Chapter 76: Is Muzan Ready for a Blood Battle for Displacement?
"Tokito, hasn't the teacher returned yet?"
Rengoku Kyojuro held his nichirin blade, hacking through some bushes as he asked Tokito, who was guarding the unconscious Tanjiro.
Behind him was Tanjiro's family.
Aoi saw Tanjiro lying on the haystack and immediately ran over, gently taking him into her arms; then, a group of children ran to Tanjiro's side, weeping.
"Yeah. I'm going to build a windbreak; it's too cold today."
Iguro Obanai, who was walking at the very end, spoke in a cold voice and went off to chop wood nearby.
His tone was very displeased.
Rengoku Kyojuro scratched his head and smiled, "Sorry for the trouble, Iguro."
Iguro Obanai just waved his hand and didn't speak.
Tokito Muichiro poked Rengoku Kyojuro's waist. "What's going on? Why do I feel like Iguro is very Life Qi?"
"It's like this..."
Rengoku Kyojuro briefly explained the reason.
It turned out these children were frightened by Kaburamaru and threw stones at Iguro... Thinking about it, it was normal; after all, they had just been scared by a demon and then saw a youth with a snake wrapped around his neck.
Being afraid was only natural.
"Boring."
After Tokito Muichiro finished speaking, he continued to observe Tanjiro's condition. Among the Three Youngsters, only Tokito had studied some basic medicine.
Well, it was because he fought with Ryuji so many times and was often injured.
The heavy snow continued to flutter down, covering the bloodstains on the ground, yet it couldn't hide the sadness and deathly silence permeating the air.
Iguro Obanai didn't say a word, silently using the chopped wood and tarpaulin to build a crude but sturdy windbreak, attempting to block the bone-chilling wind for this precarious family.
Even though she was becoming familiar, the youngest, Hanako, was still somewhat afraid of Iguro. Upon seeing him, she still timidly hid behind her mother.
Iguro Obanai's movements stiffened. He glanced at the child with some displeasure and muttered softly, "Really no taste, Kaburamaru is clearly so cute..."
Though he complained, his movements became even gentler, ensuring every wooden board fit tightly without gaps.
In contrast, Rengoku Kyojuro was like a little sun, immediately attracting the attention of all the children.
He used his warm, large hands to help rub the children's cold little hands, telling some out-of-tune jokes. With his enthusiasm that could dispel any gloom, he temporarily warmed this snowy ground shrouded in tragedy.
"Mr. Iguro, I'm truly sorry, the child is still young..."
Aoi walked to Iguro Obanai's side, her face full of apology.
"Hmph, it's fine."
Iguro Obanai responded without turning his head, but the tips of his ears turned slightly red. He wasn't actually that Life Qi; he was just not very good at dealing with people.
Not far away, Tokito Muichiro reached out to check Tanjiro's pulse; it was so weak it was almost imperceptible.
Aoi's gaze fell on her husband's pale face, and tears slid down silently from her eyes.
Tokito Muichiro looked at her, a hint of hesitation flashing in his clear eyes. He didn't know if he should tell this poor woman the cruel reality.
After a moment, he spoke anyway.
His voice was flat and direct, without any unnecessary emotion: "He is too heavily injured. Although I don't know what method the teacher used to keep his life hanging..."
He looked at Aoi and sighed: "Even if he can wake up, he..."
...won't live much longer.
He didn't say the second half of the sentence, but Aoi already understood.
She just listened quietly, without hysteria or emotional breakdown, only two lines of clear tears slowly flowing down.
Following her smooth chin, they dripped onto the snow.
One drop, two drops... until the tears dripped a hole in the snow, until they froze back into ice.
She glanced at the children surrounding Rengoku Kyojuro, then bowed deeply to Tokito Muichiro: "Thank you for telling me this."
At this time, Nezuko, who had been silent, walked over. She gently hugged her trembling mother, giving her strength with her own body heat.
Then, she looked up, her clear and resilient wine-red eyes—identical to Tanjiro's—looking straight at Tokito Muichiro: "Excuse me... who are you people?"
"Demon Slayer Corps."
Tokito Muichiro was concise: "An organization dedicated to slaying demons."
Nezuko fell silent.
A hint of the boredom Tokito Muichiro had expected flashed through his mind.
He had seen too many such villagers. After a tragedy occurred, they would always question them in a resentful tone:
Why didn't you come sooner?
