"Then why shouldn't I absorb him, instead of him absorbing me?" 'Zenitsu Agatsuma' said calmly. "I know all his fixations, his thoughts, his ideals. I'm braver and more resolute than he is, without his cowardice or incompetence. I'll do better than him."
"No one is unwavering from the very beginning. Everyone grows through adversity."
Tetsu no Sosuke smiled. "I won't deny that you're braver and more resolute than he is, but that's only one side of him. You're incomplete. Otherwise, the current Zenitsu Agatsuma would already be gone, wouldn't he?"
"So you don't dare give me time to become more 'complete.'"
Tetsu no Sosuke shook his head. "You're incomplete, a part of him. If you want to become whole, your only option is to 'eat' him. I can't allow that to happen."
'Zenitsu Agatsuma' wasn't angry. He simply 'looked' quietly at Tetsu no Sosuke for a moment, then waved his hand.
Door after door swung open, their clattering echoing without end.
Those doors seemed to lead deeper, into depths no one could see.
'Zenitsu Agatsuma' said quietly, "If you want to kill me, I'm no match for you. Even though Form One of the Breath of Thunder has tempered me countless times, I still can't defeat you. But I'm still unwilling to simply fade away and merge with him completely. You can destroy me once, twice, three times, but you can't keep destroying me forever. I exist within his heart. I'm a part of him. If I'd never learned any of this, things could have stayed as they were. But now I know. No matter how many times I 'disappear,' I'll awaken again. Next time, though, I won't expose myself so early, revealing myself to you and giving you the chance to cut me down. I'll quietly build my strength,