Several gazes, as if rehearsed beforehand, landed on him in unison..
Makomo raised her head sharply... Sabito's eyes were bright..
Urokodaki Sakonji put down his knife and looked back.. Roy smiled, revealing a row of white teeth, and said to himself, "I promised Master that after killing the Demon King, I'd return to the mountain to drink with my senior brothers and sisters... I can't be drinking alone then. I've always thought it would be much more enjoyable with everyone together. '
"Whoosh" A cold wind blew past... In an instant, Makomo closed the distance to Roy's side, grabbing his hand and saying, "Eiichiro, do you have a way?"
The girl was full of anticipation and nervousness, her beautiful eyes blinking as she looked at Roy with eager hope..
Roy nodded lightly. "Of course."
He then looked around, his gaze settling on Sabito, Shinsuke, Fukuda, and the others. "I'll have to ask my senior brothers and sisters to choose an item to serve as your new vessel. With this as an anchor, I can properly avenge you.. " "And you won't have to worry about fading away."
"What kind of item?"
"Are there any special requirements? Like wood or stone containing yin energy?"
"Eiichiro, can you really do it again?"
"Whoosh" The wooden hut instantly seemed to come alive. Streams of cold wind circled around Roy...
Shinsuke, Fukuda, Watanabe, Shimizu... every last one of them gathered around, encircling Roy.
Sabito leaned against a pillar, watching silently as the young man patiently answered everyone's questions. He had never felt so strongly... 'It's really great to have Eiichiro as a junior brother!'
'Whether it's him, Makomo, or the other juniors like Shinsuke and Fukuda, or even Master... perhaps none of them have realized..'
'...that they have all, imperceptibly, come to rely on Eiichiro.'
'When did it start?'
'Perhaps it began the very first day he appeared on Mount Sagiri with his younger brother.'
The corners of Sabito's mouth turned up slightly. He strode forward, moved through the crowd, and reached out to pat Roy's shoulder. "Let me be the example for the others."
Nothing in this world is absolute. If something were to go wrong, someone had to take responsibility. It wasn't that Sabito didn't trust Roy's abilities, but... he couldn't bear to see any of the others "go" before him.
If they were destined to fade away, he, as the eldest senior brother, would go first.
"Senior brother..." Makomo looked at Sabito, wanting to speak but holding back... Shinsuke and Fukuda were both silent. They had always followed Sabito's lead and knew that once he made a decision, no one could sway him.
They could only glance at Roy, looking at the young man with hope.
Roy was much calmer than they expected. He said nothing, simply giving Sabito a slight nod.
The fox boy looked around... Suddenly, he saw Master Urokodaki Sakonji, who had washed his hands, retrieve a box from a hidden compartment beneath the cupboard. He opened it, revealing several lifelike small wooden figures.
Looking closely, they were clearly wooden carvings modeled after Sabito, Makomo, Shinsuke, Fukuda, and the others!
The old man picked up the one belonging to Sabito, placed it on the stove-bed, and said, "Use this."
"This is perfect." Sabito teased Roy, "Only the disciples who died get this treatment. You and Giyu definitely don't have one."
The wooden carvings had clearly been made by Urokodaki Sakonji to commemorate his deceased disciples. Some of them had even been watching when he carved them...
Seeing this, everyone smiled with a shared understanding, each picking up their own figure and lining them up neatly on the stove-bed.
Roy hesitated no longer. He grabbed Sabito's wooden figure, coated it with a layer of "Nen," then used his "Will Scissors" with a snip. [Shu] complete!
The wooden figure, enveloped in a milky-white Nen aura, left its ordinary state and was upgraded into a [Nen Item]!
The young man then set it down and said to Sabito, "Senior brother, if you please."
Sabito nodded. His form dissolved into a cold wind and suddenly drilled into the wooden figure... Everyone watched in anticipation... The wooden figure's eyes "swish" snapped open. In an instant, it had "come alive."
It then stretched its arms, kicked its legs, and moved its neck. It was a perfect, smaller version of Sabito!
"It really worked!" Shinsuke's eyes went wide. He reached out to roughly pat Sabito, only to be glared at, causing him to sheepishly retract his hand... The fox boy looked at his new body in disbelief, as if reborn. His first act was to kneel and bow to Roy.
But Roy anticipated it and dodged aside.
'Good... very good... it couldn't be better...' Urokodaki Sakonji's old eyes shimmered with emotion. He said to Roy in a deep voice, "Eiichiro, your senior brother is thanking you. You should accept it."
To be given a new body was no less than the gift of life.
"Master is right." Sabito clenched his new hands. "A pity I'm missing a sword. Otherwise... I'd go down the mountain with you and fight that guy again!"
"How could we let senior brother have all the fun?"
"If we're going, we all go together!"
"Yeah... yeah... We'll have the swordsmiths from the village forge us some smaller Nichirin Swords. Let's see if I don't chop that guy's head off this time!"
The excitement was palpable... Roy felt a tug on his sleeve. Turning his head, he saw Makomo looking at him eagerly. "Hey, Eiichiro. It's my turn."
"Of course I wouldn't forget you, senior sister."
The young man took Makomo's wooden figure and, just as he did for Sabito, imbued it with [Shu]... The girl couldn't wait, diving straight in. When she opened her eyes again, she spun around in delight. Never before had she felt how wonderful it was to be "alive"!
"Eiichiro, my turn... And me... I want one too.. "
Following Sabito and Makomo, Shinsuke, Fukuda, Watanabe, Shimizu... one by one, the small wooden figures came to life, stretching their limbs as they leaped and bounded around the hut. Anyone who didn't know better would think they had stumbled into a land of little people, filled with lively wooden dolls.
