It was visible to the naked eye that Yoriichi Tsugikuni's aura gradually weakened.
It seems that his memories brought back the person he was ten years ago.
That was his most disheartened time, and it was also the time when he defeated Muzan Kibutsuji and became the strongest person in the world.
This must be a matter of fate...
Looking at the dejected Yoriichi Tsugikuni, Gawain remained silent for a moment, then raised his hand and placed it on Yoriichi Tsugikuni's shoulder.
Thinking about Yoriichi Tsugikuni's future achievements, or rather, it was Yoriichi Tsugikuni who created a series of power systems such as the breathing valve and the Crimson Bright Red Nichirin Sword, and who also terrified Muzan Kibutsuji, that allowed the Japan people and the Demon Slayer Corps to persist until the Taisho Era a thousand years later.
Similarly, it was precisely because Yoriichi Tsugikuni entrusted the Sun Breathing to the Kamado Family.
That's how Tanjiro Kamado, who was able to completely defeat Muzan Kibutsuji in the future, came to be.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni felt he had failed today.
But the future he created has never failed.
Thinking this, Gawain patted Yoriichi Tsugikuni on the shoulder and said softly.
"Don't be so disappointed, Yoriichi Tsugikuni. Your life so far has not been meaningless."
Don't think of yourself as a worthless person. I won't allow you to think that way. After all, even a pile of shit has its own meaning and use.
After saying that, Gawain grinned, trying to Yoriichi Tsugikuni Yoriichi's disappointment with simple scatological humor.
Gawain's words did indeed have a considerable effect, and people were willing to visibly regain a glimmer of hope.
However, Yoriichi Tsugikuni wasn't motivated by poop and pee.
He rallied because Gawain's words just now strangely overlapped with what the Kamado Family had said to Yoriichi Tsugikuni back then!
After Yoriichi Tsugikuni expelled from the Demon Slayer Corps, he happened to encounter Tanjiro Kamado's ancestor.
Feeling utterly dejected, he accepted the hospitality of the Kamado Family and left them his Hanafuda Earrings and his self-created Sun Breathing.
As he decided to leave, the Kamado ancestors, grateful for his kindness, roared at Yoriichi Tsugikuni and said something similar to what Gawain had said.
Therefore, Yoriichi Tsugikuni has now been restored by Gawain, finally straightened up and stood up straight.
"I understand now, I shouldn't continue down this path!"
My lord, the me of the past... seems to have lost my way amidst constant setbacks.
The constant failures and the fate of causing harm to others have perhaps made me forget what I should be doing!
Even without you, I should have continued to diligently track down the traces of the demons and the figure of Muzan Kibutsuji.
Although I responded to your visit, I wasn't proactive enough, far from proactive enough!
I almost forgot that besides my failed life, I also carried the burden of hatred!
Blood feud!!!
I am no longer a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, nor do I have a master anymore. I will obey all your requests!
And all I ask for is this:
I will slay Muzan Kibutsuji, the source of all demons, and end the tragedy of demons wreaking havoc on the human world!
Thorough!!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yoriichi Tsugikuni knelt heavily before Gawain with a thud.
As he slammed his head against the ground, his memories kept replaying in his mind, inevitably bringing tears to his eyes.
At this moment, on the scales of his mind, his elder brother, Michikatsu Tsugikuni, stood on the left!
And on the right...
There stood a gentle woman and a child whose Yoriichi Tsugikuni view!
That same year, when Yoriichi Tsugikuni thirteen years old, his father officially began grooming him to be the family heir.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni's mother died of illness within the family.
The pain of losing his mother pounded into Yoriichi Tsugikuni's heart, while the agony of betraying his brother tormented Yoriichi Tsugikuni soul.
Indeed, in Yoriichi Tsugikuni's view, taking away his brother's status as heir was a betrayal, and he felt that he had hurt his brother.
Therefore, thirteen-year-old Yoriichi Tsugikuni ran away.
He betrayed his father's and family's high hopes, took the family's ideals with him, and ran away!
But after that, the tormented Yoriichi Tsugikuni met a gentle woman who took care of him, Uta!
After having his emotional wounds healed by Uta, Yoriichi Tsugikuni and Uta got married and had a child.
When Uta was about to give birth, Yoriichi Tsugikuni left home to find a midwife for his lover in a nearby village.
But during his search for a midwife, he encountered an elderly woman with a heart condition.
