A great reputation never comes out of nowhere.
"Killing is never the purpose. It's just a means to solidify one's name."
When people think "assassin," they think "Zoldyck," then "the world's number one assassin family." Using "reputation" as a sideways way to collect faith… Roy gradually understood: anyone who leaves their name stamped on this world, more or less basks in the nourishment of faith.
Like Netero founding Shingen-ryū.
Like the Spiders committing case after case and being branded an A-class criminal group.
Like Ging building Greed Island—most likely not without this in mind.
"I get it now."
The doubts in his chest finally unraveled, the line of his brows eased. The boy bowed.
Mahā just waved a hand.
Roy turned, bathed in sunlight, and withdrew, leaving a long shadow trailing behind him across the mottled corridor.
Tap… tap…
His footsteps drew farther away…
Then an old, slow voice drifted after him on the breeze:
"On page seventeen of the book, there's something you're looking for."
Roy paused, then started forward again, out the front doors and straight toward the forest.
Deep in Kukuroo Mountain, by a small forest pond.
The young butler had been waiting there with a sword in his arms for half a day.
At some point he pushed up the glasses on his nose and said respectfully, "Young master."
Roy stepped over fallen leaves toward him, letting his gaze travel slowly up and down the man—staring so steadily that it made Gotoh (the butler) start to squirm.
He suddenly had no idea what this intense inspection meant.
Did I do something recently… that made the young master unhappy?
Gotoh's heart started to wobble with unease.
Fortunately, before he could overthink it, Roy withdrew his gaze, turned to the pond shimmering under the afternoon sun, reached out, and conjured Asami from nothing, lifting a ribbon of pond water with the blade to demonstrate Water Breathing.
"Watch closely."
Waterlight and sword-light bloomed in the depths of Kukuroo Mountain. Gotoh drew a sharp breath, Nen flooding into his eyes—Gyo, to fix his focus and catch every detail of Roy's movements.
Soon…
From First Form: Water Surface Slash, to Second Form: Water Wheel, to Sixth Form: Whirlpool, to Tenth Form: Constant Flux—and even Roy's own Eleventh Form: Illusory Sword: Sun-on-Sea Mirror—he broke them down and displayed each piece slowly.
Gotoh watched in silence. At some point he drew the blade at his waist, joined in step with Roy's forms, just as Tanjiro had once followed his father Tanjirō's steps learning the Dance of the Fire God.
Master and servant, in front of that quiet pond deep in the mountain, practiced sword and breathing together until the sun went down and night finally fell.
[Notice: To receive another's grace, you should repay with your life.]
[Follower detected. Please immediately conduct "Anointing" and take them under your banner.]
[Follower: Gotoh (Note: loyalty overflowing)]
[Constitution: 217]
[Manifest Nen: D+ (9,754 / 10,000)]
[Potential Nen: C– (1,745 / 100,000)]
A gust of wind ripped past as Roy sheathed his sword—then flowed around the boy to blow elsewhere.
Gotoh stopped as well, placing his blade back in its scabbard. He pressed his right hand to his chest and dropped to one knee in front of Roy.
"Thank you for teaching me, young master."
Roy stared at him, stunned for a beat as the system notifications echoed in his head. His thoughts rolled back to that night, when the young butler had told him he wanted to be a falling star guarding this "sun," and had quietly bound himself with an oath.
A warmth rose in Roy's chest. Suddenly, it all made sense—
Gotoh had been waiting for him all along.
The man had already met every condition needed to become a devout follower. Only when Roy himself, through the Monster Encyclopedia, had learned of followers and faith power as a path, had the "Follower Panel" finally triggered.
"Young master… you don't have to bother remembering me. I'll just turn myself to ash."
The memory of Gotoh's gentle smile was still fresh. Roy came back to himself, lifted Asami, and touched the short blade gently to Gotoh's left and right shoulders.
"Gotoh, stay by my side from now on, will you?"
"With pleasure." The butler lifted his head, eyes earnest. "Young master jests—unless you cast me aside, I'll be following you for life."
