While moving toward the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, we stopped at a large inn to bathe the sisters and change them into clean clothes. If we arrived at the Ubuyashiki estate with them disheveled from playing hard at Tanjiro's house, the sisters might get scolded by Kagaya, so I took this precaution. Kagaya was strict with his children, so it couldn't be helped.
Anyway, after resting a day at the inn, we continued and arrived at the Ubuyashiki family estate, the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters. The guards, having apparently received prior instructions, opened the gate without any hindrance, allowing us to enter imdiately.
The sisters distributed the gifts they had brought to their younger siblings. The younger siblings received the gifts expressionlessly and only said thank you to their older sisters.
'Wow... This is certainly a stark contrast to Tanjiro's household.'
Anyway, we were guided inside. There, Kagaya was sitting as before, drinking tea. I handed him two boxes I had brought.
"One hundred slingshots you requested. And I also made so wisteria poison. Use it by loading it into the bullets."
"Oh~ I see. With this, even lower-ranked mbers will be able to effectively restrain or capture demons. Thank you."
Truthfully, I had also examined Kagaya's body with my [Naked Eye] to see if I could treat him. It turned out that his body was breaking down not from a curse, but from imnse stress. He was passing that stress on to his children through strict education. When I realized that, I was truly dumbfounded.
This was a ntal problem, so treating his body would be useless. It was a curse created by the interplay of the Ubuyashiki family's intelligence, superstition, and the pressure that demons were coming from their own family and harming many people. There was nothing I could do. Even if I told him the truth, he probably wouldn't believe it, and since the demon problem, the cause of his stress, wasn't resolved yet, I didn't think it would change much, so I remained silent.
'Well, in a way, maybe this too should be considered a curse? The children live long lives, so I suppose it doesn't matter much.'
Anyway, the Demon Slayer Corps mbers took the box with the slingshots, and Kagaya told us to rest well while we were there. The sisters went to greet their mother, 'Ubuyashiki Amane', while Nezuko and I went to our room and played board gas we had brought to pass the ti.
When the sisters finished their greetings and returned to the room, we played gas together and spent the day. From the next day, the sisters brought their other siblings and asked to play gas with them, so I played board gas with them as well. Kagaya and Amane didn't say anything in particular.
The children particularly enjoyed playing 'Jenga', so I gave several Jenga sets to the Ubuyashiki children so they could enjoy them even after we left. On the third day, we packed our bags, got back in the car, and departed for the clinic.
A few days after arriving at the clinic, a crow flew in with news that the Demon Slayer Corps had recruited people with aptitude for the slingshot and ford a new ranged unit. The new unit was still newly ford, with few mbers, and was still in training, so it hadn't been deployed in combat yet.
However, people who had given up on joining the Demon Slayer Corps due to lack of talent in swordsmanship showed great interest in this new ans of attack and applied, so the unit was growing day by day. It seed quite a few people held grudges against demons.
Anyway, because of this, they asked to make and sell slingshots every year. Since I could just duplicate them with my [Material Duplication] ability, I readily agreed.
Several months passed. Winter had arrived, and the start of the original story was near. News ca that the newly ford slingshot unit was capturing lower-class demons, and the Hashira had captured another Lower Moon. At this rate, I wondered if they might even eliminate Muzan without having to step in.
'If it goes that way, that would be a bit problematic...'
What I needed to obtain from Demon Slayer was now only two things: the Infinity Castle and Moon Breathing. Honestly, I had no interest in Muzan's abilities. So I thought about just going after him, but I decided to watch for a bit longer.
I spent my days working at the clinic, and when night ca, I was about to go to sleep when a Shadow Soldier contacted . The fact that my mana was being drained little by little ant it was fighting. I imdiately got up from bed, grabbed the pre-made Nichirin Blade, and teleported near Tanjiro's house. Even if Tanjuro had hidden the earrings, it seed they couldn't prevent Muzan's attack.
As I hurried to Tanjiro's house, I saw Tanjuro and the Shadow Soldier engaged in a fierce battle with Muzan. There were bloodstains around the house, indicating soone was injured. I imdiately ran toward Muzan, swinging my Nichirin Blade to sever his tentacles, and rushed to help Tanjuro. I wanted to check the situation inside the house, but Tanjuro seed in more danger, so I had no choice.
Swoosh!
"Kuh! Who are you!"
Muzan seed a bit flustered by my sudden appearance.
