Yeah… do you need a reason to slay demons?
It's life and death—either you or me. Back then, that's exactly what Sabito told Giyu.
Giyu took it to heart, too. Only pity is… the moment he passed the test, he also lost his chance to avenge Sabito, Makomo, and every fellow disciple in this hut.
So they've waited all these years—Sabito waited, Makomo waited, Shinsuke, Fukuda, Inoue… all waiting…
Now, at last, a sliver of dawn.
Urokodaki Sakonji was silent for a few seconds, then chuckled low, suppressed…
Was this boy ignorant and brash, or just arrogant?
Either way, no one had said something like that to his face in over a decade—other than the previous Ubuyashiki. That time he, blinded by hatred, slew a bait target the Ubuyashiki head had set in advance, costing the Corps a chance to pursue Upper Moon Two, Doma.
"If everything in this world were as simple as you say, the Demon Slayer Corps wouldn't have been entangled with demons for so many years."
The former Water Hashira poured a cup of hot tea and slid it over… Tanjiro had already drunk his fill outside, so he thanked him and didn't drink.
Roy, however, had just undergone a growth spurt; he was running a heavy "deficit"—hungry and thirsty both. He didn't refuse the courtesy, took a testing sip, then tipped the cup back and drained it.
Mountain tea lacked depth, but it had the wild to it. He pushed the cup back and asked for a refill before saying, "To me, the reason it's dragged on for years is that neither side is strong enough."
"If one side had absolute dominance, the balance would break at once."
A "Hashira" versus an "Upper Moon"… small fry versus small fry… On the surface the Ubuyashiki-led Corps is on the back foot, but the lingering fear of Tsugikuni Yoriichi and the existence of Sun Breathing keep Kibutsuji Muzan cautious, unwilling to risk a purge—that's why we have today's stalemate.
Urokodaki simply handed Roy the whole teapot, clearly unwilling to continue on that topic.
He went to the kitchen, washed and chopped a few potatoes, dropped them in the pot, and said evenly, "Every one of my disciples must pass a test."
"After lunch, run Mount Sagiri. If you can make it back by dusk—"
"I'll take you as my disciple."
"Heh-heh… showtime." Shinsuke ditched Tanjiro and spiraled around Fukuda. Fukuda, annoyed, throttled him with a flurry of "muda!" Before long they remembered the point, and the two of them turned identical wicked grins on Roy…
Since Sabito's death, Urokodaki's heart had broken. He went to extremes with pits and traps, trying to kill his own urge to take any more students… At this point Mount Sagiri might as well be renamed "Death Delivery Hill." Apart from a few preset paths for villagers, everything else is "blade webs" and "sword arrays"…
Sabito once followed up to look and was chilled to the core, which gave Shinsuke and the others endless material:
if they never got their revenge, it was all Sabito and Makomo's fault for driving their master mad…
And this is winter. Daylight is short. Demanding Roy return by dusk is far stricter than the full night the original Tanjiro got.
So much the better… Roy rose to his feet, shouldering every gaze, opened the door, and stepped out.
"Sorry… I'm on the clock. I'll run it now."
"You're not eating?"
"Who said I'm not?" He vanished into the wind and snow. "By the time it's done stewing, I should be back."
"…"
"Hey—this guy… too cocky!"
Shinsuke and Fukuda exchanged a look; all the ghosts did—glancing at one another, then whooshing out to tail him…
Makomo noticed Urokodaki's gaze had gone a bit vacant toward the door. She nudged Sabito's arm with a finger. "Hey~ should we go peek too?"
"You're the one who believes in him, right?"
"What if…"
"There is no 'what if.'" Sabito's grip on the tachi tightened slightly. "A man should take responsibility for what he says."
"If he can't pass, that's on him."
Besides…
"With Shinsuke, Fukuda, and Inoue tailing him, he's not going to die out there…"
No sooner had he finished than—
whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
the very same Shinsuke, Fukuda, and company who'd gone to watch the show tumbled back in, hands on knees, panting complaints: "Good grief—he's too fast. Couldn't keep up at all."
They… lost him?
Sabito blinked. He craned toward the doorway in disbelief. Makomo at his side covered her mouth, giggling.
…
A man shouldn't trip over the same pit twice—something father Tanjiro once told Roy.
As it happened, his other father, Silva, had a similar line—only "twice" became "once." In short:
"A killer dies if he makes even one mistake."
Like now…
If Roy's reactions hadn't been sharp enough, he'd have been tripped by a cord hidden in the brush and dumped into a "blade pit."
And it had only been five minutes since he'd run his mouth. He'd already stepped through seven sword arrays, dodged ten falling log traps, and survived eight grass-rope ambushes from nowhere…
Good thing his boneheaded little brother walks around with main-character buffs, or he'd be long dead. Swap in almost anyone else? A hundred deaths wouldn't cover it.
"Shff—"
He unleashed "Serpent Step," shattering the last incoming log.
Roy stepped to the panel's chime—
[Hint: Snake alive +1]
He stamped the snow from his boots and reappeared before Urokodaki, Sabito, Makomo, and the cluster of souls.
He hadn't even been in the mountain long enough for frost to bead his hair. He just sat down, bold as brass—straight into the arms of a tearful Tanjiro.
An overkeen nose has its drawbacks. Even without seeing Sabito and the others, Tanjiro could sense the dense chill in here, which put his instincts on edge—never mind facing Urokodaki with his face hidden behind a tengu mask.
Tanjiro nearly clutched Roy's leg as he wailed, "Nii-san, don't leave me alone again."
"Okay."
"You'll leave at first light."
Tanjiro: "…"
That was the sound of a heart cracking. The Nii-san who hurt him didn't even look his way—
he lifted the lid like nothing existed but the food.
"Blub-blub…"
In the clay pot,
the rabbit meat had gone succulent, nearly falling off the bone; the potatoes were just right—neither underdone nor collapsing to mush…
It was like the stew celebrated Roy's return, eager for a place in his belly.
"Sensei, may we start?" The boy smiled at Urokodaki. The sun-and-mountains earrings at his lobes swayed faintly…
Urokodaki wavered a heartbeat, as if not yet back to himself. At length he nodded and asked his name.
"Kamado Eiichiro… Sensei, just call me Eiichiro."
So said the boy—