[Notice: "Anointing" Completed.]
[Follower Gotoh bound.]
[Faith Power: 1 point.]
It appeared—just like the sandworm's panel.
Roy's eyes flickered. He clapped Gotoh lightly on the shoulder. "On your feet."
"Yes, sir."
Blade in his arms, Gotoh rose, glanced at the sky, and headed out of the forest beside Roy to prepare dinner.
"Breathing techniques don't have to be used with a sword," Roy said as they walked. "I had you use one just so you could feel the rhythm. Once you've mastered that, you should follow your own habits. If your instincts say 'coins,' then you keep using coins. Don't fight your own Nen type."
Since the young master had said it, he would do it. Gotoh thought so silently. Next time he appeared, he was pushing the meal cart back into Roy's room.
Early spring nights fall fast.
By seven, outside the windows it was already pitch black.
Inside, the lamp was lit, and the boy sat at the table with West Continent Chronicles open in front of him. Gotoh didn't say a word, afraid to interrupt, and quietly set dinner down.
Tonight's meal was a beef burger with a seasonal vegetable salad, plus the ever-present glass of milk—balanced nutrition.
Roy grabbed the burger without even raising his head, took a bite, and kept reading, spreading the book open on the table. He flipped to the page Mahā had told him about and read carefully.
"On the Relationship Between Nen and Faith"
Earlier I mentioned that "gods" eat faith. Because of faith, they become abnormally powerful.
We exiles understand Nen as something we develop step by step through Ten, Zetsu, Ren, and Hatsu, digging only into our own bodies—into ourselves.
But "gods" are different—or rather, gods and their believers are different from us. They can pry open aspects of the natural order through faith and borrow the power of nature itself to fight.
On the eighth day after landing on the Dark Continent, I snuck into the Storm-worshipping Samir Principality and watched how their "faithful" fight.
Inside, they divide themselves into different "classes." Those classes form a pyramid. By drinking "holy water"—a concoction brewed from beast parts that resonate with nature, plus faith—they pry at nature's authority and gain "divine power." Compared to Nen users of the same level who never drank holy water, they are several times stronger.
As for "nature's authority," for those who have already drunk holy water, there are two main ways to apply it:
1. Directly invoking natural forces to attack others. I saw a Storm follower who was a Transmuter use "wind" to boost his "Nen bullets," greatly increasing their speed.
2. Swallowing natural force into their own bodies. For example, another Transmuter drank in the wind itself, briefly boosting his own Nen output and massively increasing his raw power.
We, cut off from the Dark Continent for so long, have been stuck passively using the second method. Some famous Nen users, without knowing anything, have passively swallowed "fame" or "faith," and that's why they ended up so much stronger than their peers…
…
Roy chewed, half his attention on the burger, the other half on the line about "natural authority."
…
A sentence from his previous world surfaced in his mind: To struggle against Heaven is joy without end.
Using faith and beast-parts that resonate with some slice of nature's power as a lever to pry open authority… that was, most likely, what "gods" truly were.
So what did Mahā mean, sending him to this page?
He read on to the end:
[Once I understood all this, I finally realized: only gods can fight gods. If this "Storm" became a god by borrowing faith, why can't I?]
[If he can steal a piece of nature's authority, then I can steal a piece of his authority. If we're both thieves, why am I the one being hunted down?]
[I don't buy it!!!]
…Okay.
Roy instantly understood why the "Unknown Existence" had its eye on him.
Zigg had tried to launch an insurrection inside a god's country. How could that possibly be tolerated?
That certain fruit seller hadn't lied—"Conjurers" really did have some screws loose.
The page ended there. Roy almost choked on his burger, grabbed his milk and took a big swig, exhaling slowly afterward, for a moment completely at a loss for words.
Gotoh slid over a napkin at just the right time. Roy took it, closed the book, and leaned back in his chair, staring out into the night beyond the window. He could finally see what Mahā had been pointing at.
The old man was telling him both where the curse came from—and how to fight it.
In Zigg's own words—
Only gods can contend with gods.
