The air inside the Ubuyashiki estate was solemn. Candles flickered along the ancient wooden walls. The Hashira sat in a circle beneath the stars, each one silent yet burning with their own thoughts.
They were waiting.
Then, Johan stepped into the courtyard.
Every gaze turned toward him.
Gyomei, silent and imposing.Sanemi, eyes already narrowed in suspicion.Giyu, unreadable.Obanai, tense.Mitsuri, nervous but curious.Rengoku, focused, firm.Muichiro, distant as clouds.And finally—Kanae, standing just behind him, her presence calm but worried.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya, frail but serene, offered Johan a gentle smile.
"Welcome," he said. "You've made quite the impression on the Corps."
Johan bowed respectfully. "Thank you for granting this audience."
Kagaya gestured for him to sit. "Let us begin."
The Question
"You destroyed Doma," Sanemi began. "Not just killed—obliterated. The reports said you used techniques we've never seen. And that battlefield? Covered in weapons no one else could summon."
Giyu's voice followed, calm but cutting. "Are you truly a slayer like us?"
Johan paused. Then slowly, he looked up.
"I am… not like others."
Some Hashira tensed immediately. Obanai's grip on his sword tightened.
But Johan's voice remained composed.
"I remember a time before this world. I awoke in this one… changed. Not reborn—sent. Not by accident."
"You're saying you were chosen?" Gyomei asked.
Johan met his gaze.
"Yes."
And then, for the first time, he gave them something real.
"I am a champion. Chosen by the heavens—by something beyond your understanding—to fight back against the darkness. My purpose is to cut down evil. To restore balance where it's broken. I will kill Muzan Kibutsuji and anyone who follows him."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Reactions
"You expect us to believe you're some kind of divine warrior?" Sanemi scoffed. "That's insane."
"He's not lying," Kanae said suddenly. "I've seen the way he fights. The way he feels pain. He hides it, but… he carries something deeper than just a mission."
Rengoku studied Johan carefully. "Champion or not… if your sword strikes for the innocent, then I will stand beside you."
Mitsuri nodded shyly. "Me too."
Giyu said nothing, but he did not object.
Gyomei slowly lowered his prayer beads. "The gods do not choose lightly. If this is true… then it was destiny that brought you here."
Only Obanai and Sanemi remained doubtful. But even they couldn't deny the results. Johan had done what even the Hashira struggled with.
He killed an Upper Moon. Alone.
After the Meeting – Private Moment
Later that night, Johan stood beneath a tree in the courtyard, staring up at the stars.
Kanae found him there.
"You didn't lie," she said. "But you didn't tell them everything either."
"I can't," Johan replied. "Not yet. Maybe never."
She moved closer. "So what are you, really?"
Johan turned to her, and for the first time… his eyes showed something soft. Human.
"I'm someone who's trying to be better than the man I once was," he said quietly. "And someone who will protect the people I care about—even if I have to carry the burden alone."
Kanae smiled faintly.
"You don't have to carry it alone."