Chapter 170: Shinjuro Rengoku's Shock x The Luxurious Ambush on the Mugen Train
Kyojuro would never forget the earnest words his mother had spoken to him from her sickbed in her final moments... "To help the weak is the duty of those born strong."
"And your mission, Kyojuro, is to shoulder that responsibility and fulfill it."
What is weak, and what is strong?
His mother, Ruka, hadn't told him explicitly. But Kyojuro knew that compared to the ordinary people struggling to make a living in this cruel era overrun by demons, people like him and his father, Shinjuro, were definitely not "weak."
Kyojuro also knew that his father had read the Book of the Flame Hashira. He had personally heard Shinjuro complain, rage, and despair: "Human ability is determined at birth. Geniuses are few and far between. The rest are just worthless dregs."
Once, Kyojuro had believed this too. His brother Senjuro was like that, and so were the so-called "genius swordsmen" who wanted to be his Tsuguko—lacking in "sword talent." But... that didn't mean Senjuro and the others couldn't contribute to the cause of demon slaying in other ways!
Kyojuro Rengoku gripped his sword and pushed open the door, striding into the small courtyard. He could faintly see his past self playing with his brother, catching butterflies with his mother, being patted on the head by his father... He took a deep breath, drew his blade, pointed it at the man on the porch holding a sake bottle, and shouted, "Father, please pull yourself together!"
Fire must burn; words must be spoken plainly... Hearing the door, a smaller version of Kyojuro peeked out timidly. Shinjuro tilted his head back, took a swig of sake, and glared coldly. "Get out!"
Kyojuro Rengoku took a step forward. Nen coated his Nichirin Blade, flames surging. His gaze was firm. "Please, Father, pull yourself together!"
SMASH! The sake bottle flew past Kyojuro's ear and shattered against the wall behind him!
Liquor splashed the wall... Shinjuro glared furiously at Kyojuro. "You think becoming a Hashira with just a few pages of scraps makes you amazing?"
"Senjuro, bring me your sword!"
Drunkenness fueled his rage. Shinjuro stood up coldly. In that moment, he seemed to regain some of his former imposing aura!
Senjuro clung to the doorframe, looking cautiously at his brother, then at his father. His naturally worried face crumpled into an even deeper frown...
"Give it to him." Kyojuro turned his head with a gentle smile. "Trust me."
"Y-yes." Senjuro swallowed nervously, hesitantly handing his sword to Shinjuro.
Shinjuro grabbed it. It felt unfamiliar. He swung it a few times, gradually regaining the feel... Kyojuro waited quietly. When Shinjuro stopped, he strode down from the porch, two steps in one, and swung a casual, flame-wreathed slash at his son...
For the first time, he understood why Lord Eiichiro had been so indifferent to his full-power "sword technique" in the wisteria forest outside the Master's estate... Too weak, too slow, the flame temperature too low!
Kyojuro Rengoku was disappointed. Wrapped in Ten, facing Shinjuro's angry strike meant to teach him a lesson... he countered with a backhand slash, effortlessly knocking the sword from Shinjuro's hand. In the same motion, he placed his Nichirin Blade against Shinjuro Rengoku's neck.
"This..."
The clash ended in an instant.
To Senjuro, his brother's sudden "admonishment" was sure to provoke a violent backlash from their father... But the result told him... Father had lost!
Although a disciple isn't necessarily inferior to his master... having been trained by Shinjuro since childhood, Senjuro's belief in his father's strength was deeply rooted... He was the former "Flame Hashira," and a true "Flame Hashira" who had learned all the techniques of "Flame Breathing."
Not a half-baked swordsman like his brother, who had taught himself "Breathing Styles" from three pages of scraps.
Yet, today, that "half-baked" swordsman defeated his powerful father head-on, in a single round!
Hiss— A servant who secretly witnessed the scene gasped in disbelief...
In the courtyard, two strikingly similar faces stared at each other. One disappointed, one shocked.
The latter finally seemed to recover a shred of his senses. He spoke in a dry, raspy voice, "You're not the son I knew."
Shinjuro Rengoku seemed to force himself out of his depression, staring intently at Kyojuro. "Your strength, your fire... that's not something 'Flame Breathing' can achieve."
"Who... who taught you?"
The reason for Shinjuro's despair all these years, besides the death of his wife Ruka, was mainly... he knew clearly that the upper limit of "Flame Breathing" was insufficient to fight Muzan Kibutsuji. The facts proved it; the Book of the Flame Hashira also recorded... even when practiced to the limit, "Flame Breathing" couldn't even kill some powerful Upper Moons. This was another major reason, after Ruka, that dealt a heavy blow to Shinjuro's spirit.
"It was the sun." Kyojuro sheathed his sword, clasped his hands together, and looked up at the sky. It was evening, the sun slanting westward, not yet fallen into the abyss. The brilliant sunset painted half the sky red, draping him in a cloak of rosy clouds...
The young man smiled at the stunned Shinjuro. "Father, I saw the sun."
Shinjuro: "..."
He choked on his words, speechless.
Whoosh~
The wind blew, tossing the yellow hair of the father and two sons. The courtyard fell into a long silence again...
After a while, Shinjuro asked, "What is the name of this sun?"
Kyojuro answered truthfully, "Eiichiro Kamado."
His white haori with the flame-patterned hem fluttered. Kyojuro Rengoku smiled, passing on the words Roy had given him to Shinjuro. "The sun can be me, it can be you, it can be him. It is everyone who holds justice in their heart and strives upward..."
After a long pause, Shinjuro laughed. Senjuro stared, stunned. It was the first time he had seen his father smile since their mother died. Shinjuro laughed louder and louder, more and more heartily, until he stood with his hands on his hips, roaring with laughter, tears squeezing from the corners of his eyes...
"Interesting! Too interesting! Kyojuro, ask him for me... Can I really do it too?"
"I can, you can, and Senjuro definitely can too."
"Hahaha..."
That day, a joyous atmosphere filled the Rengoku household... The servants who knew the family's situation looked as if they'd seen a ghost, dizzy with disbelief.
They whispered amongst themselves, quietly asking about this mysterious Lord Eiichiro Kamado...
Little did they know, the mysterious Lord Eiichiro Kamado they spoke of had already stepped onto a speeding train.
That night.
Passing through the multicolored dream tunnel, he arrived at the familiar Sea of Cognition.
Without stopping, he pushed open the "Demon Slayer" gate, re-entered the Demon Slayer world, and following the clues provided by Kagaya Ubuyashiki, arrived in Car 7. He plopped down in the seat opposite Enmu, Rui, and... Upper Moon Three, Akaza.
Smiling at the three, he asked, "Gentlemen, mind if I join you?"
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