Sabito

"Rumble Hashira? Is he that swordsman rumored to take the fall for everyone?"

Watching Muzan and Akaza leave, Kokushibo couldn't help feeling curious about this "eccentric" swordsman.

"Plink..." A koto rang softly, and space shifted.

The Infinity Castle fell silent once more.

Early morning, below Mt. Sagiri, in front of two simple wooden cabins.

Sabito, Makomo, and Giyu were taking turns practicing their daily sword drills.

Judging by how they performed, Sabito was the strongest of the three, with Giyu next. Makomo, who was a little younger, seemed to be mostly there for show.

A plump, black Kasugai Crow flashed over their heads.

Makomo, the least focused of the three, spotted the unusual crow first.

She hurriedly looked toward the two who were sparring and called out,

"Sabito! Giyu! Look, there's a Kasugai Crow in the sky!"

"That crow's so fat, though!"

As she spoke, Makomo stuck out her tongue, looking adorably innocent.

Just then, a tall young swordsman carrying a large iron pot on his back, with two long swords hanging at his waist and dust from the road clinging to him, slowly came into view.

Looking at the three "familiar" children, Kujo Tachibana smiled faintly. Then his gaze slid over to

the man who would become the least popular member of the Demon Slayer Corps—Tomioka Giyu!

(Tomioka Giyu: I'm not disliked! I'm not! Yeah, that's it!)

Looking at the chibi version of Giyu, Tachibana couldn't help thinking,

"Giyu, you were cuter as a kid!"

"The troubles of growing up are beyond your imagination..."

The three children exchanged puzzled looks.

Who was this oddly dressed swordsman?

In the end, Sabito stepped forward and asked, "May I ask why you've come to Mt. Sagiri?"

Kujo Tachibana smiled warmly and explained softly,

"I'm just passing through and thought I'd stop by to visit an older acquaintance."

"Master Urokodaki?" Makomo tilted her head and chimed in.

Kujo Tachibana nodded.

"Then does that mean you're also a member of the Demon Slayer Corps?" Makomo asked excitedly, her eyes lighting up.

While they were talking, the former Water Hashira, Urokodaki Sakonji, wearing his Tengu Mask, hurried out of the cabin.

"Hello! You must be Mr. Urokodaki. I'm Kujo Tachibana of the Demon Slayer Corps." Tachibana introduced himself as Urokodaki Sakonji approached.

After smelling Tachibana's scent, Urokodaki Sakonji nodded.

"Rumble Hashira, I've heard so much about you!"

Then Urokodaki Sakonji led Kujo Tachibana into the cabin, brewed a pot of tea, and sat down opposite him.

"May I ask why you've come to Mt. Sagiri, Rumble Hashira?"

Kujo Tachibana shook his head and replied politely,

"There's no need to be so formal, sir. Please just call me by my name."

"I was passing near Mt. Sagiri and thought I'd stop by to visit you."

Urokodaki Sakonji's brows furrowed slightly beneath his Tengu Mask, then relaxed again. He didn't ask anything further.

He could tell Tachibana wasn't being completely honest. Urokodaki Sakonji's nose picked up a hint of deceit.

But the scent of righteousness and kindness around Kujo Tachibana was much stronger. Urokodaki Sakonji trusted that Tachibana wouldn't do anything harmful to the Demon Slayer Corps.

The truth was, Kujo Tachibana had made a special trip to Mt. Sagiri for another reason. But as far as Urokodaki Sakonji was concerned,

it should be very good news!

Three days later, below Mt. Sagiri.

Three boys, one tall and two short, headed together for Mt. Fujikasane, the site of the Demon Slayer Corps' Final Selection.

Sabito frowned as he stared curiously at the tall Kujo Tachibana ahead of them.

"Sabito, is something the matter? Why do you keep staring at me?" Kujo Tachibana asked without turning around.

Sabito scratched his head awkwardly, then looked at Kujo Tachibana's back and said with unusual seriousness,

"Mr. Tachibana, Master said you're the Demon Slayer Corps' Rumble Hashira."

"And the strongest swordsman in the Corps right now."

"A swordsman as powerful as you must be very busy, right?"

"So why are you coming with us to Mt. Fujikasane?"

