Roy's Speed X Sakonji Urokodaki's Invitation

The sounds of playful banter and chasing echoed through the air...

Unfortunately, Roy was the only one enjoying it.

"Gurgle, gurgle..."

The water boiled, pushing up the lid of the kettle.

Tanjiro was quick-witted; he lifted the kettle, poured a cup of hot tea, and handed it over...

He leaned in and whispered to Roy, "Big Brother, why does it feel so eerie here? It's as if someone is watching us."

His father, Tanjuro, was the first person in the Kamado family to step into the "Transparent World" in the thousand years since their ancestor, Sumiyoshi Kamado. Perhaps it was the inheritance of his bloodline, or perhaps the blessing of their ancestors... it had gifted Tanjiro with an exceptionally keen sense of smell.

Years later, having practiced "Water Breathing," he was actually able to sniff out the blade trajectory of Sabito, predicting his attacks in advance and slicing through his mask. It was clear he already had one hand touching the edge of the "Transparent World."

Therefore, it was no surprise that he could sense something unusual now based solely on intuition.

"What do you smell?"

"I don't know... it smells a bit like Uncle Minamino..."

Tanjiro's nostrils twitched, unsure of how to describe it.

In a place he couldn't see, "Whoosh~" several cold gusts of wind swept in, surrounding him completely.

Among them were the bickering Shinsuke and Fukuda...

"Ho—"

"This guy has such a sharp sense of smell..."

"Just like Master; he can capture the location of a demon just from their scent, and even tell how many people they've eaten..."

"Looking at it this way, perhaps he is even more suited to learning 'Breathing Styles' than Giyu..."

Chirp, chirp... several living souls were intrigued by Tanjiro's words...

They fluttered above his head, yet none of them recklessly passed through his body...

Clearly, they understood the principle that living souls would shock the spirits of the living.

"Hiss..." Tanjiro gasped, wondering why it had suddenly turned so cold.

He hurriedly hugged his shoulders and squeezed closer to Roy...

Roy was focused on eating his dango, washing down the last bite with a cup of hot tea. He looked up and noticed the boy and girl accompanying Urokodaki Sakonji also looking over with surprise...

His gaze passed calmly right through their bodies, fixing instead on Urokodaki Sakonji nearby.

The old Water Hashira carved his mask stroke by stroke, his person merged into the heavens and earth, as if he existed and yet did not... If one didn't look closely, or didn't come with a specific purpose, it was incredibly easy to overlook him.

This state was somewhat similar to [Zetsu]; both relied on perceiving nature, merging with nature, and utilizing nature to lower one's own presence.

The difference was that one relied on sealing all "Nen" within the body to sharpen the five senses, while the other relied on—decades of extraordinary craftsmanship... How many "similarities" and how many "differences" there were was worth pondering, provided that—

He was willing to offer a chance for instruction.

"Click... click..."

Wood shavings flew. The carving knife in Urokodaki Sakonji's hand had been swapped at some point; perhaps he wasn't used to the new one, or perhaps the presence of onlookers had unsettled his heart, and with this stroke—

It went astray.

The result was that the fox's mouth was crooked, as if it were mocking him...

What was the use of just carving? He couldn't even protect his own disciples.

"Master..." Makomo crouched to the side, watching silently. Beside her was the silent Sabito...

Urokodaki Sakonji froze for a few seconds, replaced the ruined mask with a new block of wood, and continued carving, seemingly unaware of the people outside the courtyard.

Tanjiro was so anxious he kept rubbing his hands together.

The youth could not suppress his nature after all and said, "Big Brother, should I call out to them?"

A gate?

Where was there a gate here?

"Hashira" did not need gates to ward off evil demons; they were the "gate" themselves.

Roy took a sip of hot tea and said unhurriedly, "If you can't sit still, go into the mountains and catch some game."

He had eaten too many dango and lacked something savory; it was the perfect time to satisfy his craving for meat.

"No, I'll stay here with you." Tanjiro shook his head.

He always felt something was wrong; he didn't want to be separated from Big Brother.

"If you won't go, I will." Roy rose to his full height. Ignoring Tanjiro's calls, he took two steps in three, his feet executing "Shadow Step," and vanished in a flash.

His speed was truly too fast, So fast that he left an afterimage in place, leading people to mistakenly believe he was still standing there, unmoved.

"Hm?"

The cold wind blew...

Several gazes, as if rehearsed in advance, snapped toward him in perfect unison... yet they were still half a beat too slow, catching only the "exhaust" of Roy's movement.

Fukuda let out a strange cry—

"That guy is incredibly fast!"

"Shinsuke, did I see that right?"

Shinsuke glared at him irritably: "You're dead, not blind. If you aren't sure what you saw, do you need me to lend you my eyeballs?"

Just as that look was exchanged, Roy returned as quickly as he had left, strolling back with two wild rabbits in his hand.

"Hiss—"

Everything was in disarray...

The flames dancing on the campfire flickered erratically...

The restless spirits that had previously surrounded Tanjiro surged toward Roy in unison, curiously sizing him up as if to see if he had grown an extra leg compared to everyone else.

Yet they dared not get too close; as Roy walked, they automatically parted to both sides, leading to the end of the path—

Sabito, gripping his katana!

"If you had possessed that kind of speed back then, you wouldn't have died, would you?" Makomo stood up, her beautiful eyes sparkling as they reflected Roy's figure, filled with disbelief.

Sabito fell silent...

Indeed, if he had possessed such speed back then, even if he couldn't win, he could have easily escaped, but...

Could he really have run away? If he had fled, what would have happened to Giyu? That guy was such a crybaby and a coward back then... facing that monster, he probably wouldn't even have been able to hold his sword.

Sabito shook his head with a wry smile, turned to look at Makomo earnestly, and deflected the topic: "This time, I truly feel there is a real chance."

"Hmm... let's watch them eat first."

The fire melted the snowflakes, radiating waves of heat into the surroundings...

Drawing an axe from his waist, Roy used the freshly boiled water to dress the rabbits...

Roy and Tanjiro each took one, skewered them on wooden sticks, and began roasting them over the campfire...

"Sizzle... sizzle..." The fat rendered into oil, dripping down and fueling the flames... In no time, the two rabbits were roasted to a glistening, golden brown, looking incredibly appetizing...

It was a pity there was no cumin... nor any barbecue seasoning... and in this freezing weather, it was impossible to find scallions or ginger to marinate them beforehand... The only seasoning they could find was a small jar of salt that Tanjiro dug out from his basket...

Yet even so, it still attracted quite a few "gluttonous ghosts"...

Such as Fukuda, such as Shinsuke, such as Makomo...

The little girl stared unblinkingly at the roasted rabbit in Roy's hand, licked her lips, and said to Sabito: "Hey~ Sabito, think of something... I want to eat."

"What could I possibly do?"

"You were the one who said it yourself, 'watch' them eat."

Sabito was left speechless, choosing to simply shut his mouth, though the corner of his eye inadvertently swept over... a faint glimmer of light flashed through his gaze...

"If you don't oil and marinate the rabbit beforehand, it will taste gamey. If you two don't mind, follow this old man inside; I will handle it..."

Urokodaki Sakonji had appeared by the campfire at some point...

That broken fox mask lay quietly where he had tossed it onto a tree stump.