The morning on Mount Sagiri was thick with mist, the mountain veiled in a heavy fog that blurred the world into pale shadows. Sakonji Urokodaki had risen early, earlier than usual. Compared to the listless routine he had fallen into over the years, there was a clear vigor in him now, a sense of purpose rekindled. After making a few simple preparations, the old man put on his tengu mask and made his way down the mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, members of the Kakushi were already waiting for him. Alongside them stood more than twenty children, most of them with strong builds and healthy constitutions.
"Sir, these children have all come to study under you and learn the art of slaying demons."
The Kakushi member stepped forward, speaking with deep respect. It had been so long since Urokodaki had agreed to train new disciples that even they found it rare enough to feel almost miraculous.
At those words, the gathered boys and girls all turned their eyes toward him. And when they saw the old man's fierce-looking tengu mask, many of them visibly tensed with nervousness.
All except one.
Compared to the other youths, whose bodies looked healthy and strong, this boy was clearly frail. Even through his clothes, it was obvious he carried very little muscle. And yet, unlike the others, he showed no fear at the sight of the mask. There was a calm stubbornness in his gaze, a quiet, immovable resolve.
The boy had black hair styled in a rough mohawk, and a scar ran down the right side of his face to the bridge of his nose, the kind of wound that spoke of surviving something brutal.
Urokodaki's attention settled on him almost immediately.
To learn Sun Breathing demanded extraordinary physical strength. Even for those with talent, mastering it was no easy matter. And this frail boy, by every measure, did not meet the requirements.
"This child… was he sent here as well?"
Urokodaki turned to ask the Kakushi beside him.
When he had sent word to Oyakata-sama by kasugai crow, he had been explicit about the standards, especially the need for exceptional physical aptitude. His intention had been to help cultivate a new generation of swordsmen capable of practicing Sun Breathing for Soma. He had been idle far too long.
Though he himself was a user of Water Breathing, he could feel the violent, overbearing nature of Sun Breathing. It was a savage style of breathing, one that would tear apart an unprepared body from the inside. Without tremendous physical resilience, one simply could not withstand it.
"We met him on the road," the Kakushi explained quietly. "Somehow he overheard we were taking people to learn demon hunting, and he followed us all the way here. No matter what we did, we couldn't shake him."
After hearing that, Urokodaki looked at the boy again.
As if sensing he was being judged, the boy instinctively straightened, puffing out a chest that held little strength. Against the others, his thinness seemed even more glaring.
Urokodaki sighed.
And yet, he still stepped forward.
"What is your name?"
The boy lifted his head.
"Genya Shinazugawa."
Urokodaki's voice softened.
"I'm sorry, child. You do not meet the requirements."
Genya froze, standing there as if he no longer knew what to do.
"You should leave."
Urokodaki reached out and patted the boy on the shoulder, then turned to call for the others to follow him up the mountain.
But Genya did not leave.
He clenched his teeth and, without saying a word, followed behind them.
Urokodaki tried to persuade him several times along the way, but it was useless. The boy refused to turn back.
Then, finally, one of the sturdier boys lost his patience.
"You know you're really annoying, right?" he snapped. "We already told you that you don't qualify, so why are you still following us?"
He had been irritated with Genya for a while now. The boy had stubbornly clung to them all this way, and he had long since grown sick of it.
Genya stood up straight and shot back without hesitation, his expression turning fierce.
"Stay out of my business. Who the hell do you think you are?"
The insult lit a fire under the other boy.
Furious, he rolled up his sleeves, clearly ready to beat Genya senseless.
Yet though Genya's body was far weaker by comparison, not a trace of fear appeared on his face.
No hesitation.
No retreat.
The moment the other boy moved to strike, Genya attacked first.
His fist shot forward and slammed into the boy hard enough to send him stumbling backward.
And in that instant—
the boy's anger exploded.
Soon, the two were locked in a brawl.
