34. Sa-ne-mi-kun!
Does he think that just wielding a blade and intimidating with a scarred face would scare Kotaro?
Well, it is indeed scary, but Kotaro sharpened his gaze and stared back, tilting his head slightly upward, trying to act as if he, too, was ready to fight.
Anger made Kotaro forget all the customs of being gentle and polite, bringing out his modern, rebellious personality.
"You…! I will kill you!"
"Meh~ Kill me? You can't even defeat my wife. As for killing me? Keep dreaming!"
Mitsuri was shocked that Kotaro mentioned her. What is Kotaro-sama doing by bringing her up? As Kotaro claimed that Sanemi couldn't even defeat his wife, all eyes fell on Mitsuri, making her a bit shy from the sudden attention, causing her to fidget.
Those feeble arms… No Breathing Technique… And a woman…
All the stereotypes were used to judge Mitsuri's strength. Just looking at her, she seemed like a shy and weak woman.
She can defeat Sanemi, the Wind Hashira?
Thinking that Kotaro was mocking him by mentioning his wife, Sanemi burst out in anger and was ready to strike with a cry.
"What did you say?!"
"Sanemi."
"Yes, Oyakata-sama."
As if all that anger had vanished—no, as if it never existed—that's how it seemed to Kotaro. Just with a single word, Sanemi was on his knees, bowing to Kagaya. Damn! This is no longer just the level of a leader. He's more like a master, training them like dogs!
Kotaro could almost see dog ears and a tongue panting for affection on Sanemi's face. To make sure, he rubbed his eyes, only to find it was just his imagination.
'Scary!'
Now he was genuinely scared.
"Kotaro-kun."
And a soft, gentle voice called him out, almost making his goosebumps rise. Such a soothing sound…
"Yes."
Kotaro looked at Kagaya, who seemed to be looking directly at him despite being blind. He probably determined his direction through sound. Or did he use his superpower?
The Ubuyashiki family, though cursed for birthing the original demon, also has a superpower—Foresight. This is essentially future sight. Not to an exceptional level, but it's ingrained in their instincts to avoid disastrous situations and amass a lot of wealth.
Otherwise, how could they run such a huge organization?
Not only do they pay the demon slayers, but they also provide them with equipment to fight. Everything essential, from food to medicine, is made available to them, all funded by the Ubuyashiki family.
This temptation was already making Kotaro consider joining the demon slayers. Such treatment… He wouldn't even need to become a Hashira. Just stay at a middle rank, earn money steadily, and then retire when he's saved up enough.
'No. I shouldn't be tempted by these benefits!'
Kotaro shook his head to dispel these thoughts and focused on what Oyakata-sama was about to tell him.
"Kotaro-kun, it is indeed our fault."
"Oyakata-sama!"
Seeing Kagaya bow in front of him made all the Hashira stand up in protest. How could they allow their leader to bow before an ordinary man?
But for Kagaya, pride was nothing. Can pride defeat the demon progenitor? If it could, Kagaya would be prideful.
The Ubuyashiki family has led the Demon Slayer Corps since its inception. They were the founders. So, apart from amassing wealth, they also possess something else—Knowledge. To defeat demons, knowledge is essential.
Strong demons have abilities, and knowledge about these gives slayers an edge over them. From ancient times, the Ubuyashiki family has accumulated knowledge on all the ways to kill demons.
Breathing techniques, Wisteria, Nichirin Blades… All these are products of knowledge that have evolved over time to efficiently kill demons.
So, as the leader, Kagaya knows all of this. But then he found Kyojuro's report—"Hamon."
A new power that can kill a demon without any tools, even at night. This wasn't recorded in any books, so he wanted to witness this new power. If it's true, then they could kill the demon progenitor, Kibutsuji Muzan, even at night!
This realization made him very ecstatic.
To Kagaya, whose whole life purpose is to kill Kibutsuji Muzan, his pride is nothing compared to gaining a power that can defeat Kibutsuji Muzan.
"There is no need to bow, Kagaya-san. It makes me feel embarrassed to see someone older than me bowing. Please, stand up."
As shameless as Kotaro was, he still had a bottom line. He went and helped the frail man to his feet, earning some points in the hearts of the Hashira.
But still, that didn't mean he forgot the grudge.
"But Kagaya-san, I think if we keep talking like this, we won't get anywhere. How about we truly have a competition of strength?"
Kotaro then looked at Sanemi, who was also glaring at him, and smirked, challenging the white-haired man.
"Don't tell me you're backing out, Sa-ne-mi-kun?"
"Pfft!"
Mitsuri was about to laugh at Kotaro's taunt but puffed her cheeks and controlled it at the last second. She couldn't laugh now. If she did, that scary man would definitely jump at them with his green blade.
A vein popped in Sanemi's head, and now his face was more ferocious than ever. Are you sure you didn't kill demons with just your scary face?
Kotaro wanted to say that but stopped. A bit too much taunting might make the Wind Hashira truly launch sharp wind attacks toward him.
But…
"You… I will chop you into pieces!"
But the Wind Hashira was already outraged.
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A/N:
Man, Sanemi's character is so easy. He just shouts, "I will kill you" and that's it.