"Who are you to attack my acquaintance's house?"
I already knew who he was, but I pretended not to. Then Tanjuro, beside , said, "Teacher! I believe this man is the Muzan you spoke of."
"I see. It's fortunate that I'm not too late."
Tanjuro and I took our stances again, preparing to face Muzan. Then Muzan spoke.
"If you think adding one more changes anything, you're sadly mistaken."
Saying that, Muzan attacked by launching the tentacles on his back at us. I gripped my sword and said, "Sun Breathing, Sixth Form: Solar Heat Haze!"
Swish, swish, SWASH!
I spun my sword widely, severing all the tentacles. Muzan began to panic.
"Th-This can't be! That there are two users of Sun Breathing..."
Muzan, having co in a lighthearted mood, was now facing unexpected powerful enemies. He began to slowly retreat, preparing to escape. This guy prioritized his own safety above all else. If he thought he had even the slightest disadvantage, he wouldn't hesitate to flee rather than fight.
Tanjuro, also noticing Muzan's intent to flee, gripped his sword tightly and said to him, "Where do you think you're going after hurting my family?"
With those words, the Shadow Soldier, myself, and Tanjuro slowly surrounded Muzan, gradually cutting off his escape routes. Feeling the crisis, Muzan broke into a cold sweat and began to tense up.
Just then, the third child, Takeo, ran out of the house crying and shouted to Tanjuro, "Father! Hanako is acting strange! She's trying to bite Mother and the younger siblings. So the oldest brother is holding her back."
Hearing that, Tanjuro quickly turned to look at Takeo. Muzan didn't miss that opening. A large mouth suddenly appeared on his chest, and from that mouth, a powerful shockwave erupted in all directions.
CRASH!!!
"Ugh!"
I raised my arm and sword to block hastily, but Tanjuro couldn't defend and was thrown backward. The Shadow Soldier was also montarily pushed back by the impact. The mont the encirclent was broken, Muzan didn't hesitate and imdiately fled. I debated whether to follow, but decided to let him go and quickly went to Tanjuro.
"Are you alright?"
When I asked, Tanjuro touched his head and stood up.
"I-I'm fine. But that man..."
"He got away. First, let's take care of your family."
"Understood."
Tanjuro and I returned to the house to check on the situation inside. The house was in complete disarray. Hanako, the fourth child, had turned into a demon and was trying to bite the family. Tanjiro was holding her back. Additionally, the fifth child, Shigeru, had collapsed with a large wound to his abdon. When I went to check, he had already stopped breathing.
"Oh dear, it's too late..."
Tanjuro first knocked Hanako out with the hilt of his sword and tied her up. Then he ca to and asked about Shigeru's condition.
"How is he, Teacher? Can Shigeru live?"
I shook my head. "It's too late."
"No..."
Tanjuro held Shigeru in his arms. All the family mbers gathered, crying and mourning Shigeru's death. I gave them ti to grieve. Then, after wrapping Shigeru's body in cloth, I heard from the Tanjiro family what had happened.
While Tanjuro had stepped out for a mont, Muzan had appeared and suddenly attacked the family. Shigeru was struck, and Hanako was grabbed by the neck and forced to ingest sothing. Just then, Tanjuro returned ho and, together with the Shadow Soldier, held off and fought Muzan until I joined them.
Fortunately, Kie and the other siblings were unhard. The differences from the original story were that the person who turned into a demon had changed from Nezuko to Hanako, and Tanjiro had been at ho instead of off selling charcoal.
I first examined Hanako's condition. Since I had never seen a demon other than Muzan, I needed to observe her closely with my [Naked Eye]. Fortunately, due to Tanjuro's intervention, it seed Hanako hadn't received a lethal dose of Muzan's blood.
"Teacher, how is Hanako?"
Kie asked with a worried expression.
"Hmm... I'm not sure. To be honest, this is my first ti seeing soone who just turned into a demon. I think we'll need to observe her for a while."
Then Tanjiro grabbed and, crying, asked, "Teacher! Hanako can beco human again, right?"
"I'll try various things, but I can't promise anything yet."
Truthfully, I could have treated her imdiately with my [Haki Infusion] ability, but I left her as a demon for Tanjiro's growth. Instead, using [Mind Penetration] and my [Sharingan] abilities, I made her recall the warm mories of her family and implanted in her mind the recognition that demons are enemies to be slain while humans are to be protected.