It was obvious from the start that Genya Shinazugawa, with his thin and underdeveloped frame, was no match for the sturdier boy. Before long, he was knocked to the ground and pinned beneath him.
Sakonji Urokodaki only glanced back once and made no move to stop it. In fact, he almost welcomed it. If a beating was enough to make the boy recognize reality and retreat on his own, then perhaps that was for the best. Sometimes pain made a lesson clearer than words ever could.
"Catch up when you're done," Urokodaki said to the boy who had Genya pinned beneath him.
"Yes, sir!"
The boy answered eagerly, almost energized by the permission, and drove another punch into Genya's face, hard enough to make his vision swim.
"With that pathetic body, you think you can hunt demons? Keep dreaming."
One punch followed another. The second blow split the corner of Genya's mouth, blood running down his face.
And yet, even so, Genya did not utter a single word.
Though he was losing from beginning to end, though he was being beaten down over and over, he never stopped resisting.
Never stopped fighting back.
…
By the time Urokodaki led the group of youths halfway up Mount Sagiri, the sounds of training were already drifting from the clearing ahead.
The first thing that caught everyone's attention was two girls sparring.
One of them, a girl with pinkish-purple eyes, clearly held the upper hand. Again and again, she knocked down the cute-faced girl opposite her, only to tilt her head slightly afterward and curl a finger in a silent, almost mocking beckon—inviting her to try again.
The cute-faced girl puffed out her cheeks in anger, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and charged back in while practically crying.
Nearby, a scarred boy was faring no better, getting thrown down over and over by a girl in a fox mask with closed eyes.
A few younger boys and girls were also scattered around the clearing, practicing with wooden swords.
And in the very center—
there was a man with his upper body bare, muscles carved as though from iron, doing push-ups as if the world around him didn't exist.
"Three thousand one hundred and thirty-three… three thousand one hundred and thirty-four…"
The man was, of course, Soma.
Seeing Urokodaki arrive with such a large group of boys and girls, he stopped mid-exercise and rose to his feet.
"These are…?"
He walked over, curiosity in his eyes as he looked over the group.
"They've come to learn Sun Breathing," Urokodaki said, glancing over the sturdy young recruits. "And if they can't master it, I'll teach them Water Breathing instead. They were all carefully selected. Their physical foundations are solid."
Soma nodded.
Long ago, before the Final Selection on Mount Fujikasane, Urokodaki had already mentioned wanting him to serve as a trainer as well—to help train more people in Sun Breathing. Soma had never refused, but events had carried him straight into the Final Selection, and he had assumed it would be some time before any trainees actually arrived.
Yet now, they were already here.
It was starting today.
"To be honest," Soma said with a faintly awkward smile, "I've never been a trainder before. I have no idea how to teach anyone. I'll have to trouble you, Urokodaki-san."
"That won't be a problem," Urokodaki replied with a nod. "I'll guide them alongside you."
Soma counted the newcomers with a glance.
"Is this everyone? One, two… thirteen… twenty-four. Twenty-four in total?"
"There's one more," Urokodaki replied. "Still behind us. He should be here soon."
In his mind, it wouldn't be long before that sturdy boy finished pounding Genya into submission and came up the mountain.
"One more?" Soma murmured. "Then we'll wait a little."
He stepped forward and waved the arriving boys and girls toward places where they could rest, then returned to the residence and sought out Kie Kamado, asking if she could trouble herself to prepare food for everyone.
"No problem at all, sir."
Kie agreed at once, her expression bright and warm, as though the extra work brought her genuine pleasure.
"Then I'll be troubling you, Lady Kie. In a few days, some members of the Kakushi will come to help, so it won't be this exhausting for long. These first few days may be a little hard."
Kie shook her head gently. "Being able to help you, sir, is my good fortune. I don't find it burdensome at all."
As she spoke, she handed him a clean towel she had just washed.
