During Tanjiro's training sessions with Urokodaki, the latter begins to train Tanjiro, explaining his role for Tanjiro, as well as the way in which he will be able to join the Demon Slayers: to survive the final selection. To prepare him for this challenge and see if he is even worthy of participating in it, Sakonji begins to give Tanjiro elaborate training. He explains the intricacies of the weapons and the power behind them, sparring with Tanjiro to improve his stamina using only his bare hands. Along with this he coaches the boy in proper breathing technique, hitting him in the stomach when he can't do execute it correctly. Day after day, with little breaks, Kamado practiced, giving his all, bringing his body to the point of exhaustion. At the end of the day he could barely stand on his feet, but it was nothing to him. A little over half a year passed like that.
- Tanjiro, you've come so far in so little time. There have only been two people as fast as you in my life, but even they can't even come close to you. I'm sure I believed in you and took you on as an apprentice for a reason. You have mastered all the water breathing styles. I have nothing more to teach you at this point. Your final test will be to chop this stone. If you can break it, you will qualify for the final selection.
A stone over two meters tall appeared in front of Tanjiro. Tanjiro's first thought was, "Impossible. My sword would just break if I tried to chop it."
But he was also sure that if Urokodaki had given him this task, it was doable.
- Urokodaki-san, but what about-
Turning around, Tanjiro realized that his teacher had disappeared into the thick fog, leaving him alone with the stone that appeared before the boy with a kind of grandeur.
- That's how...
Realizing that at this stage he wouldn't have enough strength to break the stone, he began to train even harder. Pain and lack of sleep did not prevent him from continuing his training. Late at night he would descend the mountain in less than fifteen minutes to spend the night in the house of one of the settlers, and early in the morning, before the birds had time to sing their sensitive songs, he would climb the mountain to continue his training.
Thus passed about two months.
He practiced swinging his sword again until at one point he stopped. After standing for a couple seconds, he turned around.
- It's time," Tanjiro said as he walked over to the stone.
Swinging his katana over his head, he froze. After clearing his head of unnecessary thoughts, he took in a big breath of air and with one jerk, he cut the stone into two equal pieces.
- It worked...
After the last task that Urokodaki had given his student, he was surprised. Even with his rapid development, he was stunned that he was able to complete the task so quickly. Since the next demon fighter selection was just under eight months away, Tanjiro only had to wait and continue his training. And so the grueling training continued, strengthening muscles, building stamina, and most importantly, learning a new style of fire god.
- Strange, it's not working," Tanjiro grumbled with a heavy puff of breath.
Repeating his father's movements day in and day out, from sunrise to sunset, he could only move at the same pace for no more than three hours, after which his legs began to cramp and his breathing became ragged. It was very difficult to replay the same movements in his head, and then realize them in practice without losing pace.
- My father was able to do that all day long without a sign of fatigue," Tanjiro muttered with a touch of pride and sadness, remembering how his father was, even when he was seriously ill.
Tanjiro saw his father as a role model. He thought he should look up to him, but his father once told him, "Oh, no, Tanjiro, you must not be like me. You must be stronger. I see a fire in your eyes that will one day shine even stronger than me."
Those words were so deeply ingrained in his mind that every day he strove to be better than yesterday. And even now, that will to constantly improve had not left him.
Once again standing on his feet, he continued to repeat the fire god's dance.
So imperceptibly for Kamado himself, the day passed by unnoticed and each time the result was more successful. After seven months, he was still able to dance the dance from dawn to dusk. At that moment he felt as if his lungs were about to burst, and his legs were shaking so badly that Tanjiro couldn't get up for several hours. As it turned out, the exam was only two weeks away, so Urokodaki advised him to reduce his training time and focus more on his spiritual state. Time flew by, and as Tanjiro was about to leave for the final exam, Urokodaki stopped him to give him a gift - a haori in blue with small cloud-like spots. On his way to the final exam, Kamado met another swordsman, but he was painfully loud, causing him to simply ignore the man with great reluctance to meet again.
The designated location was on Mount Fujika-Saneyama. The Wisteria plant was in full bloom everywhere, something that hunters often use to weaken the demons' ability to exterminate them. At the last selection, there were over a dozen people who had also decided to become swordsmen.
- Your attention please.
In front of the crowd of swordsmen appeared two small figures, remotely resembling ordinary dolls. The two girls stood apart from each other at a small distance. They looked more like twins with minimal differences, be it eye color or hair color, as well as manner of speech and other inconspicuous differences.
- It's good to see you at the final selection. Your task will be to survive on this mountain for seven days and after its completion you will be able to fully call yourself demon hunters. In this area are demons that are unable to get out of here, because of the wisteria that scares them away and does not let them leave.
-Good luck.
-Good luck
Pronounced the girls, disappearing into the fog that shrouded the swordsmen to their feet. And so begins the final selection.