Chapter 383

The Onmyojitsu that Abe Haruaki talked about limiting power and suppressing Servants into being no different from humans is real - Okita Souji experienced this in his first training after arriving at Samagiri Mountain.

The brain can realize where there may be danger, but the body can no longer keep up with the speed of the brain's reaction. After being hit by several machines, Souji Okita brought Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado back to the door of Sakonji Rinka's cabin at the foot of the mountain before dawn.

"I didn't ask you to protect them, did I?!" Rindo Sakonji sat in front of the door and immediately criticized Okita Souji who was standing behind the Kamado siblings. "They are also people who need to be trained to kill demons. If you protect them so gently, they won't grow mature."

"I'm sorry, I'm used to protecting others." Okita pressed his forehead and sighed, then apologized, "I will correct it..."

"No, I heard that you had a bet...right?" Sakonji Rinko interrupted Souji Okita's reflection and confirmed with her.

"Yes, accept the 'final selection' within half a year and successfully become a member of the Demon Slayer Corps." Okita Souji nodded and replied to Rindotaki Sakonji.

"Half a year!?!" The Kamado siblings exclaimed because they were brought all the way here by Okita Souji and therefore didn't have to spend too much energy on avoiding traps.

"Then starting tomorrow, you have to protect the two of them and bring them back here from the mountain." Rinda Sakonji smoothly arranged a new training plan for Okita Souji. "Until you can bring them back safely in the most difficult traps without getting hurt yourself, you can change to another project."

"Tanjiro and Nezuko, let's switch to another project for training until you graduate from this project."

"I understand, Mr. Rintoki."

"Then Tanjiro and Nezuko, follow me." Rindo Sakonji stood up and woke up the two students roughly, "We will start learning how to use a knife in advance. As for——"

"Kikuhara, Kikuhara Sakura." Okita Souji smiled at Sakura Sakonji, "This is my 'name', Mr. Sakura."

"Ahem!" Rindo Sakonji coughed heavily, and turned away with Kamado Tanjiro and Kamado Nezuko. "Just practice on your own - after all, that path is only suitable for use before the sun comes out."

"I understand, Mr. Rintoku." After watching the three people leave, Okita Souji drew out the Nichirin sword hanging from his waist, "Then, let's start by swinging the sword to get familiar with it."

"S.OS: Excuse me! If I want to name a knife, would you mind if I use a name related to other knives?"

『R.SR: There is no such treatment in California, right? 』

"S.OS: Because it is a relic of someone I am borrowing temporarily, when I use it, I feel like I am talking to the original owner of the knife or the knife itself, so I want to give it a name to call myself."

"Ae.AD: Have you ever thought about creating a god of the dead like the government did when you were studying?"

"S.OS: How should I put it? This sword is similar to the Andei. Although it was made by different swordsmiths, it can be classified as a mass-produced product under the same concept. Moreover, even if we want to make a Fukujin, there is no suitable prototype to use now. I don't know what kind of swordsman its previous owner was. Besides, I think this sword should belong to a girl."

『Ae.AD: What is this knife used for? 』

"S.OS: It is used to kill ghosts."

"Ae AD: ...What do you think, Lai Guang?"

"B.MnR: Indeed, when it comes to the sword that kills demons, the Onikiri Asunagi that is stored in Tsuna's place comes to mind."

"S.OS: But for us and the sword men, the "name" is something that is highly tied to the "story", so I think I still have to ask for your opinions."

"S.WnT: Onikiri Anshun's current name is Higekiri - and no matter how the name changes, the essence remains unchanged, right? Just like whether you are called Sakura Saber or Okita-chan, you are still Okita Souji in our world, right?"

"Ae AD: That's what I said, but it would be troublesome if a mess like the Yamaubakiri incident happened. Although Nagayoshi and Yamaubakiri got along quite well. "

"R.SR: So what name would you like to give this knife, Ms. Okita?"

"S.OS: I have already decided on two words - "butterfly", but I haven't decided whether to put it at the beginning or the end. It should be the impression that the people related to this knife have given me."

"S.WnT: Butterfly Demon Cut? Demon Cut Butterfly?"

"B.SK: Naming shouldn't be left to Tsuna-san..."

『L·NK: Is there any engraving on the blade? 』

"S.OS: The words engraved on the knife are "Evil Destroyer". 】

"S.YK: Then, how about calling it "Butterfly Onimonji"? After all, both the Samonji and Ichimonji schools are classified based on the characters engraved on the blade."

"S·OS: Thank you, Mr. Shannan! You've been a great help!"

"Come to think of it, Miss Kikuhara's movements are much cleaner than the two of us." Before dawn one day, after Okita Souji safely sent Tanjiro Kamado and Nezuko Kamado back down the mountain, Tanjiro Kamado asked Okita Souji, "What can I do to swing the sword as cleanly as Miss Kikuhara?"

