That Year, Hands in Pockets, I Knew Not What - Urokodaki Sakonji's "Compromise"

Indeed... does killing demons require a reason?

It is a matter of life and death, a situation where either you die or I live; that was how Sabito once warned Giyu in the past.

Giyu followed that advice well, but it was a pity... having already passed the test, he had also lost the chance to avenge him, Makomo, and all their fellow disciples in the house.

Therefore, for all these years, Sabito has been waiting, Makomo has been waiting, Shinsuke, Fukuda, Inoue... they have all been waiting...

Now, it seems a glimmer of dawn has finally appeared.

Urokodaki Sakonji fell silent for a few seconds, then laughed with a suppressed voice...

Should one call this youth ignorant, or simply arrogant?

In any case, aside from the previous head of the Ubuyashiki family, no one had dared to lecture him to his face in over a decade.

That time, it was because he was so intolerant of evil that he had struck down a decoy set up by Ubuyashiki, causing the Demon Slayer Corps to miss a chance to pursue Upper Rank Two, Doma.

"If everything in this world were as simple as you say, the Demon Slayer Corps would not have been entangled with demons for so many years."

The old Water Hashira poured a cup of hot tea and pushed it over... Tanjiro had already filled himself up outside the courtyard, so he thanked him but did not drink.

Roy was different; he had just undergone a round of growth, and his body was severely "depleted." He was not only hungry but thirsty, so he accepted the kindness offered by Urokodaki Sakonji without hesitation.

He took a shallow sip to test the temperature, then tilted his head back and finished the tea in one go.

The wild mountain tea was not particularly mellow, but it was certainly wild enough... Roy pushed the cup back and asked Urokodaki Sakonji for another, only then saying: "In my view, the reason for this entanglement lasting so many years is simply that neither side is strong enough."

"If one side were absolutely dominant, the balance would be broken instantly."

"Hashira" against "Upper Ranks"... small fry against small fry... the Demon Slayer Corps led by Ubuyashiki might seem to be at a disadvantage, but because of the lingering prestige of Tsugikuni Yoriichi and the existence of Sun Breathing, Kibutsuji Muzan has always been wary and dared not launch a full-scale purge, which is why we have today's stalemate.

Urokodaki Sakonji simply handed the teapot to Roy, clearly unwilling to dwell on this topic.

He turned to the kitchen, washed and chopped a few potatoes, threw them into the pot, and said leisurely: "Every one of my disciples must pass a test."

"After lunch, you will make a trip to Mount Sagiri. If you can return by dusk."

"I will take you as my disciple."

"Hehe... a good show is about to begin." Shinsuke abandoned Tanjiro and flew around Fukuda. Fukuda found him annoying, grabbed him by the neck, and gave him a Muda-style beating. It took a long time before they remembered the "important business," and the two of them looked at Roy with mischievous smiles...

Ever since Sabito died, Urokodaki Sakonji had been heartbroken and had gone to extremes, digging pits and setting traps to discourage himself from ever taking on disciples again... Thus, the current Mount Sagiri might as well be called "Death Mountain." Aside from a few paths left for the local villagers, everything else was either a "blade net" or a "sword formation"...

Sabito had once followed him up and found it terrifying, which led to him being teased by Shinsuke and the other companions—

If their great vengeance could not be fulfilled, they blamed it on him and Makomo for driving their master mad...

Moreover...

It was winter, and the daylight hours were already short. Urokodaki Sakonji's requirement for Roy to return by dusk was much stricter than the full night he had allowed Tanjiro in the original story.

So be it... Roy simply stood up, draped in the gazes of everyone present, opened the door, and walked out...

"Apologies... I'm in a hurry, I'll go make that trip now."

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"Who said I wasn't?" The youth disappeared into the wind and snow without looking back, "By the time you finish stewing that, I should be back."

"..."

"Hey—this guy... he's too arrogant!"

Shinsuke and Fukuda looked at each other in dismay... The other ghosts did the same, looking at one another before flying out in pursuit...

Makomo noticed that Urokodaki Sakonji's gaze toward the doorway was somewhat stagnant, so she quietly poked Sabito with her finger: "Hey~ should we go follow and take a look too?"

"Don't you think highly of him?"

"What if..."

"There are no 'what ifs'." Sabito tightened his grip on his katana and said calmly: "A man should be responsible for the words he speaks."

"If he can't pass, that's his own business."

Besides...

"With Shinsuke, Fukuda, and Inoue following him, he shouldn't lose his life, at least..."

Sabito added at the end.

Unexpectedly, just as his voice fell...

Several gusts of cold wind blew in, and Shinsuke, Fukuda, and the others who had gone out to watch the fun all flew back, clutching their knees and complaining breathlessly: "Oh my god~ I'm exhausted. That guy is too fast, we couldn't keep up at all."

This...

They actually... lost him?

Sabito was somewhat dazed.

He stretched his neck, unable to believe it as he looked out the door, with Makomo covering her mouth and giggling beside him.

A person should at least not trip over the same stone twice; this was something the father, Tanjiro, had once said to Roy.

As it happened, his other father, Silva, had said something similar to him, only "twice" had become "once"... To summarize:

"An assassin loses their life the moment they make a single mistake!"

Take the present situation, for example...

If Roy's reactions hadn't been quick enough, he would have been tripped by a rope hidden in the bushes and fallen into the "Blade Pit."

And it had been less than five minutes since he made his "bold declaration," yet he had already stepped into seven sword formations, encountered ten wooden stakes falling from the sky, and been ambushed by omnipresent grass ropes eight times...

It was fortunate that his idiot younger brother, relying on his status as a protagonist, was able to survive; otherwise, anyone else would have died a hundred times over.

"Swish—"

He unleashed "Snake Awakening" to shatter the final tree stump flying toward his face...

Roy stepped over the system prompt...

[Notification: Snake Awakening +1]

He stomped the snow off his feet and reappeared in the field of vision of Urokodaki Sakonji, Sabito, Makomo, and the other lingering spirits like Shinsuke and Fukuda.

His hair hadn't even had time to form ice crystals from his short stay in the mountains, and he sat down brazenly, greeted by a teary-eyed Tanjiro.

The drawback of having an overly sensitive sense of smell was that even if Tanjiro couldn't see Sabito and the others, he could vaguely sense a thick, chilling aura, which instinctively made him uncomfortable—not to mention having to face Urokodaki Sakonji, whose expression was completely hidden behind a tengu mask, making it impossible to read his mood.

Tanjiro was on the verge of hugging Roy's leg, saying with a sobbing voice, "Nii-san, don't leave me alone again."

"Fine."

"You'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."

Tanjiro: "..."

He felt as if he heard the sound of his own heart breaking... The Nii-san who had hurt him didn't pay him any mind at all.

He reached out to lift the pot lid, as if he only had eyes for the food.

"Gurgle..."

Inside the clay pot, The rabbit meat was tender and starting to fall off the bone, and the potatoes were just right—neither raw nor mushy...

As if celebrating Roy's return, they were eager to enter his stomach.

"Master, can we start eating?" The youth smiled as he looked at Urokodaki Sakonji, the Sun and Mountain Earrings dangling from his earlobes swaying slightly...

Urokodaki Sakonji was dazed for a moment, as if he hadn't quite come back to his senses, before nodding after a long while and asking for his name.

"Kamado Eiichiro... Master can just call me Eiichiro..."

The youth said as much...