Hearing that, Kujo Tachibana couldn't help laughing. He thought to himself,

You little brat! When the Hand Demon catches you and is about to eat you, let's see if you still think I'm wasting my time.

Then Kujo Tachibana replied,

"You sure know how to talk!"

"But what you really want to ask is why I'm neglecting my duties."

"Why I'm following you to Mt. Fujikasane instead of killing demons, right?"

At that, Tachibana stopped with a smug little "hmph!"

Then he continued,

"Just think about it. Does that make any sense?"

"Of course I have a mission to follow you!"

"But... it's a secret mission only Hashira are allowed to know about!"

"You two aren't even official members yet, so I can't tell you!"

"I can only tell you this: don't let your guard down on the way. The enemy could show up at any moment!"

As he said that, Kujo Tachibana turned to face them,

his expression grave.

The two children were completely taken in by Kujo Tachibana's story.

The whole journey became a nerve-racking ordeal, with every rustle putting them on edge!

They didn't dare let their guard down for a moment. They even wished they could sleep with one eye open...

Only after they'd both arrived safely at Mt. Fujikasane with dark circles under their eyes

did they realize they'd been tricked!

The truth?

A secret mission, my foot!

Of course not. It was just an excuse Kujo Tachibana had made up to fob Sabito off and tease the two of them.

As for killing demons?

Come on, Tachibana had been away on assignment for a whole year!

Couldn't he take a few days off?

Though taking time off wasn't really Kujo Tachibana's true purpose.

But even a heartless capitalist wouldn't work people like that, and Ubuyashiki Kagaya certainly wouldn't.

He'd reminded Tachibana several times to come back to headquarters and get some rest.

And to meet the other Hashira, too.

He'd been in the Demon Slayer Corps for years. He couldn't keep avoiding headquarters forever, could he?

This time, Kujo Tachibana planned to finish dealing with things at Mt. Fujikasane, then return to headquarters and bring up a few suggestions with his boss.

The Corps' recruitment system was seriously flawed!

And not just a little. The current selection method was far too crude!

All a candidate had to do was survive seven days on Mt. Fujikasane to pass. It did nothing to identify the best recruits.

You could fight continuously for seven days and survive to pass. You could cling to someone else and last seven days to pass.

A group of weak candidates could band together and struggle through, or someone could hide for seven days without dying and pass!

In short, this selection method couldn't weed out slackers or people who passed through sheer luck!

That was only the first problem!

Second!

Promising candidates could easily die because they let their guard down or tried to protect others. Sabito was a perfect example.

The most gifted swordsman of his year, Sabito had fought through almost all of Mt. Fujikasane to rescue fellow candidates who'd been attacked by demons.

When he was exhausted, he encountered the Hand Demon, whose strength rivaled a Lower Moon. In the end, he was defeated and killed.

He had been a promising young swordsman who could have become a Hashira. So why had he withered before the Corps even gave him the chance to bloom?

Third!

Everyone who came to take the Demon Slayer Corps' official entrance exam had already spent years—sometimes two or three, sometimes just one—training as a candidate.

These people weren't useless! They were talented!

They had noble ideals, weren't afraid to make sacrifices, dared to face demons and fight them, and had received proper training!

Even if they didn't have what it took to be swordsmen, couldn't they do some other kind of work?

They all knew Breathing Styles, after all!

And even if nothing else, they were physically and mentally stronger than ordinary people!

Even if they didn't join the Corps or the Kakushi, they could stay among ordinary people and help the Corps by providing information, couldn't they?

But most of them died during the entrance exam. A huge crowd showed up to take it, yet only a handful survived!

Being a Demon Slayer was already a high-mortality profession. The candidates who died during the entrance exam were even more numerous.

All things considered, Kujo Tachibana felt

that the Corps' entrance exam was completely unreasonable!

Kujo Tachibana felt it didn't help the Corps select talented recruits.

Nor did it give the Corps an advantage in the number of swordsmen. Its only purpose was to keep the total number of Demon Slayers from getting too high or too low.

Kujo Tachibana really couldn't understand how the Demon Slayer Corps had managed to fight Kibutsuji Muzan for over a thousand years with such a backward selection system.

Was it just a case of the blind leading the blind?

Kujo Tachibana shook his head, quickly driving the strange thought from his mind!

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