Chapter 66: Hojo Akitoshi Gradually Transforming into Orochimaru

A few days later, at the Demon Slayer Corps' introductory swordsman selection venue—Mount Wisteria.

Hojo Akitoki wandered among the many swordsmen waiting for the selection, with Inosuke Hashibira in tow.

As the largest faction in this world dedicated to fighting demons, the Demon Slayer Corps gave Hojo Akitoki his very first impression:

It was far too unprofessional!

Putting aside how he had painstakingly brought the little wild boar beside him all the way here through various inquiries without missing the schedule.

Just considering one single point, everyone would surely understand why Hojo Akitoki thought the Demon Slayer Corps' selection process was irregular.

"Is there seriously not a single person who bothered to come over and ask whether we are prospective swordsmen waiting for the selection?"

He had already spotted the son of destiny of this world—Tanjiro Kamado—right there in the crowd.

At the same time, he also noticed Zenitsu Agatsuma, who managed to look cool once per season, and Genya Shinazugawa, with his fierce, menacing glare.

He had even deliberately strutted back and forth quite a few times right in front of Kagaya Ubuyashiki's twin daughters, who were presiding over the exam.

Yet from beginning to end, not a single person found Hojo Akitoki and Inosuke Hashibira—who was wearing a boar mask—suspicious in the slightest.

Forget about anyone stepping forward to question them; people simply turned a blind eye, treating such a sight as completely normal.

"Whatever."

Silently shaking his head, Hojo Akitoki decided not to obsess over such trivial details, fixing his gaze instead on Kagaya Ubuyashiki's two exquisitely delicate twin daughters.

He was contemplating whether he should go over and say hello.

Just imagine if he could pack up this pair of twin sisters and take them back with him.

Tsk tsk tsk.

After returning to the InuYasha world, whenever Hojo Akitoki went out with such a pair of twin sisters standing by his side, wouldn't the feudal lords around the Hojo domain drool with envy all over the ground?

Even when confronting demons, having such a pair of twin sisters gave one an immense amount of prestige!

And considering Kagaya Ubuyashiki's fundamental nature—he was someone who would even use his whole family as bait to blow himself and Muzan Kibutsuji up with explosives—Hojo Akitoki figured that as long as he could take down Muzan, Kagaya Ubuyashiki wouldn't be too reluctant to part with a mere pair of twin daughters, right?

"Hey, Lord Inosuke is hungry!"

Just as Hojo Akitoki abandoned his designs on the protagonist and set his sights on the twins who looked like traditional Japanese dolls, a bored Inosuke Hashibira tugged at his sleeve. He figured that if Hojo Akitoki hadn't been there, Inosuke would have already lost his patience just like in the original timeline, refusing even to listen to the twins' instructions.

Right after that, he would have bolted straight into Mount Wisteria—which explained why Tanjiro Kamado didn't remember Inosuke at all at the beginning, completely failing to retain any impression of Inosuke being in the same selection batch as him on the Mount Wisteria exam grounds.

"Don't be impatient."

Pulling a rice ball out of his pocket, with the indulgent affection of someone raising a pet, Hojo Akitoki shoved the rice ball directly into Inosuke's mouth.

"Pfft."

Hearing a sudden burst of laughter right as he was holding and munching on the rice ball, Inosuke flew into a rage.

"Who? Who dared to interrupt Lord Inosuke's meal!"

***

Sure enough, exactly as Hojo Akitoki had anticipated, as long as an attention-seeking powerhouse like Inosuke Hashibira was around,

actively going up to the protagonist to strike up a conversation?

Not a chance!

Seeing a guy like Inosuke, the righteous protagonist of any world would naturally gravitate over on his own.

Look, wasn't Tanjiro Kamado—who had also been sizing up his fellow examinees—obediently wandering over right now?

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

"It's just that I've never seen anyone eat like that before."

Tanjiro, possessing the classic temperament of a passionate shonen protagonist, waved his hands and bowed repeatedly in apology.

Under normal circumstances, if his family hadn't suffered the tragedy of a massacre, he would have been quite a cheerful and kind-hearted young man.

"Hmph!"

Perhaps because Tanjiro didn't look like a strong fighter at all, or perhaps because the rice ball given by Hojo Akitoki tasted exceptionally good,

Inosuke turned his head away, refusing to pay Tanjiro any further mind as he kept his mask on and continued crunching down on the rice ball in his hand.

"Um?"

Though Inosuke didn't want to bother with others, others—specifically Tanjiro—were very eager to reach out.