Soma accepted it and wiped away the sweat from training. It was almost strange, he thought, that even after becoming a perfect lifeform, this body still sweated after prolonged exertion, still felt traces of fatigue. The sensation was faint—so slight it barely registered—but it was there. A reminder, perhaps, that even perfection did not mean the absence of physical response.
After drying himself, he returned the towel to Kie and made his way back to Sakonji Urokodaki.
By then, the boys and girls Urokodaki had brought were gathered around him as he explained the most fundamental principles—basic breathing rhythms, foundational techniques, the things every swordsman had to understand before they could ever touch something as demanding as Sun Breathing.
Soma stood nearby without interrupting, listening just as seriously as the children.
In truth, these were the things he lacked most.
About half an hour passed before Urokodaki finally stopped. He then asked Makomo, who had finished training, to lead the youths to the rooms where they would stay that night—the old quarters once used by her senior brothers and sisters, and by Sabito. Those rooms had stood empty for a very long time.
Soma looked into the distance.
"That child still hasn't arrived?"
"Let's go take a look," Urokodaki said, sounding puzzled.
The boy called Genya Shinazugawa was obviously much weaker physically, while the other youth had been far stronger. By all reason, that fight should have ended quickly.
Especially considering that when Urokodaki had left, Genya had been utterly outmatched, barely able to defend himself.
"Alright."
Soma was curious too, and followed him as they started down the mountain.
But before they had gone far, they saw a figure below them on the slope—
a boy drenched in blood, limping, dragging himself upward with agonizing effort.
Every movement looked as though it consumed the last of his strength.
Soma's gaze fixed on him.
"Is this the one you meant, Urokodaki-sama?"
Urokodaki fell silent for a moment as he looked at the bloodied boy who seemed barely able to stand, yet still forced himself to climb.
Then he shook his head.
"No. I meant the other one—the stronger child." His voice carried genuine surprise. "I didn't expect… him to win. By all reason, he shouldn't have."
"We'll know once we ask," Soma said, then moved.
With a few swift bounds across the mountain path, he reached the boy in moments and landed in front of him.
"You're badly hurt," he said, catching him before he could collapse. "It looks serious."
Genya let him support him, breathing raggedly.
"At least… I'm not dead, am I?"
Even after saying that, he lifted his head, not looking at Soma, but staring straight at the old man in the tengu mask.
"I won."
"He lost."
Urokodaki let out a quiet sigh.
"By all rights, you should have been the one to lose."
Genya's expression did not change.
"That's because he didn't dare kill me."
His voice was weak, but steady.
"And if he couldn't kill me, then he couldn't end the fight." He spoke as if reciting something simple, something obvious.
"When my left arm broke and I couldn't move it, I used my right."
"When my right arm stopped working, I bit with my teeth."
"I used my head to smash into him."
"As long as even one part of my body could still attack…"
"I would keep fighting."
He looked up, eyes burning with a terrifyingly simple conviction.
"…Until my life ended."
Urokodaki stared at him, deeply moved.
"It's hard to imagine…"
Though he had not witnessed the battle itself, he could see it clearly enough in his mind.
A frail boy, bloodied and broken, fighting like a feral beast that refused to die.
Soma, standing beside them, asked, "What happened to the other boy?"
Genya raised his chin slightly, the scar running from his right cheek to his nose making his young face seem unexpectedly fierce.
"I scared him off."
A faint grin pulled at his lips.
"He ran."
"I frightened him so badly he fled."
Then he lifted his head again and looked directly at Urokodaki.
"Now…"
"Can I learn demon slaying from you?"
Urokodaki sighed, though there was something different in his eyes now.
"Why go this far?"
He stepped closer and began checking the boy's injuries.
The wounds were severe.
But Genya seemed almost indifferent to the pain.
Instead, he bared his teeth in a grin.
"If I don't have this level of resolve…"
"…then I have no right to learn demon-slaying."
"And no right to hunt demons."
Both Urokodaki and Soma looked at him in silence.
For a moment, neither spoke.
And then Genya said nothing more.
Because he had already lost consciousness.