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"You have a way to save him, right?"
Mrs. Kamado still hadn't fully understood Kaito's words, but she vaguely grasped that the young onmyoji who had just displayed his mystical arts seemed capable of treating her husband. Without hesitation, she knelt down.
"Onmyoji sir, I beg you to save him."
"Mom!" Tanjiro exclaimed from the side, also dropping to his knees.
"Sir, I beg you." In an instant, the other children followed suit and knelt as well.
"Huh?"
Kaito was momentarily stunned, catching sight of the deep guilt in Tanjuro's eyes as he lay on the sickbed.
"Get up, Mrs. Kamado, and all you young ones."
Several arms formed of spiritual energy suddenly burst forth from his body, gently lifting Mrs. Kamado and the children from the floor.
"I and Ubuyashiki-sama invited Mr. Kamado here precisely to resolve his physical frailty once and for all."
He turned to the children with a gentle smile.
"So there's no need to worry. I guarantee I'll return a healthy father to you all."
'Is Father can be saved?'
Tanjiro stared blankly at Kaito, suddenly unable to hold back his tears.
"Thank you so much!!" He bowed deeply once more, his voice choked with sobs as he expressed his gratitude loudly.
"Thank you so much." The other children mimicked him, bowing deeply as well.
"No need for thanks." Kaito's spiritual arms extended again, supporting a child who nearly toppled over from the vigorous bow, and he smiled at them once more.
The child named Shigeru Kamado immediately flushed with shyness and buried himself in his brother Tanjiro's embrace.
At this moment, Tanjuro, lying on the sickbed, had also steadied his emotions. He gave Kaito and Kagaya a grateful smile.
"Thank you for your help, cough cough... If there's anything you need from me afterward, please don't hesitate... cough..."
Ever since that Butterfly lady from the Demon Slayer Corps had visited their home and spoken with him, he seemed to understand that the Corps might need his strength.
"We can discuss those things later," Kaito said directly. "For now, let me address your health issue first."
"Then I'll trouble you," Tanjuro nodded.
"Uchiha-san."
Shinobu's voice came from outside the door.
"If you need any medicines, just let me know!"
Kaito turned back to see several Hashira crammed at the doorway, peering inside without a trace of their usual Demon Slayer Corps authority.
"Never mind." Kaito exchanged a glance with Kagaya and said helplessly, "Let them all come in anyway."
Kagaya turned to Tanjuro with an apologetic expression. "Forgive the intrusion."
Tanjuro shook his head to indicate it was no bother.
"Pardon the intrusion."
"Then we'll intrude!"
"Namu Amida Butsu."
The moment the Hashira heard Kagaya's approval, they all squeezed into the room at once.
The already cramped sickroom became even more crowded, especially with the unusually massive build of Gyomei, who elicited gasps from the children.
Gyomei merely glanced indifferently at the children before looking away.
The children sensitively picked up on something and instinctively covered their mouths.
"Kocho-san, my treatment plan won't require any herbs for now. But for Mr. Kamado's aftercare, I'll leave that to you."
Kaito first addressed Kocho's question, then turned to Mrs. Kamado.
"Very well, Mr. Kamado, please remove your upper clothing first."
At Tanjuro's nod, with Mrs. Kamado's assistance, he removed his shirt, revealing his extremely emaciated upper body.
'To think this guy was evaluated by Mr. Onmyoji as stronger than a Hashira?'
Several of the swordsmen among the Hashira couldn't help but eye Tanjuro's frail form with doubt.
"Please sit on the edge of the sickbed." Kaito spoke again.
Once Tanjuro was seated cross-legged, Kaito reached his right hand into the sleeve of his left arm and rummaged around.
Then he pulled out a writing brush.
Eh?
Is he going to write a prescription?
But why make him undress?
Everyone in the sickroom watched Kaito's movements with even greater curiosity.
Kaito reached his right hand into his left sleeve once more.
This time, he withdrew a small glass vial filled with a red liquid.
Under the intent gazes of the crowd, his slender fingers unscrewed the vial, dipping the brush tip into it.
Then, he began writing a series of vivid red, peculiar incantations across Tanjuro's back.
At the same time, a peculiar bloody scent, laced with an odd fragrance, began to spread through the sickroom.
Blood?
Tanjiro, unable to resist, covered his unusually sensitive nose.
'This... this is treatment?' Tanjiro's eyes widened.
If not for Kaito's prior display of extraordinary mystical arts, he might have mistaken him for a fraud right then.
Kaito wrote with remarkable speed. Soon, all sorts of strange incantations covered Tanjuro's entire back, arms, and nape.
Kaito moved to his front and continued writing. After a while, his entire upper body was enveloped in densely packed incantations.
Kaito withdrew the brush, placing it along with the "ink" on the small table beside the sickbed.
"Alright, everyone seems quite curious."
Kaito scanned the puzzled expressions around him.
The crowd nodded vigorously, their eyes brimming with confusion on the verge of spilling over.
Kaito smiled. "In that case, I'll kindly explain it to everyone."
His hands swiftly formed seals, and the dense runes on Tanjuro's upper body seemed to come alive in an instant, slowly crawling across his skin.
At this sight, the Kamado children gasped once again.
"As I once told Iguro-san and Uzui-san, everyone possesses a faint, unawakened spiritual energy within them. The breathing techniques used by the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen are also a form of spiritual energy utilization."
He explained in a calm, unhurried tone.
"In short, those completely devoid of spiritual energy cannot learn breathing techniques, much like the members of the Hidden Corps. By employing breathing techniques to summon the dormant faint spiritual energy within, and releasing it through specific forms, one can leverage the ubiquitous natural energy in the air to produce effects akin to natural elements—such as fire, water, thunder, wind, rock... and so on."
Among those present who could comprehend this theory—which had already spread among all the Hashira—only Tanjuro showed a look of surprise.
Kaito maintained his seals, watching as the runes on Tanjuro's body moved faster and faster.
He continued, "The mysteries of this world have nearly vanished entirely, with only the Blood Demon Arts of demons and the breathing techniques of the Demon Slayer Corps barely qualifying as mystical. Both are different applications of spiritual energy. Leaving Blood Demon Arts aside for now, swordsmen who use breathing techniques are constantly eroding their bodies with natural energy while maintaining the breathing state. When the erosion of natural energy on the body exceeds a certain threshold, unique markings known as [Marks] will manifest on the skin."