The commotion in the yard was impossible to ignore.
Isao, who wanted to rest and comfort Shinobu, also couldn't focus on what he wanted to do, so he walked out of his room and saw a short elderly man who was crying, bowing his head on the dirty ground while being pinned by many.
Were they trying to stop the elderly man from committing seppuku?
"Jii-chan..."
Isao also noticed a young man with strange blonde hair crying, yet also confused about what to do.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah, Iinuma-kun, it's like this..." Kagaya, who was troubled, also quickly told what was happening to Isao.
Jigoro Kuwajima.
This was the name of this short elderly man, and he was also the former Thunder Hashira, who was also called by Kagaya to teach Isao.
Frankly, it was rare for a Hashira to be able to live until now, and of course, due to this, each of them was treasured by Kagaya as they could teach the next generation of the Demon Slayer like the young man with blonde hair, who stayed by the side of this short elderly man.
If it was a normal situation, it would have been impossible for Kagaya to let Jigoro die, but Jigoro's disciple, Kaigaku, had betrayed the Demon Slayer and transformed himself into a demon!
For someone who swore to erase all the demons in this world and become an existence that they swore to kill. Naturally, such a shame couldn't be described by a mere word. It was natural for everyone to understand why Jigoro wished to commit seppuku.
Kagaya, the others, and even Jigoro's disciples also didn't think to stop Jigoro because they also felt like this was normal.
For such a shame, it was natural for Jigoro to commit seppuku, a suicide ritual in this country.
Even if Jigoro had given all of his life to the Demon Slayer, a single mistake had turned him into a sinner.
Still, Kagaya and the others knew that Jigoro's existence was needed to teach Isao the "Thunder Breathing," and when Jigoro was done, then Jigoro could continue with his seppuku. It might seem cold, but the social norm was like this.
Frankly, if Kagaya and the others didn't search for him at this moment, Jigoro would commit seppuku, slit his stomach open alone, then died due to bleeding in the middle of the forest until he was found by his other disciple, Zenitsu Agatsuma.
If someone thought that was normal, then it wasn't the case since a seppuku was usually done with several people.
The one who did seppuku would cut their stomach open, and the companion would cut his head down so the one who did seppuku wouldn't die in pain.
The female frowned when they heard Kagaya's story, but they didn't say anything.
However, Isao frowned, then walked toward Jigoro, who still wailed, trying to tell everyone to kill him as Jigoro couldn't live in this life with a shame like this. The taste of shame, embarrassment, and also the pain of having one of two disciples turn into a demon, an existence loathed by his organization, was so painful that he wished to die.
"Please let me commit seppuku! I can't bear this shame!"
Everyone was helpless and didn't know what to do, but suddenly, Isao came toward them.
"Iinuma-sama?"
While Kagaya called his name normally, the others called Isao with the "-sama" suffix.
Why?
It was the difference of their power.
They had seen how Isao had mastered all the breathing styles instantly, which was something that they couldn't do even if they were given so many years or until they died, which was why they respected him much even if... they were an asshole toward him before.
Yet, what they didn't expect was that—
Slap.
Isao slapped the old man's cheek without mercy.
The tingling pain and heat that came from this slap quickly shut Jigoro.
While Isao tried to hold his strength since his single slap was enough to make Jigoro's head fly off his neck, it still made a few of Jigoro's teeth broken, his mouth bloody, and his head dizzy.
[You have acquired Jigoro Kuwajima's DNA.]
[Do you want to absorb it?]
"Let him go."
While Isao didn't shout, his voice was full of authority. All of them quickly let go of Jigoro at the same time and stood up straight by Isao's side, waiting for his order anytime.
Zenitsu was dumbfounded and wanted to say something, but he was just standing there, trembling in fear.
