They stayed at the Bliss Cult for a few more days.
Inosuke and the others all felt like they'd… put on a bit of weight from eating too well.
"Let's head back to the Demon Slayer Corps. I'm rotting away at home."
"I'll follow your lead, Inosuke-kun!"
Inosuke lazily stood up from the cult leader's seat and stretched.
Tanjiro walked over with a smile, already prepared to depart.
"What?! You're leaving again?!"
Daki's shrill scream rang out as she grabbed Tanjiro's brand-new clothes—the ones he'd only worn for a few days.
"No! Absolutely not! You've only been back for a few days!
Human New Year isn't that short, is it?!
Tanjiro, you're not allowed to leave! You still have to comb my hair!
Nezuko still has to play with me!
Who said you could go back to that stinky Demon Slayer Corps?!"
Tanjiro looked troubled, but still explained patiently.
"U-um… Lady Daki, the Demon Slayer Corps still has many missions, and we also need to go pay New Year's respects to the Master and the Hashira…"
"Pay respects to what? Let them come here!"
Daki put her hands on her hips, utterly unreasonable.
On the other side, Zenitsu was sneaking away with his bundle on his back when a white martial-arts sleeve blocked his path.
"Where do you think you're going, blond kid?"
Akaza's face was dark.
"I said my New Year's money was special training.
Trying to run without training—what?
Looking down on me?"
Inosuke, carrying three swords on his back, pressed a hand to his forehead helplessly.
"Third Uncle, stop messing around. I have to go back to work. I'm a Hashira—I've got a job."
"You can leave."
Akaza sneered as his fighting spirit exploded outward.
He assumed a stance, a twelve-pointed snowflake array unfolding beneath his feet.
"But first—let's have a Rank Exchange Blood Battle.
Not just you. These two kids as well."
"As long as you can last one stick of incense under my fists without collapsing, I'll let you go.
Otherwise—stay here obediently and train until next year!"
"I'm in! I'm in too!"
Daki, fearing nothing, jumped in eagerly.
"If you lose, Tanjiro and Nezuko stay behind and become my little brother and sister!
That blond one can be my brother's whetstone!"
Gyutaro scratched his face and chuckled.
"Since Ume's so interested… I'll play along too.
Tanjiro, what do you say?
You don't want to be Ume's little brother?"
Tanjiro and Zenitsu were stunned.
The two hugged each other, trembling.
"B-big brother… what's going on?!
Didn't we just have New Year's dinner together and exchange gifts a few days ago?!
Why are we suddenly fighting?!"
Inosuke's mouth twitched.
He was out of options.
"Now, now, everyone calm down."
At the critical moment, Doma stepped forward, waving his fan.
He stood between the two sides, looking like he was mediating—while actually fanning the flames.
"Lord Akaza means well, you know."
He pointed at Akaza.
"After all, Inosuke is the hope of our family. What if he goes out and gets bullied by other demons?"
"And besides…"
Doma looked at Tanjiro and Zenitsu.
"If you're Inosuke's friends, being too weak would only hold him back."
He snapped his fan shut, making the final call.
"How about this—Inosuke, learn your Third Uncle's Destructive Death before you leave.
As for these two children… since Lord Akaza is willing to teach them, that's their good fortune."
"Once they learn it, not only will they survive longer, they'll grow much stronger."
"As for the Demon Slayer Corps…"
He smiled sweetly.
"What are they, anyway?"
Inosuke looked at the people blocking the exit, sighed, and tossed his pack aside.
"Fine."
He turned to Tanjiro and Zenitsu and gave a helpless smile.
"Since we can't dodge it… let's learn properly."
...
Mansei Bliss Cult — Back Mountain
"Listen carefully."
Inosuke pulled Tanjiro and Zenitsu into a corner, his expression serious.
From his clothes, he took out an exquisite wooden box. Inside lay ten syringes glowing faintly purple.
"W-what is that?"
Zenitsu instinctively sensed danger and shrank back.
"This is good stuff,"
Inosuke said in a low voice.
"My Third Uncle's Destructive Death is, at its core, a Blood Demon Art."