"Eh?" Okita blinked in surprise and put the Nichirin Sword back into its sheath. "No, even if you ask me that..."

"Such clean movements can't be achieved through practice alone - they can only be accumulated through a lot of actual combat experience." Rindotaki Sakonji walked in front of the three people with his arms folded, and looked Okita Souji up and down. "Your progress is faster than I thought. Maybe you can start practicing breathing techniques directly."

"Actual combat?" After getting the answer from Sakonji Rinkado, Tanjiro Kamado turned his head to look at Souji Okita.

"But her practical experience is useless against demons most of the time - at most it can only reduce the chance of her getting hurt." Rintaaki Sakonji stared at the Kamado siblings, "You two take a break and then continue with your previous training. Sakura, get ready - I'll teach you how to breathe water when daybreak comes."

"Okay." Okita nodded to Sakonji Rinda and answered Kamado Tanjiro's question, "I forgot to tell Tanjiro that I have a foundation in kendo. And kendo, when it was first created, existed to kill the enemy - swordsmanship that cannot kill the enemy is meaningless."

"The sword on the battlefield seeks to kill the enemy with one blow - the first blow is the last blow."

"So, in order to achieve a quick victory over the enemy, any action other than killing the enemy is unnecessary."

——This is especially true for this group of servants who were famous as "human swordsmen" during the late Edo period. Every time they swung their swords, it was only to take off the enemy's head. There were no other unnecessary swinging movements.

On the other side, at this time in the Butterfly House.

"Although I'm not ready to learn the breathing method, Miss Butterfly," Yaken Toushirou asked Butterfly Shinobu who was busy preparing poison, "What kind of changes will the breathing method bring to the human body?"

"Even though I often deal with injured patients, I can't give an accurate answer to this question." Shinobu Kocho gently finished sifting the powdered medicine, while answering Yakugen Toushirou who was writing an analysis report, "But according to Mr. Rengoku's introduction, you should have known that the breathing method is a technique created to fight against demons, right?"

"Well, the Demon Slayer Corps relies on the breathing method to fight against demons in human form. So the breathing method can improve the physical quality of humans, allowing humans to fight against demons..." Yagen Toushirou wrote a paragraph on the notebook with a brush, and confirmed with Shinobu Kocho, "Are there any other changes?"

"I remember that Miss Kikuhara went to Samagiri Mountain to learn water breathing, right?" Shinobu Kocho stopped what she was doing and pushed a cup of wisteria tea in front of Yakugen Toushirou. "Although I don't know if it's reliable or not, Mr. Tomioka, who also came from Samagiri Mountain, once said that the breathing method is to expand the lungs."

"Expand the lungs..." Yagen Toushirou paused in his writing and hurriedly opened the Chaldean communicator he had taken from Oda Nobunaga. "Sorry, Miss Butterfly, I must confirm with Lord Haruaki the effect of the Onmyoji technique she set up... Although it is said that it will suppress the onset of weakness at the same time, what happens after it is lifted?"

"What's wrong?" Shinobu Kocho asked Yagen Toushirou.

"Those two people died of lung disease." Yagen Toushirou answered Kocho Shinobu concisely, and asked Abe Haruaki who had just answered the call, "Sir Haruaki, what will be the impact of the Yin-Yang technique that you set on them to suppress their flesh and physical qualities after it is lifted?"

"...My Onmyoji shouldn't have any side effects, right?" Abe Haruaki sat in the yard of the Umayashiki family, basking in the sun and confirming the situation with Yagen Toushirou, "Is there any problem?"

"Among the information I collected about breathing techniques, there is a content that says to expand the lungs." Yagen Toushirou put the brush aside, frowned and told Abe Haruaki his concerns, "Okita-kun and Okita-san both died of tuberculosis, and because the impression was too deep in later generations, the fact that they had lung disease was directly engraved in their bodies, and even sublimated into the skill of 'sickly'..."

"Although I am not responsible for your health, I am the only doctor in this team after all. I don't want to be scolded by that doctor after I return."

"Are you worried that the breathing method will make their lung disease worse?" asked Abe Haruaki.

"Isn't this a reasonable concern?" Yagen Toushirou frowned.

"I can only say that from the perspective of us 'Servants', it is unlikely that the two of them will die." Abe Haruaki looked away and answered Yaken Toushirou with a frown, "But I really can't be sure what will happen to them after the restrictions on On-Yang Jutsu are lifted and their lung diseases begin to function normally."

"However, I suggest you don't worry too much about these two."

"Why?"

"Because they are Okita Souji - as Servants, they will never let the regrets of their previous lives happen again."