"All right! That's the spirit!"
At those words, everyone fell silent and turned toward Kyojuro.
The boy's face brimmed with energy, his confidence practically making it glow.
"Pfft, hahaha..."
Tengen Uzui couldn't hold back his laughter. "Hey, do you have any idea how long it takes to become a Hashira?"
Sanemi Shinazugawa's eyes turned cold. "I can see your confidence. Where are your results? Do you think becoming a Hashira takes nothing but flapping your mouth?"
"Of course not!" Kyojuro met Shinazugawa's icy gaze without a trace of fear. "That's why I'm giving everything I have to slaying demons!"
"Where's all that effort, then? Why can't I see it?"
Shinazugawa rose to his feet, clenching his fists until his knuckles cracked. "Master, please forgive me... I just want to teach this arrogant little brat a lesson..."
"Shinazugawa," Himejima, the eldest among them, said in warning.
"Mr. Sanemi..." Kanae cast a worried glance at Kyojuro, then at Haruto.
Kyojuro's fearlessness could be chalked up to youthful inexperience, but to her surprise, Haruto looked perfectly unruffled too, as though he hadn't heard the anger in Sanemi Shinazugawa's voice at all.
"Mr. Himejima, Kanae," Shinazugawa paused. "Don't worry. I won't kill him."
Kyojuro drew a deep breath, his eyes widening.
What an overwhelming presence! So this was one of the pillars supporting the Demon Slayer Corps!
Mr. Haruto was a Hashira-level swordsman too, but he didn't give off such intense bloodlust!
Sanemi Shinazugawa shot him a cold glance, then whipped a furious kick toward Kyojuro's neck, moving so fast his leg left a blur of afterimages.
Thud! The young swordsman raised his arm and nimbly blocked the attack.
Shinazugawa, who had intended to knock him unconscious with one kick, froze for a moment. Then he twisted around and brought both fists down like