[HxH] Ch 10: Roy Kamado

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Blood sprayed through the air.

A shrill scream followed, echoing through the forest.

The phantom images vanished. The shaking trees went still. Snow showered down from the branches as the demon crashed to the ground. One of its arms flew off, tumbling across the snow until it rolled to a stop at Tanjiro's feet.

[Combat Experience +1]

Tanjiro's eyes widened. He stared blankly at the severed limb as it dissolved into black smoke. His heart pounded like crashing waves, and then—

He raised his fist in excitement and shouted, "Nice one, Nii-san!"

"Hahaha, look at you—finally calling me Nii-san. You've said it a lot today." Roy smiled.

From stillness to movement and back to stillness again—it had taken Roy only the blink of an eye to swing his hoe.

The move looked simple, almost too simple. Yet the weight behind it, the hidden technique, was enough to make Takeichirō Sato's spine go cold.

"You're… a Hashira?" he muttered, climbing out of the snow and staring hard at Roy, expression tense.

In the Demon Slayer Corps, a Hashira stood to demons as the Twelve Kizuki stood to humans. Takeichirō had once seen Upper Rank One from afar. That man's casual strike had split the sky with crescent moon slashes.

Rumor was, he had been a Hashira before turning demon.

Takeichirō himself had once been hunted by the Water Hashira. He had only survived thanks to the Hashira's old age and his comrades' interference.

And now, out here in this godforsaken forest, he had stumbled into another one?

But Roy wasn't a Hashira.

In the Corps, to become one you had to slay fifty demons or defeat a member of the Twelve Kizuki.

Yet Roy knew better. Those official requirements were just the surface. The real standard for being a Hashira was mastery of the Breathing Styles.

Just like in the HxH world: to judge if someone was a true Nen master, you looked at how well they developed and controlled their ability.

Not talent, not raw power— but mastery.

Without precision or with the wrong development path, even the most gifted Nen user would never amount to much. Like Kastro, who, without proper guidance, had wasted his potential—an Enhancer who mistakenly trained himself as a Conjurer.

That was why, in this world, Roy's goals weren't just chopping wood and selling charcoal to keep the Kamado family fed. He also had a mission: find a master and learn the Breathing methods.

The nearest candidate? Former Water Hashira Sakonji Urokodaki.

Roy dragged the edge of his hoe along the snow, carving a clean line as he approached.

He didn't answer Takeichirō's question. Instead, he tilted his head, watching with curiosity as the demon regrew its severed arm.

"How many more times can that demon blood of yours pull you back together?" Roy asked calmly.

Takeichirō bared his teeth. "Enough to rip out your heart!"

Roy nodded with a faint smile. "Good. I'll hold you to that."

"So... until you dig out my heart, no one's leaving."

Takeichirō: "?"

Tanjiro: "??"

Neither of them had any idea what Roy was talking about.

Tanjiro wondered why his brother didn't strike again before the demon could fully recover.

Takeichirō, on the other hand, immediately sensed danger. Then—

He bent down, grabbed a handful of snow, and flung it at Roy's face. Using the flying powder as cover, he launched into the fastest sprint of his life.

"Bounce, bounce, bounce... I'll keep bouncing!"

Trees shook violently as he rebounded from one trunk to another. In the blink of an eye, Takeichirō had already escaped a hundred meters away.

Tanjiro's jaw dropped. He hadn't even processed what just happened.

His brother's face, however, turned pitch-black with anger.

'My EXP pack… my walking bag of free EXP…!' Roy seethed.

Demons weren't supposed to be this slippery. What kind of Blood Demon Art was "Bounce to Escape" supposed to be?!

Furious, Roy kicked a rock with all his strength. It shot through the air like a bullet, chasing Takeichirō's fleeing figure.

But without having learned Shu, Roy couldn't yet attach Nen to external objects to boost their speed or power. And with Takeichirō staying hyper-alert, darting through the forest with his terrain-suited Blood Demon Art, he managed to duck low and avoid the stone.

"Tch. Then there's only one option left."

Two hundred meters. Three hundred. Any farther and even Roy's eyes would lose sight of him.

Roy rolled up his sleeves.

For the first time, he called upon a Breathing Style.

The wind shifted. Clouds parted. A single ray of sunlight slipped through, illuminating Roy's sharp features.

He raised the hoe like a blade, feet sliding into a deep stance. He drew in a massive breath—

And his body ignited.

His blood surged like fire, his heartbeat thundered, and the veins beneath his skin swelled, bursting across his frame in a fiery map.

On his status panel, his constitution stat spiked wildly.

[Constitution: 10.051 → 20.102]

It had doubled.

Sun Breathing—fueling fire with every breath.

Twin flames flickered in Roy's eyes as he channeled that surge of power. With a single forward thrust, he launched himself into the snowstorm.

Shhhk—!

The hoe whistled, slicing the air with a shrill cry.

Tanjiro barely registered the blur that streaked past him. He blinked—and his big brother had crossed nearly three hundred meters in the space of one breath.

Roy was above the demon's head.

Then he struck.

Sun Breathing—Dance!

Fwoosh—!

An arc of fiery light cut through the wind and snow, encircling Takeichirō.

The demon barely understood what was happening until he saw his upper body flying through the air, his legs still planted on the ground.

He stared in disbelief, blood-red eyes wide.

"And you said—you're not a Hashira?! Liar."

His vision went black. With a heavy thud, his bisected body hit the snow.

Blood pooled out, staining the white forest red. The delayed scream of agony tore from his throat at last.

Through the haze, he saw wooden sandals crunching across the snow.

A boy's figure approached, hoe resting casually on his shoulder.

Takeichirō's eyelids twitched. He struggled to call on his demon blood again, to knit himself back together.

Nothing happened.

This time, there was no healing.

Terror flooded him. His body trembled, every nerve screaming. He felt life itself bleeding away.

"No… it can't be… what technique is this?!" he demanded.

Roy stopped in his tracks. His eyes swept over the endless snow. He sighed softly.

"You just had to push me to use Sun Breathing."

"Are you satisfied now?"

Takeichirō's pupils shrank. His voice cracked with panic. "You… who the hell are you?!"

Roy smiled gently, lifted his foot, and stomped the demon's head into the snow.

"My name's Roy Kamado. Don't forget it."

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