Recover

Day after day passed...

In addition to practicing Total Concentration Breathing: Constant, Rio also trains his physique by running by pulling wooden blocks.

In addition, he also has to undergo some recovery therapy at the Butterfly Mansion which is carried out by three little girls, Sumi, Kiyo and Naho.

The first therapy is massage, Rio's stiff body will be massaged due to lying too long.

The second therapy is reflex training, on a table there will be 8 cups of tea filled with very bitter medicinal liquid, and Rio must compete to get it and his opponent is none other than Kocho Kanae, the Hashira Flower.

If Kanae held the glass before Rio could lift it, he couldn't move the glass and Kanae would splash the glass in Rio's face.

And the last therapy is body training, in short this is a chase practice, Rio's opponent is still Kanae.

Even though Rio was a Thunder Breathing user who prioritized speed, Kanae was always able to dodge it which made Rio very frustrated.

Currently...

Wearing only pants, Rio ran in the courtyard of the Butterfly Mansion, on his back there was a rope tying a wooden block and he didn't care about the cold temperature in his body.

"Huh Huh Huh… It's been 3 days, I still can't break that jug, plus I still can't beat Kocho Kanae."

"Hashira is indeed worthy of being called the strongest Demon Slayer in the Corps."

I don't know how many times Rio had to feel the bitterness of the medicinal liquid that Kanae splashed on his face.

"Thanks to all this training, my body has become muscular…"

"Don't let mom and dad see my body shape, I won't be able to explain the changes in my body shape."

The previous Rio only had a mediocre body shape, his body was neither fat nor muscular.

But since Jigoro's training, slowly muscles began to appear in Rio's body. Now his abdomen was boxy like a loaf, and his arms had muscles like that of a bodybuilder.

As for her white hair? Rio was not worried at all, he remembered that there was a hair dye that his father often used. He just needed to dye his hair black again, then the problem was solved.

"There's no point in complaining, right now I have to master Total Concentration Breathing: Constant as fast as time."

"I can't waste time."

"Aaaaa!!!"

Rio shouted to encourage himself, he increased his running speed.

Kanae who was watching Rio training in the Butterfly Mansion, had a smile on her pretty face.

"Cheer up Shin-kun…" Kanae muttered as she continued to watch the white-haired youth run through the snow.

4 days passed...

Rio was already able to maintain a state of Total Concentration Breathing, but that state would disappear as long as he was asleep.

Therefore Rio asked Sumi, Kiyo, and Naho for help to hit him with a rattan while sleeping whenever he failed to maintain Total Concentration Breathing.

And the three little girls happily agreed to Rio's request.

It was because of this method that Rio had dark circles under his eyes.

He had also managed to break the jug only by blowing it. Just as Rio thought the training in Total Concentration: Constant Breathing was over, with a beautiful smile on his face, Kanae handed Rio a jug the size of a human teenager and told him to blow the pitcher until it broke.

At first Rio thought Kanae was toying with him, how was it possible to break a human-sized jug by just blowing it?

But after seeing Kanae prove it could be done, Rio could only believe it and once again updated his information regarding the Hashira's strength.

3 days passed...

"Huh...."

Rio blew out the human-sized jug in front of him with all his might.

*cracks*

The jug made of a special material which had several times the hardness of an ordinary jug slowly cracked, before long the jug was completely shattered.

*Clap Clap Clap*

The sound of applause rang out as Rio completely broke the jug.

"Congratulations Shin-kun, you have now fully mastered Total Concentration Breathing: Constant." Kanae said with a smile.

"Mn."

Rio as usual, always indifferent to everything. There is neither joy nor pleasure in his accomplishments.

Kanae was used to Rio who was always expressionless.

"Shin-kun can master Breathing Total Concentration: Constant for 10 days, this is the fastest top three record compared to other Hashira." Kanae sincerely praised Rio's terrifying training speed.

"Big three? What about the other two big ones?" Rio asked just curious.

"Those two people are Hashira Mist, Tokito Muichiro and Hashira Stone, Himejima Gyōmei who became Hashira only got 2 months." There was admiration when Kanae mentioned the two people.

"Become Hashira in just 2 months?" There was great fluctuation in Rio's heart upon hearing this news, but because of <Apathy>, his expression on the surface was always calm.

"Hahhh... In this world there are geniuses..." Rio took a deep breath, he felt inferior.

2 months was the time for Rio to train and transform himself from an ordinary person into a swordsman capable of exterminating Demons.

But it was only a low rank Demon, if Rio met an Upper Demon Moon like Doma, he would have to flee for his life.

"Indeed, Himejima-kun and Muichiro-kun are very geniuses, they both mastered Total Concentration Breathing: Constant in just one day." Kanae nodded in agreement with what Rio said.

This time Rio was no longer surprised, he had already guessed that the two of them had terrifying talent in swordsmanship.

"By the way, how long have you mastered Total Concentration Breathing: Constant?" Rio looked at Kanae and asked.

"Me? It's a secret~"

Placing her index finger in front of her lips, Kanae winked one eye at Rio.

"Tsk, woman." Rio clicked his tongue.

"Ara Ara, now only therapy remains."

"Do I still need therapy? My body is already very healthy, there's no point in undergoing therapy anymore, right?"

"That can't be, every Demon Slayer who is injured and being cared for in the Butterfly Mansion must pass the therapy before returning to duty."

"Up to you."

Rio didn't know whether what Kanae said was true or not, he could only follow the arrangements that Kanae had prepared.

In the recovery room...

Rio and Kanae sat opposite in front of them there was a wooden table and there were 8 cups of tea filled with a very bitter green medicinal liquid.

This is a reflex exercise.

Shinobu, Kanae's younger sister stood as the referee.

"Start!"

After Shinobu's signal, Kanae stretched out her right hand to grab a nearby glass, but Rio was holding her hand.

Kanae's left hand darted to reach for the tea cup, but again his hand was held by Rio's.

It didn't stop there, the movement of the hands of the two people was very fast. Every time Kanae touched the teacup, her hand would be in Rio's hand, and once Rio touched the teacup, his hand would also be held by Kanae.

After the duel of hand speed, Rio who had mastered Total Concentration Breathing: Constant in the end put the teacup on Kanae's head.

Rio isn't so cruel to splash that morning's medicine on a girl's face

"The match is over, the winner Itsuka Shin." Shinobu declared the results of the training.

"Shin-kun could have won earlier, but why are you stalling for time?" Kanae asked rubbing the back of her hand which Rio had just touched.

"Nee-san?"

Shinobu noticed her older sister's anomalous behavior, she looked at Rio with a strange look.

"I just wanted to test my reflexes, that's all." Rio answered honestly.

If Rio wanted to, he could have won sooner. But he tests his abilities rather than prioritizing his victory.

"Alright, let's start the chase."

Kanae changed the subject, she was afraid that Shinobu realized her feelings for Rio.

Rio and Kanae were a few meters apart.

"Shin-kun, use your full strength." Kanae said before the practice started.

"Okay." Rio nodded his head and didn't refuse.

"Start!"

After the Shinobu announced the start of training, before she and Kanae could respond, Rio was already behind Kanae and patted her on the shoulder.

"I win." Rio said coldly.

"So fast…" Shinobu was taken aback by Rio's speed.

"Un, congratulations Shin-kun, from today you can carry out the task of hunting Demon Slayers."

Kanae wasn't disappointed at losing, on the contrary she was happy that Rio had such terrifying speed. That means Rio's chance of surviving the Demon is very high.

"Thank you for all the guidance so far."

Rio bowed his head in front of Kanae and Shinobu to express his thanks.