In the courtyard, walking across a ground paved with small stones and passing a pond, Kiyokawa Izumi couldn't help but cough twice due to discomfort in his lungs.
The saliva he coughed up even contained a few traces of blood, and his whole person appeared weak and listless.
"Is your injury serious?"
A steady and gentle voice came from not far away, and Kiyokawa Izumi's gaze instinctively shifted toward it.
The Master of the Demon Slayer Corps wore a pure white haori with its edges dyed bright red.
Underneath was a pure black Kimono, with a brown belt tied around his waist.
His smooth, black, medium-short hair fell naturally. Perhaps because he hadn't seen the sun for a long time, or perhaps because his physical condition was too poor, his skin was very pale, and the upper half of his face was severely disfigured.
This was the Soul of the Demon Slayer Corps—Ubuyashiki Kagaya!
Standing beside him was naturally Lady Amane, whom he had met once before. She wore a dignified and elegant Kimono, supporting the Master as they slowly approached.
'Is he already nearly blind at this point?'
Kiyokawa Izumi was slightly stunned and instinctively replied, "Overusing the Breathing Technique damaged my lungs. It will probably take half a month to a month to recover."
Unlike the other Hashira, his attitude was not so respectful, nor did he kneel on the ground.
As a transmigrator from a later era, he was really, really not used to kneeling.
Since he could remember, he had probably only knelt when mourning at a funeral as a child—in his past life, where was there ever a habit of kneeling at the drop of a hat?
Respect was respect, but kneeling was out of the question.
When Kochou Shinobu first met him, she felt he was a bit different from other swordsmen; he wasn't that respectful toward the Hashira.
He wasn't that cautious, nor was he that subservient.
Even when meeting the Master of the Demon Slayer Corps, Kiyokawa Izumi maintained this attitude.
Of course, the Master didn't mind these things.
Lady Amane's expression beside him didn't change in the slightest.
"It seems to have been a very arduous battle. Izumi, may I call you that?"
"You may!"
"Recovering for only a month after a lung injury—is that really okay? Could you be pushing yourself too hard?"
Hearing this, Kiyokawa Izumi was slightly taken aback—no wonder the other Hashira respected him so much.
This man truly was like a patriarch.
He didn't start by praising Kiyokawa Izumi's achievements; instead, he first asked about his injuries and whether one month of rest was enough.
"Please rest assured. Although my lungs are injured, it's not serious. A month is more than enough; I might not even need that much time to recover."
"That's good... Before your next mission, come to my place first so I can hear for myself if your breathing has returned to being clear."
"..."
Although the Butterfly Mansion was indeed quite close to here...
Was there really a need to come here personally?
I'm not the kind of fool who would push himself; I know the principle of getting half the result with twice the effort.
Forcing my body to carry out missions... I don't have that much of an obsession with slaying demons... Besides, my luck has been a bit poor lately, so I was planning to take it easy for a while longer.
Kiyokawa Izumi thought silently to himself, but facing this man's kindness, he ultimately didn't say any words of refusal.
This guy was also someone who responded to kindness but not to force.
"Izumi, are you willing to take on the responsibilities of a Hashira?"
Amidst his daze, Ubuyashiki Kagaya suddenly asked.
"?"
Hearing this, Kiyokawa Izumi fell into a long silence.
It didn't seem like a joke.
But was he really qualified to be a Hashira? This generation was the strongest except for the first; with his current strength, he was definitely at the very bottom.
In terms of power, who could his small frame compare to?
Don't look at how he always gossiped about Kochou Shinobu behind her back; if they really fought, he could only guarantee he wouldn't lose too embarrassingly.
But the problem was, she used poison!
With preparation, she could even kill Douma.
She made a huge contribution during the Final Battle.
In contrast, Kiyokawa Izumi had made a mess of himself just fighting a newly promoted lower rank six.
As for speed, it went without saying—he was also at the bottom.
In terms of resilience, he was even less outstanding.
Then there was the Breathing Technique, the core of cores. Not only was he at the bottom, he was practically buried in the dirt—unquestionably the last.
Of all his attributes, the only one that was decent was his Swordsmanship.
But could his "fairly good" Swordsmanship really compare to the current Nine Hashira?
He wasn't outstanding in any area and had nothing to show for it, which was why he was speechless at this moment.
Imagine this:
He goes out on a mission with a certain Hashira.
They encounter a Lower Rank. He fights with his life on the line, making a mess of himself, coughing blood and getting injured, and even then, he might not win.
On the other hand, his companion delivers a casual strike and instantly kills it.
Just thinking about that scene was embarrassing!
It would be embarrassing to the extreme!
Then the companion would look at him with a strange gaze—"No, wait, how did someone with your strength become a Hashira?"
Or another scene: unfortunately encountering an Upper Rank.
Kiyokawa Izumi rushes in and can't even last one move; he gets killed within three to five moves.
That wouldn't just be embarrassing; it would be the shame of the Hashira.
Others open their Demon Slayer Mark and kill Upper Rank Five in an instant.
Kiyokawa Izumi glares with his Sharingan and gets killed in three to five moves.
Perhaps thinking it was too pathetic, he almost couldn't help but laugh out loud right in front of the Master
___________
Only a little remains for the extra chapter..