"The Final Selection officially begins. Everyone, good luck."
As Kiriya and Hinaki Ubuyashiki announced the start of the Final Selection in unison, dozens of young swordsmen roused their spirits and strode towards the entrance of Mount Fujikasane.
Meanwhile, Shinichi stood beside the two Ubuyashiki children, watching the swordsmen's retreating figures together, especially those of Tanjiro and Kanao.
However, he would not interfere with the Final Selection and could only wish them good luck.
After the last person disappeared from view, Shinichi let his mind wander.
At this moment, Kiriya and Hinaki Ubuyashiki, who had been maintaining forced smiles, also relaxed.
Come to think of it, this was the first time the two children had represented the Demon Slayer Corps as hosts in front of so many swordsmen.
It would be a lie to say they weren't nervous, but their performance today was nearly perfect.
The relaxed Kiriya Ubuyashiki smiled and tugged at Shinichi's clothes, asking how his performance was.
His sister Hinaki Ubuyashiki was more shy, but her expectant gaze also fell on Shinichi.
The relationship between these two children and Shinichi was very harmonious.
If another Hashira were here, it might have been a different scene altogether.
Their mother, Amane Ubuyashiki, had instructed them many times to maintain politeness and not lose the image of the Demon Slayer Corps, along with a whole basket of rules.
Shinichi felt overwhelmed and truly felt sorry for these two children.
Fortunately, this time it was Shinichi accompanying Kiriya and Hinaki to host the Final Selection.
Because he often visited the Ubuyashiki mansion to help suppress the master's curse using Forest Breathing, Shinichi had a very good relationship with the Ubuyashiki children.
Whenever they met, as long as there was an opportunity, Shinichi would bring plenty of snacks and small gifts to share with the children.
Due to the curse, the Ubuyashiki children's health was much worse than that of ordinary children.
They basically stayed in the mansion all day and had little contact with the outside world.
So they very much enjoyed spending time with Shinichi, who not only brought many snacks and gifts but also told them interesting stories about the outside world.
This was much more interesting than learning about the dry world from books, which is why Kiriya and Hinaki Ubuyashiki relaxed and chatted happily in front of Shinichi now.
Shinichi smiled at this and then gave them considerable affirmation and praise.
"Caw caw!" Eizo's voice suddenly rang out in the sky.
Shinichi's heart stirred slightly, and he extended his arm.
Sure enough, the next second, the large Kasugai Crow with glossy black feathers landed steadily on his arm.
Taking the folded envelope from Eizo's foot, hmm, it was a letter from Shinobu.
It seemed Shinobu had learned about Kanao coming to participate in the Final Selection.
After rewarding Eizo with a handful of sunflower seeds from the silver mirror at his waist, Shinichi finally had a free hand to open the envelope.
Kiriya Ubuyashiki poked his sister's arm, then smiled and secretly pointed at Shinichi.
Hinaki Ubuyashiki looked up in confusion, only to see Shinichi's face full of gentle smiles as he looked at the envelope.
"Wow, I know, it must be from Shinobu-senpai~"
"Shh~ Keep your voice down."
These two tiny children sure knew how to read the situation.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Meanwhile, deep in Mount Fujikasane, the examainees who had entered the mountain as a large group had all scattered.
In this vast deep mountain, the dozens of swordsmen were as small as a handful of seeds scattered in a desert.
Tanjiro was no exception.
Due to different speeds, he soon lost sight of his senpais.
Before long, there were no human figures around him, only eerie tree shadows in the gloomy darkness.
Gripping his sword, Tanjiro remained vigilant of his surroundings while contemplating the Final Selection in his mind.
They needed to survive in Mount Fujikasane for seven days.
During the seven days, the daytime was easy to get through - just find an open area with sunlight.
The night was the most dangerous time.
To be safe, Tanjiro decided to use the daytime to rest and keep moving at night to avoid encountering large groups of demons.
However, the demons in the depths of Mount Fujikasane, who had been hungry for a long time, wouldn't stupidly hide in one place.
Demons with bloodshot eyes would actively attack once they sensed the presence of humans.
Soon, Tanjiro's nose twitched slightly, and he halted his steps, instantly drawing the Nichirin Blade from his waist.
Sure enough, a demon with bared fangs and claws rushed out from behind a tree, roaring as it pounced towards Tanjiro.
Tanjiro's expression turned solemn as he immediately pointed the tip of his sword, ready to face the enemy.
Clang!!
The demon's claws and fangs clashed with the Nichirin Blade, producing a teeth-grinding friction sound.
Tanjiro gripped the sword with both hands, firmly pinning the demon against a large tree.
Looking at the demon with bulging veins, Tanjiro's mind suddenly flashed to Nezuko's image.
As the thought struck, Tanjiro, disregarding that the demon's claws were only inches from him, anxiously asked.
"Demon-san, do you know how to turn demons back into humans?"
Hey, this kid was quite polite, but the demon with bloodshot eyes only expressed one thing: Eat!!
After roaring for a while, the demon only howled and roared like a beast, showing no signs of rationality.
Tanjiro asked twice more before realizing it was futile.
Sighing, he instantly applied force to his hands.
Slash!
The demon's head was instantly severed.
The headless body stopped struggling and fell to the ground, slowly turning to ashes.
This was just the beginning.
There was disappointment in Tanjiro's gaze, but even more so was unwavering determination.
Another large wave of fierce auras entered his nostrils - more demons!
Tanjiro took a deep breath, gripping his Nichirin Blade even tighter.
Then he suddenly accelerated, charging towards the deeper parts of Mount Fujikasane.
Since one demon didn't know, he would go to where there were more demons to see.
He had to try anyway.
*****
At a certain demon gathering place in Mount Fujikasane~
One demon: Hey! Have you heard? There's a red-haired kid wearing a fox mask in the mountain, gone berserk, chopping every demon he sees!
The key is that he's always polite when slashing demons, even calling them "Demon-san."
Another demon: That's right, that kid is going around asking how to turn demons back into humans.
Isn't that nonsense? If we could turn back into humans, would I be stuck in this hellhole?
Yet another demon: Exactly, if I could become human, I'd definitely let the brothers have some fun first.
We've been hungry for so long.
A demon: That's nice!
One more demon: Red-haired kid, calling every demon "Demon-san," one slash one demon head, damn, gotta run far away.
Another demon: There's also a yellow-haired kid!
Damn, he pissed himself when he saw demons and even fainted.
But before we could enjoy him, suddenly there was a loud crash like thunder, and more than a dozen demon heads flew off.
If I hadn't run fast enough, I would've been done for too!
Meanwhile, in a dark corner, a small shadow opened its yellow eyes and rasped.
"Fox mask!?"
--------------------------------
Cant find a good demon slayer fic to translate so i decide to write my own, but i need ideas, i'm thinking of making the mc descendant of miyamoto musashi, he will be trained by jigoro and develop a breathing style called 'breath of the void', as for the pairing etc whats your opinion?
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