As soon as Shin Arashi finished speaking, the air around him suddenly trembled. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared—completely vanishing from Tanjiro's senses.
Tanjiro instinctively took a step forward, wanting to follow, but there was no scent left behind—nothing to track. That's when he realized: Shin really didn't want him to follow.
"Has Senior Shin already mastered breathing to that level?" Tanjiro murmured in awe.
Without Shin by his side, Tanjiro felt uneasy. For a brief moment, he even considered turning back. But the masked men from the Demon Slayer Corps had already blocked the retreat path.
Just then, a nervous voice called out.
"Um, my name is Zenitsu Agatsuma. Where did that really strong senior go? The one who was with you?"
Tanjiro turned to see a blond-haired boy looking anxious and fidgety. His voice was trembling with fear.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tanjiro Kamado. That person is my senior, Shin Arashi. I usually call him Senior Shin," Tanjiro replied kindly.
"Oh! Where did Senior Shin go?" Zenitsu asked again, worry written all over his face.
"I don't know. He said he had something important to handle and told me not to follow him. Why? Did you need something from him?"
When Zenitsu heard that, his face turned pale. He started mumbling to himself, panicked.
"I'm really gonna die now! This is the end! Die die die die!"
Then, like it was the most natural thing in the world, Zenitsu grabbed onto Tanjiro's leg and cried, "Tanjiro, I'm not even married yet! I don't wanna die out here!"
Tanjiro blinked, unsure how to react to this strange situation. But when he saw how scared Zenitsu was, his compassion kicked in.
He gently patted Zenitsu's head. "It's okay. I'll protect you."
"Really? Are you as strong as Senior Shin?" Zenitsu asked, suddenly hopeful.
"I'm not as strong as Senior Shin," Tanjiro admitted honestly. "But I promise—I'll protect you."
"Thank you so much, Tanjiro!" Zenitsu said, throwing his arms around him in a big hug.
Even though Zenitsu was timid, that didn't mean he was stupid. He knew that if Shin Arashi had left Tanjiro behind without worry, it must have meant he trusted Tanjiro's abilities.
That thought gave Zenitsu some comfort. He figured if Shin believed in Tanjiro, then maybe he could too.
What Zenitsu didn't realize, though, was that his own grandfather—who had trained him—also believed in him. That's why he'd let Zenitsu enter the Demon Slayer Corps selection in the first place.
But because of Zenitsu's scaredy-cat personality, he didn't recognize his own potential.
Tanjiro, for his part, had no idea that the yellow-haired boy crying on his leg would one day become someone who could change the tide of a battle.
"Let's go, Zenitsu!" Tanjiro said, giving his new companion a reassuring pat on the shoulder.