Furthermore, to free her from Muzan's control, I used [Haki Infusion] to change the nature of her blood. Nezuko had been able to do it with her Blood Demon Art 'Exploding Blood', but Hanako might not have that ability, so I had no choice.
Then I explained the characteristics of demons to the family.
"So, if she sees sunlight, Hanako could burn and die?"
Tanjuro asked again after hearing my explanation.
"That's correct. So during the day, you must never let Hanako outside. And now that this location is known, other demons might attack, so bring your family and co with to where Nezuko is."
"I see. Understood."
While Tanjiro's family packed their belongings, I went outside, cut a piece of bamboo like Nezuko had done, and fashioned a muzzle for Hanako. I also made a wooden box that blocked out light. Then, at the bottom of the mountain, I took out a car from my inventory.
When I returned to the house, Tanjiro ran up to . "Teacher, Hanako woke up."
"Really?"
I went inside with Tanjiro and examined Hanako's condition. Although she was tied up, she wasn't aggressive. But perhaps slling Shigeru's blood, she drooled and stared at Shigeru's wrapped body.
I slowly approached Hanako and untied her. Tanjuro quickly tried to stop . "Teacher, Hanako is still..."
"I placed a suggestion in Hanako. Let's see."
At that, Tanjuro stopped objecting. When I untied her, Hanako, drooling, approached Shigeru's body. With trembling hands, she slowly began to unwrap the cloth covering him. Seeing this, the family tried to quickly stop Hanako, but I held up my hand to stop them.
"Let's watch a little longer."
After a long while, the cloth was unwound and Shigeru's face began to appear. Hanako stopped unwrapping, touched Shigeru's face, and cried.
"It's fortunate. The suggestion is working. Hanako should be able to live with her family now."
When I said that, the family rushed to Hanako, crying and hugging her.
"Thank goodness, Hanako."
"But I don't know the extent of Hanako's self-control, so it's best to avoid places with the sll of blood."
"Understood, Teacher. Thank you."
The Tanjiro family carefully wrapped Shigeru's body in cloth again, dug a grave next to the house, buried him, and held a simple funeral. While watching, I suddenly thought of the Blue Spider Lily. I took out [Jack Sparrow's Compass] and began searching. I found several plants with unblood flowers that seed to be exactly the 'Blue Spider Lily'. I dug up the soil around them and put the whole thing into my inventory.
'I'll have to research these later.'
But since they were plants I had no use for, I didn't know when I would get around to studying them. Honestly, I just wanted to spite Muzan. Anyway, thinking there might be more, I took out the compass and searched again, but found no more, so I returned to Tanjiro's house.
The Tanjiro family had already packed and were waiting outside. Hanako was quietly inside the box I had made, and Tanjiro was carrying it. Many of the chickens the family had raised had died in Muzan's attack. The surviving chickens were released into the mountain when the family opened the coop.
"Let's go now."
"Understood, Teacher."
We loaded the luggage into the trunk of the car at the bottom of the mountain and got in. The Tanjiro family was large, so I wondered if it would be cramped, but with the babies held, there was no uncomfortable squeezing.
As we started toward the clinic, Tanjuro asked , "By the way, that person who helped us when we fought Muzan earlier... where did he go?"
Tanjuro was asking about the Shadow Soldier.
"Ah, that man was hired by . I had asked him to stay in the village and protect your family. Now that the job is done, he's probably gone."
"I-I see."
In fact, the Shadow Soldier had re-entered Tanjuro's shadow and was waiting there. Tanjuro, having seen so many amazing things today, seed to accept it and didn't ask further.
As we traveled, I kept watch using [Observation Haki], but I didn't see any demons following or watching us. After driving through the night, we arrived at the clinic. Nezuko, woken by the sudden commotion, ca outside. She was very surprised to see her family.
"Huh? Am I dreaming? How did you get here at this hour?"
Still half-asleep, Nezuko seed confused about whether this was a dream. Tanjuro told her what had happened.
"Waaah~! Shigeru... He always ate the sweets I bought for him so happily..."
Nezuko cried in Tanjuro's arms for a long ti. But a problem erupted from an unexpected direction. The Ubuyashiki sisters, also woken by the commotion, ca out of their room. Seeing Hanako, who had beco a demon, they confronted .
"Sword Saint, what is the aning of this? Why is there a demon here?"
I suddenly found myself in a position where I had to prove that 'our Hanako doesn't bite people'.
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