Perhaps because he didn't know a single soul in the entire venue, Tanjiro felt rather awkward and out of place.

Therefore, before entering the exam grounds, he desperately wanted to make a friend or two, seeing as he was someone who genuinely loved making friends.

Noticing that Inosuke was solely focused on devouring his rice ball, Tanjiro naturally shifted his gaze to the person standing beside him.

This person was most likely the oldest individual present: Hojo Akitoki.

"Pardon the intrusion, but might you be a friend of his?"

Extremely polite, Tanjiro bowed and asked.

"Yes, my name is Hojo Akitoki. What's yours?"

On his journey here, Hojo Akitoki had already perused the history books of this world, and found absolutely no description of himself in its historical progression.

Thus, Hojo Akitoki stated his name openly and frankly, without any fear of awkwardness arising from sharing a name with a historical figure.

"Ah, how rude of me! I didn't even introduce myself first, I am terribly sorry."

Exhibiting once more the exact attitude expected of a shonen protagonist, Tanjiro flushed red with embarrassment and bowed repeatedly to apologize.

"My name is Tanjiro Kamado..."

He spilled almost all of his personal information in one breath, leaving out only the tragic massacre of his family.

Tanjiro possessed not an ounce of suspicion or guardedness against others.

"Alright, alright."

Looking with a smile at the rabbit-like Tanjiro before him, Hojo Akitoki genuinely had no defense against this kind of person.

After all, he himself possessed quite a soft heart, didn't he? It wasn't as if he would harbor any ulterior motives toward a little white rabbit—yeah, right!

Various plots instantly flashed through his mind; Hojo Akitoki was already preparing to make his move on the little white rabbit!

Unfortunately, fate had other plans. Just as Hojo Akitoki was about to extend his sinful hands, plotting elaborate ways to beat the bushes and flush out the rabbit so he could trick Tanjiro into coming home with him as well,

the twin sisters standing beside the torii gate, Hinaki Ubuyashiki and Nichika Ubuyashiki, began to speak.

The two sisters calmly announced the criteria for the swordsman selection, and then stepped aside to clear the path leading deep into Mount Wisteria.

"Shall we head in?"

Truth be told, Tanjiro wanted to chat a bit more with Hojo Akitoki and his companion, especially since Hojo Akitoki gave him a very warm and gentle feeling.

However, seeing numerous swordsmen filing onto the path leading toward the selection grounds, Tanjiro scratched his head with a deep sense of regret.

As for teaming up with Hojo Akitoki and the others, although the rules didn't explicitly forbid it,

Tanjiro also wanted to test whether he could clear the swordsman selection entirely on his own strength.

"Mm."

Knowing full well that haste makes waste, Hojo Akitoki didn't forcefully insist on keeping Tanjiro tethered to his side.

One should know when to quit while ahead; after all, he already had Inosuke Hashibira right beside him.

His gaze swept past the trembling Zenitsu Agatsuma and the fierce Genya Shinazugawa.

Hojo Akitoki gave Inosuke—who was still munching on a rice ball—a light kick, and leading this disgruntled little fellow,

the two of them joined the crowd and walked into Mount Wisteria.

There is plenty of time ahead, no need to rush, and we'll cross paths again soon enough.

Smiling as he walked at a leisurely pace, Hojo Akitoki silently and repeatedly calculated

how he should roll out his abduction plan the next time they met.

"Hey, you bastard, are you plotting something evil again?"

Inosuke suddenly spoke up after finishing his rice ball.

Though his animalistic intuition continued to tell him that the Hojo Akitoki beside him was a good person,

that same animalistic intuition simultaneously warned him that the Hojo Akitoki beside him right now was a bad seed.

"How could that be?"

Ruffling Inosuke's reluctant boar mask, Hojo Akitoki couldn't suppress the profound meaning behind his words.

"I'm simply overjoyed at seeing so many unpolished gems."

"Moreover, I wish to cut and polish these gems so they can shine their brilliance upon a much grander stage."

"Oh, Inosuke, how could you ever call that a bad plot?"

"Tsk!"

Tossing his head back fiercely, Inosuke had grown accustomed over the past few days to having Hojo Akitoki around.

He had also grown accustomed to following Hojo Akitoki's lead. Raising his dual swords, Inosuke figured whatever this guy wanted to do was fine by him.

As long as it didn't get in the way of him chopping up demons, he'd let Hojo Akitoki handle all the exhausting mental labor.

After all, Lord Inosuke was the esteemed Lord of the Mountain; trivial chores like this could safely be left to his subordinate!