like wind brushing over grass. "He trained me and my little sister. Later..."
Kanae did not continue, but Nanaha already understood.
"Sorry."
"It's alright." Kanae's voice turned gentle again. "Speaking of cultivators, I do know of one person."
"Who?"
"The former Water Hashira: Urokodaki Sakonji."
Nanaha paused.
He could not have been more familiar with that name. Not only had he trained the current Water Hashira, Tomioka Giyu, but also Kamado Tanjiro, the one who could change the future course of the war.
"He now lives in seclusion on Mount Sagiri. Though he is no longer the Water Hashira, he is still training successors." Kanae continued, "And the current Water Hashira was also taught by him."
"Mount Sagiri..."
Nanaha stared at the flickering flames for a long while in silence.
Go to Mount Sagiri. Find Urokodaki Sakonji...
That meant he would have to directly face the true terror of this world.
He admitted that when he had seen the惨状 of Caomang Town, his blood had been running hot, and that was why he had decided to join the Demon Slayer Corps.
"Since I've already decided, there's no turning back now," Nanaha murmured as he added another piece of wood to the fire.
Crackle.
Sparks rose into the air.
"How do I get to Mount Sagiri?"
—
Early the next morning, Nanaha slung a simple pack over his back and left the forest where he had trained for two whole months.
He first went to Caomang Town to say goodbye to the old man and Shizuko.
When the grandfather and granddaughter learned that Nanaha was leaving, they were extremely reluctant to see him go.
But just as the moon waxes and wanes, parting was inevitable. At the time of farewell, the old man prepared money and food for Nanaha.
Shizuko, meanwhile, had woven a new set of clothes for him.
"Mr. Nanaha, please make sure to stay safe." Shizuko's eyes were full of worry.
"I will. You two stay safe as well."
After saying goodbye to them, Nanaha left the place.
According to Kanae's directions, Mount Sagiri lay to the northeast. If he kept traveling without stopping, it would take about half a month.
The autumn wilderness was wide and desolate. Nanaha walked along the dry, hard dirt road, the air around him somewhat dry as well.
"Come to think of it, you still haven't told me about your little sister." Along the way, Nanaha chatted with Kanae.
"My little sister?" Just mentioning her seemed to brighten Kanae's voice considerably. "Shinobu is a very cute girl. She's serious and diligent in everything she does. Ah, though sometimes she can be a little too serious."
Kanae seemed to love talking. When she spoke about Shinobu, her tone became light and lively. It was easy to tell that the sisters had a very close relationship.
"Ah, sorry. I've been talking non-stop. Isn't it annoying?" Realizing that she had been chattering away for nearly half an hour, Kanae shyly stuck out a little pink tongue.
That cute and playful side of her was something only Nanaha could see.
"It's fine. I like hearing your stories." Nanaha smiled.
"That's not fair. I want to know about Nanaha-kun too. By the way, does your world also have demons?"
Nanaha shook his head.
"No demons. But even without demons, there are still terrifying things."
"What are they?"
"The human heart."
On the afternoon of the third day, the sky turned gloomy, and snowflakes actually began to drift down.
"It's snowing already? It's about to get colder. I need to hurry to the nearest village." Nanaha pulled his clothes tighter around himself as the chill began to creep in.
"So the snow came this quickly." Kanae could not help saying, "Shinobu likes snow too. I wonder what she and Kanao are doing right now."
Nanaha quickened his pace. According to Kanae, there was a small village nearby, inhabited mostly by elderly people.
They were gentle by nature and very willing to take in passing travelers.
Before long, a narrow path covered in light snow appeared ahead. Beside it stood a signboard with a few crookedly written characters on it.
Luyu Village
"This is the place," Kanae said. "I came here on a mission before."
Nanaha stepped onto the path, but after not walking very far, he caught a thick, sharp, nauseating smell.
That smell was one he knew all too well.
"The smell of blood!"