The next evening, after the Academy let out, Tenten ca by as usual. She ca so often that Naruto and Sasuke had co with her this ti, and they were used to it by now.
"Master! Please teach today!!"
Tenten knelt on one knee and begged. I pretended to think for a mont, then said, "Hoo... fine. Go get Naruto and Sasuke."
"Yes!"
Hearing my words, Tenten went and fetched—more accurately, dragged—Naruto and Sasuke, who had been resting in their rooms.
"Tenten, why are you doing this all of a sudden?"
"I've got training to do soon. I'm busy."
Naruto and Sasuke, dragged along, began to grumble.
"Master, I've brought them!"
When she sat them down in front of , I began to explain Total Concentration Breathing.
"Our family possesses a technique called 'Total Concentration Breathing'. As you know, our family has been blacksmiths for generations, making unique swords, which draws many covetous eyes. So to protect ourselves and our family, this technique has been passed down."
"Ehhh~~~!!"
At those words, all three looked very surprised. Then Sasuke asked, "Author-nim, are you saying the techniques in your novel actually exist? I thought they were just stories..."
Sasuke was the only one with any rational sense.
"They exist. That's why I could describe them in detail in the novel."
At that, Tenten nodded as if she knew it all along.
"As expected! I knew it."
Naruto looked a little hurt. "Then you should have taught first~ That's so an. I've been training in the yard all this ti..."
Hearing Naruto's grumbling, I continued. "It's not that easy. It's a technique passed down through the family, and the technique itself has problems. Learning it moderately is fine, but it puts a heavy strain on the body. If done wrong, it could even shorten your lifespan."
This was an allusion to the problem that once a person manifests the Demon Slayer Mark, they only live until age twenty-five. I didn't know the details of this part either. In the Demon Slayer world I visited, the only person I saw with a mark was Kokushibo.
But he was a demon, so his body was different from a human's, and I couldn't use him as a comparison. So I could only make predictions based on the bodies of the Demon Slayers who used breathing techniques. Since the people in Naruto had stronger bodies than those in Demon Slayer, the risk would be lower, but I couldn't know for sure.
"So I'm asking. Do you want to learn, knowing the risks?"
The three thought for a long ti.
"I will learn!"
Surprisingly, Tenten was the first to raise her hand.
"To be honest, I don't have much to boast about except having more chakra than most. So I really want to learn, Master!"
It was ironic, saying that in front of Naruto, the chakra monster, but Tenten did have more chakra than average.
"I will learn too, Author-nim."
"Then too! I'm gonna learn."
In the end, all three said they would learn.
"You're sure you won't regret it?"
"Of course!"
"I won't!"
"Neither will I!"
I imdiately gave them their tasks.
"Alright. Then, after the Academy, you will run ten laps around the village, do one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, and one hundred squats every day."
"Ehhh~~~???"
The children were flustered at my words.
"You need to build a body that can withstand the techniques. Only then can you learn. If you don't like it, give up."
Then Naruto argued, "Bro, you don't do that!"
"I can't use Total Concentration Breathing because I don't train."
"What??? Then how can you teach it?"
"Don't worry. The training thods have been passed down. Trust and do it."
From that day on, the children, half-believing, half-doubting, began running around the village after the Academy. One might think this training would turn them into One-Punch Man, but the Naruto world's physical abilities are naturally high, so this level of training wasn't impossible.
A week later, I gathered the children and placed a small bottle in front of them.
"Huh? What's this?"
"If you can burst this with just your breath, without using any techniques, you'll pass the first stage."
"Ehh~?? Is that possible?"
"Total Concentration Breathing is a technique that activates the body based on high lung capacity. This is essential."
Just then, with a pop, Sasuke burst his bottle first. Naruto and Tenten were surprised.
"Oh~ Impressive. You've already passed the first stage."
"I trained every day."
Inspired by those words, Tenten and Naruto also grabbed their bottles and blew hard.
"Huuuuhp~~!!!!"
But the two couldn't burst theirs like Sasuke.
"Ugh~ This is hard. I can't blow anymore..."
"Ugh... My mouth hurts..."
Leaving the two collapsed on the living room floor, I handed Sasuke a second bottle.
"Sasuke, since you've passed the first stage, you'll now learn the breathing techniques. And this bottle is the key to breaking through the second stage."
"Understood."
"First, what are your chakra natures?"
"Fire and Lightning."
"Of those, is there a breathing technique of a nature you want to learn or use often?"
Sasuke thought for a mont, then said, "Hmm... I'd like Lightning nature."
"For Lightning nature, Thunder Breathing would be good."
From that day, I taught Sasuke Thunder Breathing and the basics of swordsmanship. Of course, I had him continue his basic training, adding a sandbag to each of his wrists and ankles. Sasuke felt his physical ability improve dramatically when he began breathing, and he threw himself into training without complaint.
Another week passed, and Naruto and Tenten also burst their small bottles. The physical abilities of people in the Naruto world were indeed high.
Pop!
"I did it, ya know!"
"I did it too~"
"Good, you can also enter the second stage. Now we need to know your chakra natures. What are your natures?"
When I asked, the two couldn't answer.
"Well... I'm not sure..."
"I don't know either!"
