The next morning, Tanjiro was sent out early for his mountain descent training.
Sakonji Urokodaki called Shirakawa alone to the same clearing as yesterday.
The two stood facing each other. After a long silence, perhaps having mentally prepared himself, Sakonji Urokodaki finally spoke slowly.
"Shirakawa, that Breathing Style of yours… besides being enhanced when near women, are there any other restrictions or characteristics?"
Shirakawa knew he couldn't hide everything and didn't bother trying to. He needed his master's help to analyze some of the information.
He thought for a moment and said, "It seems the closer I am, the better the effect. Also, I believe that the more women around me, the stronger the enhancement becomes. However, I've only been in contact with Nezuko so far, so I'm not certain yet."
Even though he had prepared himself, Sakonji Urokodaki's shoulders still seemed to slump slightly.
He fell silent for a moment, then asked, "What about the forms? Besides the 'First Form,' do you have any other ideas?"
"Not for now," Shirakawa said honestly. "I just suddenly knew how to use the First Form. Maybe… I need more 'inspiration'?" He deliberately emphasized the word inspiration.
Sakonji Urokodaki naturally understood the subtext.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, as if trying hard to calm his emotions.
"Listen," he said, turning around, his tengu mask looking especially solemn in the morning light.
"I don't care how… how special that Breathing Style of yours is."
"Since you want to become a demon-slaying swordsman, you must follow the discipline of the Demon Slayer Corps and shoulder the responsibility of slaying evil demons and protecting the innocent."
"Strength is a good thing, but character is more important. If you dare use this power to do anything that violates morality, harms others, or especially exploits women…"
His voice suddenly turned cold, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze for an instant.
"…I will deal with you personally."
"Understood?"
Shirakawa dropped his playful grin and nodded seriously. "Understood, Master. Although I crave strength, I also know what should and shouldn't be done."
He paused, then added, "Even though the trigger condition for my Breathing Style is… a bit unusual, its essence is still meant for combat. I will use it properly to slay demons."
Sakonji Urokodaki stared at him for a few seconds, as if trying to see something deeper behind that handsome face.
Finally, he nodded.
"Remember what you said." He walked toward the small warehouse next to the training ground. "Prepare to start today's training."
Shirakawa froze for a moment, then shouted toward his back.
"Master, I've already learned a Breathing Style. Should I go to this year's Final Selection?"
Sakonji Urokodaki's footsteps paused, and his whole body stiffened for two seconds before he replied coldly, with a hint of anger.
"You are not allowed to go!"
Shirakawa: "Why?" [・_・?]
"Why?!" Sakonji Urokodaki's back radiated a chilly aura as he replied through gritted teeth.
"Because I am not yet prepared to have my reputation completely ruined!!!"
Shirakawa: "…"
Fine… if I can't go, I won't go…
I'm not that desperate to go so early anyway…
"Master, then what are we practicing today?"
"Wait here."
A moment later, Sakonji Urokodaki walked out carrying three gourds of different sizes.
As a long-time fan of Demon Slayer, Shirakawa immediately understood the direction of today's and future training.
"From today onward, practice Total Concentration Breathing: Constant Concentration!"
"But Master, as long as I'm near Nezuko, I automatically enter Constant Concentration, so I don't need—"
"Shut up!" Sakonji Urokodaki's voice held a trace of anger.
"I know your Breathing Style is peculiar, but can you guarantee that there will always be a woman by your side? If no one is with you, will you just stop training?"
"It's the same during battle. What if you're all alone? Even if there is another woman with you, what if your weakness is discovered and a demon bypasses you to kill her?"
"Slaying demons is no child's play! Demons aren't fools! You cannot entrust your life entirely to others!"
The ease on Shirakawa's face gradually faded.
He was indeed a bit lazy and somewhat cynical.
But that didn't mean he couldn't take advice to heart.
His master had a point, and he was naturally willing to listen.
