The Ubuyashiki Estate lay hidden deep among layers of vines and ancient trees, serene and solemn.
As Rokuya and Kanae stepped side by side into the courtyard carpeted with white sand, several piercing gazes instantly fixed on them.
"Oh! If it isn't the two flashiest newcomers in our Demon Slayer Corps!"
Accompanied by the crisp clink of metal, the tall, extravagantly dressed Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, strode over. As he looked at Rokuya, the disdain and doubt from their first practical assessment were long gone from his eyes, replaced by undisguised fervor and approval.
"Takanashi Rokuno, you went and pulled off something explosively flashy without a word!" Tengen Uzui clapped Rokuya hard on the shoulder, sending dust flying from his haori. "Single-handedly overpowering and slaying Lower Rank Two head-on, in terrain as unfavorable as that Underground Cavern! And flashily saving 132 villagers on top of it! Even veteran Hashira like us have to give you a thumbs-up for a record like that!"
Rokuya frowned at the blows and unceremoniously elbowed Tengen Uzui's hand away. "Keep your hands to yourself. I'm straight. It was just Lower Rank Two. Aside from making a few earth walls and hiding inside like a turtle, that guy had no real ability at all. He died before I even finished warming up. Absolutely boring."
Had those outrageously arrogant words been spoken a month earlier, they would certainly have provoked widespread anger. But everyone present had already read that chillingly detailed battle report and knew Rokuya was telling the truth. It had been sheer, overwhelming violence that forcibly tore apart the Blood Demon Art defenses the Lower Rank Demon took such pride in.
"Amitabha..."
Not far away, the Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima, wore a haori bearing the words "Namu Amida Butsu." He pressed his palms together, two