Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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Shinjuro raised his Nichirin blade and looked at the other two.
"Himejima-san, Kamado-san."
"I'm the only one who has a Nichirin sword now."
His gaze fell on Kusabimaru in Tanjuro's hand and Himejima's chosen weapon, the prayer beads, in that ambush.
Himejima Gyomei's Nichirin blade is not like the others. His is a broad axe and a meteor hammer connected by a long chain, like kusarigama. Its forging process is extremely complicated.
Therefore, the village chief, as the most skilled blacksmith in the village, usually forges the weapon himself.
And Gyomei decided to come in person to the Swordsmith village to retrieve his weapon.
Shinjuro patted the dust off his clothes and looked at the direction where Gyokko was fleeing. "I'll go after him first. You both take a Nichirin sword first and follow me later."
Shinjuro said as he prepared to take off. Gyomei put his hands together and clenched the rosary heavily in his hands, tears shedding from his eyes.
"Shinjuro-dono is right."
Gyomei's tone does not reveal any surprise at Shinjuro's act and willingness to be an active member of the Corps.
News has reached every Hashira that Shinjuro was finally becoming active again.
Tanjuro stood there and fixed his gaze on the sword in Shinjuro's hand.
His eyes narrowed a little as he took in the condition of the blade.
"Your sword... won't last much longer, will it?"
He was about to suggest an alternative plan when another presence registered on the edge of his radar. Tanjuro snapped his head in that direction and furrowed his brows.
Swish!
Just barely... at the end of his World...
Tanjuro saw a black figure flash in quickly at the other side of the village.
Remembering the second demon that participated in this arc, Tanjuro finally relented on Shinjuro's plan and patted him on the shoulder.
Slap.
"We'll catch up soon." Tanjuro's tone was serious and sincere.
Shinjuro's mouth twitched slightly.
"...I'm not that weak..."
He sighed, jumped down, and ran to pursue Gyokko.
Shinjuro's gaze notices on the street that there are porcelain pots neatly arranged with a pot every 100 meters.
It was like a breadcrumb pointing out the direction in which Gyokko was fleeing.
He swung his sword and broke the pot as he ran. Which directed his eyes back to his sword.
His Nichirin blade has already lost its edge. Scratches and cracks were all over the blade. Shinjuro frowned as he looked down the street into the distance.
"Tch."
Shinjuro's face darkened. Tanjuro's sentence and presence linger in his mind. The way he finishes their fight in two moves in less than a second, the feel of the wooden sword touching his neck. Shinjuro's self-destroying habit during his depression. Tanjuro's tone when he said he'll catch up soon.
—It irked him off!
"...I'll show you!"
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"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
"A demon is attacking the village!!"
The man stationed at the sentry box shook the large bell with all his might. The bell's echo quickly spread throughout the village.
He took out a cone-shaped megaphone, stood high on the sentry box, and shouted at the street.
"Everyone!!"
---
Tanjuro and Gyomei stood where they were after Shinjuro left in pursuit of Gyokko.
They listened through the chaos happening around them as mere background noise.
For their concentration was focused on the movement of the other demon.
"Himejima-san."
"Yes." Gyomei nodded as he turned the prayer beads in his hands.
The next moment.
Whoosh!
The two figures turned into afterimages and instantly launched an attack on the corridor behind them that was covered in ruins.
Bang!
Both of their attacks smashed on the same position.
"Gah!"
A black shadow with extreme speed jumped out from the position where the ruins were hit. He quickly climbed on the walls of nearby houses, his body hunched.
It hid itself behind the wall staggeringly, cautiously poked out its head, and its dark red eyes seemed to be staring at his enemies.
The white, ferocious horns protruded from both sides of its forehead, and in the middle of its forehead was an unusually large tumor of blood vessels.
The figure curled up behind the wall, its sharp claws embedded in the wall, shivering, and muttering to itself in a scared voice. "...terrible, this is terrible."
"Three... the number of Hashiras... are three people."
He scratched his hands with his sharp nails.
"Gyokko... the information you gave me was wrong!"
Tanjuro turned his head to look at the fleeing Hantengu.
His eyes twitched as he looked at the posture bar above the demon's head.
[Upper Moon Three, Hantengu.]
His name and the six dots were arranged closely.
—Hantengu has six stages.
'What a pain.' Tanjuro sighed slightly in his heart. His grip on Kusabimaru clenched tightly.
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-Location: Other Side of the Village, Forest-
A father and his two sons were walking in the woods toward the Swordsmith village, though they were not aware of that fact. Their clothing was much cleaner and newer blue yukata with cloud patterns.
"Dad, Nii-san, why are we here?"
Muichiro asked with his hands holding a sword at his waist. He looked around timidly in this strange wilderness. "We've never been here before." His tone was full of worry.
Although it was close to their home, they never explored this area when they were chopping wood or practicing their swordsmanship.
This area always seemed more eerie, and there were always strange sounds echoing through the forest.
"This is pretty dangerous!"
Yuichiro curled his lips as he listened to his brother rant. The appearance of the six-eyed monster flashed through his mind.
"Who knows! Tch!" Yuichiro said angrily.
He also had a sword at his waist.
Soichiro walked in front of his sons, his hand rested on the hilt of his sword, listening to the conversation between his sons, and smiled helplessly.
"...It was Tsugikuni-san's order."
"What?" Muichiro raised his head curiously at his father. "What did Tsugikuni-san says?"
"Practice has been sufficient, he said."
Yuichiro said before his father could, his face fell into contemplation, and his voice was deep as he tried to imitate Michikatsu's voice.
"It's time to put you to the test."
Yuichiro coughed twice since such a deep voice for his young larynx was too much.
"Anyway, it's some kind of combat training."
Muichiro listened as if he understood but nodded in a daze.
Combat?
He looked down at his palms that were covered in calluses.
The three of them keep walking through the forest... when Muichiro notices something.
"Nii-san! Dad! Look!"
Muichiro raised his hand and pointed to a clearing behind the bushes in front of him. "There's a pot over there!"
Yuichiro looked in the direction that Muichiro was pointing to.
Sure enough, there was a pot in the middle of the plain of grass. The porcelain pot was so clean it reflected the moonlight.
It seemed to be asymmetrical, though.
Yuichiro's expression became disgusted at the pot.
"...what an ugly pot." He frowned slightly.
Almost immediately, as if hearing Yuichiro's words.
The pot on the ground began to shake violently!