Tanjiro took the box from Horitake's hands and even tried putting it on his back right away. It felt really good.
Of course it felt good—this box was Tanjiro's standard equipment in the original story!
Watching Tanjiro grinning like an idiot, Horitake couldn't resist bringing up an old matter:
"Tanjiro, do you still remember the bet we made before you left Sagiri Mountain?"
"Huh? What bet?"
It wasn't clear whether Tanjiro was playing dumb or not—the boy just looked completely clueless.
Horitake wasn't about to let him off easy and went straight to the point:
"The one about brother-in-law and big brother-in-law. So? Tanjiro, I won that bet fair and square. Are you going to honor the agreement or not?"
This question couldn't be avoided. Tanjiro could only reply awkwardly:
"Um… Nezuko is still too young, and she hasn't turned back into a human yet. It's way too early to talk about this kind of thing. Let's discuss it later."
Horitake nodded, looking completely confident and in control:
"Mm, alright. We'll talk about it later."
Seeing Horitake's assured expression, and thinking back to how Nezuko had just been so affectionate and close with Horitake-senpai, Tanjiro couldn't help feeling a bad premonition.
Oh no… I might really not be able to protect my little sister in the future.
Whatever, whatever—let's deal with that kind of thing later.
While Horitake and Tanjiro were exchanging these cryptic, roundabout remarks, Zenitsu and Yaeko beside them managed to catch the general idea.
Even though they only got the rough outline, it was enough—they more or less understood.
Zenitsu and Yaeko looked at Horitake in surprise, then at Tanjiro in surprise, then at the quiet Nezuko over there in surprise, and finally exchanged a shocked glance with each other.
So that's the relationship between these three!
Gossip is human nature. Zenitsu and Yaeko couldn't help feeling curious; they wanted to figure out exactly what was going on between the three of them.
However, out of fear and respect for Horitake's authority, neither of them dared to ask outright. They could only pretend to be deaf and dumb while desperately holding back their burning curiosity.
Since their curiosity couldn't be satisfied, they had to change the subject.
So Zenitsu asked Horitake:
"By the way, Big Bro, you just said you came to deliver Nezuko on the way, but actually you had something to find the three of us about? Is there some kind of trouble?"
Horitake glanced at the three little ones—Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Yaeko—his expression calm. Instead of explaining right away, he first asked about their situation:
"How did the three of you do in the Final Selection?"
The three little ones exchanged looks, then answered one by one:
"Full of danger but no real harm." — That was Tanjiro's answer.
"Pretty smooth overall." — That was Yaeko's answer.
"Not sure." — That was Zenitsu's answer.
Horitake was reasonably satisfied with the first two, but Zenitsu's last reply made dark lines appear across his forehead. He subconsciously felt a surge of irritation:
"What do you mean 'not sure'?
Zenitsu, you personally participated in the Final Selection and actually passed it. How could you not know what happened during your own Final Selection?"
Zenitsu shrank his neck, looking extremely aggrieved, and answered weakly:
"I… I really don't know, that's just how it is. After I entered Fujikasane Mountain, I was super scared the whole time. Everything around me felt insanely dangerous.
I had no choice, so I just hid everywhere, ran everywhere. Luckily I didn't get eaten by any demons.
But later I got cornered by several demons at once. I really couldn't run anymore, so I just… fainted from fear. After that… I didn't know anything.
When I woke up, the demons that had surrounded me were gone—who knows where—and somehow I just… passed the Final Selection like that."
Hearing Zenitsu's timid explanation, even more dark lines appeared on Horitake's forehead.
What was there not to understand?
During the Final Selection, Zenitsu had only one strategy from the start: play dead (or in his case, hide and cower)!
He kept playing dead until he literally couldn't anymore—when escape was impossible, Zenitsu fainted from sheer terror, entering a half-awakened state. His alternate personality took over, and he went berserk, slaying all those demons.
As for why Horitake was certain it was Zenitsu who killed them and not someone else helping—that was simple too.
To pass the Final Selection, it wasn't enough just to survive seven days in Fujikasane Mountain. If you lived through the seven days but didn't kill a single demon, you still failed.
Since Zenitsu passed, it proved he had definitely killed demons.
How exactly he did it… that wasn't important to the evaluators.
Faced with a Zenitsu like this, Horitake really felt anger rising with nowhere to direct it.
Several times he wanted to scold him, but he didn't even know where to begin. He opened his mouth a few times, but no lecture came out. In the end, he could only helplessly swallow it back down.
Horitake's strange behavior piqued Tanjiro's curiosity.
Since they hadn't acted together during the Final Selection, Tanjiro had no idea what had happened with Zenitsu. He quietly asked Yaeko what was really going on with him.
Yaeko explained helplessly to Tanjiro, telling him about Zenitsu's half-awakened state.
After hearing Yaeko's explanation, Tanjiro looked at Zenitsu in astonishment. The look in his eyes went beyond mere surprise—it was like he was staring at some rare and bizarre treasure.
Horitake truly didn't know how to scold Zenitsu anymore. In the end, he could only say:
"Zenitsu, you… you… you…
Forget it. Just… take care of yourself from now on.
Do whatever you want. Let things take their natural course."
Hearing his big bro say that—especially the words "take care of yourself"—Zenitsu immediately panicked.
It would be better if his big bro scolded him harshly—anything was better than being told "take care of yourself." What did that mean? Was he already being given up on!?
Zenitsu freaked out and hurriedly said:
"B… Big Bro, please don't give up on me! I can still be saved!
How about this—when I get back to Momoyama, I'll train twice as hard, okay?"
Horitake waved his hand helplessly:
"That's not what I mean. It's because you…
Forget it. Explaining it directly won't make sense to you anyway.
How about this instead.
I estimate that tonight—or at the latest tomorrow night—you guys are going to run into some serious trouble.
This kind of major trouble is something rookies like you, with your current strength, absolutely cannot handle. That's exactly why I came all this way.
I foresaw the future ahead of time and realized your lives were in danger, so I rushed here to help you deal with the trouble and save you in time.
But—I plan to let you face this incoming trouble first. I want to see how far you can grow.
Tanjiro and Yaeko are fine. I have complete confidence in both of you. Even if you can't hold it off, you'll still charge forward bravely to fight.
But the key is you, Zenitsu!
Zenitsu! In the danger and trouble that's coming next—you are not allowed to faint. You have to face the enemy head-on!
This is training for you! Training you absolutely have to get through!"
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