"Aaargh! I'm too tired! I can't take another step! This training is actually going to kill me!"
Thump!
One—no, three figures collapsed onto the grass almost simultaneously.
It was Tanjiro Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma, and Inosuke Hashibira, having just survived the day's final and most brutal trial: waterfall training under the Stone Hashira.
They lay scattered amongst other slayers, all of them as exhausted as Shinichi's dog after a long run.
"I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead! I'm really gonna die this time!" Zenitsu wailed, his body splayed out like a starfish, his face buried in the grass.
His voice, though muffled, was heartbreakingly loud.
"Is that giant guy even human?! He has to be a demon! That wasn't training, it was attempted murder! Every single one of my bones is screaming! My soul is about to float right out of my mouth! Nezuko-chaaan! I need Nezuko-chan's comfort before I can even think about getting up!"
"Heheheh… just… just a little waterfall…" Inosuke lay on his back, his boar mask tilted sideways to reveal a flushed, panting face.
His chest heaved violently, but he stubbornly refused to admit defeat.
"I… I could've gone for another three hours…" His voice dwindled, trailing off into a series of exhausted, meaningless snores.
Tanjiro was just as tired as them, his muscles screaming in protest and a burning sensation accompanying every breath.
But unlike his friends, he fought against the urge to collapse.
He struggled into a cross-legged position and began to practice the Breath of the Forest, as taught by Shinichi-senpai's apprentice, Yuichiro.
He guided the faint trickle of vitality through his body, trying to soothe his extreme fatigue.
He looked around.
There was no one left behind them.
The three of them had lasted the longest under the crushing training of Gyomei Himejima.
As the sun began to set, other slayers could be seen leaving their respective training grounds, moving in small groups, leaning on each other for support.
Exhaustion was etched on every face, but not a single one of them had quit.
The Hashira Training, the most intense collective training in the history of the Demon Slayer Corps, was nearing its end.
The process had been agonizing, but the results were undeniable.
Every slayer who endured it, even if they couldn't complete every stage, had grown immensely stronger, their teamwork becoming second nature.
They were like bars of black iron, hammered and quenched again and again in the furnace of the Hashira, gradually being forged into sharper, tougher blades.
Just as Tanjiro was focusing on his breathing, a figure suddenly sat down beside him.
"How are you holding up, Tanjiro?"
Tanjiro looked up at the familiar voice.
It was the Forest Hashira, Shinichi Moriki.
He immediately tried to scramble to his feet.
"Shinichi-senpai!"
Shinichi smiled and gently pushed him back down by the shoulder.
"Don't get up," he said, handing him a water bottle. "Drink some water. It looks like Himejima-san worked you hard."
Tanjiro gratefully took the bottle and drank deeply, the cool water a small relief against his fatigue.
He turned to offer it to his friends, but found that both Zenitsu and Inosuke were now fast asleep, their snores harmonizing in the quiet evening.
He gave up and turned back to Shinichi. "Thank you, Shinichi-senpai. The training is very hard… but everyone is pushing through. I can feel it—after training with all the Hashira, I've gotten so much stronger!" As he spoke, a look of genuine satisfaction shone in his eyes.
Shinichi regarded the young man, his gaze full of admiration.
He saw in Tanjiro an unbreakable determination to protect those he cared for, a quality Shinichi respected above all else.
"Keep holding on," Shinichi said gently. "The physical exhaustion will fade, but the will and strength you're forging now will be your greatest assets in the battles to come."
Tanjiro nodded vigorously.
Then, a flicker of uncertainty crossed his face.
He hesitated for a moment before speaking again, his voice dropping to a near-whisper.
"Shinichi-senpai… do you think… we can really win? That we can defeat Muzan and end all of this? Can I… can I really protect Nezuko?"
His voice was filled with a desperate hope, but underscored by a deep, gnawing anxiety.
He was, after all, still just a boy, and the weight of knowing his sister was the demon king's ultimate target was an immense burden.
In the quiet moments of the night, the doubt would creep in.
Shinichi didn't answer right away.
He was silent for a moment, his gaze distant, fixed on the setting sun.
The golden light outlined his profile, making his amber eyes glow.
"Of course we can, you silly kid," he finally said, his voice soft but firm.
"Nezuko isn't fighting alone, and neither are you. Protecting her is your responsibility, yes, but it isn't yours alone. All of us—the entire Demon Slayer Corps—will protect her with you. We protect each other. That's what we do, until the very end."
He reached out and clapped Tanjiro on the shoulder, his hand conveying a steady, reassuring strength.
"Don't get lost in your head, Tanjiro. Your nose is sharper than anyone's. You can smell good from evil, truth from lies. Trust that. Trust your friends. And trust all the effort you've poured into becoming stronger. As long as your resolve to protect your sister and everyone else doesn't waver, your blade will never lose its way."
Tanjiro listened to Shinichi words while mesmerized, the fog of doubt and worry in his heart slowly burning away like mist in the morning sun.
He wasn't alone.
He had friends, comrades, and the entire Demon Slayer Corps at his back.
All he had to do was what he'd always done: give it his all.
"Yes! Shinichi-senpai! I understand!" Tanjiro looked up, a blazing fire rekindled in his eyes, his fatigue seemingly forgotten.
"Thank you! I'll work even harder! I will never give up!"
Shinichi couldn't help but smile at the boy's passionate, almost naive earnestness, his fighting spirit so thoroughly restored he looked ready for another round with the waterfall.
Yet, as he watched the sun finally dip below the horizon, a feeling of profound unease settled in Shinichi's own heart.
It was the unnatural calm of the sea just before a hurricane, a quiet that promised a terrible, world-shattering storm was about to break.
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The fic will approaching the final arc soon.
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