"Who has never been envious of someone is lucky. This means they never met someone with the Gods' favor. Someone intense, who burns everything like the sun. Your father was everything I wanted to be. I just wanted to be like him, ever since we were kids. In the period when we were born, twins were seen as bad omens. Yoriichi was born with a mark on his forehead, so our father said he'd kill him. But when our mother knew it, she was so furious nobody could stop her. Eventually, they decided to spare Yoriichi and to send him to a temple once he was ten. We had different rooms, different clothes, different food... Our education was completely different."
"Maybe that's why your father was unable to detach himself from our mother. Seeing him in that state, I already felt compassion for him. Secretly, I often sneaked into his room. One day, I gave him a flute. Before turning seven, Yoriichi never spoke, and he didn't even smile. Everyone thought he was deaf."
"I found out he wasn't in that period. I was training with my sword, and he was staring at me under a tree. Even like this, it was creepy. But then, he spoke up. He asked me if my dream was to become the strongest swordsman of the nation. That was the first time I heard him speak, but he did it effortlessly. I was so surprised that I let my wooden sword fall. Then he told me he wanted to become a samurai. But he was supposed to be a monk, not a samurai. In that moment, Yoriichi smiled for the first time. It was creepy. I thought it was impossible for someone who couldn't stay away from his mother to become a swordsman."
"However, I was wrong. My father's vassal gave him a little shinai, and the instructor explained to him how to hold the swords and what stance to assume. What I saw after shocked me. Your father moved so fast I couldn't follow his movements. No matter how hard I tried, I never managed to hit the instructor. In the blink of an eye, Yoricchi hit him four times and knocked him unconscious. From that day on, Yoriichi stopped wanting to be a samurai. The sensation of hitting someone was unbearable for him."
"Slowly and with consistency, I got closer to him, since he wanted to acknowledge the secret of his strength. He told me something shocking: He said that before an attack, your opponent's lungs grow bigger, and I had to watch their bones and blood circulation carefully. Yoriichi could see inside the living beings' bodies. Not only was he born with that mark, but he also had enhanced sight. Before that day, I felt compassion for him, but I understood he was stronger than me that day."
"I wanted to master the way of the sword. That's a way that requires pain and suffering... But talent had been recognized inside me. The harder I worked, the stronger I became. But compared to him, a prodigy like your father, I was like a turtle. Despite his talent with the sword, he wasn't happy with that at all. On the contrary, he was bored when I told him about the way of the sword."
"From that day on, the tides flipped. The vassal said to my father about Yoriichi. He'd inherit the house, while I'd only get a little room..."
"One day, Yoriichi entered in my room during the Tiger Hour, saying our mother died. All of a sudden. Then, he said he'd make his way to the temple. But before leaving, he said he'd keep the flute I gave him, thinking of it as me. I remained speechless. He was smiling again. I had no idea what he found so interesting in that flute. It was creepy. I didn't reply to him, but he seemed pleased and deeply bowed. Then, he left."
"According to my mother's diary, Yoriichi felt that our father would have chosen him as his heir, so he decided to leave the house a bit earlier than turning ten. He knew about our mother's illness. For years, our mother had difficulties to walk on her left side, which was the same side your father always attached to. In that moment - I admit it - I hated Yoriichi for his talent."
"Later on, my father sent a letter to take Yoriichi back from the temple. But he wasn't there. He suddenly disappeared without saying anything. Had he been kidnapped? Had he fallen off a cliff? Did a bear attack him? Suddenly, my wish was realized."
"There was a period of peace for the next ten years. I got married and had children. Every day was calm and a bit boring, but I was happy. Unfortunately, a demon attacked me while I was camped. But there, in that moment, there was an unexpected encounter. The one who saved me from the demon was Yoriichi, your father. He was totally different from when we were kids. He perfected the art of the sword and could defeat inhuman enemies with incredible ease."
"When I saw him, my peace of mind disappeared. He walked up to me and said he was sorry. He apologized because he arrived late and my subordinates had died. Your father was strong, and he had an impeccable character. No matter the cost, I wanted Yoriichi's abilities to be mine. I abandoned my wife and kids, and I undertook the path of the Demon Slayer... Like your father."
"Yoriichi explained his Breathing Style to everyone, but nobody managed to learn it. But he taught different breathing styles. That's how the first breathing styles that originated from Sun Breathing appeared. The first slayers with the mark started to appear. In a short timespan, my Mark manifested. It was identical to Yoriichi's. But eventually... I couldn't use Sun Breathing. So I decided to create my own Breathing Style, called Moon Breathing, which I used to fight you."
"But shortly after, I realized I hadn't much more time to live. As you know, the ones with the mark die at twenty-five. There was in that moment when Muzan-sama appeared in front of me and proposed me to become a demon. I accepted, careless of the consequences. I just wanted to live forever to reach or even surpass my brother. But that never happened. There was another encounter. Yoriichi and I met sixty years later. He was eighty-five years old and blind. Despite that, when we fought, he won. The reason I didn't die was that Yoriichi died of natural causes in the middle of the fight. If he had exhaled one more breath, I wouldn't be there now. He appeared again like a thunder during a clear blue sky; he transcended the laws of nature and escaped death by my hands."
"Nobody, not even Muzan, wouldn't be able to hurt him. Nobody was able to touch him. And you, Goku, just like him, inherited his Sun Breathing, his strength. He also injected you with some demon cells. He didn't tell me he had a son when we met. Maybe he had forgotten. Or maybe he wanted to protect you. I abandoned my wife, my kids, even my humanity for someone ven I know was impossible.
"When your father died, I noticed he had kept the flute I gave him as a kid. I only remember his face. I forgot the faces of my father, mother, even my wife and kids. Only his is clearly visible in my mind. He was unparalleled. When he arrived, people couldn't help but agonize and scream. He was like a God who walked on Earth and who protected people. Just like you, Goku. Earlier, when you arrived to fight me, your comrades were beyond relieved. In that moment, when you arrived, I felt like I had your father in front of me again. That's why I screamed his name instead of yours earlier."
"In short, dear nephew, your father was just like you: Strong, undefeatable, and talented."
Chapter 67 - End.