Zenitsu Agatsuma.
That was the boy's name.
Abandoned by his parents at birth, he had survived alone in the city for fifteen years.
Kind-hearted by nature, yet cowardly and defeatist, he was terrified of growing old alone. That very weakness had led him to be tricked. At fifteen, the girl he had a crush on swindled him out of a great deal of money so she could elope with another man, leaving him buried under enormous debt. That was how the scene of him being chased down the street by creditors had come to pass.
How miserable, Sui thought.
She was hidden among the trees rather than walking openly with the old man on the path back to Momoyama, because someone was tailing them.
"I paid off your debt. From now on, you'll follow me and train in swordsmanship!" Jigoro declared.
"Y-Yes, sir!" Zenitsu nodded frantically.
"Oi, are you sure that old man is rich?"
Takeuchi Ushimatsu frowned as he looked back at the men behind him. He knew exactly what sort of scum his underlings were—liable to lose their heads at any moment—but when it came to sniffing out other people's money, they were rarely wrong.
The lackeys nodded. They were the same debt collectors who had been chasing Zenitsu earlier.
They were yakuza, or rather, small-time thugs under the local gang known as the Gen'ya-kai. Normally they only did simple grunt work like debt collection. As a gang operating in Ushigome Ward of Tokyo Prefecture, they usually did not stir up extra trouble after collecting what they were owed.
But this bunch had grown greedy.
And as their boss, Takeuchi Ushimatsu had no objection to lining his own pockets a little more.
"I've been a little short on spending money lately anyway. So it's just one brat and one old man, right? Nobody from some fancy family?"
"No, no! Definitely not!" one of the lackeys shook his head. "That old man came down from the mountains, reeks of dirt, and we've already asked around town—nobody knows who he is. If he disappears, then he disappears!"
"Yoshi!" Takeuchi slapped the man on the shoulder. "We finish this job, then we all head to Yoshiwara and have ourselves a good time!"
"Ohhh!" the lackeys cheered at once.
Yoshiwara, the famous pleasure district of Tokyo Prefecture—arguably the finest in all of Tokyo.
It was a place of blazing lights and beautiful women, with so many poets and patrons passing through it was like carp swimming upstream. As they stared at the backs of Jigoro and Zenitsu on the path ahead, they looked like fat sheep ready for slaughter.
"You all sound like you're having a great time."
A voice spoke.
A figure stood before the gang, blocking their way.
"Who are you?" Takeuchi frowned, lowering his stance slightly as his hand closed around the dagger hidden at his waist.
"Boss, it's a beauty!" one of the lackeys shouted.
Takeuchi focused his eyes—and immediately stared.
The woman before them was far more than merely beautiful. Even the courtesans of the pleasure quarter likely could not compare. Her hair was pinned up, lending her a touch of maturity, while her closed eyes stirred a strange sense of pity.
Heat rose in Takeuchi's chest. His hand loosened from the dagger.
Then his gaze dropped to the branch in the woman's hand.
He almost laughed.
"My name is Takeuchi Ushimatsu. Woman, why are you blocking our way?" he asked, putting on a fierce tone to intimidate her.
"That is quite ugly, yes," Sui replied.
"What?" The man froze, then flushed with anger. He had not expected that answer.
"Boss, hurry up and get rid of this woman! We're going to lose the moneybags!" one of the lackeys cried anxiously. There was no way a girl of this quality would ever belong to men like them, but once the money was in hand, each of them could at least get a cut.
"Shut up!" Takeuchi barked, then turned back to Sui. "What's your relationship to that old geezer? Standing up for people at your age—why not come join the Gen'ya-kai instead? We're one of the great powers in Tokyo Prefecture. A beauty like you could make more money than you'd ever know what to do with!"
The man's voice dripped with temptation.
Sui only asked, "After you rob them, what do you plan to do with the old man and the child?"
"Ah... hahahaha! Of course we leave neither alive. If an old man and a brat get eaten by beasts in the mountains, that's nothing unusual, right?" the man roared with laughter. "But a beauty like you? No, no. You'd be delivered to Tokyo Prefecture in perfect condition!"
Sui used the branch to draw a line across the ground and let out a small sigh.
"How very classic for a villain. I thought this world only had demons and good people."
"What?" Takeuchi had no idea what she meant.
What did she mean by classic villain? What did she mean by demons and good people?
Did this woman have something wrong with her head? Was she lost in some fantasy?
Well, whatever. It didn't matter.
Whether her mind worked properly was irrelevant. That body of hers was the only thing of value.
Takeuchi shook his head and signaled for his men to surround her. There was no point worrying about identity anymore. The value she could bring was far greater than any trouble she might cause.
"The Demon Slayer Corps cannot kill humans," the woman said. "So I'll spare your lives."
In the next instant, she vanished from the encirclement.
No—not vanished.
She had simply moved too fast for their eyes to follow.
The thugs surrounding her all collapsed. The tendons in their calves had been severed, and ugly, bloody holes opened in their abdomens.
Takeuchi's face went white. He reached for his dagger—
But his wrist was seized.
It was that woman.
At some point, she had circled behind him.
All around them, the other thugs had dropped to the ground, shrieking in agony.
Sui pulled the dagger from Takeuchi's waist and gave it an idle little spin. She moved in a circle around him, almost like she was dancing. Blood spread through the air, and Takeuchi crumpled helplessly to the ground. The tendons in both his arms and both his legs had all been cut. With the medical care available in this era, there was no possibility of repair.
He was crippled for life.
A sharp sound rang out.
Sui flung the dagger away. It pierced straight into the dirt, leaving only the hilt exposed.
By the time Jigoro brought Zenitsu back to Momoyama, it was already night.
A streak of dark violet lightning flashed through the woods, and the figure within it came to a stable halt beside the old man.
"What took you so long?" Jigoro asked.
"I hit a little too hard. I waited until those men had left the mountain trail and reentered the city before I left. The smell of blood in the mountains draws demons very easily. Those men could die for all I care, but if they were eaten by demons, then it would be my failure," Sui said. Then she noticed the boy's gaze fixed on her. "This is your new disciple?"
Jigoro was no rigid moralist. Instead, he praised her at once.
"Well done! Your judgment between evil men and evil demons was exactly right!"
"Ah! Mr. Jigoro! This great beauty is your disciple too?"
Zenitsu latched onto Jigoro, writhing like a maggot.
"Her name is Sui. She's your senior sister!" Jigoro said, then turned to Sui. "This is Zenitsu Agatsuma, your new junior brother."
"What? New junior brother?!"
Zenitsu reacted as though some trauma switch had been flipped.
"So I already have an older martial brother? I'm the third wheel? No, no, no, don't do this to me! I've never seen such a beautiful girl in my life! Am I really doomed to grow old alone?!"
Silently, Sui tilted her head toward Jigoro as if to ask: This is the disciple you chose?
"Ah... well..." Jigoro scratched his head awkwardly.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 175)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 126)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter134)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 87
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 79
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 64
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 73
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 45
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 49
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 45
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 45
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