"That's why we can't let him get too full of himself. We have to rein in that arrogance, or he'll put himself in danger on a mission."
The Wind Pillar said, "I'd rather not, but half a blade will do!"
"Then let's keep going."
The two of them were about to charge again, having settled the matter between themselves.
Tetsu no Sosuke's face darkened. "You two... stop it already!"
"It's fine. It'll hurt for a moment, then you'll be all right," Kyojuro Rengoku said with a hearty laugh. "Don't worry. We'll be gentle."
"Quiet. It'll be over soon." The Wind Pillar looked impatient. "We're doing this for your own good."
"...I think there's been a misunderstanding," Tetsu no Sosuke said quickly. "We should clear this up first... What did you mean by paying? Paying me? Then where's the money?"
"This is the payment!"
Kyojuro Rengoku, at least, was willing to listen. He kindly explained, "We all came to ask you to forge our Nichirin Blades, but Master said we couldn't ask you to work for nothing. We had to offer you something in return. That was actually pretty difficult for us, until we ran into the Insect Pillar..."
"...What did she say?" Tetsu no Sosuke narrowed his eyes. It was obvious now where things had gone wrong.
"She told us you'd been acting strangely lately. You'd just created an incredibly powerful Sword Form, and now you didn't even take Kibutsuji Muzan seriously. You were planning to kill him outright the next time you met."
Sanemi Shinazugawa said, "That arrogance of yours really gets on my nerves! You ought to know your own limits, shouldn't you? Come on. Let us beat some sense into you, then you can get back to following your own path with your feet on the ground!"