The Hamon Breather

Overcoming The Boulders!

The duo continues swinging at the boulder for several months on end fruitlessly. Some days Keijo doesn't even take a swing at his boulder. On those days, he is seen just sitting on his boulder, watching Tanjiro uselessly collide with the boulder over and over again, looking on with a brooding expression.

"Tanjiro..." Keijo starts softly one day. "Are we... are we even actually trying?"

"What do you mean? Of course, we're trying!" Tanjiro says confusedly and somewhat irritated.

"What I mean is... are we really giving it our best shot? Swinging at the boulder on loop: the same sword swing, the same clang noise, and the same subtle flinch as the vibration hurts your arms."

"I-... what are you getting at? I'm trying my hardest!"

"I think... that you and I have given up before we've even tried. This is just a farce that we're putting on so we don't feel bad about ourselves. We're just mumbling excuses and doing the same thing repeatedly. And the only thing we have to show for it is our footprints embedded in the snow and the faint scratch marks on the boulder."

"..."

"So I've been thinking, and I've come to a conclusion. What we are doing here isn't effort. It's work. The terms sound similar, so I'll use an analogy. It's the difference between a soup made painstakingly, where the cook makes every individual ingredient have a purpose, and one made absentmindedly. You can't put the two on the same level. Even though the process is similar. So, we need to change. Instead of simply putting everything into each swing, we need to think about each swing. Instead of thinking that it is impossible to cut the boulder, we need to think about how we can make it possible."

"Finally, a manly comment out of the two of you!" An unfamiliar voice echoes from behind Keijo as he's kicked off the boulder he was sitting on, causing him to faceplant onto the snow.

"You're exactly right. A man has to face his task without complaining one bit, no matter how daunting it is! So what if it's a large boulder! I wasn't going to do anything, but the two of you just made me sick. Did you even put into practice what Urokodaki has taught you? Why do you think he made you do such grueling training if not to teach you the importance of carrying on?! And you!" The figure, a salmon pink-haired man with a fox mask, hops off the boulder. "Did you even learn the breathing style he taught you!? You just memorized it, didn't you? You didn't put anything about it into practice! Well, that's fine! I'll make sure to pound it into your bone marrow!" The angry(?) guy yells at Tanjiro, taking a swing at him and also knocking him down.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Do you need me to tell you to fight me when I've got my sword pointed at you?" The man goads.

"B-but you have a wooden sword!" Tanjiro objects.

"Ah! I thank you for worrying about me, but do you honestly think I'd let you hit me?" The confident guy says before beginning to attack Tanjiro once more. He quickly dispatches Tanjiro so easily that it couldn't even be described as a fight. Putting him unconscious with a majestic swing. He turns back to Keijo, who had already gotten off the ground and armed himself.

'This guy... even though he may as have just beaten up Tanjiro... I don't think he means any harm? It's more like how Urokodaki beats us up so we can understand his lessons.'

"And you! You may not have inherited Urokodaki's breathing style, but your swordsmanship is quite the sad sight. It makes me wonder if you even tried to learn how to cut something!" The masked man also quickly knocks Keijo out with his superior swordsmanship.

—

"Hey... you two!" A soft girly voice wakes the two up in contrast to the bold boyish voice they heard earlier. "I'm Makomo, and the guy over there is Sabito. Don't mind his personality; he just likes Urokodaki a lot, and he refuses to let you disgrace him."