On the mountain road leading out of Mt. Sagiri, Sakonji Urokodaki saw White off as he headed to the Pillars Meeting, accompanied by a large group of Demon Slayer Corps trainees.
Sakonji Urokodaki still wore his Tengu Mask. Standing alone behind the crowd, he watched White disappear into the distance in silence, while the trainees waved goodbye one by one.
To them, White's appearance had been like a dream: he had come and gone in the blink of an eye.
They hadn't even had time to get to know him before White had already put on the uniform of a full-fledged Demon Slayer Corps member, taken up his Nichirin Blade, and set off to compete for a place among the Nine Pillars.
"That Ice guy ought to be able to become the Water Hashira, right?"
"He definitely can. He's a monster!"
"We'd better work hard too. We can't let him leave us too far behind!"
The trainees found their motivation renewed.
They had joined the Demon Slayer Corps trials before White. If he became a Hashira while they still hadn't even become full-fledged members of the Corps, it would be humiliating.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Sakonji Urokodaki felt more at ease than he had when seeing off any of his previous students.
He knew White's strength had already surpassed his by far. Even the previous Water Hashira probably wouldn't have been a match for White, so he was very confident about White's chances at the Pillars Meeting.
After walking several miles, White looked back at Mt. Sagiri one last time.
He actually quite liked the simple life on Mt. Sagiri.
"Sigh."
After letting out a soft sigh, White put on the Dog Mask he had prepared.
Demon Slayer Corps members were allowed to wear masks. Sakonji Urokodaki,