Jigoro Kuwajima snorted, snatched the gifts, and cradled them carefully in his arms, unable to hide the smile at the corners of his eyes. "At least you've got a conscience, brat. Much better than a certain ungrateful bastard."
Rokuya's eyes flickered. He knew who the old man meant. "Where's Kaigaku? Did you kick him off the mountain?"
At the mention of Kaigaku, the smile instantly vanished from Jigoro Kuwajima's face, replaced by deep helplessness and dejection. He sighed and went over to sit on a stone stool. "Over a year ago, because he didn't want you leaving him too far behind, he decided I was playing favorites, teaching only you the direction-changing technique for Extreme Blade Flash and not him. He grew resentful. Against my advice, he left the mountain early to attend the Final Selection, even though his skills clearly weren't ready."
"Heh. Trash is trash. Always blaming someone else," Rokuya scoffed mercilessly. "Thunder Breathing isn't something just anyone can modify however they please. With his puny physique, using my method of generating force would snap his leg bones into three pieces on the spot. You saved his life by not teaching him."
"I know. But I can't change his nature." Kuwajima shook his head, his gaze settling on the blond boy playing dead on the ground. "Later, I met this child at the foot of the mountain, on the verge of starvation. He'd gullibly believed a woman's words and taken on a mountain of debt for someone else. His creditors had driven him into a corner. I saw that, although he was timid, he had remarkable bones and exceptionally keen hearing in particular, so I brought him back as my disciple and paid off his debts."
"Zenitsu Agatsuma. That's his name." Kuwajima prodded Zenitsu on the ground with