Chapter 11: Hakuya's Moment of Brilliance
Above the waterfall where Tanjiro usually caught fish, Sakonji Urokodaki brought both Hakuya and Tanjiro to practice sensing the rhythm of their breathing.
Of course, Sakonji Urokodaki knew that Hakuya no longer needed such training—he could use Water Breathing at will, clearly having mastered the flow and rhythm of water. Therefore, this training was primarily designed for Tanjiro's benefit.
"Hakuya, Tanjiro—today you must become one with the water!" Sakonji Urokodaki said slowly to the two of them.
"Master, become one with the water? Are you serious?" Tanjiro looked genuinely surprised.
"Go!"
Sakonji Urokodaki didn't bother explaining or wasting time with words. He simply kicked Tanjiro off the waterfall.
Tanjiro flailed wildly in midair before plummeting toward the water below.
Then Sakonji Urokodaki's gaze shifted to Hakuya. Sensing the old man's intention, Hakuya didn't give Sakonji Urokodaki the chance to kick him down—instead, he jumped off the waterfall on his own.
While falling through the air, Hakuya began his Water Breathing. Just as he was about to hit the water's surface alongside Tanjiro, Hakuya performed a graceful flip, his right foot touching the surface first. The previously flowing water suddenly seemed to freeze, and Hakuya's reflection appeared clearly on the surface.
One second, two seconds, three seconds passed, and Hakuya didn't sink. Instead, he stood upright on the water's surface, as if standing on solid ground.
Then, where Hakuya's foot touched the water, ripples suddenly formed, spreading outward in all directions.
When the ripples subsided, the water began flowing normally again.
Only then did Hakuya slowly lower his left foot, standing completely on the water's surface.
Tanjiro, who suddenly popped his head out of the water, was absolutely shocked to see Hakuya standing on the surface. This was incredible! The master wasn't joking—he really had become one with the water!
"Excellent! Well done!" Sakonji Urokodaki, standing atop the waterfall, mentally praised Hakuya's performance.
"Hakuya-san, how did you do that? That's amazing!" Tanjiro couldn't contain his shock and excitement, shouting up to Hakuya.
Hakuya slowly walked across the water toward Tanjiro, then stopped in front of him and said, "Master the Water Breathing that our teacher taught you completely, and you'll be able to do it too!"
After that demonstration, Tanjiro had an additional training exercise added to his regimen. Under Sakonji Urokodaki's instructions, Hakuya would also practice alongside Tanjiro.
"Ohhhh! Nezuko! I am water! I am water! I am—"
Tanjiro instinctively howled against the powerful torrent of the waterfall. Finally, unable to withstand the relentless impact, Tanjiro lost consciousness and collapsed.
Meanwhile, Hakuya stood under the waterfall as well, but he had already become one with the water. The rushing waterfall didn't crash violently against him—instead, it flowed smoothly and silently over his body.
Time flew by, and a full year passed. During this period, Tanjiro continued practicing diligently, gradually finding his way with the breathing technique.
Then suddenly one day, Sakonji Urokodaki called both Hakuya and Tanjiro to him.
"Tanjiro, I have nothing more to teach you."
Hearing this, Tanjiro was stunned. He never imagined that Sakonji Urokodaki would say such a thing to him, because Tanjiro felt there was no end to what he could learn from his master.
"From now on, it's up to you to see if you can elevate what I've taught you to new heights."
"As for your senior brother Hakuya—he's even more talented than both Giyu and you. If he hadn't been waiting for you, he would have already become a powerful warrior in the Demon Slayer Corps, just like Tomioka Giyu."
"As for whether you can participate in Final Selection for the Demon Slayer Corps, you still need to pass one final test."
"Follow me!" Sakonji Urokodaki said, then vanished in a flash.
"Let's go!" Hakuya said to Tanjiro, immediately following after their teacher.
Tanjiro hurried after them. The three moved through the mountain—Sakonji Urokodaki in front, Hakuya in the middle, and Tanjiro bringing up the rear.
Finally, Sakonji Urokodaki led Hakuya and Tanjiro to a relatively open area on Mount Sagiri. As another year had passed, snow was once again falling on the mountain.
In the clearing stood a massive boulder, wrapped with thick rope. Sakonji Urokodaki must have dragged it there himself.
"Tanjiro, if you can slice through this boulder, I'll permit both you and Hakuya to participate in Final Selection," Sakonji Urokodaki gave Tanjiro his final instruction.
With that, he quietly departed once again.
Tanjiro called out several times in the direction their master had left, but received no response.
Looking at the enormous boulder before him, Tanjiro began to doubt himself. Could such a massive stone really be cut with the sword in his hand?
With this thought, Tanjiro looked at Hakuya and asked, "Hakuya-san, can you cut through this boulder?"
Hakuya nodded and said calmly, "Yes."
