Kibutsuji Muzan looked at Tetsu no Sosuke. "Any more?"
"Of course."
Tetsu no Sosuke struggled upright. As soon as he answered, openings appeared on either side of the room. Arrows whistled through the air.
A swollen membrane of flesh sprang up behind Kibutsuji Muzan, knocking the arrows down in an instant. Tetsu no Sosuke seemed unable to stand, so he remained seated, making a stream of different sounds with his hands and mouth.
Those sounds controlled the mechanisms throughout the room.
Above, below, beside and behind him—hidden arrows waited in almost every corner.
Kibutsuji Muzan deflected them as he walked toward Tetsu no Sosuke. "A meaningless struggle."
"Ants may be small, but they still fight to survive."
Tetsu no Sosuke struggled to his feet. "No one will live under the rule of violence. No one wants to endure terror every day. Whenever tyranny makes life unbearable, people will shed their last drop of blood fighting it!"
"All for nothing!"
"How would you know without trying?"
Tetsu no Sosuke looked at Kibutsuji Muzan and smiled. "Take the one in your forehead, for instance."
Kibutsuji Muzan frowned and felt his forehead. Sure enough, an arrow was lodged there. He pulled it out. "So what? What does this prove? Even if every one of these hidden arrows hit me, what could you change?"
"Perhaps everything... perhaps nothing."
Tetsu no Sosuke smiled. "Like I said, how would you know without trying? Trying carries the risk of failure. Never trying makes you a failure forever."
Kibutsuji Muzan stood before Tetsu no Sosuke. "You have no more chances to try."
"Not necessarily."
Tetsu no Sosuke turned his blade slightly.
Kibutsuji Muzan seized Tetsu no Sosuke by the head and slowly lifted him.
Blood erupted, spraying across Tetsu no Sosuke's head and face.
Without a sound, a