"So, how do you guys feel?" Akai asked the recruits, who were all currently laid out on the ground, clutching their chests. "...Okay, good." He chuckled. "Rest for a bit, I've got stuff to do..."
Before they could make themselves known, Akai turned to Aoi and Genya, who had just walked out of the treeline.
"Hey, stuff." Akai waved to the two. Aoi looked away with a slight blush on her face, while Genya narrowed his eyes out of confusion.
"Wait, so am I stuff as well or-" Genya was cut off when Akai planted a fist into his and Aoi's diaphragms.
"Yes, yes you are." He dusted off his hands and sighed.
"Why..." Aoi wheezed.
"Oh, I never told you what this is..." Akai muttered. "Well, if I did it right, then you guys'll become much more powerful." Akai turned to the rest of the recruits and broadcasted his explanation.
"What kind of power...?" A recruit asked weakly.
"This kind of power." Akai took a deep breath and charged his fist with the golden ripple. The recruits gasped at the sight of the crackling energy.
"How do we do that!?"
"What the heck is that!?"
"How does punching us in the gut help us get that?"
"Shush." Akai bared his teeth and the crowd went quiet. "It's very similar to total concentration breathing, so it shouldn't be that hard to achieve. Just go through the breathing process while focusing on your core. Try to draw out the power." Akai explained.
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"Man, this is terrible..." Akai sighed as they tried and failed to grasp it.
Ten minutes were spent staring at the crowd as they tried different breathing patterns, trying to get a grasp on the energy.
"Well, maybe you should be more specific!!! I feel like all we're going is breathing here!" A member of the crowd shouted.
"Well, I did it on my first try! I don't know what the problem is here!" Akai bit back at the recruit. "They're all gonna die if they can't attain this..." His face shifted to a grimace as the thought came up. His annoyance grew more as he sensed someone behind him.
"Red Comet." A Kakushi made his presence known.
"We're busy right now!" Akai snapped at the Kakushi, making them jump and tremble. Akai immediately felt regret and simmered down. "Sorry. What is it?" Akai turned to face the Kakushi.
The Kakushi came forward and whispered into his ear. Akai nodded a few times as the Kakushi explained. The Kakushi leaned back, having given all of the necessary information, bowed to him, and sprinted back down the trail he emerged from.
"Okay, everyone stop." Akai ordered the group. They all paused and turned to him. "Something just came up." He said and turned back to the trail.
The recruits gasped as the denizens of the Swordsmith Village walked into the clearing, each villager carrying a bundled-up sword.
"Looks like you all each get a new and improved sword." Akai said with a smile.
The clearing erupted in sounds of joy as the recruits all ran to greet their respective swordsmiths, accepting the gifts with glee.
"Mr. Haganezuka!" Akai greeted his swordsmith.
"Hello, boy." Haganezuka gave him a timid wave.
"How are y-...Where is my new sword?" Tanjiro halted his greeting at the sight of Haganezuka's empty hands.
"No need! There's no way my craft could surpass that of the blade you currently possess! And it's utterly impossible that could ever ruin its pristine condition!" Haganezuka laughed.
...
...
...
Tanjiro remembered Akai breaking the blade on his teeth.
"About that..." Tanjiro chuckled nervously.
The mingling crowd all quieted as Tanjiro's screams of fear began. In a period of .00000001 seconds, Haganezuka had gone from casual attire to being dressed like a caveman, dual-wielding ultra-sharp knives.
"YOU LITTLE BASTAAAAARD!!!" Haganezuka roared as he chased a screaming Tanjiro into the woods.
"Should probably apologize for that later..." Akai chuckled.
He then went quiet.
And he smiled sickly.
He had an idea.
"Okay swordsmiths! While the new blades are much appreciated, we must continue with the training. Please hand the swords to me and exit the training area! I will hand them to the recruits on my own as to avoid all the clutter!" He broadcasted to the crowd. The swordsmiths and recruits bowed to each other and the swordsmiths gathered around Akai, handing their swords to him before heading down the trail. He gathered them all into a pile, chuckling evily as the swordsmiths left.
Once he saw the last swordsmith's shoe disappear from sight, Akai brought his hands together, bursting the blood vessels in his wrists and charging a True Red Comet.
"WHAT'RE YOU-" A recruit tried to yell, but they were too late, as Akai fired the orb at the jumble of blades on the ground. Destroying the blades in a fiery red explosion.
...
...
...
"...WHAT HAVE YOU ALL DONE!?" Akai yelled at the crowd.
"HUH!? THAT WAS YOU!!!" The crowd screamed.
"Swordsmiths, come quick!!!" Akai turned to the trail and yelled.