Urokodaki Sakonji watched with a smile, letting them frolic without interruption. The trace of guilt and self-blame hidden in his heart for so many years quietly dissipated at this moment...
"Master, the pot is about to boil over."
"Gurgle gurgle"
The steam pushed the pot lid up, and it was just about to fall off when Makomo, with quick eyes and hands, turned off the heat and secured the lid in one smooth motion... This was something her former self could never have done.
"Coming... coming..." Urokodaki Sakonji, smiling, lifted the lid, and the aroma of miso soup drifted out...
A chorus of sniffing sounds was heard... Shinsuke, Fukuda, and the others, who had been playing, all stopped. They discovered in amazement... they actually had a "sense of smell," they could "smell" things....
They turned to look at Roy.
The young man stroked his chin in thought. As he looked up, understanding dawned... 'The five senses—"sight," "hearing," "smell," "taste," and "touch"—are ultimately processed by the brain, which receives signals perceived through imagination.'
'And "Nen" itself is a product of "imagination." The wooden figures rely on "Nen" to display "activity," so it's only natural that they would also gain the "five senses."'
'They can hear, see, smell, touch, and eat... but they can't digest....'
Roy smiled. "Congratulations, senior brothers and sisters, on your rebirth."
Shinsuke jumped up and immediately gave him a punch. "Eiichiro, I knew you were capable!"
Before he even landed, Fukuda grabbed him from behind in a headlock... It scared him so much he quickly surrendered, "Don't... don't... this is wood! Fukuda, you bastard, be gentle!"
"Now you're scared?" Fukuda snorted, releasing Shinsuke. He pressed down on his head and, copying Sabito, bowed deeply to Roy. Then came Shimizu... then Watanabe... then Yagiku... one by one, the little figures bowed.
This time, Roy didn't dodge, accepting the gesture gratefully. He glanced at Sabito, who was leaning against the pillar, and they shared a smile.
"Soup's here!"
Just then, with a cry, "da... da... da... " Makomo came out, pattering on her little legs, holding a pot of porridge. A trace of it was still on her lips... she had just tasted it. It was fresh and delicious...
As soon as she placed it on the kotatsu, "da... da... da..... "
Shinsuke, Fukuda, and the others swarmed around it, staring intently, their eyes filled with desire.
Urokodaki Sakonji, having finished slicing the sashimi, came out with the plate. Seeing this scene, his heart ached a little... The "lonely spirits" who had wandered the mountains for so long finally had a place to belong.
Wasn't this, in its own way, a form of release?
He turned and told everyone to get their own bowls and chopsticks. They gathered around the kotatsu and the meal officially began!
"I'm starting." The old man put his hands together. The moment he finished speaking, the kotatsu was hit as if by a tornado. Shinsuke, Fukuda, and the others ate like locusts, devouring more than half the food. Even the usually demure Makomo and Yagiku rarely ate two bowls of rice. Sabito scolded them with a laugh, "You guys, just tasting it is enough,"
"Didn't you hear Eiichiro? You can eat, but you can't digest. You're just wasting food."
"It's fine." Roy could understand... If he had "starved" for so many years, he might be even crazier than Shinsuke and the others at the sight of food....
Urokodaki Sakonji also said with a grin, "Let them eat. The house has plenty of rice."
Besides, they were just "little people," they couldn't eat that much anyway... The breakfast quickly ended amidst laughter and playful arguments.
Afterward, the young man helped Urokodaki Sakonji, Makomo, and Sabito wash the dishes and then began to pack his belongings.
The wooden hut seemed to grow quiet again..
When he came to Mount Sagiri to become a disciple, he had carried a bamboo basket with one change of clothes. It was the same when he left... The young man quickly packed his bag, taking only one change of clothes and grasping his Asauchi in his hand.
Time to descend the mountain.
"Creaak"
The wooden door opened.
Urokodaki Sakonji was silent. He had cooked a fresh pot of rice and made rice balls with sashimi for Roy to take. He patted his shoulder, smoothing out the wrinkles on his clothes... A thousand words were condensed into one: "Go."
Sabito, Makomo, Shinsuke, Fukuda... stood in a line, watching him silently.
The young man smiled and waved, said nothing, and turned to leave, not taking a single cloud with him.
The morning sun filtered through the mist, casting mottled light on Roy's not-so-tall back.
Makomo cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Come back safely!"
Roy's steps paused for a moment. "Of course."
He set off again, disappearing from their sight in an instant.
"Stop looking. It won't be long before we see him again," Sabito said, patting Makomo's small head. The girl gave a soft "mhm," agreeing verbally, but her body remained honestly rooted in place, unable to look away for a long time.
Half a year wasn't long, but it certainly wasn't short. Roy wasn't made of wood; he naturally understood how clinging the sorrow of separation could be. So, just like Giyu Tomioka, his departure was resolute. Not for any other reason, but for... reunion.
'However... the next time we meet, it should be after Muzan is dead!'
He clutched his sword tightly. His footsteps quickened. The young man flickered, a phantom moving through the forest. He left Mount Sagiri, heading straight for Mount Fujikasane.
The Demon Slayer Corps' annual selection had already begun.
The Ubuyashiki Estate.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya, a blanket covering his lap, listened as Hinaki and Nichika reported on the selection arrangements.
At a certain moment, he heard Gyomei Himejima, who was chanting sutras nearby, say, "Master, Giyu Tomioka has arrived."
Just then, announced by a guard... Giyu Tomioka, wearing his red, yellow, and white mismatched haori and carrying the "Crimson Sword method," rounded the corridor, appearing before Ubuyashiki Kagaya, covered in dust from his journey.