In the depths of Sagiri yama, a few hammers slipped from the palm, hitting the ground with a soft thud... followed by the excited shouts of Shinsuke, Fukuda, Watanabe, and others!
"It's Eiichiro Oda!"
"Master, Eiichiro Oda is back!"
"Thud, thud, thud..." One, two, three, four, five, six... Suddenly, more than ten small wooden puppets brushed against Urokodaki Sakonji's shoulder, scampering toward Roy,
The old man had graying temples, his silver hair swaying in the wind, holding Makomo in his left hand and Sabito in his right, allowing his disciples to rush forth... silently watching, his lips trembling into a kind smile.
Only when the young man was surrounded by Shinsuke, Fukuda, Watanabe, and others did he slightly raise his head, looking at the nearly half-a-head taller young man, saying: "You're back… it's good that you're back....."
"Yes,"
Roy waved his sleeve, and two jars of wine gently landed, the lids opening to release a rich fragrance that was intoxicating....
The young man's gaze swept over everyone, smiling as he said: "Mission accomplished, I've come to drink with my fellow seniors."
"You rascal!" Shinsuke immediately jumped onto Roy, throwing his arm around his shoulder, saying: "No leaving until you're drunk!"
"Right! No leaving until we're drunk!" This was Fukuda..."No leaving until we're drunk!" This was Watanabe..."No leaving until we're drunk!" This was Shimizu..."Great!" This was Sabito..."Then Master and I will prepare food for you, Eiichiro Oda, and your favorite fish~" This was Makomo.
A group of puppets and a green youth basked in the rare sunlight of the noon, laughing... talking... walking.... which made Urokodaki Sakonji, who was part of it, feel a few years younger, as if... he had a few more good years to live.
'How wonderful... truly wonderful....' Sixty years of life flashed by, Urokodaki Sakonji returned to the hut, gutting fish and cooking, in his entire life, he had never felt as free, comfortable, and happy as today.....
So much so that,
At nearly sixty years old, he unknowingly drank too much and got drunk, without knowing... when Roy left, he just laughed and fainted, supported by Shinsuke, Fukuda, several disciples onto the bed, and fell into a deep sleep.....
"Wheeze~" Snoring began, the sun set, nearly drinking the entire day away.
Roy took one last deep look at Urokodaki Sakonji, bowed solemnly to him, then stepped outside, where... a male and a female puppet stood as if in tacit understanding, waiting in the small bamboo-fenced courtyard.
"Leaving?" Sabito's mouth bore a scar that lingered, even after being granted a "puppet-like body" by Roy through the means of [Shu], the fox still retained the calm and authority of a "senior brother."
"Yes." Roy slightly nodded, Muzan was dead, the evil ghosts that plagued the world were gone, and only Yushiro and Tamayo remained, which was good, so people could live normal lives without fearing the night, without fear of being devoured by evil ghosts, but... that was only for the Demon Slayer World, and only for those living in the Demon Slayer World, for him.....
Roy candidly said to Sabito and Makomo: "I have my own path to walk."
"Do you have to leave?" Makomo suddenly spoke, mustering the courage to look at Roy and said: "Isn't it nice to eat together, drink together, practice swordsmanship together, and play together?"
"Nice, of course, it's nice...." Memories returning to the past, Roy slightly lowered his eyes and said: "I too enjoyed the days with my fellow seniors, but....."
The [Curse] on the back of his left hand, ticking like a clock... "I still have a task uncompleted."
"What task?"
"Makomo!"
Sabito suddenly gave the girl a gentle pat, then looked up, warmly smiled at Roy, and said: "That brat Tanjiro once mentioned, that your father told him... you belong to the world, now thinking back... your father wasn't wrong,"
"Eiichiro Oda, you can't just be stationary!"
"Clang!" The fox suddenly drew his sword, pointing it skyward: "Go!"
"Venture forth!"
Roy was stunned, his pupils reflected Sabito's image, shimmering like rippling water...
"Thank you, senior brother, for teaching me, understanding me, tolerating me." The young man bowed, to Sabito, to Makomo, and even to Shinsuke, Fukuda, Watanabe, Shimizu, who had quietly turned from the house hearing the commotion... and inside, on the bed, Urokodaki Sakonji suppressed his tears, weeping silently, lips pursed,
Then standing upright again, his body turned into fluorescent light, smiling lightly, merging into the rainbow mist, disappearing.....
Leaving only a lingering phrase, swirling together with the wind, echoing eternally.....
"If the day comes, let us meet again in the world, senior and master."
Breaking through the thick fog, the youth flew with the light, and finally added in his heart: "By then, with the curse lifted by death, perhaps he could stay a few more days..."
Flying, flying... light ascends, wind chases... the view grows wider, the tiny people nestled inside the puppets becoming ever smaller, until transformed into several black dots deep within Sagiri yama's mist, enveloped once more, disappearing from view... Roy took a deep breath, calming his thoughts, cast his eyes once more to another nearby mountain, hesitated, and descended from the sky, landing atop a tall birch tree, taking not another step forward,
"Eiichiro Oda, would you wait a while, let me pick a cluster of spider lilies for the 'poem'?"
The mountain loomed at his feet, the wooden house shaped like a Japanese character perched far amidst the forest... Roy's heart moved, his steps unconsciously slowed, sensing something... seemingly hearing Tsugikuni Yoriichi's mutterings transmitted from beyond the grave.
"How long?"
"One night."
"When tomorrow's spider lilies bloom, would you offer one on my behalf, the place....."
"I know," Roy looked out over the courtyard to the mountain's deeper recesses, faint blue shadows swaying, not quite yet resplendent... smiling in response to Tsugikuni Yoriichi: "Master, fear not, I won't let Master Mother feel slighted."
"Thank you...."
The muttering faded... Roy stood atop the birch tree, silently pausing a moment, then flipped down, casually resting upon a blue stone, eyes closing then opening, promising Tsugikuni Yoriichi to return the next day, and soon drifted into a deep sleep,
As usual, through "Deep Sleep," returning to his own "Cognitive World,"
This time,
The young man stepped through the Demon Slayer Gate, making no halt, went straight through the colorful dream passage, back to the Demon Slayer World.
The time was midnight, with nearly two hours until four in the morning.
In the corner, the clock's pendulum swung, awaiting its chime... Roy awoke from his soft bed, groggily opened his eyes, the ceiling of the ancient Zoldyck Family castle full of time-worn charm, ears perking... he turned his head to look....
By the study desk, a skinny and small elderly man sat, seemingly just returned from a night stroll, nonchalantly perched on a chair, looking at Roy, he said: "You were right, this room of yours was once Jager's room."
Grandfather Jager... Roy mused,
Maha leaned his elbow on the chair, propping up his chin and asked: "Did you have a nightmare? Normally you aren't up at this hour."
"Great-grandfather, were you spying on me?"
"What nonsense... I was driving off spies for you." Maha quipped with a half-smile: "Illumi just left."
Roy's face darkened, he indeed forgot to let Jinx out last night... he sprang up from the bed with a smooth roll, his face expressionless as he looked at Maha and said: "Great-grandfather, don't you mind having an extra granddaughter?"
Knew it... stupid little brother!
"As you wish," Maha rocked the chair, creaking, treating it like a rocking chair with complete indifference: "So tell me, what's going on?"
Something out of the ordinary... The old man rolled his eyes upward, deeply regarding Roy: "What did you do in your dream?"
"Nothing much." Roy was silent for a moment, spreading his hands and said: "Just... killed a god."