"The tallest one is the Stone Hashira; they say he's the strongest of the nine. Next to him is the Wind Hashira—he's got a volatile temper and everyone's a bit afraid of him, but whenever he's on a mission, he's always the first to charge in. Over there is the Love Hashira, everyone adores her..."
Mita whispered a rapid-fire introduction to Goku and the scarred boy. Their arrival immediately drew the collective gaze of the nine Hashira.
"Hello, everyone!"
Goku gave a simple, cheerful wave as he felt their stares. His eyes were sparkling with excitement; his intuition told him these people weren't weak. They were masters who could help him elevate his strength through sparring.
"Shinobu, so this is the little brat who beat you?"
The scarred Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa, stepped forward. He loomed over Goku—who didn't even reach his waist—his face twisted into a menacing scowl. Suddenly, he turned toward Tanjiro, moving like a flash of lightning. He snatched the wooden box containing Nezuko right off Tanjiro's back.
"What are you doing?!" Tanjiro cried out in shock. He lunged to grab it back, but Sanemi knocked him to the ground with a single, brutal kick.
The gap in their skill levels was absolute.
"As a Demon Slayer, you're supposed to risk your life to protect humans. Instead, you harbor a demon. You and this thing both deserve to die!" Sanemi drew his Nichirin Sword and leveled the tip at the box.
"Oyakata-sama hasn't arrived yet. Shinazugawa-san, please refrain from acting on your own!" Shinobu stepped in, looking genuinely annoyed. On the journey back, she had heard the full story from Giyu and felt a measure of sympathy for the siblings. Even if she didn't fully trust Nezuko yet, she didn't want to see Sanemi acting like a rogue executioner.
"Harboring a demon is a clear violation of the code. As Hashira, we have the right to pass judgment. Let's just decapitate the boy and the demon together!" the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, declared with wide, exuberant eyes and a voice like a crackling fire.
"Then let's cut his throat flamboyantly!" added the Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui. He was a towering, flashily dressed man adorned with diamonds.
"Ah, what a pitiful child. Let us send him to the afterlife quickly so he no longer has to suffer," the Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima, lamented, tears streaming down his face in a display of tragic grief.
"Tomioka protected them, violating the code as well. Deal with him too," the Serpent Hashira, Obanai Iguro, muttered from his branch, pointing a finger at Giyu.
"Um... he's been in the Corps a long time. Oyakata-sama must know about him. Since he hasn't punished him, I think..." the Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji, whispered shyly, her pink hair swaying as she spoke.
Finally, the youngest, the Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito, stared blankly at the clouds, seemingly indifferent to the life-or-death drama unfolding below.
"Let go of my sister! She fights alongside me! She has never killed a human!" Tanjiro stood up, desperate to explain. But his words fell on deaf ears. These Hashira had spent their lives watching loved ones die at the hands of demons; the inherent evil of demons was a truth etched into their very souls.
"Don't give me that crap! A demon fighting to protect humans? That's impossible!" Sanemi snarled. He lunged with his sword, aiming to pierce through the box and the girl inside.
However, just as the tip was about to strike wood, the box vanished from under his hand.
He blinked. The box was now in Goku's arms.
"When did he—?" Sanemi's pupils dilated. Goku had moved so fast that he had snatched the box right as the blade was descending. Even if Sanemi had been careless, the feat proved the boy's speed was legendary.
The other Hashira focused their full attention on Goku. That burst of speed was comparable to Uzui, the fastest runner among the nine.
"Tanjiro, here you go." Goku handed the box back. He turned to Sanemi, looking slightly miffed. "Old man, you shouldn't go around hurting people's things. That's not right."
"Thank you, Goku-san!" Tanjiro clutched the box to his chest, tears of gratitude in his eyes. Nezuko was all the family he had left.
"She's not a person. She's a demon!" Sanemi roared.
Goku tilted his head. "And?"
"Demons eat people! They have to be killed! Do you not understand that?!" Sanemi barked. "Move, kid. If you hadn't helped kill a Lower Moon and save our men, I'd be dealing with you right now."
"Demons who eat people should be stopped, but she hasn't eaten anyone," Goku insisted, standing firm. He had seen Tanjiro's memories; he knew Nezuko was a "good" demon.
"You think because you beat Shinobu you can stop me?" Sanemi had reached his limit. He threw a heavy kick to knock Goku aside so he could finish the demon.
*Thud!*
Goku caught Sanemi's leg mid-swing and, with a powerful heave, sent the Wind Hashira flying across the courtyard.
"Oh! So you want to fight? I love fighting most of all!"
Goku dropped into the Turtle School stance. With a sudden burst of speed, he chased after the airborne Sanemi and threw a punch.
"What power! And such speed!" Sanemi was stunned by the raw force that had launched him, but he wasn't about to lose.
"Wind Breathing, Seventh Form: Gale - Sudden Gusts!"
Sanemi inhaled sharply, flooding his blood with oxygen. His physical attributes spiked. He twisted his body mid-air, his hands moving like blades to create a localized whirlwind of slashes.
"Phantom Star Fist!"
Goku's eyes lit up. He unleashed a technique he'd learned from Master Chen in the Capital. A blur of fists met the whirlwind of hand-slashes, creating a sound like a string of firecrackers as their strikes collided.
When they both landed, they had swapped positions. Two seconds later, Sanemi clutched his stomach and dropped to one knee. In that exchange, Goku had parried every single 'blade' and broken through his guard to land a solid punch to his gut.