Chapter 105: Sabito, This Stuff is Way Better Than Magic
Natsuya wasn't trying to be arrogant. His tone was as flat as if he were simply
handing over a standard admission ticket.
But for the two Shinto priests, it was anything but ordinary.
The Jade Crest shimmered faintly under the moonlight. As the light hit their
eyes, the priests' expressions underwent a violent metamorphosis—a mixture of
shock, reverence, and utter bewilderment.
They knew exactly what that token represented.
To see the Crest is to see the Master himself.
Or rather, the bearer was a member of the Ubuyashiki inner circle. Within the
hierarchy of the Demon Slayer Corps, this token granted the holder total freedom
of movement and authority over everything except the appointment or dismissal of
the Hashira.
The younger priest instinctively recoiled a half-step. He looked like he was
about to drop into a Dogeza right then and there.
What did this boy call himself? Kokonoe? Is he... Ubuyashiki Natsuya?
The senior priest took a deep breath, suppressing his rattling nerves before
stepping aside to clear the path.
He bowed so deeply his forehead nearly touched his knees. "Since you hold this
Jade, we cannot impede your path, My Lord."
"How... how should we address you?"
The Boss's tiger-tally is this effective? Natsuya thought, surprised by
the 180-degree shift in their attitude. He had assumed that in a remote location
like Mt. Fujikasane, far from the central power of the Mansion, it might be
harder to use. He'd expected a "Bureaucracy Mini-game" or at least a
verification check.
Instead, they didn't even ask a follow-up question.
"Just call me Kokonoe," Natsuya said, tucking the jade back into his robes. He
vanished into the thick night behind the Torii gate.
Only after his presence had completely faded did the younger priest whisper to
his companion in a trembling voice.
"Why would the Master give such a powerful relic to a boy that young? He looks
barely sixteen..."
The senior priest stared into the dark wisteria forest, his gaze complex. He had
seen more of the world than the younger man. A wild, yet seemingly logical
theory formed in his mind.
"Perhaps..." he murmured, "he is a member of the main house bloodline who was...
raised in secret?"
The previous Master, Lord Honju, had passed away young, leaving only the
four-year-old Kagaya to inherit the name. But that was the official lineage.
This Kokonoe boy... he's roughly the same age as the Master. His features are
refined, his posture is noble... and that Jade...
The rest of the thought died in his throat. He didn't dare say it out loud. The
two priests exchanged a look, both seeing the same storm of suspicion and awe in
the other's eyes.
Deep in the mountain forest, the scent of copper and wisteria blossoms wove
together in an eerie dance.
Giyu Tomioka gripped his Nichirin Sword, his breathing jagged with tension. His
movements were stiff, and beads of sweat were beginning to form on his forehead.
This was his first time facing the monsters known as "Demons."
It was nothing like he'd imagined. The bloodshot, bulging eyes; the rancid
stench of rot on their breath; the undisguised, raw hunger in their gaze...
It all hit him like an invisible crushing weight, pinning his spirit to the
ground.
"Is this brat supposed to be a swordsman?! Hahaha! What's wrong, kid? Gonna piss
yourself?!"
"Just stay still, and maybe... I'll give you a quick death!"
The demon's arrogant taunts roared in Giyu's ears. It wasn't the same demon that
had attacked his home, but the sight of it triggered a playback of his worst
memory: his sister pinned beneath a monster, enduring agony just to tell him to
run.
My body... I can't move...
This was nothing like sparring with Sabito or following Master Urokodaki's
drills. He wasn't hitting a target dummy, and he wasn't receiving "educational
impacts" from Natsuya-aniki.
In that split second, a scene from his training flashed in his mind.
He remembered Natsuya applying ointment to his bruised face after a particularly
brutal session, lecturing him while he worked.
"Oi. Why do you turn into a bot the moment the pressure spikes? What are you
gonna do when a real mob spawns? Just wait to be a snack?"
"Sabito... Sabito will save me."
Natsuya: "Sabito? You're just gonna wait for him to carry you? Or are you
planning to drag him down into a 'Wipe' with you?"
"No... (I'll never let Sabito get hurt!)"
Natsuya: "Then stop talkng and start grinding. Didn't you promise Sabito you'd
live for your sister's sake?"
"... (I don't know what to do.)"
At the time, Giyu hadn't had an answer. Every time he thought of his sister, or
Sabito, or the demons, his brain turned into static. He could only respond with
silence.
"What's your favorite food?" Natsuya had suddenly asked, pivoting the
conversation to something completely unrelated.
"Eh? Salmon with Daikon Radish..."
Natsuya had clapped his hands together and shouted, "Fine! If you're that
scared, just squint your eyes. Treat the demon like a salmon... no, wait. Treat
the demon like a giant Daikon Radish."
"A... radish?"
"Exactly! Stop overthinking the lore. Just use your Water Breathing."
Natsuya had pulled Giyu up and extended a fist. "For Sabito and your sister...
slice the radish."
"Giyu! Wake up!"
Sabito's shout dragged him back to the present. The demon had already launched
itself toward him.
Sabito's hand dropped to his own hilt. Is it too early to let Giyu face a demon?
He was about to draw and intervene when he felt the black-haired boy's breathing
suddenly drop. It became low, steady, and focused.
"Slice... the radish..."
Giyu exhaled sharply, forcibly dragging his erratic lungs back into the rhythm
of Water Breathing. His body performed a side-step by instinct, letting the
demon's claws graze his haori.
The moment he moved, his muscle memory overwrote his terror.
[Water Breathing] [First Form: Water Surface Slash]
The demon's strength and speed were far superior to an average human's. But to
the Giyu of this moment, it looked like a slow-moving snail.
A pale blue arc of light rippled along the blade, passing through the demon with
the gentleness of a tide.
The next second, the demon's head hit the dirt.
"W-What? How?! You little brat—!"
The demon dissolved into ash amidst its own confused roaring.
Giyu stared at the fading remains, stunned. Beside him, a "random Slayer"
candidate watched with pure worship. "S-So strong! In one strike...!"
The boy—Murata—was also a Water-user, but he knew he couldn't have pulled off a
slash that fluid and seamless.
Sabito, wearing his fox mask, let out a long sigh of relief. Giyu had always
been stronger than that demon; he was just shackled by his past. Now... he was
finally starting to walk forward.
He walked over and patted Giyu's shoulder. "Good work, Giyu."
Giyu looked up, the shock still in his eyes. He whispered to Sabito, "Sabito...
that demon..."
"He was way weaker than Natsuya-aniki's 'training' mode."
Natsuya didn't have the demon's warping or regeneration, but he had speed that
was a literal ghost and a fist that hurt worse than a Nichirin blade. Giyu had
braced himself for a life-or-death struggle, but the fight had ended in one
frame.
The demon had spent the whole time acting like he was the Final Boss, but he was
just a tutorial mob.
Sabito chuckled. "Natsuya-aniki is a 'special case.' You can't compare regular
demons to him."
He wondered where Natsuya was now and how far his training had gone. I really
want to see him again...
Thinking of that, Sabito's smile faded. His eyes grew sharp. "Don't let your
guard down."
"This mountain has more than just strays. I can... sense something. Something
terrible is deep in the heart of these woods."
It wasn't a sensory detection. It was an unnameable intuition. Deep in the
mountain, there was a [Shackle of Fate] that felt linked to his own destiny.
"Let's go. We have more 'radishes' to clear."
Giyu turned to the random Slayer standing nearby. "Follow us. (Let's group up,
Mr. Murata.)"
The trio headed deeper into the forest.
☆☆☆
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