If you had come sooner, my family wouldn't have died!
Boring and meaningless displacement of anger.
He was even prepared; once this girl said something similar, he would immediately turn and leave.
He was only responsible for slaying demons and had no obligation to endure this.
However, when Nezuko spoke again, her words made him slightly stunned.
"Please teach me the ability to slay demons!"
Her voice wasn't loud, and even carried a hint of a young girl's naivety, but the determination in her tone was like tempered steel, beyond doubt.
Tokito Muichiro looked at her eyes, which were burning with fire, and for a moment, he actually lost himself.
This girl... Aoi didn't speak, only lowered her eyes and gently stroked Nezuko's back.
She knew that whether it was Tanjiro or Nezuko, once they set their minds on something, no one could persuade them otherwise.
"I can't make that decision."
Tokito Muichiro snapped back to his senses and shook his head: "We have to wait for our teacher to return."
He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Nezuko's slender frame: "Furthermore, becoming a swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps requires passing a cruel selection process, with only a one in ten chance of survival."
He tried to use the cruelty of reality to discourage the girl.
But Nezuko only nodded heavily and said no more.
She turned and walked to her younger brothers and sisters, using her still-frail shoulders to prop up a small piece of the sky for them.
Just then, Iguro Obanai finished building the windbreak. He glanced at the crowd and called out to Tokito and Rengoku: "I'm going to hunt some game and stew some soup for them to warm up. We have Breathing Techniques and can handle it, but they can't."
With that, he flickered a few times and disappeared into the wind and snow.
Not long after he left, Tokito and Rengoku both felt a powerful aura rapidly approaching!
"Something is coming!"
The two instantly drew their nichirin blades and assumed a wary stance.
Aoi immediately shielded the children behind her, while Nezuko stood unhesitatingly in front of her mother, using her frail body to form the first line of defense.
The bushes rustled.
However, in the next second, Tokito Muichiro slowly sheathed his sword.
Because this aura... was too familiar.
It was the teacher.
Ryuji stepped out from the bushes.
His expression was exceptionally solemn, and he carried a blood-covered youth on his shoulder—it was Tanjiro.
Tokito Muichiro looked at the teacher's expression and then at Tanjiro's pale complexion, sighing softly in his heart.
So he really died?
It seemed the demon was likely eliminated by the teacher... What a pity, alas.
Aoi saw the figure clearly and also saw her son's face covered in blood and filth. Her vision went black, and she could no longer hold herself up, slumping backward.
"Mother!"
Nezuko quickly caught her fainting mother, tears finally welling up in her eyes.
But she endured, and they didn't fall.
She glanced at her younger siblings crying in a heap behind her, then took heavy steps toward Ryuji and bowed deeply to him:
"Thank you... for bringing back my brother's body."
Her voice trembled slightly from extreme suppression: "Please take me as your disciple and teach me the skills to slay demons!"
Ryuji opened his mouth. Even with the roles reversed, was it still the same?
"Tanjiro, he's not dead."
Ryuji said in a low voice.
Just then, the clouds suddenly parted, and a long-lost ray of sunlight pierced through the wind and snow, spilling onto the earth.
"Not good!"
Ryuji's expression changed. Just as he was about to move Tanjiro into the shadows, he heard a soft groan: "Ugh..."
Tanjiro's body jerked violently, and he slowly opened his eyes.
One eye was a wine-red belonging to a human.
And the other was a cold and evil rose-red vertical pupil, just like Kibutsuji Muzan's!
"Roar!"
An extreme instinctual hunger for flesh and blood instantly shattered Tanjiro's reason. He snapped his mouth open and lunged to bite Ryuji's neck, which was close at hand!
However, at the very moment those sharp demon fangs were about to touch the skin...
Tanjiro's right hand gripped his own neck in a nearly self-mutilating way!
"Heh... heh..."
Painful roars came from his throat, and the eye that belonged to a human was filled with endless struggle and determination.
"Kill... kill me!"
He squeezed those words out from between his teeth with all his strength.
Ryuji was completely stunned.
He looked at Tanjiro, who was struggling in pain under the sun yet hadn't turned to ash, and his mind went blank.
Is this Tanjiro?
Is this the power of a Demon King?
Just became a demon, and... he conquered the sun?!
Is this right?
This can't be right, can it?!
The ultimate dream Muzan had pursued for over a thousand years was achieved so easily by Tanjiro, who had been a demon for less than half a day?
