The Original Breathing Style!
Yes, it must be so!
The Sun and Moon Breathing Styles recorded on this sword manual must be the long-lost Original Breathing Style of the Demon Slayer Corps!
After reaching this conclusion, the Ubuyashiki leader was so excited he felt his hands trembling!
Who could have imagined that after being lost for so many years, the legendary Original Breathing Style that once drove the Demon King to desperate straits would return to the Demon Slayer Corps in such an utterly coincidental manner?!
Even more, it came with an extra bonus—a descendant of the Original Breathing Style swordsman!
Yes, after determining the sword manual's origin, this girl's true identity also surfaced—
She must be the legendary descendant of that Original Breathing Style swordsman, with bloodline scattered among the common people!
And what was even more delightful was that this girl possessed extremely high aptitude for Breathing Styles, especially using Sun Breathing with exceptional proficiency!
Happiness came so suddenly it nearly knocked everyone unconscious in one blow.
At that moment, everyone was absolutely certain in their hearts that with this girl's arrival, the situation where demon slayers had been suppressed by demons for centuries would finally come to an end!
This descendant of the Original Breathing Style swordsman, this Child of Destiny, would surely be able to lead the Demon Slayer Corps to once again replicate the legends of the Sengoku period!
And very likely, completely slay the legendary Demon King Muzan!
Thus, at everyone's request, this girl who was all alone finally agreed to stay within the Demon Slayer Corps and become a demon slayer.
And her name was—
Tsugikuni Mitsuba.
"..."
"Sir Doma, do you know that the gods in the heavens actually have no 'eyes'?"
Late night in a certain small town, walking together with Doma on those pitch-black deserted streets, Mitsuba suddenly spoke.
"What does Holy Maiden mean by this?"
Hearing this, Doma looked over in confusion.
"What I mean is that gods do not observe this world through 'eyes.' The way They 'look' at this world is only through karma threads."
Playing with the black mandala flower in her hand, Mitsuba slowly explained:
"I noticed this long ago. Precisely because of this, when facing us demons, the gods are always so powerless.
Unable to interfere, unable to see, unable to predict our behavior—why?
Because we have no karma threads on our bodies. We are lives not created by the gods, existences completely beyond Their control.
Therefore, in the gods' field of vision, demons are actually 'transparent.'
Only when we truly appear before a certain human and cause corresponding reactions in the karma threads on their bodies can the gods briefly 'see' our existence."
"Oh~ I understand!"
Blinking his eyes, Doma suddenly realized and hurriedly said:
"Holy Maiden means that because gods cannot directly 'see' us, no matter how loudly we conspire here, He cannot hear our plans?"
"Exactly. He doesn't even know that we two have already arrived at this small town.
After all, currently there isn't anyone who has seen our existence, is there not?"
Speaking thus, Mitsuba's gaze also slightly glanced at that couple in the residence beside them, who were currently engrossed in their illicit affair.
Indeed, at this moment, as long as this couple slightly turned their heads, they could see Mitsuba and Doma walking past on the street outside the window.
But regrettably, this couple was currently very invested and very absorbed, with no energy left to pay attention to their surroundings.
Therefore, they failed to notice Mitsuba and Doma's existence.
And regarding this kind of thing that the people themselves were completely unaware of, the karma threads on their bodies naturally could not record it either.
This in turn caused the gods, who observed the world through karma threads, to likewise be unable to detect Mitsuba and Doma's presence at this moment.
The gods are not omniscient and omnipotent. As long as one knows the rules and restrictions, They too can be fooled.
"But I truly never thought I would have a day to return here again..."
Strolling on these deserted streets, Mitsuba spoke with emotion, her gaze repeatedly examining the surroundings.
"Holy Maiden has been to this place before?"
"More than just been here—all my life when I was human was spent in this small town.
Here, it carried all my memories from when I was human, although the vast majority were sad ones...
See that castle keep ahead? I lived inside there when I was human."
"If it's sad, why did Holy Maiden return here?"
"There's no particularly special reason. I simply believe that in this place, it might be easier to find the protagonist we want."
Facing Doma's question, Mitsuba gave a patient explanation.
"Several hundred years ago, when the Tokugawa Shogunate was established, the Tsugikuni family, who had backed the wrong faction, was purged along with the Toyotomi regime.
Among them, some clan members escaped from this town they had ruled for generations, changed their names and concealed their identities, disappearing without trace ever since.
But some, with the help of townspeople at the time, changed their surnames and scattered among the common people, still living in this small town to this day..."
"So Holy Maiden means that you want to find descendants with the same bloodline as you to serve as the protagonist for our performance this time?"
"Correction—descendants with Tsugikuni family bloodline. After all, we both flow with blood identical to the Child of God.
The same bloodline creates equal legends. Doesn't this conform very well with the world's consistent perception... Oh my."
As the two spoke, they happened to pass through a slum area in the town.
In this filthy, foul-smelling environment, Mitsuba spotted at a glance that girl wrapped in a straw mat, lying by the roadside.
The girl's clothes were ragged, her cheeks flushed with unnatural redness, her thin and weak body trembling uncontrollably even in her sleep.
Anyone could see the girl was sick.
The girl herself surely knew this as well.
But what could knowing do?
As a street urchin, she had nowhere to go, no money to see a doctor. On this freezing night, she would very likely not survive until morning.
And indeed, this was the case.
On the girl's karma threads, Mitsuba had already seen her endpoint.
Several hours later, this poor girl would freeze to death on this cold night.
"It's her."
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(This chapter's title is pretty good, meow~)