This child certainly has confidence.
Sakonji Urokodaki actually began to hope that Xia Xi really was the extraordinary genius Kazami had described.
What the Demon Slayer Corps craved most was powerful geniuses-gifted swordsmen.
The more astonishing their talent, the further they could go on the road to defeating Muzan Kibutsuji.
"This is merely an old man's personal curiosity."
"Young Kurumaji, why are you so eager to learn about the Breathing Styles of other schools?"
He was still so young.
He could easily wait until he had truly mastered Wind Breathing before attempting to forge his own path.
If, as Kazami had said, this child was not the sort to reach beyond his abilities...
Then something must have been driving his sense of urgency.
"Because I want to get stronger."
"Why?"
"Only by getting stronger can I defeat stronger demons."
"Then why not focus exclusively on Wind Breathing?"
"Even if I pushed Wind Breathing to its limits, it doesn't suit me. I'd probably only reach the level of a Hashira."
"Is being a Hashira not enough? That is the pinnacle of the Demon Slayer Corps."
Looking at the old man in the tengu mask, Xia Xi countered as though the answer were obvious.
"Of course it's not enough."
"If I became a Hashira, forget killing the Demon King. I wouldn't even be able to handle the Upper Ranks, would I?"
"How am I supposed to kill the Demon King without going beyond the level of a Hashira?"
The room fell silent the moment he finished.
Not only the two children beside them-even Sakonji Urokodaki's breath caught.
This child's ambition... reached so far?
He was not merely seeking to kill demons and avenge his little sister's tragic death.
Nor was he seeking to stand at the pinnacle of the Corps' swordsmen and become a Hashira.
Instead, he spoke of "killing Muzan Kibutsuji" as a matter of course, something an ordinary swordsman could never accomplish.
Even Sakonji Urokodaki himself had not thought that way in a long time.
Over all these years as a cultivator, had I already lost the spirit I possessed when I first joined the Demon Slayer Corps?
With every generation of swordsmen he trained...
The things he said most often were "Take care of yourself" and "Stay alive"...
He had forgotten that they, too, were swordsmen who lived to seek vengeance and kill demons.
Urokodaki was not the only one prompted to reflect.
Beside him, Sabito and Giyu also stared with wide eyes.
They were still thinking about how to survive the Final Selection.
Becoming a Hashira, surpassing the Hashira, or even personally killing the Demon King-all of that lay in territory they had never imagined.
"Amazing," Giyu murmured.
Recovering from his surprise, Sabito patted Giyu on the shoulder and said earnestly, "We can do it someday too, Giyu."
Urokodaki looked at Xia Xi, a faint smile appearing on his aged face beneath the mask.
"A perfect answer."
"I think I understand why Kazami admires you now."
He handed Xia Xi a cup of hot tea.
With the atmosphere easing, the old man even began to joke.
"With three children here now, I'll have to cook more rice."
Xia Xi acted as though he had not caught his meaning.
"I have money," he said very seriously.
Between the money he had saved over the past year and what he had looted from his fallen companions during the Final Selection...
He had enough to splurge at an upscale restaurant for a month.
"It was only a joke," Urokodaki said. "I'm not concerned about such a small expense."
He had accumulated considerable savings over his many years in the Demon Slayer Corps, not to mention the retired swordsman's allowance Oyakata-sama sent him from time to time.
In short, Sakonji Urokodaki, the former Water Hashira, was not short of money.
He even had enough to hire nearby hunters to help him build training facilities in the mountains.
"I can cook too. You can leave the daily chores to me."
"I'm happy to do them."
"That isn't what I meant..." Urokodaki said.
"My cooking really is good," Xia Xi said.
Urokodaki could not help pressing a hand to his forehead and sighing.
"Very well. Kurumaji, you can prepare tonight's dinner with me."
Watching them, Sabito stifled a laugh.
This senior of theirs seemed rather oblivious too.
He looked at Uchiha Giyu beside him.
The black-haired boy tilted his head, wondering why his best friend was looking at him so strangely.
As it turned out, Xia Xi really did have a knack for cooking.
"This taste..."
"No human could have made this..."
Giyu had just placed a piece of vegetable in his mouth when he froze, then began chewing carefully.
He followed it by stuffing several meatballs into his mouth in quick succession.
