A moment of silence followed.
The passionate expression on Tanjiro's face froze completely in a fraction of a second, stiffened, and then shattered!
"Why?"
Tanjiro's tears, which had been welling up in his eyes with emotion, evaporated instantly into the air.
His pupils dilated as if by a magnitude 10 earthquake, and three huge, bold question marks materialized above his head.
[???]
"Huh?!?!"
Tanjiro let out a soul-stirring roar from the depths of his heart, a roar powerful enough to lift the Ubuyashiki!
"What do you mean by 'no resistance allowed'?!"
"Mr. Giyu! I'm here to prove I'm a good person with a human mind! Not to be a free punching bag!"
"Those guys outside are Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps! If they just casually beat you up, people really will die!!"
Tanjiro was completely bewildered; he felt his fragile little heart was about to give way to this extremely hardcore form of protection.
"Why are Mr. Giyu's tactics so deadly?!"
At this moment.
Sanemi Shinazugawa saw Giyu still whispering with the demon, completely ignoring their questions, the thread of reason in his mind completely... snapped!
"Giyu Tomioka!!"
Stop pretending!
"Didn't you say he wouldn't eat people?! Didn't you say he was absolutely harmless?!"
"Since you believe in this evil spirit so much, how about we make a bet?!"
Sanemi's voice boomed like thunder in the courtyard!
"Do you dare risk your own life!"
"With the lives of everyone in your Water Breathing lineage! Including your master, Sakonji Urokodaki wears Tengu Mask!"
Sanemi pointed his finger sharply at Tanjiro.
"I'll vouch for him; he'll never eat people in his entire life!!"
"As long as he dares to eat even one person in this world someday!"
"You, and your master Sakonji Urokodaki, shall immediately commit seppuku with your Nichirin Blades as an apology!!"
"You dare?!"
Boom--!
The entire Ubuyashiki garden instantly fell into a deathly silence.
All the Pillars, including Obanai and Kyojuro who had always been clamoring to kill Tanjiro, stopped breathing at this moment, their eyes filled with complex emotions.
Everyone knows the answer.
This is not just a gamble; it's binding the dignity and lives of the entire Water Breathing lineage to an uncontrollable monster!
It's important to know that Giyu Tomioka is the pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps, the only ultimate swordsman who could force Muzan to retreat!
To risk the Demon Slayer Corps' strongest fighter and the life of a highly respected former Pillar for a single demon—this gamble is simply too crazy and too heavy!
But behind the acts of Giyu.
Upon hearing these words, Tanjiro's heart, which had just been frantically criticizing, was instantly shattered by an emotion called "utter shock" and "moved".
"Mr. Giyu..."
Tanjiro stared blankly at that broad back.
Two streams of hot tears, like a burst dam, gushed from his wine-red eyes once again.
"For my sake... to prove my innocence, he's being forced to risk even his master's life!"
"Mr. Giyu, your trust in me is so profound!"
Tanjiro bit his lip tightly,
"Mr. Giyu! Rest assured! Even if I, Tanjiro Kamado, am so hungry I'm chewing on rocks, I will absolutely, absolutely never eat a single person!"
"I will absolutely not allow you or Mr. Urokodaki to suffer any harm because of me!"
"I will definitely..."
Just as Tanjiro was deeply moved and was about to make a tearful and moving vow in front of the Hashira,
Under the spotlight.
Giyu Tomioka didn't hesitate for even a fraction of a second.
He looked at Sanemi, who was seething with rage, and his voice was as calm as still water:
"Cannot."
At that moment, the entire Earth seemed to stop rotating.
"Gah... Gah gah..."
A lost crow flew over the Ubuyashiki garden, leaving behind a series of awkward cries.
The entire system completely crashed!
Sanemi Shinazugawa had prepared a whole host of follow-up roars and taunts, but now they were all stuck in his throat, causing him to suffer internal injuries from choking.
His bloodshot eyes almost bulged out of their sockets, making him look like a toad struck by lightning!
"Ha?!!"
Sanemi's brain completely shut down.
Sabito, standing on the other side, had originally prepared himself to make a solemn oath alongside Giyu!!
Upon hearing the word "no," he stumbled, nearly Water Hashira headfirst into the adjacent ornamental pool.
"Righteousness, Giyu... What nonsense are you spouting?!" Sabito was exasperated.
But behind the acts of Giyu.
The two scalding tears that Tanjiro had just shed from the corners of his eyes, still swirling in mid-air, were still visible.
With a "whoosh," it instantly retracted!
Tanjiro's entire body, from head to toe, instantly transformed into a cracked stone sculpture.
