Zenitsu Agatsuma took a deep breath.
His muscles tensed, and his expression looked slightly nervous.
"Senior brother…"
He instinctively used that form of address.
Hearing it, a look of disgust appeared on Kaigaku's face.
The other trainees began whispering among themselves.
"Kaigaku…"
"Why is he here?"
Under everyone's watchful gaze, Kaigaku slowly walked up to Zenitsu and narrowed his eyes.
"Zenitsu, I heard… you're going to participate in this Final Selection?"
Zenitsu nodded.
"Yes. Grandpa said I'm ready."
Kaigaku's expression darkened.
"How many times have I told you? Call him Master! He's not your grandpa!"
Zenitsu shrank back, instinctively taking a step backward.
Seeing his reaction, Kaigaku clicked his tongue. For some reason, it only made him even angrier.
"You little—"
Before he could finish, a voice suddenly interrupted him.
"Kaigaku! What are you doing?!"
Kaigaku raised his head toward the house.
At some point, Jigoro Kuwajima had stepped outside and was frowning at him.
Kaigaku walked over, completely ignoring the trainees and the Butterfly Estate medical staff along the way.
"Master, did you forget my advice? You must not let this guy Zenitsu join the Demon Slayer Corps!"
"And your reason?" Kuwajima asked calmly.
Kaigaku turned back to look at Zenitsu.
"It's simple. This guy is weak and useless. If he joins the Demon Slayer Corps and people find out someone like him is actually an inheritor of Thunder Breathing, we'll be laughed at to death!"
Hearing this, Kuwajima sighed.
"Kaigaku, Zenitsu is not the only inheritor of Thunder Breathing. You are also an inheritor."
Kaigaku grew even more furious.
"If people find out I inherited it together with him, I'll be laughed at even worse!"
"I, Kaigaku, cannot be compared to such trash! Master, can't you see the difference between him and me?!"
A sorrowful expression appeared on Kuwajima's face.
He opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.
Once upon a time, Kaigaku had been his most beloved disciple.
Exceptionally talented and extremely hardworking, he could complete any training trial with unwavering determination.
Back then, Kuwajima firmly believed that Thunder Breathing would flourish in Kaigaku's hands.
However, everything changed after Zenitsu arrived… and after Zenitsu mastered the First Form of Thunder Breathing.
It was as if Kaigaku had become a completely different person.
He began targeting Zenitsu everywhere, doing everything he could to belittle him.
The reason was simple—
Kaigaku had mastered every form of Thunder Breathing.
Except the First Form.
Every time he saw Zenitsu use that technique, Kaigaku would feel an overwhelming surge of anger.
Lazy, cowardly, always trying to run away—
Yet Zenitsu had mastered the very sword technique he could never learn.
Kaigaku simply couldn't accept it.
Later, when Kuwajima announced that both he and Zenitsu would inherit Thunder Breathing, it completely shattered his psychological limit.
Thunder Breathing was supposed to be inherited by him alone.
Yet now it had to be shared.
And the other person was that foolish Zenitsu!
Kaigaku had nearly gone mad.
After that, he abandoned the practice of the First Form entirely and went straight to participate in the Final Selection, joining the Demon Slayer Corps.
He never expected that so soon, Zenitsu would also be participating in the Final Selection.
Just the thought of serving alongside Zenitsu made Kaigaku feel like he was about to collapse.
All of this—
Kuwajima understood.
And precisely because he understood… he felt sorrow.
The once outstanding disciple had turned into this.
This… person he now found detestable.
Perhaps in the future, Kaigaku would become even stronger.
Perhaps he would even reach the threshold of Hashira level.
But there was one thing he would never possess in his life.
The heart to love others.
Kuwajima firmly believed that one day, Zenitsu would surpass Kaigaku and become the true inheritor of Thunder Breathing.
But right now…
Zenitsu really was inferior to Kaigaku.
He took a deep breath, preparing to drive Kaigaku away.
He couldn't let Kaigaku affect Zenitsu's mental state any longer.
Given Zenitsu's fragile mentality, if this continued, he might really lose his composure and fail the Final Selection.
That was exactly Kaigaku's goal—
To put pressure on Zenitsu so he would carry it into the selection.
How had the disciple he once took pride in become so vicious?
Just as Kuwajima was about to act—
A voice suddenly sounded.
"You think Zenitsu isn't as good as you? I think the exact opposite… I think he's much stronger than you."
Hearing the voice, everyone was startled.
Kaigaku whipped his head around.
The next moment, he froze slightly.
Under the shade of a tree stood a young man wearing a black coat.
A faint mocking smile rested at the corner of his lips.
That alone wasn't what surprised Kaigaku.
What shocked him was that he hadn't noticed anyone standing there at all when he arrived.
He was already a Kinoto-ranked swordsman.
Yet this person had completely escaped his perception.
Who was this guy?
"What person are you?!" he blurted.
Kuwajima frowned.
"Mind your manners. This is Special Advisor, Mr. Xia Feng!"
Kaigaku's pupils shrank.
Special Advisor!
The crow had just announced it recently—someone whose status was equivalent to a Hashira!
Cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.
He hurriedly dropped to one knee.
After kneeling for two seconds, he suddenly remembered what Xia Feng had said earlier.
He looked up again, slightly annoyed.
"Lord Xia Feng… why did you say I'm inferior to Zenitsu?"
Xia Feng chuckled.
"Why would I need a reason? Inferior is inferior."
He glanced at Zenitsu.
The latter was completely stunned, staring at him as if he had seen a ghost.
Seeing Zenitsu's expression, Xia Feng suddenly thought of something.
He grinned and revealed a friendly smile as he looked at Kaigaku.
Kaigaku suddenly felt a chill run through his entire body—
Like a frog being stared at by a snake.
Xia Feng smiled.
"If you're not convinced, fight Zenitsu."
"If you win, I'll issue an order right now forbidding Zenitsu from joining the Demon Slayer Corps."
"It will be a permanent order. Impossible to revoke."
The moment he said that, Kuwajima was shocked.
"That's not acceptable!"
Zenitsu's eyes widened in terror.
"Why would you do that?!"
Kaigaku's eyes lit up.
"Good! I accept!"
Xia Feng looked at him with a half-smile.
"Don't rush. I haven't said what happens if you lose."
Kaigaku said without hesitation,
"How could I possibly lose to such trash?!"
Xia Feng narrowed his eyes slightly.
"If you lose…"
"From this day forward, do not use Thunder Breathing ever again."
"This will also be a permanent order."
"So—"
He smiled faintly.
"Do you dare accept?"
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