Chapter 8

Inside the Butterfly Mansion, the loud sounds of a hammer echoed through the corridor where Ali had smashed Inosuke through a wall. The trio of Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu could be seen fixing the wall, nailing long planks of wood across the opening. Upon closer inspection, light bruises were visible on each of their faces, a clear result of Shinobu's disciplinary session earlier. Behind the boys stood Aoi Kanzaki, one of Shinobu's assistants, supervising them to ensure they didn't mess up or try to escape their punishment.

"So who is this guy, anyway?" Inosuke asked as he handed a plank of wood to Tanjiro. Inosuke's stomach was bandaged, a reminder of the kick Ali had given him earlier.

"I don't know, but there's something off about him. I can smell something chilling and heinous from him," Tanjiro replied.

Their conversation was cut short by Aoi's sharp voice from behind them. "How about you idiots stop talking and get back to fixing the wall? Or do you want me to tell Shinobu-san that you're fooling around?"

The boys instantly returned to their work, trembling at the mere mention of Shinobu. The bruises on their bodies seemed to ache more at the thought of her.

"All I know is that his name is Ali, he's a foreigner, and Shinobu-san found him in a forest while she was on a mission," Aoi commented.

"But that doesn't explain the way he treated a Hashira earlier," Zenitsu interrupted.

"I wasn't finished talking, idiot. Anyway, I heard that when Shinobu-san found him, she was shocked to see that the demon she was hunting was skewered into a tree with wooden sticks—by him. They say he subdued a demon with his bare hands without a scratch on him." Hearing this, all three of them were stunned. They knew firsthand how difficult it was to harm a demon without a Nichirin blade.

"But that's not even the most surprising rumour. This morning, he had a meeting with the Hashira and Lord Ubuyashiki to discuss joining our corps. They say that the Wind Hashira challenged him to a spar and lost. Some Kakushi saw the Wind Hashira leaving the meeting injured, with three broken ribs."

This revelation shocked them even more. They all knew how strong a Hashira was. 'Just what kind of monster is he?' they each thought. Tanjiro felt a small sense of satisfaction at the mention of the Wind Hashira getting hurt, remembering how he treated his sister and feeling that he deserved it.

'Look at them, all surprised. What would they think if I told them there's another rumour going around saying that apparently the wind hashira lost in FIVE seconds?' Aoi thought to herself.

"Now get back to work and stop wasting time," Aoi commanded, her voice snapping the boys back to the reality of their punishment.

Meanwhile, Ali stood in his room, dressed only in his boxers. His muscles, which would make Greek gods envious, were fully on display. Every muscle a human could possibly develop was maximised to its fullest potential, giving him the appearance of someone who had reached the apex of human physicality. His skin was crystal clear, but what was most shocking was that despite his intense battles, Ali's body didn't have a single scar—not one.

KNOCK KNOCK. 'I better not show my naked body to anyone here,' Ali thought. 'It's virtually impossible for a fighter of my caliber to not have a single scar. If someone sees and starts talking, they might suspect something. Can't have them thinking I'm some sort of mutant demon that can survive the sun or something. Speaking of demons, I've been smelling something interesting.'

Ali walked up to the door and responded without opening it, "What?"

A timid voice replied from the other side, "Um, there's a grandpa asking for you outside. He says he's here regarding your weapon. Also, the clothes you asked for are ready."

"Leave the clothes outside. Tell the sword-smith I'll be out soon."

Small, light footsteps could be heard as the assistant ran off to relay Ali's message to the sword-smith.

Ali retrieved the bodysuit from outside and put it on. It was slightly too big for him, but he didn't mind. He left his room to meet the sword-smith.

Exiting the mansion, Ali found an old man with a hunched back standing outside. Behind him were two giant, muscular men. All three of them wore strange masks, which looked plain stupid to Ali.

"How dare you take so long to come meet a master sword-smith like me, huh? Do you know how lucky you are that I came out of retirement to make your weapon?" The old man ranted, pointing a finger at Ali's face, clearly displeased with the perceived disrespect.

"Aren't you too old to make my weapon? Are you sure your back won't suddenly snap when you try to swing your hammer, old man?" Ali retorted mockingly, looking down at the master sword-smith. The old man exploded with anger, his muscles suddenly bulging out of his clothes.

"What did you say to me? I dare you to say that again! I'll show you what this old man can do, you ill-mannered brat!" His students had to hold him back from lunging at Ali until he made eye contact with Ali's chilling gaze and suddenly calmed down.

"Ahem, I'll overlook your disrespect this time since you're new to the corps and clearly don't know who you're talking to. Now, tell me what kind of weapon you want a legendary sword-smith like myself to craft for you."

"A spear. I want it to have an unbalanced centre of gravity, closer to the blunt end. Also, make sure it's heavy—heavy enough that those two behind you would struggle to hold it. Oh, and one last thing, the spear should be able to bend a little without breaking, about this much," Ali held out two fingers to show the old man the desired flexibility.

The sword-smith was taken aback by Ali's request. 'I've never heard of anything like this before. A spear with an unbalanced centre of gravity is unusable, and the bending will be nearly impossible with how heavy he wants it to be. This request... it's... it's... JUST WHAT I NEED TO SHOW THOSE IDIOTS IN THE VILLAGE WHO THE BEST SWORD-SMITH IS!!'

"So? Can you do it?"

"Of course I can! You've got the best smith around making your weapon, young man."

Ali nodded and went back inside the Butterfly Mansion. He found one of the three sisters and told her to bring his breakfast to the dining room. She hurried off to inform her two sisters to prepare the food, as they'd already heard about Ali's inhuman appetite from the Kakushi.

Ali walked to the dining room and opened the door. Inside, he saw the same trio—Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu—eating their breakfast. They froze when they saw Ali enter, and their shock deepened as he casually walked over and sat across from them at the table as if nothing had happened between them that morning.

Ali looked at them and said, "You three look like you've had quite a fun day."

Inosuke was about to explode with anger but was reminded of the pain in his stomach and the fear of the beast sitting in front of him. Yes, Inosuke now regarded Ali as a massive wild beast, one that he hated.

"It's because of you! One moment I was sleeping, and the next, I'm getting hit by the Hashira," Zenitsu grumbled.

"Anyway, I think we should introduce ourselves since we're going to be living under the same roof whether we like it or not."

Before Zenitsu or Inosuke could protest, Tanjiro answered Ali with a smile, "My name is Tanjiro, he's Zenitsu, and he's Inosuke. Is it true you beat a demon with your bare hands?"

Five extra chapters on patreon.com/Rondo312