In a silly way, even though he didn't look quite like his old master, he felt like this form is the form his old master would have been proud of. Big, tall, handsome, ect ect. So this form is how he wanted to stay. So hearing such words from Tonbokiri really just made him perk up even more.

"Not exactly. I just appreciate how handsome I am, and I feel those will too."

Or something like that. He's honestly just trying to sound cool.