Rolling the time back slightly, to when Mizuki encountered Gyokko.
Inside the guest room at this moment, Tanjirou and his group were happily eating a late-night snack and chatting.
Zenitsu was feigning a cold expression, looking disdainfully at Kotetsu beside him: "I said, brew the tea. Understood?"
Kotetsu clapped his hands: "Yes, yes, yes! That's exactly it!!!"
"My turn!" Inosuke shoved Zenitsu aside, crossing his arms. "Although you've awakened the Demon Slayer Mark, you're still far from good enough!"
Combined with his Pig Head, it made everyone present, including Genya, burst into laughter and slap their thighs.
After a week, he had already adapted to the thought processes of this group of idiots.
His attitude towards Mizuki had improved significantly compared to the beginning, but constantly being beaten by her meant it would be abnormal if he didn't feel a little frustrated.
So, seeing everyone imitating Mizuki now was incredibly entertaining.
Zenitsu was laughing so hard his stomach hurt, lying on the floor, shedding tears, and pounding the ground: "It's exactly the same!!!"
Watching everyone's extremely risky performance, a bead of cold sweat trickled down Tanjirou's temple. If Miss Mizuki saw this, they would die.
They would absolutely die.
They'd be torn to shreds, right?!
"What are they doing?" Tokito Muichiro drank his tea expressionlessly, completely unable to understand the thought processes of the people beside him.
"They're... courting death."
Tanjirou couldn't quite say it, so he simply changed the subject, asking, "Speaking of which, Tokito-kun, why did you come over?"
Although Tokito Muichiro's attitude towards them was much better than before, he had always refused when Tanjirou invited him to hang out in the evening.
This was the first time Tokito Muichiro had actively sought them out.
Tanjirou felt a bit overwhelmed by the attention.
Tokito-kun, aside from bowing to Miss Mizuki regarding the Demon Slayer Mark, usually couldn't be bothered to pay attention to them.
Tokito Muichiro put down his teacup and said expressionlessly, "Yes, I wanted to ask, do you know a swordsmith named Tetsunomori?"
"Tetsunomori? Of course, I know him."
He was the one who forged Inosuke's new Nichirin Blade and was infuriated by Inosuke. When they first arrived at the Swordsmith Village, he even came to greet them along with Haganezuka-san.
"Tetsunomori is currently my swordsmith. Do you know where he is?"
Tanjirou was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head sheepishly: "I'm not too sure about that."
"I haven't seen him since Haganezuka-san left that day. Did he leave with him?"
"Why don't we all go look for him together?"
Tokito Muichiro frowned. "Never mind. It's not the agreed-upon time yet anyway. I was just too impatient."
Tanjirou's eyes brightened a bit. Was this really Tokito-kun?
This was the first time he had spoken so much.
Unlike Miss Mizuki's occasional surface coldness, Tanjirou felt that Tokito-kun's indifference was internal—a genuine lack of emotion from the heart.
At least Miss Mizuki often looked at them with a gentle expression.
To Tanjirou and the others, she was truly like an Older Sister.
Well, even if she was occasionally a little fierce.
"Tanjirou, you've known Miss Mizuki the longest. Do you know any embarrassing dark secrets about her?" Zenitsu suddenly approached, grabbing Tanjirou by the neck.
Cold sweat broke out on Tanjirou, and he gave a forced smile: "N-not really sure."
This was the one thing he absolutely did not want to mess around with Zenitsu about.
Because they would truly die!
"Hey, hey, Tanpachirou, do you think I sound like her?" Inosuke was still fooling around.
Tanjirou could only respond with a forced smile.
Whether they sounded like her or not, he didn't know, but they were definitely tired of living... Suddenly, a slight sound seemed to come from outside the room.
The laughter of the group stopped, and they all turned their heads in unison.
Zenitsu's hair stood on end. Biting his finger, he looked terrified: "Could it be that Miss Mizuki is back?"
Hearing his words, Inosuke and Genya also felt their scalps prickle.
Although one was short-tempered and the other was an airhead, neither was dumb enough to laugh foolishly when faced with certain death.
We're doomed!
The two brothers immediately hugged each other, trembling.
Tanjirou's mouth twitched. Weren't you guys just having fun a moment ago?
Acting like this now is far too embarrassing.
Shhhk~
Suddenly, the door slid open.
Contrary to everyone's expectations, the Mizuki with an ashen face and red eyes did not appear outside the door.
Instead, there was a strange creature: a withered, trembling arm resting on the door, and a large bump on its forehead. It was clearly an old, ugly Demon.
"Eee-eee-eee..." The old Demon couldn't stop its tears, weeping and wailing, extending its sharp claws and timidly crawling toward the inside of the room.
This sudden sight caused everyone present to freeze for a moment.
What's going on? Where is the aura?
They hadn't sensed anything until they saw it?
Tanjirou had only experienced this situation when dealing with Miss Mizuki or an Upper Rank.
Without a doubt, the guy in front of them was an Upper Rank.
Not until this ugly old Demon crawled into the room did Tokito Muichiro, who was a Hashira, react first.
The Nichirin Blade he had borrowed from the Workshop and placed beside him suddenly flashed out of its sheath.
"Mist Breathing, Fourth Form: Shifting Flow Slash!"
Amidst the spreading azure mist, a sharp, exposed slash headed straight for the old Demon's neck.
"Did he hit it?" Inosuke and the others beside him finally reacted.
"No..." Tanjirou looked up at the ceiling in astonishment.
He did hit it, but he didn't finish it off.
What incredible speed!
The old Demon hung upside down on the roof like a gecko, covering its blood-splattered face with one hand, weeping pitifully.
"It hurts so much~"
"Stop it, don't bully me..."
This guy, is he really an Upper Rank?
This thought simultaneously arose in everyone's minds.
"Don't hesitate!" Tanjirou shouted, his Nichirin Blade already drawn from his waist.
"Sun Breathing, Seventh Form: Solar Heat Haze!"
The thrust, wrapped in the aura of flame, shot straight toward the ceiling.
His original intention was just to knock the Demon down, but he unexpectedly hit it directly.
A trace of doubt arose in Tanjirou's heart.
That's strange?
Why didn't he dodge?
He wasn't confident enough to think he could easily kill an Upper Rank.
Just as doubt arose in his mind and he hesitated to speak, a golden flash of lightning streaked past.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash."
Zenitsu's figure suddenly appeared on the other side of the room. He exhaled a golden breath and slowly stood up while sheathing his sword.
The old Demon's neck was thrown high into the air.
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