The old woman was in a hurry to see her son behind the three mountains, because her son was about to follow Oda Nobunaga to the battlefield.
Kind-hearted Yoriichi Tsugikuni felt that his wife would not give birth for at least another two or three days, so he decided to postpone finding a midwife for a day and send the old woman to his son first.
The Yoriichi Tsugikuni for doing this... was that he ultimately returned home later than originally planned.
So when he got home, what he saw was his wife, who had been killed and partially devoured by a ghost, and the only remaining half of her fetus near her cut-open abdomen...
Half a fetus...
The other half is destined to be inside the ghost's belly...
No one who is struck by such a tragedy may be able to maintain their kindness.
Kindness is a quality that should never be despised, and it is precisely because kindness often comes at a price that it becomes all the more precious.
The moment Yoriichi saw the bodies of his lover and child, Yoriichi Tsugikuni mad. He sat there motionless for about ten days before being found by the Demon Slayer Corps, who were investigating the incident.
He harbored no resentment towards the old woman; she was indeed someone who needed help.
He didn't hate himself, because he knew that the mistake was made by someone else.
But no matter how strong his spirit was, such grief plunged him into complete silence.
This silence ended only when he met another relative.
Shortly after he joined the Demon Slayer Corps, he taught the Breathing Techniques and Demon Slayer Corps Marks to the members.
During a ghost hunt, he saved his family and brother.
In the period that followed, Yoriichi Tsugikuni unusually more energetic, because he found a sense of purpose in the rescue operation.
After witnessing the true nature of the world and the existence of the Demon Slayer Corps, his elder brother resolutely abandoned his family and turned to his Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
From that day until three years later.
The two brothers spent the happiest time of their lives.
We help and support each other, just like when we were kids.
They no longer needed to be hostile to each other because of their father's orders.
They now had only one target: the demon hunter.
That period was unforgettable for Yoriichi Tsugikuni!
Until...
That very night, tragedy struck.
Michikatsu Tsugikuni attacked the Demon Slayer Corps' lord and, in front of his six-year-old son, cut off his lord's head!
He offered that head to Muzan Kibutsuji in exchange for the identity of a demon.
That's right, Michikatsu Tsugikuni was about to die at that time.
As the eldest son of the Tsugikuni Family, Michikatsu Tsugikuni, though not as Yoriichi Tsugikuni, still possessed exceptional swordsmanship talent.
He not only quickly mastered the breathing technique, but also advanced to become a pillar, rapidly activating his markings!
Perhaps because he shared the same bloodline as Yoriichi Tsugikuni, Michikatsu Tsugikuni awakened his Demon Slayer Mark too quickly, so quickly that the first batch of Demon Slayer Corps members to awaken their Marks were still alive.
But just as Michikatsu Tsugikuni hadn't even had a chance to enjoy the enhancement and power brought by the markings, nor had he obtained any victories or honors worthy of his pride,
The first group of people to awaken their markings began to die one after another!
At that time, every warrior who learned the markings became suicidal after realizing their fate.
They appeared on more dangerous battlefields and died in battles that yielded even greater victories.
Those who are able to activate their markings first are generally among the more outstanding individuals. They are determined, tenacious, and better able to understand the changes that the markings bring to them.
They didn't hate Yoriichi Tsugikuni; instead, they remained grateful.
However, it cannot be denied that almost all of the first people to awaken their Demon Slayer Marks were Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps at the time...
Those pillars represent more than just one person's interests; they have their own close subordinates, younger generations who look up to and admire them, and stepchildren whom they have groomed as heirs.
Just because they don't hate Yoriichi Tsugikuni doesn't mean that the people around them don't.
With their elders dying Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the young people could no longer contain their resentment. They rejected the Madara Mark, even Yoriichi Tsugikuni, and consequently stopped respecting Michikatsu Tsugikuni.
For Michikatsu Tsugikuni, the pain of death and the fall from grace dealt him a double blow.
As the saying goes, flies don't land on eggs without cracks. When Michikatsu Tsugikuni's heart first showed a flaw, cracks appeared, and soon everything was not far from falling apart.
Under the threat of death, countless years rushed into Michikatsu Tsugikuni's mind.
This includes his jealousy of his younger brother... and a barely perceptible, underlying hatred!
He couldn't outdo his younger brother in a single word.
He was merely a family heir who had narrowly escaped being removed from his position; everything he had now came from his younger brother's charity...
The head of the household was a benefactor of his younger brother.