"From here on out, I need to raise followers too," Roy thought. "Build my own 'divine realm.' Found a monotheistic nation."
And what would they worship?
He tilted his head, looking at the moon hanging high—just waiting for night to pass so the red sun could rise. The corner of his mouth lifted. He had his answer.
"Creak…"
After dinner, Gotoh pushed the cart out and quietly closed the door.
"Gao~"
Goldie-chan, stuffed on shared burger, flopped onto the soft mattress, clutching his round belly and wheezing. Everything about him screamed that it was time for Roy to sleep.
"Dong~"
The wooden wall clock in the corner chimed the hour.
Roy rubbed his brow, thinking of Giyu sending the crow to summon him to the Pillar Meeting. He took a quick shower, then lay down and slipped under, planning to rest in his cognition world first, restore his stamina and focus, and then attend.
Soon, he was asleep.
As usual, he passed through the kaleidoscopic dream tunnel and stepped into the familiar Cognition Sea.
He stripped down, dove in, and swam hard for an hour, washing away the last of his fatigue. When his energy felt topped off, he got dressed, reached out, and pushed open the Demon Slayer Gate.
The familiar falling sensation seized him…
[Notice: Life Energy +2 +3 +2 +2…]
Roy returned to the Demon Slayer world, not rushing as he followed the crow. Along the way he cut down a few stray demons, then came to a secluded valley draped in wisteria.
The valley was small—not even worth calling a valley, really—and never named in the original story.
As the Kasugai crow flapped inside, a figure appeared on one thick wisteria tree at the entrance.
He wore the Demon Slayer Corps uniform and a black hood, half his face hidden behind a black-and-white mask. Crouched on the branch, he pulled a scroll from his robes, unrolled it, compared the description, then hopped lightly down to meet Roy.
"Demon Slayer Corps Hidden, by order of the Master, here to welcome Kamado Roy-sama."
Hidden—the unit responsible for cleanup and logistics.
"Mm." Roy smiled and nodded. "Let's go."
A swamp opened at his feet, and his body sank away. When he emerged, he was already inside the wisteria grove.
"Uh…" Murakami gaped, frozen in place, then yelped, "Roy-sama, slower…! Without me leading, you'll never find the Master's estate!"
But the boy, after a few twists and turns, always reappeared at the right junction, as if he knew the path better than the "liaison officer" who served the Ubuyashiki clan.
It really was like seeing a ghost.
With En, Roy could read auras. Pillars' presence was as thick and vivid as demons'. The stronger they were, the more conspicuous their aura.
In just a few breaths, a new swamp opened outside a secluded courtyard.
Roy stepped out of the muck with Murakami puffing and panting behind him. Above the courtyard floated dozens of differently colored breaths—
Calm white.
Lively pink.
Scheming black.
Irritable red.
Childlike gray.
Gentle green.
Beautiful, varied, and—aside from two of them—all tangled with a shared streak of doubtful blue.
Clearly, they were curious why the Master had summoned a non-Pillar to the Pillar Meeting.
"Hah… hah…"
Murakami finally caught up, shouting at the doors, "Kamado Roy-sama has arrived!"
"Creak…"
The twin wooden gates swung open. Dozens of eyes fixed on the newcomer.
Roy's lips curved. He stepped forward, swamp blossoming under his feet. When he reappeared, sword in hand, he was already in the courtyard.
There, he saw—for the first time—the other Pillars besides Tomioka Giyu and Himejima Gyōmei:
Flame Pillar Rengoku Kyōjurō.
Sound Pillar Uzui Tengen.
Mist Pillar Tokitō Muichirō.
Love Pillar Kanroji Mitsuri.
Serpent Pillar Iguro Obanai.
Wind Pillar Shinazugawa Sanemi.
And… Insect Pillar Kochō Shinobu.
"He's so handsome!"
Green eyes sparkling, Kanroji Mitsuri blurted it out as Roy rose out of the ground.
And right then, Roy felt a wave of hostility lock onto him—
Coming from the boy perched in the pine tree, Iguro Obanai.
~~~
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