Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began When I Became Yoriichi's Sister

Breathing techniques vary, and using them interchangeably often has the opposite effect.

Whether it was the warnings Yuko had given him when she taught him, or the pain he had personally experienced in switching from Water Breathing to Sun Breathing, they were all telling him something.

Breathing techniques should not be mixed.

But Yuko has now broken her own promise.

Breathing techniques can indeed be used in combination.

Moreover, it wasn't a switch after a single move, but a forced switch midway through, exactly the same as when he switched from Water Breathing to Sun Breathing.

But after that one move, he was unable to move, while Ms. Yuko was completely unharmed.

Is it because Miss Yuko is a ghost?

The body has adapted to the shortcomings of the breathing method.

That's true, but also false.

After becoming a ghost, my body did adapt much better.

But Ikuko was forcing herself to use the Sun Breathing technique, and now her lungs are in a lot of turmoil.

Fortunately, the regeneration process kept up with the losses, so there was no substantial impact.

To be honest, none of the four people who attacked together actually made any difference.

Kyojuro's offensive was much more aggressive than the others, but only relatively speaking. Compared to Ikuko, she didn't feel much of a threat.

Even in battles where the objective isn't to reduce the enemy's numbers, Yuko remains composed.

Even with the four of them working together, they couldn't create a good attack rhythm; instead, they were overwhelmed by Yuko alone.

This is the suppression of basic numerical values. After becoming a demon, Yuuko is not on the same level as them. Her strength and speed are far inferior. Without awakening her markings, she is simply not good enough.

However, as the fight went on, Yuko felt that something was not right.

Where is it?

one two three four……

She counted the number of people and realized that one was missing.

Turning my head again, I saw that Zenitsu's body had stopped shaking, but his hand holding the knife was still trembling and swaying to the side.

Yu Zidu's eyelids twitched slightly. "You little brat, you got to enjoy being an observer on the edge, huh?"

She slashed through the crowd's attack with a single stroke, her figure flashing.

Realizing this, Tanjiro quickly shouted to Zenitsu, "Zenitsu! Watch out!"

"what?!"

Zenitsu, tears welling in his eyes, gripped the knife. Suddenly, he felt a blur before his eyes, and Ikuko's figure was already in front of him.

Zenitsu swallowed hard and looked up.

Yu Zi raised her long sword high and slashed at his head without any mercy, as if she wanted to cut him in two.

In that instant, Yuuko noticed in her clear vision that Zenitsu's heart rate and pulse were increasing rapidly, almost instantly reaching and exceeding the conditions for activating the mark.

It should be noted that even those others who were pressured and overpowered by her, no matter how much pressure they were under, had not yet reached such a level.

I didn't expect Zenitsu to achieve it so easily. Was it really that simple?

Is it possible that he is in trouble?

The thought flashed through Yuko's mind.

but……

"Ah~"

Zenitsu rolled his eyes back, exhaled a puff of white air, and collapsed into a deep sleep.

Yu Zidao hadn't even completely cut down, let alone touched it; they were worlds apart, at a level where even a staged accident wouldn't happen.

"..."

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

Yuko silently turned around: "Let's continue."

"Ah, um."

There's really no solution.

Before Ikuko could take two steps, Tanjiro pointed behind her and said, "Miss Ikuko, Zenitsu is awake... no, he was asleep, but he's up now."

As everyone knows, Zenitsu's best performance often comes when he's asleep.

Even without Tanjiro's prompting, Ikuko had already sensed the movement behind her.

She turned around and saw Zenitsu swaying as he got up, his eyes closed and bubbles still coming out of his nose. He lowered his body and placed his hands on the scabbard, assuming an attack stance.

It has to be said, this scene is truly outrageous.

"Breath of Thunder·Shape of One·Thunderbolt Flash!"

Zenitsu transformed into a golden flash, his speed reaching its peak, displaying a greater composure and calmness compared to when he was conscious.

Unfortunately, the enemy was Yuuko, who had completely turned into a demon.

That seemingly unbeatable speed is actually only slightly faster than a tortoise.

Yuko slightly turned her body, casually reached out, pinched the back of the sword, and threw him and the sword toward Tanjiro.

Why is it me again?!

Tanjiro's expression changed, and he quickly reached out to catch Zenitsu.

Now, the attacks from the five people were more frequent, covered a wider area, and were even more difficult to deal with.

However, Yuko felt no pressure at all, and her figure remained so graceful that no one could catch up with her. Even Zenitsu, who was the fastest among them, couldn't even brush past her, which made everyone feel a little heavy-hearted.

This is still under Ms. Yuko's guidance. If it were a serious, all-out attack, could they really withstand even one move?

Do facial markings really have that much effect?

Meeting certain conditions does not guarantee the perfect activation of the markings; ideally, there should be a marking resonance.

The battle left everyone parched, and Yuko adjusted the intensity and speed of the attacks according to the different physical conditions of each person.

Simply put, she exerts more pressure when fighting Kyojuro.

The other people do the opposite.

Therefore, after this battle, even the usually enthusiastic Kyojuro was too exhausted to speak.

However, unlike Shinobu Kocho, no one activated their Demon Slayer Marks on the first try.

Yuko wasn't surprised; facing fear alone and facing fear together are two different things.

Moreover, Tanjiro and his two companions were already somewhat lacking in terms of physical condition.

Kyojuro probably didn't have much contact with her, and the freckles on Ikuko's face were the medium for infection.

Shinobu Kocho's success on her first attempt, aside from her physical condition, was likely also related to her ongoing contact with the other two.

However, it's not a big problem. If it doesn't work the first time, try a few more times. As long as the pressure is applied properly, it's not difficult to deal with just blemishes.

"That's it for today."

Seeing the people struggling on the ground, Yuko exited her demon form, grabbed Zenitsu who rushed over, removed her Nichirin Blade, shook it violently twice to force him to turn on, and then casually threw it to the ground.

"What? An earthquake?" Zenitsu was jolted awake, before he could even figure out what had happened.

"...My body hurts so much!!!"

Zenitsu rolled around on the ground.

Upon hearing Yuko's words, Tanjiro, who had been struggling to get up, decisively gave up.

He rolled over and lay on the ground, panting heavily.

too tired.

He felt like he was about to die.

Inosuke, having lost his usual energy, collapsed beside Tanjiro.

Kyojuro took a deep breath and said with difficulty, "Thank you so much."

"No." Yuko gently shook her head.

Kyojuro scratched his head. He was really ridiculously strong. He had been fighting against their attacks all morning and his breathing hadn't even become disordered.

Kanao, supporting herself, came to Shinobu's side.

Butterfly, suppressing a smile, handed over a cup of tea: "Thank you for your hard work."

"Thank you."

"How does it feel?"

"It's awesome."