"You're human. Learning it in a short time—let alone keeping up with Upper Rank Three's movements—is basically impossible."
He picked up a syringe and shook it lightly.
"But with this, it's different."
"This is a semi-demonization serum.
It contains my blood, along with wisteria extract."
"Drink it, and for five minutes, you'll gain the power of a demon."
Tanjiro's pupils shrank.
"A demon's… power?"
"That's right."
Inosuke nodded.
"You've seen my usual state, haven't you? This is a simplified version.
If you want to learn Destructive Death, this is the only way."
"But!"
Inosuke's voice turned sharp as he stared at them.
"Remember this—this stuff is forbidden."
"I don't know how many times it can be used safely, but at most, you're allowed three times."
"If you use it too much… your cells will be assimilated. You'll truly become demons—and even I won't be able to save you."
"Understood?"
Tanjiro looked at the purple serum, then at Akaza waiting in the distance.
He remembered how everyone had nearly been killed on the Mugen Train.
He remembered the helplessness he felt when he thought Inosuke had died at the Swordsmith Village.
"If I can become stronger… if I can protect everyone…"
"Then let's do it!"
Tanjiro grabbed the syringe, his eyes resolute.
"As long as it doesn't exceed three times, right?
To become stronger—to keep up with you, Inosuke-kun—I'm not afraid!"
"Eh?! We're really doing this?! We'll turn into monsters, won't we?!
Definitely monsters, right?!"
Zenitsu cried out—but still took the syringe with trembling hands.
"Enough talk. Drink it!"
This was their first time using the serum.
...
Demon Slayer Corps — Butterfly Mansion
The air here felt colder than outside.
Shinobu Kocho sat at an experiment table, her brow tightly furrowed.
On the table before her stood a trembling Kasugai Crow.
It was one of the crows previously assigned to monitor the Swordsmith Village battlefield.
"You're saying…"
Shinobu's voice was soft, yet carried oppressive weight.
"…that after Inosuke-kun disappeared, new demons appeared at the ruins?"
"Caw! Y-yes!"
The crow stammered, as if recalling an extremely horrifying scene.
"T-two… very terrifying demons!"
"One had pink hair and tattoos all over his body.
The other had white-oak-colored hair, rainbow eyes, and carried a fan!"
At the words rainbow eyes and fan, Shinobu's hand jerked violently.
The glass test tube in her fingers shattered.
Blood trickled down between her fingers.
"Continue."
Her smile twisted slightly.
"What… did they do?"
"They… they were crying."
The crow tilted its head, as if it too found it unbelievable.
"The demon with the fan… was holding Lord Inosuke's broken sword… and crying."
"The pink-haired one was cursing while brutally killing the demon called Sasaki…
They looked extremely sad—like they'd lost family."
Shinobu's pupils shook violently.
Crying over Inosuke's death?
Fragments whirled rapidly through her mind, trying to assemble a truth.
An absurd, bold thought—yet seemingly the only explanation—surfaced.
"Is Inosuke-kun… a demon?"
"Or a spy?"
But if he were a spy, why did he risk everything to save everyone?
Why did he save Rengoku-san on the Mugen Train?
"Is he using demons… or using us?"
Shinobu pressed a hand to her forehead, dizziness washing over her.
The contradiction made it hard to breathe.
She wanted to hate him—because he was connected to her sister's killer.
Yet she couldn't bring herself to.
"Inosuke-kun…"
She gazed at the falling snow outside the window, her eyes complex and searching.
"What kind of person… are you really?"
...
Mansei Bliss Cult
The special training on the back mountain was in full swing, screams rising one after another.
Meanwhile, in the front hall—
A terrifying pressure suddenly descended.
Doma was drinking tea when his teacup abruptly shattered in his hand.
The smile vanished from his face.
He stood respectfully and looked toward the center of the hall.
A figure in a black suit and top hat walked out gracefully.
Kibutsuji Muzan.
"Lord Muzan."
Doma dropped to one knee.
"You came in person—do you have instructions?"
"Where is Inosuke?"
Muzan didn't even glance at Doma as he walked straight to the main seat and sat down.
"Call him here."
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