"Teacher! What's the situation?!"
Tokito Muichiro was also shocked as he watched this. He cautiously approached Ryuji's side, his face full of confusion:
"Why... why hasn't the demon died even after being exposed to sunlight?"
Thump!
Ryuji snapped back to his senses and knocked Tanjiro unconscious with a hand-chop, then slowly placed him on the ground.
"Maybe... it's because of the blue spider lily."
That was the only explanation he could think of.
He couldn't exactly say it was the damn Protagonist Halo, could he?! Even his own cheating wasn't this overpowered! He was restrained; at the very least, he needed to train and kill demons... Tanjiro's cheating wasn't even trying to hide!
"blue spider lily?"
Rengoku Kyojuro asked with a frown: "What is that?"
"A legendary plant said to allow demons to conquer the sun."
Ryuji gave a brief explanation, then said to Tokito Muichiro: "Muichiro, go cut a wooden stick."
Although Tokito Muichiro's heart was full of questions, he immediately complied. With a flash of his blade, a smooth wooden stick was handed to Ryuji.
Ryuji ignited flames in his palm, scorching and disinfecting the surface of the stick.
Just as he was about to tear a strip of cloth from his tattered clothes, a tearful yet incredibly firm voice sounded: "Please... please use this."
It was Nezuko.
She had approached at some point and tore a strip of cloth from her already damaged kimono, handing it over.
She didn't know exactly what her brother had become, but she knew he was still alive.
That was enough!
As long as he was alive, there was hope.
Ryuji took the cloth, nodded, and skillfully fashioned the wooden stick into a simple muzzle, tying it over Tanjiro's mouth. After doing all this, he told Nezuko everything about Tanjiro's condition.
After hearing Ryuji's explanation, both Tokito Muichiro and Rengoku Kyojuro fell into silence.
Ryuji was glad in his heart that Iguro was not here; otherwise, with his personality, he would probably have immediately demanded Tanjiro be slain.
Nezuko closed her eyes and took several deep breaths to force herself to calm down. When she opened her eyes again, there were no more tears, only a determination that didn't match her age.
"Is it possible for someone who became a demon... to turn back into a human?"
"And if it's not possible?"
Ryuji looked at her and asked back.
"Then I'll search for it!"
Nezuko didn't hesitate: "Even if I have to travel to the ends of the earth, I will find a way to turn my brother back into a human!"
Ryuji fell silent.
As expected of a child of the Kamado family.
"What if you can't find it?"
"I will never let my brother harm a single person!"
Nezuko's face bore sorrow and determination as she said word by word: "If necessary, I will personally... slay him!"
Tokito Muichiro looked at her, a complex emotion flashing through his eyes that usually lacked ripples.
This girl was very similar to him, yet completely different.
Rengoku Kyojuro sighed heavily. From this girl, he saw the shadow of his mother—strong and gentle, protecting her family.
"Mm, your resolve is good."
Ryuji nodded and finally gave an answer:
"The good news is that demonization isn't absolute. I have a friend who is researching a medicine to turn demons back into humans."
Nezuko's eyes instantly lit up!
"The bad news is..."
Ryuji spread his hands and said, "I just don't know when the research will be finished."
"I'm not afraid!"
Nezuko shook her head vigorously: "I can wait. As long as there is hope, it's enough!"
Just then, Iguro Obanai returned carrying two wild rabbits.
When he saw Tanjiro, who was bound with a muzzle and emitting demonic Qi, his face instantly darkened, and he drew his sword without hesitation.
"A demon... why is there a demon here?!"
Everyone spent a good deal of effort explaining the sequence of events. After hearing it, Iguro Obanai only looked coldly at Tanjiro and spat out two words:
"Kill him."
"No!" Rengoku Kyojuro was the first to stand up in opposition.
"The teacher hasn't decided yet," Tokito Muichiro also stated his stance.
Ultimately, with Ryuji's firm protection and Nezuko's plea that was almost a kneeling beg, Iguro Obanai reluctantly went along.
But he still acquiesced to the decision to bring the Kamado family back to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, though the look in his eyes when he watched Tanjiro was still full of killing intent and vigilance.
"If this demon harms anyone, I will kill him immediately, and..."
Iguro Obanai pointed at Nezuko: "...I'll kill you along with him!"
Nezuko faced Iguro with a faint smile: "My brother will absolutely not harm anyone!"
"Absolutely!"
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