"No way~"
Zenitsu let out a sharp wail, shaking his head frantically, "I'm still far from good enough, there are so many things I still want to learn."
Everyone watched his performance expressionlessly.
Want to learn?
That's not right.
You just want to use this opportunity to get closer to girls, right?
Kanroji Mitsuri shook her head seriously: "That's not true, Zenitsu-kun is already very outstanding."
"Actually, I was planning to pass you even before Inosuke-kun, but you said you wanted to study for a bit longer, so I agreed."
"Zenitsu-kun's talent, I think even Inosuke-kun can't compare to it."
Inosuke?
That's true. Inosuke's shoulder-popping is already his limit, but Zenitsu's perversion has no limit.
"Ehh~ But I really can't do it yet~" Zenitsu squirmed restlessly, and coupled with that gym uniform, the sight could only be described as an eyesore.
Kochou Shinobu's mouth twitched slightly.
That girl Mitsuri, she's nineteen, and while she obviously joined the Demon Slayer Corps to find a husband, she's utterly clueless in this regard, naive to an infuriating degree.
Although she wouldn't actually be taken advantage of, seeing Zenitsu's behavior made her want to hit someone.
How annoying.
Kochou Shinobu's eyes suddenly lit up. Right, the place they were going next was Iguro's residence.
Hehe.
Hopefully, when she sees him then, he'll still be in one piece.
As if sensing an unprecedented, deep malice, Zenitsu's rosy complexion instantly turned pale, and he shivered all over.
What was that?
Before he could search for the source of this sudden uneasiness, Kochou Shinobu grabbed him and pulled him away from Kanroji Mitsuri.
"Who?!" Zenitsu turned back angrily.
Kochou Shinobu's purple eyes showed a hint of killing intent: "Me. Got a problem?"
The anger in Zenitsu's mind dissipated, and he shrunk his neck: "N-no, none at all."
Kochou Shinobu shifted her gaze, glanced at the box by her feet, and said flatly, "Pick up the box on the ground for me."
"I..."
"I told you to pick up the box."
"Yes!" Zenitsu shuddered, recalling the fear of being dominated by Kochou Shinobu at the Butterfly Mansion, and without daring to slack off, he picked up the box from the ground.
"O-okay, done." Zenitsu swallowed, standing straight with a look of terror.
Kochou Shinobu said impatiently, "There's more."
So scary.
This wasn't just Zenitsu's inner thought, but the inner thought of everyone present.
Only after Zenitsu picked up two people's worth of boxes, his face flushed red from straining, did Kochou Shinobu stop tormenting him.
She smoothed out her furrowed brow and turned to Kanroji Mitsuri: "Mitsuri, we're going to..."
"Yes!"
Called by name, the Love Hashira, Kanroji Mitsuri, stood at attention.
Kochou Shinobu paused, then continued: "We're leaving now. Let's eat together again next time we have a chance."
Kanroji Mitsuri nodded repeatedly, tears flowing like a river in her heart, not daring to have any thought of asking them to stay.
So scary! So scary!
Little Shinobu when she's angry is terrifying!
Mizuki was drenched in sweat.
No matter how you looked at it, this scene was too bizarre... "Is it really okay for us to just let Zenitsu carry all that by himself?" On the way to Iguro's residence, Tanjirou looked at Zenitsu struggling ahead and said with some reluctance.
Kochou Shinobu said flatly, "Don't bother showing kindness to that kind of idiot."
"Uh..." Sweat drops the size of beans slid down Tanjirou's face. Although he really wanted to help, it looked like he could only apologize to Zenitsu in secret.
Thanks to Zenitsu, the group was able to relax considerably, arriving at Iguro's residence as if on a leisurely stroll.
"Ah~"
"Eugh~"
The screams rang out again, making it impossible for everyone to tell which side was truly Hell.
Stepping into the residence, they followed the sounds to the training hall where Iguro Obanai was conducting special training.
"Boar Rush!!!"
Before they even entered the training hall, everyone heard a familiar voice.
It seemed Inosuke, who had arrived ahead of Zenitsu, was still engaged in training with the Serpent Hashira, Iguro Obanai.
"I'm exhausted to death~" Zenitsu put the boxes down at the entrance of the training hall, panting heavily.
Then, because he didn't hear anyone, he couldn't help but look up, only to be utterly shocked by the scene before him.
Inside the massive training hall, the figures of various swordsmen were tied to wooden stakes, some placed horizontally, some vertically, their mouths tightly covered.
The originally spacious training hall was forcibly transformed into a cramped arena.
Anyone who didn't know better would think some kind of evil god sacrifice was taking place here.
And between this cramped setup, two figures were weaving back and forth.
"Beast Breathing, Ninth Fang: Extend, Winding Sever!" Inosuke's knuckles, holding the wooden sword, cracked and suddenly deformed, stabbing through the wooden stake at a tricky angle, grazing the cheek of a bound swordsman and aiming for Iguro Obanai hiding behind him.
A lock of hair near his ear was cut off by the wooden sword, and the swordsman trembled uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face.
Seeing this scene, Zenitsu shook his head in terror: "No, I want to go back! I want to go back!"
No one paid attention to him; they just quietly watched the scene unfolding before them.
Everyone: "..."
They retracted their previous comments about the training grounds of the other Hashira; compared to this place, the others were far too kind.
This place was truly more Hellish than Hell itself.
"Quite capable." Iguro Obanai avoided the blade, his figure flickering erratically through the arena, his heterochromatic eyes showing a hint of praise.
Was that the blood-colored Demon Slayer Mark that resembled a beast's fang?
His strength was undoubtedly already close to that of a Hashira.
Iguro Obanai's eyes narrowed slightly. He had always been skeptical about the Demon Slayer Mark.
With the other Hashira and the Master vouching for it, he didn't outright disbelieve it, but he doubted whether it could truly bring about such a transformative improvement.
Now it seemed that the claims were indeed true.
At the very least, this beast before him was the best proof.
The feeling he got was that this boy was significantly stronger than the Kinoe-ranked swordsmen; even a Lower Rank Demon probably wouldn't be his opponent.
He could no longer treat this lightly.
Considering the two were engaged in a crucial part of their training, the group felt it improper to interrupt and could only wait for them to finish.
Fortunately, even Inosuke, having awakened the Demon Slayer Mark, was still lacking when facing an opponent like Iguro, especially since Iguro's Sword Form was somewhat similar to Inosuke's.
He was undoubtedly far behind in swordsmanship.
"Damn it!" With the wooden sword pressed against his face, Inosuke slammed the ground in frustration and stood up.
Tanjirou clapped his hands, offering generous praise: "Inosuke is amazing~"
Inosuke said angrily, "I'll definitely win next time!"
Iguro Obanai said nothing more. Although he was a bit too noisy, he was indeed an excellent fellow.
He shifted his attention away from Inosuke and turned to look at the group.
His gaze swept over them, locking onto Nezuko, who was at the very back of the group.
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