When Zenitsu Agatsuma saw his senior disciple brother again, his face lit up with a bright smile.
He eagerly approached and greeted him.
"Senpai! It's been so long!"
But Kaigaku's expression was dark and full of disdain.
"Tch. What's a useless failure like you doing here?" he spat venomously.
Zenitsu froze. The joy of reunion drained instantly from his face, replaced by dejection as he lowered his head.
"You bastard…" Inosuke bristled with anger, ready to lash out, but Tanjiro quickly held him back.
Even Tanjiro, usually mild and kind, frowned sharply.
"You're Zenitsu's senior, aren't you? Why would you say something so cruel to him?"
"Who are you calling his senior?!" Kaigaku snapped.
"He's a worthless fool who can only use the First Form of Thunder Breathing. And you—his pathetic companions—you're all the same! Trash!"
With a cold snort, Kaigaku brushed past them and entered the Butterfly Estate.
His words hit like a slap.
Inosuke was so furious he nearly exploded; if not for Tanjiro restraining him, he would've tackled Kaigaku on the spot.
Yosuke watched silently from nearby, his sharp eyes taking everything in.
Tanjiro turned to Zenitsu with concern.
"Zenitsu... are you okay?"
Zenitsu's voice was faint, his spirit clearly shaken.
"I'm fine... He's not wrong, you know.
My senior's always been far more talented than me.
Our master held him in high regard—he was the one I always looked up to."
Inosuke growled.
"Tch! So what if he's talented? I bet I could beat that jerk!
Why'd you stop me, Santaro?! I should've taught him a lesson!"
Tanjiro clung to Inosuke, using both arms and legs to hold him down.
"Don't, Inosuke! It's forbidden for Demon Slayers to fight among themselves!
Besides, this is Zenitsu's matter. We can't interfere."
"I don't care about rules! He insulted my little brother—how can Onii-san just stand by?!" Inosuke shouted, still struggling.
Zenitsu forced a small, bitter smile.
"It's okay, Inosuke, Tanjiro... really. Let's just keep training."
But though he said it was fine, Zenitsu's heart clearly wasn't in it.
During training, his movements were off, and more than once he nearly injured himself through distraction.
"What?! Those nobodies killed an Upper Moon?!"
Kaigaku, who was undergoing treatment, had casually asked the staff why Zenitsu was here—and the answer left him stunned.
One of the Butterfly Estate medics explained,
"Well, it wasn't exactly by themselves.
It was thanks to Flame Hashira Rengoku and Hakuji-san that they managed to defeat Upper Moon Three.
But those three—Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke—did kill Lower Moon Six, Lower Moon Five, and even helped slay Upper Moon One."
Kaigaku's expression twisted with disbelief and jealousy.
Since joining the Demon Slayer Corps, he'd only ever defeated ordinary demons.
Once, he had encountered Lower Moon Three.
But sensing he was outmatched, Kaigaku had abandoned his comrades and fled.
As expected, the rest of his team were all slaughtered.
Kaigaku took pride in his escape, convincing himself that survival was proof of wisdom—
that charging into an unwinnable fight was the height of stupidity.
But now, those very "fools" he had deemed beneath him—
had slain enemies he himself had never dared to face.
Even after battling an Upper Moon, they were still alive.
It made something inside him burn and rot with envy.
"That useless idiot... that failure who only knows the First Form of Thunder Breathing... how could he have become so strong?!"
Kaigaku gritted his teeth, trembling with resentment.
"That Hakuji-san—who is he?" Kaigaku demanded.
"I've never heard that name among the Hashira."
The medic replied,
"Hakuji-san was trained personally by Yosuke-sama.
He's not part of the Corps."
Kaigaku froze.
Even before he officially became a Demon Slayer, he had already heard of Yosuke Ubuyashiki.
When he had been accepted as a disciple under Jigoro Kuwajima, he'd read the journals of past Thunder Hashira—and among them were notes detailing the legendary exploits of Yosuke Ubuyashiki.
After joining the Corps, Kaigaku had learned even more:
that even the Kocho sisters—Kanae and Shinobu, both possessing Hashira-level strength—had been personally trained by him.
Yet Kaigaku himself had never once laid eyes on the man.
Only the name—Ubuyashiki Yosuke—had loomed over him like a legend.
The medic continued,
"At present, Yosuke-sama is also training Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke.
Under his guidance, they're bound to grow far stronger."
Kaigaku's breath caught in his throat.
He remembered—the man sitting silently in the shadows earlier, watching those three train.
He had assumed it was just another injured slayer resting nearby.
He hadn't realized... that was him—the legendary Yosuke Ubuyashiki.
When the medic finished bandaging his wounds and left the room, Kaigaku sat alone in silence.
Then his envy twisted into something dark and ugly.
"Why...?" he muttered, his face contorting.
"Why does that failure Zenitsu get to be trained by such a man?
He doesn't deserve it! He doesn't deserve it!"
The sun set.
Training for the day was over.
Around the dinner table sat Tanjiro, Zenitsu, Inosuke, Yosuke, and Umi.
The Kocho sisters and Tamayo were still in the laboratory and wouldn't be joining them.
Koyuki brought over the final dish with a gentle smile.
"Dinner's ready."
"Then let's eat!" Tanjiro and Inosuke exclaimed in unison, already digging in with hungry enthusiasm.
Zenitsu, however, remained still.
His eyes were dull, his appetite gone, staring vacantly at the bowl before him.
Koyuki and Umi exchanged glances, their brows subtly lifting as they looked toward Yosuke, silently asking what was wrong with Zenitsu.
Yosuke only shook his head slightly.
It was a knot in Zenitsu's heart—one he had to untie himself.
Even if comfort from others could lift his spirits, it would only be a fragile illusion.
Dinner that evening was unusually quiet.
No laughter, no chatter—only the faint clinking of chopsticks against bowls.
Then came a knock at the door.
Tanjiro, ever polite, stood to open it.
Standing outside was Kaigaku.
He froze when he saw the scene inside.
He had expected that after training, Yosuke would dine alone.
That was why he'd chosen to visit late, hoping for a private audience.
But instead, he found Yosuke at the same table—
eating together with Zenitsu and his friends, like family.
Wait... Yosuke Ubuyashiki eats?
But isn't he... a demon?
Inosuke glared.
"Oi, you! What are you doing here?!"
Kaigaku ignored him completely.
He walked inside, dropped to his knees, and pressed his forehead to the floor.
"Yosuke-sama!
Please... train me!"
Inosuke blinked, dumbfounded.
It was the first time he'd seen someone this shameless.
He opened his mouth to speak—but Tanjiro quickly clamped a hand over it.
"Don't, Inosuke.
Let Yosuke-san decide for himself."
Yosuke set down his chopsticks, a faint, amused smile playing at his lips as he looked down at the kneeling Kaigaku.
"Oh?
I thought you considered me a failure too."
Pls drop some power stones supper me at my
PS: Access advance (100+) chapters at