This smile made Roy feel both familiar and strange.
In the Zoldyck family, Roy had never seen Silva smile.
It seemed as if "smiles" naturally shouldn't appear on the face of a cold, ruthless assassin.
Even "fierce grins" or "sinister smiles"—Roy had never seen such expressions on Silva's face even once.
Sometimes he would even wonder if Illumi's constant deadpan expression was also influenced by him.
After all, the elders in the family had said more than once:
"An assassin must never let emotions influence their judgment."
"Whether happy, angry, resentful, or sad, one must remain 'expressionless.' Only by achieving absolute calm can one better complete missions without exposing oneself to danger."
Perhaps it was because they saw that Roy couldn't achieve this that Silva and Zeno further determined his limited talent as an assassin.
Admittedly, Silva and Zeno's judgment was accurate. Compared to being an assassin, Roy firmly believed he should first be a living "person" and only secondly a "professional"—not someone who put the cart before the horse, extinguishing emotions to become a machine that only knew killing. This was also why he never liked Illumi.
It was because Illumi was too "methodical."
The family's conditioning had already killed the joy he should have had as a child. He should be like Nezuko, Takeo, and Shigeru before him, rushing to his side, chattering about sharing his happiness, voicing his grievances, or tattling on others.
Not spending all day with a lifeless expression, mechanically going through tedious training like a machine.
Many thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Roy was momentarily dazed when his thigh was already hugged by the little creature Kamado Shigeru.
He looked up at him with hopeful eyes, saying in a childish voice: "Big Brother~ candy~"
Roy smiled and quickly pulled out a small cloth pouch from his chest, tossing him one. This really stirred up a commotion.
Soon Nezuko and Takeo were clamoring for candy too, and Roy found himself happily surrounded by eager little hands.
He would pat Nezuko's little head one moment, then pat Takeo's back the next, while instructing Shigeru not to eat too fast lest he choke. His silhouette, illuminated by the oil lamp, fell into Tanjiro's eyes behind him, finally giving him back a sense of familiarity.
Yes, this was the Big Brother Eiichiro he knew. As for the one in the forest earlier—that was a demon god who had devoured souls!
"Big Brother, I want some too..."
Tanjiro rubbed his face and joined in with a smile. Being sensible, he knew to help Roy remove the basket from his back first, which relieved Roy of considerable pressure.
Roy nodded at him, and after satisfying the appetites of the little ones, he walked toward Tanjuro.
"For me?" Tanjuro looked at the candy Roy held out in his open palm, somewhat stunned. After coming to his senses, his eyes grew warm—he couldn't remember the last time he had eaten candy. The memory was so distant he could only vaguely recall it was when his father, Tanjiro's grandfather, was still alive.
Unexpectedly, time had flown by, and looking back, his child had grown considerate enough to bring him candy.
Tanjuro looked at Roy gently and shook his head: "Father doesn't like eating candy. You have it."
Roy didn't pull his hand back, insisting: "Father gets some, Grandmother gets some, and Mother gets some too—everyone gets some."
Seeing this, Tanjuro knew he couldn't argue with this child, so he simply smiled and unwrapped the candy to put it in his mouth. While savoring it seriously, he gestured for Roy to help him put on the ceremonial robes for worshipping the Fire God.
Worshipping the Fire God, dedicating dance to the Fire God, and praying for peace was a tradition passed down through generations of the Kamado family.
This Fire God dance and the two earrings Tanjuro wore, painted with the sun and mountains—others might not know, but Roy, who had read the original work, was very clear about what they were: Yoriichi Tsugikuni's belongings.
Sun Breathing and the sun earrings he wore in life!
"Our family, starting from our ancestor Kamado Sumiyoshi's generation, has required the eldest son of each family to learn the 'Hinokami Kagura.' Now..."
"It's your turn, Eiichiro."
The ceremonial robes were quickly donned with Roy's help. The moment the last cord was tied, the usually gentle Tanjuro stood up, and his entire aura changed.
The red and white ceremonial robes swayed in the wind, and the large flame character on the chest piece seemed to come alive.
He beckoned to Roy: "Come."
Roy could barely contain his excitement, realizing that his opportunity to change his constitution had arrived!
Hinokami Kagura was Sun Breathing! Sun Breathing was the powerful breathing technique created by Yoriichi Tsugikuni through visualizing the sun, capable of absorbing the sun's power to transform one's physical constitution. It was also the source of all breathing schools, including "Moon Breathing," "Stone Breathing," "Wind Breathing," "Water Breathing," and other breathing techniques.
The principle it employed could be summarized in one sentence: sunlight is the source of all growth, naturally becoming the foundation that nurtured various breathing techniques.
Of course, being powerful meant it was difficult to learn.
In the past, after creating Sun Breathing, Yoriichi Tsugikuni didn't choose to keep it to himself but promoted it within the Demon Slayer Corps, including to his own older brother, the current Upper Moon One, Kokushibo.
But unfortunately, neither Kokushibo nor other Demon Slayer swordsmen could learn Sun Breathing because they couldn't bear the weight of the sun.
From the Sengoku period until now, only Tanjiro had truly mastered and applied it in actual combat, showing just how difficult it was.
Roy pulled Tanjiro along: "You come too."
Before the bewildered Tanjiro could react, Roy had already stepped into the courtyard first, coming to Tanjuro's side and activating Gyo!
Different from the four major principles of "Nen abilities"—Ten, Zetsu, Ren, Hatsu.
Gyo was merely a simple application of Nen, only requiring aura to be concentrated in the eyes.
With Gotoh's careful guidance and the blessing of Zoldyck bloodline, mastering it easily was naturally not difficult.
His eyes were covered with a layer of milky-white energy as he stared intently at Tanjuro's movements.
Using the aura flowing within his body, like analyzing animation frame by frame, he imprinted the Hinokami Kagura movements one by one.
First was Hinokami Kagura—"Dance," then Hinokami Kagura—"Clear Blue Sky," followed by "Raging Sun," "Fake Rainbow," "Fire Wheel," "Burning Bones, Summer Sun," "Setting Sun Transformation"...
Tanjuro danced like a fire spirit in the drifting snow, with Roy following alongside, learning every movement meticulously, and clumsy Tanjiro beside them.
One time, two times, three times...
Tanjiro gradually couldn't keep up, gasping for breath.
He supported his knees, panting heavily, his eyes fixed on Tanjuro and Roy. The small person was filled with big confusion.
Why did his usually frail father have such good stamina today?
Why had his big brother gone from being as awkward and clumsy as him at the beginning to now being able to keep up with Father's pace so well?