Zenitsu immediately understood what was going on.
"Run..." Zenitsu whispered.
"Huh?" A recruit asked.
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!" Zenitsu screamed and zoomed into the woods.
The swordsmiths turned the corner and sprinted into the clearing, immediately seeing the damage.
"It's simply tragic!" Akai said dramatically. "They somehow managed to destroy your hard work in the period of ten seconds!" He said, trying to hide his maniacal laughter.
The swordsmiths turned to the recruits,
and drew knives from their outfits.
The clearing erupted with the sound of terrified screams as the recruits ran for the forest, the murderous swordsmiths hot on their tails.
"Try to do the breathing thing while you're trying to survive!" Akai yelled into the woods as the sound of pained screams emanated from far away. "And to you swordsmiths: Go ahead and torture 'em! I can heal them up with my demon art afterward!" He added.
...
...
"Man, I really am just as evil as Muzan..." Akai muttered to himself.
"Yea you are." Nezuko walked up from behind him and stood next to him.
"Gonna go save your big bro?" Akai asked her.
"He'll manage." Nezuko had faith in her brother.
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Tanjiro gasped for air, having finally given Haganezuka the slip, and ducked behind a log.
"WAIT! PLEASE LISTEN, IT WAS H-AAAAAAA-" Tanjiro could hear another recruit being caught by their respective swordsmith.
"The swordsmiths are oozing bloodlust, so we're found out we won't be able to outrun them for long." Tanjiro thought. "Dammit, I have to find a way to protect the other recruits..." Tanjiro muttered.
"You might want to worry about yourself."
"!!!-" Tanjiro gasped breathlessly as he realized- Haganezuka had been standing behind him the whole time. In barely an instant Tanjiro dodged four incomprehensibly fast swings from Haganezuka.
"YOU'RE GONNA PAY! GONNA PAY! GONNA PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!" Haganezuka roared as Tanjiro barely kept himself out of range of the onslaught. "ALL OF THE PAIN I SUFFERED HONING THAT EDGE, ALL OF THE TALENT SQUANDERED BY YOUR CARELESSNESS!!!"
"There's no convincing him- and total concentration won't last long enough. I have to try..." Tanjiro mistimed his evasion, letting a strike-slip in and take off a tuft of hair. "I have to try and tap into it!" Tanjiro inhaled a breath deeper than he had ever done. Instantly, he felt a rush of growing heat in his core, before it spread throughout his body in waves.
"This is it!!!" Tanjiro thought as his body sparked with the golden ripple.
----------
"Told you." Nezuko smirked.
"Heh. He might as well be the main character." Akai chuckled.
----------
Tanjiro felt power like he had never felt before. Effortlessly, he slipped past Haganezuka's attack and rushed forward.
"Forgive me." Tanjiro apologized as he planted a kick into Haganezuka's crotch. He knew that only an attack of this caliber could stop him. He dodged one last swing before Haganezuka crumpled to the ground.
"I've got to tell the others!" Tanjiro said to himself and burst into a sprint.
"INHALE THE HARDEST YOU CAN, TIME IT WITH YOUR TOTAL CONCENTRATION TO CROSS THE GAP. LET THE POWER FLOW THROUGHOUT YOUR ENTIRE BODY!!!" Tanjiro yelled the instruction as he sprinted through the woods, weaving through the underbrush as he constantly repeated the phrase.
Multiple recruits tried the method Tanjiro broadcasted. Dozens failed. Others were too tired or scared to try...
But a few,
A choice few,
They managed to channel Hamon.
----------
"So that's a wrap." Akai smiled, a great deal of stress having been purged by seeing them finally grasp it. He cleared his throat.
"EVERYONE STILL STANDING, AND/OR ALIVE, GET BACK TO THE CLEARING!!!" Akai roared into the woods.
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Akai counted around a hundred-fifty recruits that had managed to tap into Hamon. For the rest, he had to be fast to close their stab wounds.
"Okay, just wanted to say sorry for the deception. But I'm proud of you guys!" Akai smiled playfully, despite the hateful gaze returned to him by the recruits.
"Fuck you, dude." A recruit with stab holes littering his uniform muttered.
"So, I'm just going to conclude training for the day and let you guys rest. For those who did harness Hamon, try to help your buddies who didn't. For those who didn't, keep trying cuz I believe in you!" Akai gave them an anxious thumbs up as the recruits slowly cleared out.
He slowly turned to the Swordsmiths, armed to the teeth with knives and snarling like wolves.
"I can explain-" Akai tried to speak before being swallowed by a tidal wave of knife-wielding maniacs.
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Trivia: Akai Suisei would be stabbed 10,783 times.