Mitsuri has her eyes on him!
Such jealousy... The Nen trembles, like a large bowl inverted over the courtyard, silently enveloping everyone present. Roy glanced at Izuki Kobane, effortlessly catching his inner voice. The white snake, Kaburamaru, coiled around Kobane's neck, flicked its tongue, and its vertical pupils glowed...
Replacing Izuki Kobane's nearly blind right eye, it stared intently at Roy, yet... the young man's gaze swept around the circle, bypassing him straight away, lingering momentarily on the other Hashira, before finally looking towards Tomioka Giyu, saying: "Senior Brother."
Tomioka Giyu held the Nichirin Sword in hand and nodded slightly toward him.
Roy, indifferent to others, stood leaning on his sword, standing alone on one side, closing his eyes to rest.
At some moment, suddenly...
Under the porch, Gyomei Himejima, who had been silently tearing and chanting scriptures, pressed his palms together, uttering a Buddha's name: "Amitabha, my Lord has arrived!"
"Whoosh—" All the Hashira, whether lying down, standing, or crouching in trees or leaning against the porch columns, uniformly shook off their laziness, lining up, kneeling on one knee, facing Ubuyashiki Kagaya, who slowly approached with the support of Amane, paying respectful homage.
"Greetings, my Lord!"
For a thousand years, since Muzan turned into a demon, the Ubuyashiki Clan has fought against him because of the "Curse". Having gone through countless battles, they naturally possess a commanding presence... Furthermore, the current head of the Ubuyashiki Family, Ubuyashiki Kagaya, values his subordinates, is responsible, and has charisma, deeply loved by all Hashira, so once he appears, no one in the courtyard can stand up straight, and suddenly...
Roy seemed conspicuously out of place, standing quietly on the side, like a crane among a flock of chickens!
'This guy has quite the attitude!'
'Not bowing to my Lord, who does he think he is?'
'Whether genius or not, we were all geniuses back in the day!'
'Having participated in the Demon Slayer Corps selection, he's one of us, and should maintain the minimum respect for my Lord!'
"Whoosh—" Their gazes and inner thoughts turned toward Roy.
An invisible pressure exerted...
Tomioka Giyu furrowed his brows, having anticipated this scene for a long time. He opened his mouth to explain something... but then heard Gyomei Himejima clap his palms with a "smack", drawing everyone's attention, and said in a deep voice: "Kamado Eiichiro only participated in the selection for revenge; he hasn't joined the Demon Slayer Corps."
"The relationship between him and us is purely cooperative."
Cooperation? The expressions of the Hashira varied.
At the right moment, Ubuyashiki Kagaya, with his almost blind pale eyes, looked at Roy in the distance and smiled, saying, "Eiichiro, thank you for attending."
With these words, the nature of the relationship was defined.
On the lower right, Shinazugawa Sanemi, with white hair standing up like a hedgehog and several scars etched on his face, clad in a white coat with a black Demon Slayer Corps uniform underneath, couldn't suppress his temper, exhaling two streams of breath like dragons from his nostrils, glaring at Roy, who seemed indifferent as if his spirit wandered beyond the otherworld, acknowledging Ubuyashiki Kagaya's arrival with a slight nod...
He placed his hand on his Nichirin Sword and said: "My Lord, I won't oppose your decision nor deliberately target anyone; it's just that..."
With a "clang," Shinazugawa Sanemi drew his sword, the tip pointing at Roy from afar, and said: "Even as partners in cooperation, I need to know if he has the strength for me to entrust my back to him!"
"Ha ha!" Kyojuro Rengoku, with golden shoulder-length hair blazing like a lion's mane, laughed heartily, his flaming eyes burning with fighting spirit as he looked at Roy and said: "Sanemi, count me in too."
"Hiss..." Kaburamaru flicked its tongue, representing Izuki Kobane's will.
Tengen Uzui, with twin swords on his back, drummed his fingers as if envisioning a splendid battle to come, his eyes gleaming and eager... Around him,
The Insect Hashira said nothing; the Love Hashira shook her head back and forth confusedly and uncertainly, looking at one and then another, bewildered...
Tomioka Giyu, seeing the situation, was just about to stand up... and caught sight of Ubuyashiki Kagaya, with his wife Amane's support, bowing toward Roy in greeting, apologetically saying: "I'm sorry. I sincerely apologize for failing to restrain my subordinates."
Bending his knee, he sank back down.
Shinazugawa Sanemi, Kyojuro Rengoku, Izuki Kobane... aside from Gyomei Himejima, whose emotions couldn't be read due to his tears, the Hashira were: "..."
Suddenly silenced, they looked in shock at this unprecedented scene... It was the first time they saw the Ubuyashiki Clan's current head, Ubuyashiki Kagaya, afford such courtesy to anyone... Could it be true as that retired Water Hashira Urokodaki Sakonji said—
This young man in white attire, practicing diligently, his hair flickering like flames, possesses the ability to... slay the Ghost King... Kibutsuji Muzan?
"Whoosh~" A gust of wind swirled around, lifting and scattering a few wisteria petals into the air.
Today's atmosphere at the Ubuyashiki residence was silent.
Raising his hand with Magnetic Force, Roy helped Ubuyashiki Kagaya upright with a gentle gesture, smiled, and said: "This is a good thing, Master Kagaya, there's no need to apologize."
The young man's gaze swept around, landing on Kyojuro Rengoku, then on Izuki Kobane, then on Tengen Uzui... finally fixing on Shinazugawa Sanemi, as he flicked his robe sleeve, not without approval, saying: "If I were to suddenly have someone join such a secret meeting, I would naturally feel dubious as well. So... they didn't do anything wrong. Why not let them proceed?"
His flower-patterned earrings swayed in the breeze... Roy grinned and said, "Do you all want to come at once, or one by one?"
Gyomei Himejima's large hand paused over his fluctuating Nen Beads, silently uttering a Buddha's name.