The rest was also in a daze by Isao's actions, but Isao ignored them and said, "Can you hear me, old man? I don't care if you die or if your disciple becomes a demon, but instead of wailing like a baby asking to die, then you might as well use your remaining strength to kill your disciple. Take your katana, search for that bastard, and kill him with your hands. Wash your own shame rather than die meaninglessly with a seppuku.
Until the end, use your strength to kill a demon!
"Now, if you understand, then hurry up and teach me to do "Thunder breathing" without wasting my time."
"....."
As Isao let him go, Jigoro's head touched the ground, and he closed his eyes in tears. He lifted his head, then slammed it several times on the ground, kowtowing until his forehead bled.
"....."
Isao wondered whether he had made Jigoro crazy.
"Oyakata-sama, I will use my remaining life to be useful and kill that bastard with my own hand! And I will teach you with my everything."
Jigoro said those words with all of his might, and everyone could also feel the determination in his voice. Instead of committing seppuku, he would use his remaining life to kill the bastard who had betrayed the Demon Slayer Corps and become a demon. Even if he died, he would become an evil spirit to haunt that bastard!
"Yes, I expect a lot from you, Jigoro Kuwajima."
With those words, Jigoro was ready to teach Isao everything, but he also wished to start his journey to kill his disciples. Yet, he was dumbfounded when Isao mastered "Thunder Breathing" so quickly.
Even the master of "Water Breathing," Sakonji Urokodaki, who saw everything, was dumbfounded.
Watching how Isao mastered "Thunder Breathing" instantly, even though they had expected this, they were still in a daze.
"Now, go." Isao waved his hand at Jigoro.
"Thank you." Jigoro bowed his head at Isao deeply.
Even Zenitsu, Jigoro's disciple, who hated a handsome man, kowtowed deeply to Isao because Isao was the one who changed Jigoro's stubborn thoughts, which made him wish to die.
Watching this, Isao somehow strangely felt relief.
Oh, right!
When they were about to leave, Isao patted the young man's back.
[You have acquired Zenitsu Agatsuma's DNA.]
[Do you want to absorb it?]
"You don't like to see someone do a seppuku?"
Isao glanced at the elderly man with a strange mask on his face and said, "I hate it. There is nothing honorable about seppuku. It is just a means to escape trouble. Even if you lose everything, as long as you have your hands, feet, head, and the last breath of your life, then fight. Even if it's ugly, so what? It is ugly, but you have lost everything anyway, so what are you embarrassed about?
"Moreover, dying while fighting is much better than dying by committing suicide, right?"
While there were many things that one could learn from a country's culture, there were also some bad parts, and seppuku was one of them.
One was expected to die when one had so much shame. Moreover, when they die, they would leave so much trouble, burdens, and shame to their family.
If they had time to do that, then they might as well fight till the bitter ends.
"...."
They all felt strange since Isao was so much different from them, yet they had to admit this guy was so damn charming.
"Are you the master of the "Water Breathing"?"
"Yes." Sakonji Urokodaki nodded.
"I don't have much time. Teach me now."
"Yes."
It was no surprise since Isao mastered the "Water Breathing" style instantly, which made all of them look at the sky in silence, lamenting their weakness.
At the same time, Isao had mastered all the breathing styles except for the "Moon Breathing" and the "Sun Breathing." The "Moon Breathing" aside, as it was owned by the enemy, he felt that he should have found the protagonist soon, and while it was strange, he hoped that Tanjiro Kamado didn't have a tragic beginning.
Still, before that, he was going to make his own weapons, but what kind of weapons would be suitable for him?
It definitely couldn't be Katana since he didn't like Katana that much.
Many stories might depict it as a powerful, sharp, and dangerous weapon, yet in reality, it was a fragile weapon, and after several uses, the blade would crack.
Naturally, the masters of swordsmanship were different, but how many masters of swordsmanship in this world?
When Isao was in doubt, Kagaya, the smart man, never disappointed him. "Do you want to visit the Swordsmith Village?"
---
By the way, what do you think of "Boruto," "Kaiju 8," and "Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry"?