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Chapter 34: Hands in Pockets, I Knew No Equal X Urokodaki's "Compromise"
🕑 Added 2025-10-19 10:37:29 +0000 UTCChapter 34: Hands in Pockets, I Knew No Equal X Urokodaki's "Compromise"
Does killing demons really require a reason? Sabito thought. It was a matter of survival. You kill or you are killed. It was the same lesson he had drilled into Giyu all those years ago.
Now, it seemed, a glimmer of hope had finally returned.
Urokodaki was silent for a few seconds, and then a low, rumbling chuckle escaped from behind his mask. Arrogance? Or is it the supreme confidence of youth? It had been over a decade since anyone had spoken to him with such bluntness.
"If everything in this world were as simple as you say," the old Water Pillar rumbled, "the Demon Slayer Corps would not have been locked in this struggle for a thousand years." He poured a cup of tea and pushed it across the table. Tanjiro, still full from earlier, politely declined. Roy, however, his body still recovering from its forced growth, was ravenous. He accepted the tea and drained it in one gulp.
"In my opinion," Roy said, pushing the cup back for a refill, "the only reason the struggle has lasted so long is because neither side is strong enough to achieve a decisive victory." The Pillars against the Twelve Kizuki, the grunts against the grunts. The balance of power, a stalemate held in place by Muzan's lingering fear of Yoriichi Tsugikuni and the Sun Breathing style he represented.
Urokodaki slid the whole teapot over to Roy, clearly unwilling to continue the debate. He went to the kitchen, returned with a few potatoes, and began to peel them, dropping the chunks into the simmering pot. "Every student of mine must pass a test," he said, his back to them. "After we eat, you will run the length of Sagiri Mountain and return. If you can make it back by sunset, I will accept you as my student."
"Heh heh... this is gonna be good," one of the ghosts, Shinsuke, whispered, zipping around his friend Fukuda. The other ghosts chuckled. After Sabito's death, a heartbroken Urokodaki had made the mountain's traps exponentially more deadly, a subconscious effort to ensure he would never have to take on another student. The mountain was now a deathtrap of hidden pits, swinging logs, and razor-sharp bamboo spikes.
Furthermore, it was winter. The days were short. Urokodaki was giving Roy far less time than he had given Tanjiro in the original story.
"Apologies," Roy said, standing up and walking to the door. "But I'm in a hurry. I'll go now."
"You're not going to eat?"
"Who said I'm not eating?" Roy's voice drifted back as he disappeared into the blizzard. "I'll be back by the time the stew is ready."
"..."
"Whoa... this guy is arrogant!"
Shinsuke and Fukuda exchanged a look of disbelief. The entire ghostly entourage flew out after him, eager to see the show.
"Hey, Sabito," Makomo whispered, "shouldn't we go too? What if..."
"There is no 'what if'," Sabito said, his hand tightening on the hilt of his sword. "A man is responsible for the words he speaks. If he fails, that is his own business." He paused. "Besides... with Shinsuke and the others following him, he won't get himself killed."
But just as he said it, a gust of wind swept through the cabin. The ghosts who had just flown out all came tumbling back in, panting as if they'd just run a marathon. "Damn... he's too fast! We couldn't keep up!"
They... lost him? Sabito stared at the open doorway in disbelief. Beside him, Makomo covered her mouth to stifle a giggle.
A man should not fall into the same trap twice. It was a lesson Roy had learned from two fathers. Silva's version was just a bit more... absolute. An assassin who makes a mistake only makes it once.
If Roy hadn't been moving with his senses pushed to their absolute limit, he would have been tripped by the hidden wire and sent tumbling into a pit lined with sharpened stakes. In the five minutes since he'd left the cabin, he had already navigated seven bladed deadfalls, dodged ten swinging logs, and sidestepped eight tripwire traps. The mountain was a symphony of death. It was a miracle the canon Tanjiro had survived.
SHINK!
He shattered the last swinging log with a Snake Awakens hand-chop.
[Notice: Snake Awakens +1]
He brushed the snow from his shoulders and walked back into the clearing, appearing before the stunned audience of Urokodaki and his ghostly students. He had been gone for less than twenty minutes.
He sat back down by the fire, where a teary-eyed Tanjiro was waiting. "Bro, don't leave me alone again!" the boy wailed, clearly spooked by the ghostly presence he could feel but not see.
"Alright."
"You'll go home tomorrow morning."
Tanjiro's heart broke. But his brother was already ignoring him, his attention focused on the pot of stew. The meat was tender, the potatoes perfectly cooked. It was ready.
"Master," Roy said with a smile, the sun-patterned earring swaying gently. "May we eat now?"
Urokodaki stared at him, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. After a long moment, he nodded. "What is your name, boy?"
"Eiichiro Kamado," the boy replied. "But you can call me Eiichiro."
