Chapter 9

"I guess the rumours about me have already started, huh? Yes, it's true I dealt with a demon without a weapon, but Shinobu told me it was a weak demon, so it's not as impressive as it sounds," Ali replied.

Just as he finished his sentence, the door to the room opened, and the three sisters entered, each carrying a massive tray on top of their heads. They carefully placed the food in front of Ali.

"Thank you, girls," Ali said as the sisters left the room, leaving him to start on his enormous breakfast. Meanwhile, the three trainees sat across from him, stunned by the amount of food laid out before him.

Breaking the silence, Ali asked, "So, do you guys have breathing styles? If so, how did you learn them?"

Tanjiro responded with a friendly tone, "I practice Water Breathing, Zenitsu practices Thunder Breathing, and Inosuke practices Beast Breathing."

The four of them continued to talk as they ate their breakfast. Tanjiro and Zenitsu shared the stories of how they started practicing their breathing styles and explained the characteristics of each one. Inosuke was reluctant to speak at first, but after Ali offered him some of his food, he eventually opened up a little. However, Inosuke's explanation was so disjointed and confusing that Ali barely got any useful information from him.

After finishing the absurd amount of food in front of him, Ali stood up from the table.

"Where are you going? We were just about to start our training. Do you want to join us?" Tanjiro asked in his usual cheerful tone.

"The Flame Hashira offered to show me his breathing style, so I'm going to take him up on that offer. Maybe after I come back, I'll join you guys." Ali waved at them as he left the room.

"He's actually not too bad, right guys?" Tanjiro asked his friends after Ali left the room. Zenitsu nodded in agreement, while Inosuke just looked away with a grunt.

Outside the mansion, Ali looked up at the sun and thought, *'It's already the second day in this world. I think I'm making good progress with the Origin Meter. Tanjiro is definitely someone special in this world—the mark reacts differently with him, and his story backs it up. A demon sister who hasn't fed on anyone and still remembers who he is... I knew I smelled something odd in the mansion, but who knew a demon was living under the same roof. Let's go see what the Flame Hashira has to offer.'*

Ali scanned the area until he spotted a Kakushi and asked for directions to the Flame Hashira's residence. The Kakushi pointed him in the right direction, and Ali continued to ask for directions from any Kakushi he encountered until he found himself standing at the entrance of a modest Japanese house with a small garden in the back.

"Flame Hashira Rengoku, are you here?" Ali called out in a semi-loud voice to announce his presence.

After about thirty seconds, Rengoku emerged, fully dressed in his Hashira gear with his sword at his hip. A charismatic smile adorned his face as he greeted Ali. "Friend, I'm happy you came to visit me so quickly. Are you here for me to show you the powerful Flame Breathing style of my family?"

"I'd appreciate it if you could show me your breathing style and explain how Demon Slayers can draw so much strength just from breathing."

"Follow me to the back, my friend," Rengoku said, turning around to reveal his brilliant fiery yellow hair as he led Ali toward the garden. *'His hair looks like a lion's mane—I like it,' Ali thought as he followed Rengoku.

Once they were in the garden, Ali stood opposite Rengoku, who had his arms crossed.

"The Flame Breathing style is one of the oldest known to us Demon Slayers, with many practitioners throughout history, including numerous strong Hashira," Rengoku said proudly. Ali nodded, waiting for him to continue.

"When someone is proficient in their breathing style—take any of the Hashira as an example—they've mastered their technique to such a degree that, when they utilise it, they visualise manipulating the subject of their style. For me, I sometimes imagine a massive fire raging in the darkness, refusing to be snuffed out. But for a beginner like yourself, your visualisation should be more like a small fire or a spark."

Rengoku paused for a moment, then resumed his explanation.

"The breaths we take using our breathing style boost our stamina, strength, speed, and regeneration. It stabilises and energises the spirit. Now, let me show you the first two forms of my breathing style."

Ali nodded and stepped aside to give Rengoku space to demonstrate his techniques.

Rengoku readied himself, drawing his weapon and taking a deep, controlled breath. He then performed *Unknowing Fire* and *Rising Scorching Sun*. Ali watched Rengoku's movements with laser focus, committing them to memory. He could see the boost in speed and strength that Rengoku had mentioned, as well as the distinct purposes each form served during a battle with a demon.

'The red hue of fire coating the sword was magical. I really want to try it later, but I shouldn't do it in front of anyone. I don't know how my body might react to any of this. I don't want to catch on fire in front of him and then have to explain how I'm regenerating from third-degree burns in seconds.'

Ali clapped at Rengoku's performance and said, "That was brilliant, Rengoku. I could see the amount of hard work you've put into mastering your breathing style just from those two forms."

"Thank you, Ali. So, how does my Flame style look to you? If you decide to practice it, I can mentor you whenever I'm free from my missions."

"I'm not sure yet, but I can definitely say it suits me more than Shinobu's style. I'm pretty strong, and I think your Flame style would help me express that strength. If I do choose it, you'll be the first to know."

Afterward, Ali and Rengoku engaged in some small talk about basic breathing exercises and what Ali should be prepared for on missions. Ali then said goodbye and left Rengoku's house, heading back to the Butterfly Mansion.

Inside the training room of the Butterfly Mansion, Zenitsu and Tanjiro were sparring in hand-to-hand combat, while Inosuke was balancing water on his head and knee as he stood in an awkward position. Due to his stomach injury, Inosuke couldn't spar with the other two.

"Mind if I join?" Ali asked as he entered the room, not waiting for an answer.

Zenitsu and Tanjiro paused their sparring when they saw Ali enter. "How did it go with the Flame Hashira?" Zenitsu asked.

"It went well. He showed me his breathing style and taught me a lot about the fundamentals. But enough about that. How about you two spar against me—two against one? I need to warm up my body."

Without a word, Zenitsu and Tanjiro exchanged a glance and then charged at Ali, who had already taken his position in the centre of the room.

Zenitsu circled around Ali while Tanjiro attacked from the front. Ali blocked a punch from Tanjiro and countered with a spinning kick aimed at Zenitsu, who was attempting to lunge at him from behind. Zenitsu managed to block the kick, but the sheer force of it sent him flying. With Zenitsu momentarily out of the way, Ali slipped past Tanjiro's next punch and delivered a precise kick to Tanjiro's calf, causing him intense pain and forcing him down on one knee. This left Tanjiro exposed to a football kick from Ali, which sent him sliding across the floor in agony.

Ali turned around to find Zenitsu raising his hands in surrender. "Stop! I FORFEIT!"

On the other side of the room, Tanjiro slowly got back on his feet and asked, "How do you have no openings, even when you're fighting against two people?"

Ali smirked and replied, "It's not that I have no openings. It's just that you two are too weak to see them and take advantage of them."

Both Zenitsu and Tanjiro sighed in defeat.

Seeing their reaction, Ali decided to offer some advice. "Alright, you two, listen closely. Tanjiro, when you're attacking, you can't always assume your attack will land. You have zero counter-defence in case your attack fails. As for you, Zenitsu, you're fast, but you're also weak. A weak kick from me sent you flying. You need to focus more on strength training. Even if you're fast enough to land a hit, it's meaningless if your attack has no effect on your opponent."

The two listened intently to Ali's advice. He then watched them spar against each other a few more times, offering tips and corrections after each round on how they could improve.

Five extra chapters on patreon.com/Rondo312