The meeting ended in a subtle atmosphere.
After leaving the estate shrouded in the scent of medicine and wisteria, Ryosuke and Shota parted ways with Moriyama Akira.
Shota finally couldn't hold back.
"Hey! Ryosuke! What kind of attitude was that in front of the Master just now?!"
Recalling Ryosuke's calm, almost disrespectful reply still made his heart tremble.
Ryosuke didn't look at him and simply stretched lazily.
"I just told the truth."
"Tch!"
Shota didn't take it seriously.
When they returned to Momoyama, Rika, who had been training, immediately ran toward them.
"Brother!"
Shota happily opened his arms, ready to welcome his sister's embrace.
But Rika ignored him completely and crashed straight into Ryosuke's arms.
Shota: (゜д゜)
Shota was stunned on the spot.
Damn!
When did my home get stolen?!
Rika raised her head and looked at Ryosuke with a bright smile.
"Ryosuke, welcome back."
"Mm."
Ryosuke nodded and rubbed the top of her head.
In fact, since half a year ago, it had always been Rika who delivered Ryosuke's medicine.
Because the three of them trained and grew together all the time, the carefree Shota hadn't noticed anything at all.
Now seeing this scene, Shota completely exploded!
"Hey! You little girl! I'm your brother! Your real brother!"
"Hmph! Your body is much stronger than Ryosuke's, so of course you'd come back safely!"
The little girl raised her nose proudly.
"Oh yeah? Let's see how I deal with you!"
Shota immediately tried to chase her.
"Brother is the worst!"
Rika hurriedly circled around Ryosuke to dodge.
In the distance, Jigoro slowly approached.
Ryosuke stepped forward and bowed.
"Grandpa."
"Good that you're back."
Jigoro patted Ryosuke's shoulder.
The following days were ordinary and trivial. Aside from recovering from injuries, there was only training.
However…
Whenever Rika wiped Ryosuke's sweat with a towel, Shota would always grind his teeth in a dark corner, restless and frustrated.
He began competing with Ryosuke both intentionally and unintentionally.
If Ryosuke ran fifty laps, he ran sixty.
If Ryosuke swung his sword a hundred times, he swung it two hundred times.
As a fine young man of the twenty-first century, Ryosuke upheld the noble principle of never overworking himself.
Of course, except for that first year when he had trained desperately just to survive.
Now that he finally had a chance to rest, Ryosuke naturally ignored Shota.
If he wants to overwork himself, let him. Me taking it easy is perfectly reasonable.
Until the thirteenth day, someone arrived from the Swordsmith Village.
The one delivering the swords was a swordsmith wearing a fire-mask.
He was tall, with a bamboo hat covered in inexplicable hanging jars.
Haganezuka Hotaru.
The moment he saw Ryosuke, the spout-like part of his fire-mask suddenly emitted steam. He instantly went berserk, accelerating and appearing before Ryosuke in a flash!
That speed rivaled Thunderclap and Flash!
"You! It's you! How the hell did you use the sword?!"
"It broke! It broke! Do you know that?!"
Haganezuka roared while repeatedly poking Ryosuke's head with his finger.
His fingers moved so fast they left afterimages.
Ryosuke's mouth twitched.
He had basically experienced the same treatment as the protagonist Tanjirō.
Shota snickered at the side, while Rika quickly stepped forward to pull Haganezuka away.
"Hmph!"
Haganezuka snorted and entered the house with Jigoro, placing the two swords he brought before them.
Shota could no longer hold back and immediately drew his Nichirin Blade.
The blade was simple, slightly heavy in the hand.
He took a deep breath, pressed his thumb against the guard, and pulled hard!
The blade changed, turning into a golden color like lightning, its brilliance pure and sharp.
"Good! Good! Good color!"
Haganezuka's eyes widened beneath the mask, and two streams of white steam shot from the spout.
He was extremely excited, swinging his fists and pounding Jigoro's shoulder.
"See that! See that! This color is too beautiful! My sword! The sword I forged!"
Jigoro's body swayed slightly from the blows, and he glared at Haganezuka, though a hint of satisfaction also flashed in his eyes.
That boy Shota had truly inherited his legacy.
Shota was overjoyed and couldn't help swinging the blade several times.
"Ryosuke! Quick! Your sword! Draw it and see!"
Rika pushed Ryosuke beside her, her big eyes full of anticipation.
Ryosuke lowered his gaze, gripped the hilt, and slowly drew the blade.
Hum—
A deep sword cry sounded. Unlike the clear ringing of Shota's blade, this sound was heavier, like something rising from the depths of a dark pool.
There was no expected golden lightning.
As the blade changed, its color gradually settled, turning into a luminous white.
That white was neither the cold of snow nor the chill of moonlight, but a gentle jade-like warmth that quietly covered the entire blade.
"…White?"
Haganezuka sounded confused and incredulous.
He stepped forward and leaned close to Ryosuke.
"Strange! Too strange! I've forged swords for so long, and I've never seen such pure white!"
His voice was filled with fervent curiosity, and a trace of bewilderment.
A Thunder Breathing swordsman—how could his Nichirin Blade be white?
Ryosuke also fell silent.
He stared at the blade in his hand, his fingers slowly brushing along the spine.
Within the cold touch was a strange resonance.
Yes, this was his sword.
Not raging thunder, not blazing flames, not flowing water…
But a luminous white born from struggling on the edge of life and death, manifested through burning one's own life.
"It's beautiful. I like it very much."
Ryosuke finally spoke and sheathed the blade.
"Thank you, Mr. Haganezuka."
"Beautiful? You like it?"
Haganezuka seemed choked by those words.
He suddenly stepped forward, his fire-mask almost pressing against Ryosuke's face, the hot breath carrying a metallic scent.
"What do you know about beauty? What do you know about liking it?!"
His hands clamped down like iron tongs on the backs of Ryosuke and Shota's necks.
"You two brats listen carefully! A sword is your partner! Your second life! Your only reliance against demons! Especially you!"
Haganezuka glared at Ryosuke.
"If you ever let my sword break again like you did on Mount Fujikasane—crack it or chip it—I'll throw both of you into the forge! Got it?!"
Shota broke into a cold sweat. "G-got it! Mr. Haganezuka! Absolutely won't happen again! I swear!"
Ryosuke nodded calmly.
Haganezuka snorted and turned to leave.
Rika ran to Ryosuke's side, her eyes sparkling.
"Ryosuke, your white sword is like jade, so beautiful! Much prettier than my brother's shiny gold one!"
Her innocent words struck directly at Shota's fragile emotions.
"Hey! Rika! What nonsense are you talking about!"
Shota immediately protested.
"Hmph, it's true!"
Rika made a face at him.
At that moment, a deep-blue shadow flashed by, followed by a cry.
"Caw! Yasui Ryosuke, Mizunoto-ranked mission—man-eating demon sighted at Mount Hinode, Tokyo Prefecture!"