"No... no?"
Tanjiro's psychological defenses suffered their third devastating collapse today.
"My emotions! The overwhelming emotion I just felt...!!"
"Why?! Mr. Giyu, you were so cool when you were protecting your own! Why are you acting so cowardly and self-righteous when it comes to guarantor?!"
All the pillars fell into an eerie silence that lasted for ten seconds.
Even Kagaya Ubuyashiki, who prided himself on seeing through everything.
Upon hearing this completely unconventional "no," even his gentle lips twitched violently twice.
"Giyu- kun... this statement is really going to be even more provocative," Kagaya thought to himself with a wry smile.
"You... you bastard!"
Finally, Sanemi recovered from his extreme shock.
He laughed in his fury, a laugh more ferocious than any demon's.
"Ha! Haha! You finally admit it! You bastard, you finally admit it!"
Sanemi pointed at Giyu and roared triumphantly to the entire audience.
"Did you hear that?!"
"He wouldn't even dare to vouch for me! He knows better than anyone that the kid behind him is a ticking time bomb!"
"Giyu Tomioka! You coward who protects evil spirits don't deserve to be called a Pillar!"
Faced with Sanemi's relentless mockery and labeling.
Giyu kept his hands in his sleeves, as if the mind-blowing conversation he had just had wasn't his at all.
You've misunderstood.
"I'm not making a guarantee because he'll eat people."
"It's because... I'm not capable of killing him."
Upon hearing this, Sanemi's laughter abruptly stopped.
"What utter nonsense are you spouting?!"
Sanemi went berserk.
"You can kick an Upper Rank tiger like a ball! You're telling me you can't kill a weakling who sells charcoal?! You're clearly just spouting nonsense to protect him!"
"This is different!"
Giyu completely ignored Sanemi's outburst.
He has overcome the sun!
"If he really does eat people, at most I can exhaust him until he faints, but I can't end his life."
"Since I can't kill him, what's the point of me committing seppuku if he ate people? He'll still be alive."
"So, of course I can't agree."
Everyone, the CPU is overloaded again!
Aside from Kanae and the Master, who already knew the truth.
The other pillars, including Sabito, were all Giyu to their core by Giyuu's shock!
Overcoming the sun?!
Unkillable?!
If these words had come from someone else, they would have thought they were the ravings of a madman.
But that's what Giyu Tomioka said!
Sanemi's pupils trembled violently as he looked at Tanjiro, who was shivering in the sunlight. For the first time, he felt a chill run down his spine from this frail boy.
Since none of you believe it.
Giyu did not engage in any further verbal argument.
He strode over the still-dazed Sanemi with his long legs and walked to the bottom of the steps leading to Kagaya Ubuyashiki.
Kagaya tilted his head slightly, his face showing a hint of indulgence and expectation.
Giyu Tomioka slowly turned around.
"So today, in the garden of this Ubuyashiki, I formally relinquish all protection for Tanjiro Kamado."
"Anyone can make a move against him now."
A cold smile actually appeared on Giyu's lips.
"Whether you slice him with wind blades, tear him apart with venomous snakes, or smash his head into mush with a meteor hammer, it's up to you."
"Life or death are irrelevant!"
"But--"
Giyu paused for a moment,
"If you've exhausted all means and all techniques before sunset..."
He's still standing here, still alive...
Giyu's fingers gently rested on the hilt of the Nichirin Blade at his waist.
"From that moment on, he was a member of the Demon Slayer Corps!"
Boom--!
The air in the entire courtyard was instantly ignited by these outrageous words!
Tanjiro stood there, completely bewildered, feeling like he was about to shatter!
"??? Mr. Giyu!! You told me not to resist just so they could focus fire and kill me instantly?!"
"You're throwing me into a meat grinder!! I'm really going to be ground into mincemeat!!"
On the other side...
The rage of the Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa, the Serpent Hashira Obanai Iguro, and others exploded to the heavens!
"Arrogant! Absolutely outrageous!"
The veins on Sanemi's forehead looked like they were about to explode. He suddenly drew his blue Nichirin Blade, the blade gleaming with a bloodthirsty light in the sunlight!
"How dare you provoke all of us pillars with such a condescending tone!"
"Tomioka! Since you're courting death, I'll tear this yard down today and chop this brat into mincemeat and stuff it into your mouth!!"
The tense climax arrived in an instant!
The originally Hashira Meeting was completely ruined by Giyu Tomioka's ruthless attempt to shift blame.
It completely mutated into an unprecedented--
"A massive all-out attack on Tanjiro!"