"Really? Hakuya-san! Then can you show me how?" Tanjiro was eager to see how Hakuya would slice through the boulder.
"No," Hakuya said without a second thought.
"Why not?" Tanjiro was puzzled.
"This is Master's final test for you, so I can't demonstrate it," Hakuya replied.
Besides this reason, Hakuya also knew there was only one such boulder. If he cut it, it would be difficult to find another identical stone for Tanjiro.
Another reason was exactly what he'd said—this was Tanjiro's final test, and Hakuya didn't want to interfere.
"Think carefully about what Master said to you. Don't let yourself be trapped by doubt."
With those words, Hakuya walked away.
"Hakuya-san!" Tanjiro called out, feeling a bit lost.
Soon, Tanjiro was alone on Mount Sagiri. The cold winter wind and falling snow danced leisurely across the mountain.
The silence around him caused Tanjiro to lose himself in thought. The words of both Hakuya and Sakonji Urokodaki echoed in his mind.
"Elevate it to new heights? Is everything I've learned just the surface level, not the true essence?" Tanjiro asked himself.
With that thought, Tanjiro drew his sword and tried striking the boulder. The blade hit the stone with a harsh metallic clang.
The impact made Tanjiro's entire body go numb.
Half a year passed like this. During these six months without Sakonji Urokodaki's direct guidance, Tanjiro repeated his previous training exercises every day and continued attempting to cut the boulder.
Hakuya would also take time to spar with Tanjiro, though Tanjiro lost decisively every single time.
"Hakuya-san, am I really hopeless? Half a year has passed, and I still haven't been able to cut through this boulder."
Tanjiro lay exhausted on the ground, beginning to lose confidence in himself.
"Tanjiro, your breathing is too rigid—you're forcing your body to react. For the past six months, you've simply been memorizing everything Master taught you. You haven't truly integrated Water Breathing into your very bones. If you don't overcome this barrier, you'll never cut through that boulder." Hakuya slowly pointed out Tanjiro's critical flaw.
Although a year and a half of training had indeed helped Tanjiro grow significantly, his body had not fully absorbed and internalized what he'd learned during his training.
Tanjiro's breathing was too mechanical to fully unleash the potential of Water Breathing. Attacks launched at this level would never be enough to slice through the boulder.
In the blink of an eye, another six months passed, and the world completed another annual cycle. Winter snowflakes fell into Hakuya's hand. He stood outside the wooden cabin, looked up at the snow-covered sky, and murmured, "It's snowing again. Another year has gone by."
During this year, Sakonji Urokodaki had not appeared again. Hakuya took care of everything at the cabin, and Nezuko was also under his care.
After that last meeting, Tanjiro had remained on Mount Sagiri and hadn't come down.
So for the past six months, Nezuko had been cared for by Hakuya. Regular cleaning was, of course, necessary—though Hakuya considered this quite the responsibility.
This naturally meant Hakuya had close contact with the sleeping Nezuko.
When Tanjiro was around, these duties were naturally handled by him as her older brother.
Helping Nezuko stay clean wasn't because Hakuya was deliberately taking advantage—it was simply necessary maintenance, or an unpleasant odor would develop.
Initially, noticing Tanjiro's failure to return to the cabin, Hakuya sensed something was wrong and went up the mountain to search for him. He found Tanjiro near the boulder, seemingly talking to thin air, as if in a trance.
However, just as Hakuya was about to wake Tanjiro, he began moving with his sword. Sensing that Tanjiro's movements were no longer stiff and his breathing control was becoming increasingly fluid, Hakuya suspected that Tanjiro had perhaps entered a unique state of heightened focus—a breakthrough moment.
Therefore, Hakuya chose not to interrupt Tanjiro's epiphany, but instead allowed him to fully transform through it.
Unexpectedly, this wait would last another six months. During this time, Hakuya regularly checked on Tanjiro, but all he ever saw was him practicing swordwork, meditating, and sometimes even conversing with someone invisible.
Most puzzlingly, Hakuya tried standing directly in front of him, but Tanjiro seemed completely oblivious to his presence.
Finally, with help from his system's abilities, Hakuya activated his supernatural sight to truly understand Tanjiro's situation. It turned out that the spirits of Mount Sagiri had drawn Tanjiro into a spiritual realm they'd constructed.
Judging from the positive changes in Tanjiro, these spirits were clearly helping him grow, so Hakuya did not intervene. Instead, he chose to wait quietly.
At this moment, Hakuya saw a figure approaching in the distance. Looking closer, he realized it was Sakonji Urokodaki, who had left the cabin a year ago.
Hakuya watched as Sakonji Urokodaki walked up to him, then smiled and said, "You're back, old man."
Sakonji Urokodaki stood before Hakuya, studied him for a long moment, then nodded and responded before asking, "Indeed. Where is Tanjiro?"
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