"I understand, Master."
Seeing that Shirakawa was no longer grinning as before, Sakonji Urokodaki also breathed a sigh of relief.
A martial artist has many things to abstain from!
This kid clearly won't be able to abstain from lust in the future.
If he can't even manage to restrain arrogance and impatience…
Then he'll truly be useless!
After carefully teaching the essentials of Total Concentration Breathing: Constant Concentration, Sakonji Urokodaki went up the mountain to check on Tanjiro.
Shirakawa's side was easier; he just had to practice with the gourds himself.
Tanjiro's side was more troublesome, as his traps needed constant updating.
Before leaving, Sakonji Urokodaki left these words with a final shred of hope:
"Practice hard. Strive to reach a point where you can use your full strength without needing a woman!"
Hearing this made Shirakawa not know whether to laugh or cry.
In the end, Sakonji Urokodaki still wanted to preserve his final dignity as a trainer and a former Water Hashira.
It's just that he was slightly mistaken about one thing.
What Shirakawa had displayed in the clearing was actually his full strength.
Nezuko's presence enhanced his physical attributes and the power of his moves.
It wasn't that his strength would regress without Nezuko.
However, Shirakawa didn't explain this point.
Developing a new Breathing Style and move by chance yesterday and then fully understanding all the details today…
It sounded a bit unrealistic.
After some time passed and he became more familiar with Color Breathing, he would slowly inform his master.
Time passed unnoticed in the mountains…
A year of training went by in the blink of an eye.
During this year, Tanjiro was never idle. For the first six months, he repeated the mountain descent training every single day. In the second half of the year, he added the study of Breathing Styles and forms, and the mountain descent training was moved to areas where the air was even thinner.
Of course, Shirakawa wasn't idle either.
One could even say he was just as busy.
He first spent three months barely managing to maintain Constant Concentration in his daily life.
But it was a fragile state that would break as soon as he engaged in any strenuous activity.
Compared to the original story, where Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke only took one or two months to achieve combat-level Constant Concentration while recovering and training…
Shirakawa's lack of talent was obvious.
Sakonji Urokodaki also noticed this problem. Combined with the fact that, during this time, Shirakawa had gradually revealed the specific details of Color Breathing to him…
After clearly learning that the presence of a cute girl enhanced Shirakawa—
rather than the absence of one weakening him—
Sakonji Urokodaki finally overcame the mental hurdle in his heart.
He allowed Shirakawa to train while staying near Nezuko.
He even took the initiative to help Shirakawa persuade Tanjiro to let Shirakawa take responsibility for looking after Nezuko.
Of course, this arrangement came with conditions.
From the day he started staying by Nezuko's side, Shirakawa began taking over the work of setting Tanjiro's traps.
From that day on, the trap trajectories on the mountain became increasingly tricky.
The logs swinging at Tanjiro were sharpened.
The bamboo striking him was soaked in alcohol.
In the pitfalls where one's feet would fall through, besides wooden stakes, many non-poisonous but painfully biting scorpions and centipedes were added.
Sometimes, even while sleeping, a nest of small snakes would suddenly appear in Tanjiro's bedding.
They didn't bite, but they were terrifying!
Shirakawa even gave it a fancy name: Alertness Training!
Poor Tanjiro lived in this environment day after day, nearly driven to a nervous breakdown by Shirakawa.
During that time, he didn't know if it was an illusion, but he could always see Shirakawa hiding in some dark corner—
holding a sharp small knife, crouching there, crafting dangerous trap tools while looking at him with a wicked, smirking grin.
If it weren't for Shirakawa's shameless attempts to snatch away his sister Nezuko, Tanjiro might have begged that sinister man for mercy.
But no!
He just wants me to give in!
I will never hand my sister over to someone like him!
With this mindset, the two of them competed against each other for a year. Tanjiro endured through gritted teeth, while Shirakawa racked his brain for new ways to mess with him.