Unlike Sasuke, who had systematic training, Tenten and Naruto were weak in these basics.
"You should be ashad of yourselves! Tenten, I'll give you money. Go to the ninja tool shop and buy two pieces of chakra induction paper."
"Yes, Master!"
Tenten ran straight to the ninja tool shop and bought the paper. I handed one piece to each of them.
"This paper is used to test your chakra nature. Channel your chakra into it."
"I see, okay."
Naruto's paper split, and Tenten's paper beca wet.
"Hmm... Naruto has Wind nature, and Tenten has Water nature."
At that, Naruto asked with a disappointed expression, "Bro, then I can't learn Water Breathing?"
"You can. But the power won't be good. It's better to learn a breathing technique that matches your nature."
"I see... I guess it can't be helped."
But Tenten was overjoyed. "I have Water nature, so I can learn Water Breathing, like Tanjiro in the novel, right?"
"Yes."
"Wow~!"
I began teaching Tenten and Naruto Wind Breathing and Water Breathing, respectively, along with the basics of swordsmanship. For their physical training, I also had them use sandbags. When they entered the second stage of training, their appetites increased significantly, probably because the breathing techniques sped up their tabolism.
A month later, Sasuke was the first to burst the second-sized bottle. Tenten and Naruto were envious.
"I want to learn breathing-based swordsmanship soon too..."
" too..."
I said to them, "Then focus on your training. If you go to the next stage before your body is ready, you'll only ruin it."
Ignoring their reactions, Sasuke approached and asked, "Author-nim, what should I do next?"
I placed a much larger bottle and two sandbags each in front of Sasuke. Seeing this, Sasuke flinched, and Naruto and Tenten were astonished.
"Ugh... I think the third stage could go a little slower..."
"I agree..."
I slapped the back of each of their heads.
Thwack!
"Ugh!"
"You knew the stakes before you started. Work hard."
From the third stage, I decided to have them train in Total Concentration Constant directly.
"Sasuke, from now on, you'll practice maintaining Total Concentration Breathing naturally, even in your daily life. Even while sleeping. And..."
I handed Sasuke a real sword I had made earlier. It had no special features; it was just for training, but since I made it, it was far superior to ordinary swords.
"Don't play around with it like last ti. You could get hurt."
"Understood, Author-nim."
I explained to Sasuke the precautions for using a real sword and then explained Thunder Breathing.
"Thunder Breathing has six forms, but each technique is very powerful. The stronger your foundation, the greater the power, so you must train hard."
From that day, I began teaching Sasuke the Thunder Breathing swordsmanship. Naturally, it was a version that compensated for the weaknesses of the original Demon Slayer techniques. Sasuke learned the movents very quickly, probably thanks to his Sharingan. However, he still needed effort to raise his proficiency.
Total Concentration Constant was never easy, so Sasuke struggled, but unlike Zenitsu, he was a genius who also worked steadily. Seeing him, Tenten and Naruto were inspired and began training even harder.
While training the children, soone ca to the house. I opened the door and saw the printing press owner.
"When are you planning to release the next volu? Many people are waiting."
At those words, I thought, 'Oh, right.' I had been so focused on training the children in Total Concentration Breathing that I had forgotten to write Demon Slayer Volu 3.
"Well... this one might take a little ti."
"Hmm... I see. Then when do you think it might be ready?"
"Perhaps in about three weeks..."
"Understood. I'll see you in three weeks then."
The owner didn't push verbally, but his expression clearly conveyed, 'What are you doing not writing faster?' I had no excuse; I was indeed late. I imdiately went into my room and began working on the manuscript for Volu 3. I had already taught Sasuke all the forms, and Tenten and Naruto still hadn't burst their second-stage bottles, so I used this ti to hurry and finish writing.
'Really... So this is how an author under pressure feels...'
The more I tried to write quickly, the less the words ca. It was like trying to poop with soone constantly knocking on the door.
'I need to calm down...'
I took a break, drank a cup of coffee to steady my mind, then returned to my room and resud writing Volu 3.
In Volu 3, while Nezuko buys ti, Tanjiro deals with the Swamp Demons, then moves to the city and encounters Muzan on a crowded street. After a desperate series of events where he can't do anything, he barely escapes with Tamayo's help.
Afterwards, he hears Tamayo and Yushiro's story and decides to cooperate with Tamayo to find a way to turn Nezuko back into a human. The volu ends with the demons Susamaru and Yahaba attacking Tamayo's residence.
'Another cliffhanger to end on.'
Since this volu marked Muzan's first appearance, I put considerable effort into conveying the hopeless atmosphere where Tanjiro can do nothing. Putting in that effort took ti, and I nearly missed the three-week deadline.
"Hoo... I just barely finished in ti."
For the cover, I drew Nezuko erging from the box, staring straight ahead. I designed it so that even that single image conveyed tension.
"Bro! Is it finished???"
As expected, Naruto was the first to burst into my room. He really was lightning-fast when it ca to news like this. I might as well teach him Sound Breathing.
"Yeah, here it is."
"I've been waiting, ya know~"
I duplicated the book with my [Material Duplication] ability and handed it to him. Naruto sat down without a word and began reading Volu 3 with intense concentration.
"Huh? Why does it end here again, ya know?!"
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