A large chunk of the old tree's trunk had been blasted away.
Senjuro stared wide-eyed. "Th-this is..."
The owl-like boy beside him gaped as well.
That was the cherry tree Father planted... when he was little.
Fortunately, only a corner was chipped away. It hadn't snapped completely.
If I quietly found some bandages to wrap around it later, it should... be all right, shouldn't it?
Gyomei walked over to Xia Xi.
He spoke quietly.
"Namu Amida Butsu... Mr. Xia Xi, surely it isn't appropriate to show such a young child a deadly weapon like this."
Xia Xi looked utterly unconcerned.
Many people of his generation had started handling guns as children.
He hadn't seen any of them run into trouble.
Besides...
"Don't most Swordsmen in the Demon Slayer Corps start hacking at humanoid creatures with samurai swords around the age of ten?"
"Trading bloody slashes with demons using samurai swords..."
"Isn't that much more violent than shooting from a distance, where you barely see any blood?"
The Great Monk was momentarily at a loss for words.
What he said... actually seemed to make some sense.
Xia Xi blew the smoke from the muzzle and told Senjuro, "When you're a few years older, old enough to enter the Final Selection, I'll get you one too."
"Long-range firepower, powerful, and easy to use."
"You don't need a Swordsman's talent. You just need good aim and enough nerve."
Then he could add some bullets mixed with Scarlet Crimson iron sand and poison.
As long as Senjuro underwent some samurai training and grew stronger than an ordinary person.
With a wakizashi as well, he could slay demons.
He looked at Senjuro. "Interested?"
For the first time, a light shone in Senjuro's eyes.
Gyomei found the two days at the Rengoku estate quite trying.