The early morning mist rolled softly across the grounds of the Ubuyashiki estate as Adam sat cross-legged in one of the empty tatami rooms, bathed in a golden sliver of sunlight. But his mind wasn't focused on the physical world.
"Nano," he commanded mentally. "Run through every battle record you've extracted from the Corps archives. I want patterns. I want the truth behind the myths."
The response came instantaneously. Files opened in his inner vision—text, fragmented reports, eye-witness testimonies, field drawings.
[Processing... Correlating targets... Matching energy signatures...]
Three names emerged, standing out like fresh blood on old parchment:
Daki and Gyutaro, the infamous siblings once known for their cruelty in the entertainment districts.
Akaza, the Upper Moon Three whose combat style was unlike any other—ruthless, fluid, emotionally charged.
And Douma... who now held the title of Upper Moon One, his presence casting a shadow.
Adam stood up slowly, mind turning with quiet calm. The world was crumbling. The Corps were dying. And the strongest demons walked free with no one strong enough to challenge them.
"Then let's shift the scale."
"Next," he instructed, "I want the demon serum. Perfected. One tailored for Tamayo."
Nano responded with its usual speed, pulling biochemical models and data out of thin air.
[Serum designed. Parameters set. It will:
Retain and enhance her demon physiology.
Remove all dependency on human blood.
Stabilize her mind and emotions fully.
And awaken a new ability—Hanashibuki—the power to
to generate sentient floral constructs that bloom and release spore clouds. These spores are capable of inducing sleep, paralysis, hallucinations, or cellular regeneration—depending on her intent. Additionally, root-based extensions can pierce and tether demons in place. Ideal for immobilization]
"Good," Adam murmured. "She deserves more than survival."
Next came the data dump—manuals, treatises, ancient diagrams and scrolls.
"Download everything known about breathing techniques and the sword styles of Sasaki Kojiro and Miyamoto Musashi. All of it."
[Confirmed]
With everything set in motion, Adam rose and stepped out onto the porch. The fresh wind of the mountain brushed his coat aside, and there she was—Kamo Arika, bathed in sweat, her form flawless, her movements fast, determined.
He approached with a calm authority.
"Arika," he said, and she turned to him, breath catching slightly. "Come with me."
She wiped her brow, nodded, and followed him without hesitation.
In the quiet chamber of the Master, Adam stood before the pale-eyed man, still composed despite his fragile state. Little Kagaya sat beside him, ever observant.
"There's something your corps lost or more correctly never gained" Adam said, voice firm. "A forgotten art. A legacy." Adam said extending all the manuals about breathing techniques before the master.
"Breathing techniques," the Master echoed softly. "A myth. Some believe they were mere exaggerations of focused swordplay."
Adam shook his head. "No. They are real. They had banish becouse few ever mastered them. And those who did were became targets of demons either for amusement or fear. One by one, they were eliminated over the centuries. Without successors or scribes, the techniques faded into rumors, tales. And I intend to bring them back—starting with her."
He glanced at Arika, who stood respectfully behind him, eyes full of curiosity and purpose.
"Then who else will learn?" the Master asked.
"Send for your most trusted and talented swordsmen," Adam replied. "In a few days. I'll make sure they're ready for them"
The Master nodded.
That afternoon, in the training hall beneath the trees, Adam stood beside Arika once more, her bokken in hand.
"What I'm going to teach you," he said calmly, "is not easy. It will test your lungs, your heart, your soul. But it will also make you something more."
He guided her through the foundational techniques of Total Concentration Breathing, adjusting her posture, her rhythm, her core engagement.
To Adam's surprise—she took to it quickly.
Her background in Kamo-style Kenjutsu, combined with an incredible sense of body control, made her almost unnaturally receptive to it. By dusk, she had stabilized her breathing for over two minutes.
"Not bad," he said, folding his arms, a rare smile tugging at his lips. "You're already above the average. Tomorrow, we'll begin exploring the different breathing styles."
"Which one will I learn?" she asked, eyes burning with quiet fire.
"That's for your body to tell you," he said simply. "The breath chooses the swordsman."
Arika bowed deeply.
"Then I'll be ready."
As the sun dipped beneath the distant ridgelines and the Ubuyashiki estate settled into the stillness of twilight, Adam sat in meditation while Nano finished preparing the demon serum designed for Tamayo. Later that night, Adam stood by the training courtyard, a candle flickering nearby, as he finished engraving key breathing patterns onto his mind while Nano asist him in recreating simulate scenarios. Controlled inhalation, diaphragm compression, explosive exhalation—each etched stroke was a foundation.
Suddenly, he sensed a presence behind him.
"Still up?" he asked without turning.
Arika's voice answered softly. "I couldn't sleep… not after what you showed me today."
He finally turned to face her. She was no longer the polite, guarded warrior from the Kamo line. Something in her eyes had changed, she was more focused and open about him.
"You said the breath chooses the swordsman," she said. "Will I know when it does?"
Adam stepped forward, tapping the center of her chest with two fingers. "You'll feel it. Here. When the rhythm of your heart matches the world around you, it'll come."
She nodded.
"Then I'll wait for it. Or fight until it answers me"
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth seeing her will.
Meanwhile, in a private chamber lit only by a single lantern, Tamayo finished reading the list of effects from the serum Adam plan on giving her.
Her fingers trembled as she set the scroll down.
"This would make me stronger than I ever imagined," she whispered.
Then the memory of his words returned—his promise.
"You could become more than what Muzan twisted you into. A true demon. A perfected one. Or maybe something human again"
The thought sent a heat pulsing through her, one that she hadn't felt since she was human many years prior.
She clenched the scroll and whispered to herself, "If he can do this… I'll give him everything."