"I've never eaten anything this good."
Sabito was no exception. With his mask off, he looked much more childlike.
"What did you add besides salt? This aroma... It's a waste for you to be a swordsman."
Noticing that Giyu seemed to have choked from eating too quickly...
Xia Xi hurriedly ladled out a bowl of soup and passed it to him.
"It's stock. I simmered mushrooms and kelp to make a rich broth full of umami."
Around the sunken hearth, the three residents of Mount Sagiri enjoyed the dinner Xia Xi had prepared.
[Wild game bandit hot pot]
The base was a rich stock made by simmering mushrooms or the kelp he had bought after the selection for a long time.
He added plenty of seasonal wild mountain vegetables, simple homemade fish balls and meatballs, and meat from a pheasant he had hunted, seasoning it all with miso and soy sauce.
[Citrus and salt koji grilled fish]
He had not wasted the remaining fish either, marinating it with wild garlic, Japanese pepper, and wild citrus juice he had found.
Although it had not marinated for long, his precise control of the heat while grilling produced a lightly charred, fragrant crispness that perfectly made up for it.
The flavor leaned toward the bold aroma of charcoal grilling without losing its juicy, tangy fruitiness.
In the end...
The plates were exceptionally clean. The three had even mixed the remaining sauce into their rice.
Sakonji Urokodaki went so far as to remark, "Could this be the reason Kazami vouched for you?"
While everyone was enjoying the food...
Deep in the mountains near Nara...
At the Ubuyashiki estate...
"I never imagined Mr. Kazami would train such an interesting child."
Setting down the letter in his hand...
Kagaya Ubuyashiki smiled...
And began chatting with the Kakushi member beside him.
"He isn't content to draw inspiration from just one Breathing Style, but wants to study them all?"
"Perhaps he's a scholarly sort of genius."
"You're right, Oyakata-sama," the Kakushi replied.
"Yan Shou mentioned this child before as well. He also thought highly of him."
"There are quite a few powerful swordsmen capable of defeating many demons single-handedly."
"And there are many kind people who willingly reach out to help other swordsmen in times of danger."
"But those who possess both qualities are rare."
"If the opportunity arises, I would very much like to meet him."
"You're right, Oyakata-sama," the Kakushi replied.
"Approximately how many demons have fallen by his hand?" Ubuyashiki asked.
"You're right, Oyakata-sama..."
The sleepy Kakushi member realized he had said the wrong thing and awkwardly fell silent.
His ears turned scarlet, and his face beneath the covering was probably just as red.
Rather than reprimand him, Ubuyashiki reassured him.
"Tanaka, I was inconsiderate. You're exhausted after such a long journey, yet I've kept you here chatting."
"If you're sleepy, we can continue tomorrow."
The Kakushi hurriedly said, "No, no, no, I'm not sleepy at all. You were asking about Kurumaji, weren't you, Oyakata-sama?"
"This newly recruited swordsman truly is capable."
"Our colleagues at Lake Ashi asked the other swordsmen. At least eighty percent of the demons in the selection grounds were slain by him."
"In addition, some swordsmen were dispatched on missions in the surrounding areas, only to arrive and discover that the demons had already been eliminated."
"Judging by the overlap in their routes, those were probably Kurumaji's work as well."
"All told... he's killed nearly thirty."
"Two of them even possessed Blood Demon Arts."
In other words, by the time this child passed the selection, he already had the record of a Fourth Rank swordsman?
Kagaya Ubuyashiki pondered this.
Although he had never gone to the front lines to fight demons himself, he knew very well how powerful they were.
Especially those monsters that possessed Blood Demon Arts.
Most swordsmen who passed the selection were capable of slaying demons on their own.
But when they faced a demon with a Blood Demon Art... their chances of surviving were slim.
Yet this child did not seem to have needed to exert his full strength even against demons with Blood Demon Arts.
"Another child with talent to rival Gyomei's?"
Come to think of it, even the smiths in the Swordsmith Village were curious about this child. His somewhat "headstrong" request had stirred them up in a way rarely seen.
Once this child has some accomplishments under his belt, I'll give him the corresponding rank.
Since Mr. Fudō's death, the Corps had been sorely lacking swordsmen capable of shouldering the burden.
Before you continue