My own life... that is, the life that my younger brother saved in front of the ghost, was also a gift from my younger brother.
As for his swordsmanship and breathing techniques, those were gifts from his younger brother.
Especially... the markings and the inevitable imminent death.
That wasn't just a gift from my brother; it was his most heartless act of charity!!!
Thus, Michikatsu Tsugikuni's actions disrupted the balance between demons and humans, prompting demons and the Demon Slayer Corps to launch a full-scale attack.
Of course, this also marked Muzan Kibutsuji defeat.
Leaving those things aside, Yoriichi, now gradually recalling his brother's painful Yoriichi Tsugikuni, took a deep breath and spoke to Gawain with a hint of expectation.
"Over the years, I haven't... done nothing."
Although I have no fixed abode, and although I am no longer a member of the Demon Slayer Corps.
However, I still maintain some contact with the Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps, and at the same time... I also rely on a few reliable friends to investigate some information about demons.
Please don't ask me where I got the information; anyway... I've always had information about a certain important demon.
I think..."
At this point, Yoriichi Tsugikuni hesitant breath.
After a moment, he calmed his breathing and then spoke to Gawain, word by word.
"I think I shouldn't hide it, the ghost that I'm most concerned about... is my brother from back then!"
After Muzan Kibutsuji completely disappeared, only a few demons dared to remain and roam the human world.
My older brother was one of them!
He killed some people in revenge, and occasionally even waited for me for a while.
But at that time, I wasn't able to get there in time, and what's worse, I... I...
What a failure I am! I couldn't even bring myself to kill him!
But things are different now!
My past relationship diluted my sense of entitlement to hatred.
The hatred that has resurfaced now reminds me of another, most important relationship!
Therefore, Gawain!
Yoriichi Tsugikuni suddenly knelt down in front of Gawain in a dogeza position. He bowed his head, trying to suppress his tears, and shouted at Gawain.
"I need to cut ties with the past and fully pick up the work I should be working on!"
My kindness has already killed many people, so I shouldn't let my kindness kill even more!
Starting with my elder brother, I hope to go to his location immediately, personally settle his past sins, and avenge my former lord!
"At that time, I will be able to sincerely call you my lord!!!"
After saying that, Yoriichi Tsugikuni raised his head and looked at Gawain with his blood-red eyes.
Meeting Yoriichi Tsugikuni's gaze, Gawain remained silent for a moment, then leisurely exhaled a puff of smoke.
I particularly disliked your past weakness, but I admire your current strength and determination.
But are you sure your current physical condition is good enough to fight your brother?
You beat me so badly that you look like you're about to die. What a hassle.
In my opinion, you should rest and recuperate a bit more. How about we set off in three days?
"Absolutely not, sir!!!"
For some reason, Yoriichi Tsugikuni abruptly interrupted Gawain.
"My lord, the way you revealed your true form near Shinano has already been seen by too many people!"
Even if such news is hard to believe for people far away, the two of us are at war...
No, it is the traces of my arrogant challenge to you that have also been left in the Shinano region.
Muzan Kibutsuji can see what every demon sees!
If any ghosts see those traces, they will be so frightened by our actions that they will hide even deeper!
Therefore, I must set off as soon as possible and get to my brother's vicinity as quickly as possible in order to find his exact hiding place and completely sever my ties with him!
"Yes, I understand. It's your reason for needing to act quickly."
I certainly wouldn't prevent a man from making a legitimate decision, but I can't help but worry about you.
"Then let me ask you one more time: are you sure you're in a position to be a match for your brother?"
"I'm sure, absolutely sure!"
Faced with Gawain's question, Yoriichi Tsugikuni nodded with absolute certainty.
Then he stood up, drew the knife from his waist, and knelt down before Gawain again.
Holding the sword aloft, Yoriichi Tsugikuni spoke with his last ounce of confidence.
Even if I am already exhausted and will pass away in the blink of an eye.
I could also decapitate him in an instant!
The length of life does not determine the strength of one's abilities. I never lack confidence; I only lack determination.
Thank you, sir!
Even though I have not yet witnessed your divine help to me, I have already received the gift you have bestowed upon me!
Your existence brings me hope for ending the demons and monsters, and even for ending this chaotic world!
If I work fast enough, you can do even more!
Therefore, I must ask my brother to die, and I will no longer feel sad about killing him.
Thanks to your help, I finally remembered.
He is no longer Michikatsu Tsugikuni.
It's Kokushibo!!!