"It looks like poison," Shinobu said after hearing Kazuki. She stopped, examined Zenitsu's condition, and continued, "Put him down first. I'll prepare the medicine according to his symptoms."
"Alright."
Kazuki followed her instructions and gently laid Zenitsu down.
Shinobu crouched to examine Zenitsu, then took out several vials. While mixing the medicine, she said, "It's fine. This poison isn't too difficult to neutralize. And since this boy used his Breathing to slow the spread, he'll be alright."
Hearing this, Kazuki finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, Shinobu-san. Also, there are quite a few people back where I came from who were infected with the same poison," Kazuki added.
He had been too anxious earlier and brought Zenitsu straight to Shinobu first. After all, when they had first met, Rengoku had told him that she was extremely skilled with poisons.
If Shinobu hadn't come along on this mission, Kazuki truly didn't know what he would have done.
"I see. Once the antidote is finished, I'll head over there," Shinobu replied as she continued mixing the medicine.
It didn't take long before she finished preparing it. She then injected the antidote into Zenitsu's arm.
At that moment, the Kakushi who had been following behind finally arrived.
"Alright. He's out of danger now. With some rest and recovery, he'll be fine," Shinobu said as she stood up.
Kazuki turned to look at Zenitsu and saw that the poisonous markings on his face had indeed begun to fade.
Zenitsu's consciousness also returned. The first thing he saw was Kazuki and Shinobu standing before him.
The pain in his body and everything he had just been through overwhelmed him, and he burst into tears.
"Yō!!! It really is you! I thought I was dreaming! Hey, listen—about that spider just now! It was terrifying! It tried to turn me into a spider too…"
Crying as he spoke, Zenitsu lunged toward Kazuki, nearly smearing snot all over him.
"Yes, yes…"
Kazuki responded calmly.
After hearing Shinobu's reassurance and seeing Zenitsu like this, the weight in Kazuki's heart finally lifted completely.
"It was really scary! Tanjiro and Inosuke just left me behind! I couldn't find them anywhere…"
"Mhm, mhm…"
Kazuki nodded along, though Zenitsu's rambling made it hard to follow.
Who's Inosuke…?
Kazuki thought helplessly.
"Wrap him up," Shinobu suddenly said with a smile to the Kakushi who had just arrived.
"Yes!"
The Kakushi answered respectfully and immediately took out bandages.
"And you know what's even worse? He even took Nezuko with him! Taking Nezuko somewhere so dangerous… wuu… wuu…"
"Yes, yes…"
Kazuki continued to respond.
Who's Nezuko now…?
Mid-sentence, Zenitsu suddenly couldn't make any more sound. Looking again, he realized he had been wrapped up by the Kakushi like a mummy—everything except his eyes tightly bound in bandages.
"Mm… mm…"
He struggled to make a sound, but soon stopped moving altogether.
The joy and excitement of suddenly seeing a familiar face had made him forget the pain for a moment. Now that he was completely wrapped up, the pain surged back all at once. Even the slightest movement was agony—Zenitsu didn't dare move at all anymore.
Looking at Zenitsu, whose eyes brimmed with tears and despair despite only his eyes being visible, Kazuki felt an urge to laugh. He knew he shouldn't—but fortunately, he managed to hold it in.
"Yō, help guide me. I'll go treat the others you mentioned who were poisoned," Shinobu said to him.
"Alright," Kazuki replied.
He then led Shinobu and the Kakushi toward the place where he had found Zenitsu.
Zenitsu was left behind, watched over by two Kakushi.
The group soon arrived at the location Kazuki had mentioned. Many people were crawling on the ground there, nearly transformed into spiders. Most of the hair on their heads had fallen out, yet they didn't seem to have gained any strength.
"Inject them with the antidote I just prepared," Shinobu instructed the Kakushi.
"Yes!"
The Kakushi responded and immediately began injecting the antidote into those who were on the verge of turning into spiders.
As the antidote took effect, their symptoms gradually eased. More people who were close to transforming crawled over toward Shinobu.
"Shinobu-san, I'll go check ahead," Kazuki said, seeing that there were enough hands here and that he couldn't be of much help.
After all, the purpose of coming to Mount Natagumo was to deal with the Twelve Kizuki and further test the Bright Red Blade. So far, they still hadn't found the demon hiding here—aside from the one Zenitsu had already slain.
"Alright, go ahead," Shinobu replied.
She couldn't leave yet; the treatment here still required her supervision.
With her consent, Kazuki continued toward the center of the mountain.
I wonder if Tomioka-san has encountered that Twelve Kizuki yet…
And from what Zenitsu said earlier, Tanjiro should be here too. I hope nothing's happened to him…
Kazuki felt a bit uneasy as he moved on.
The scenery rushed past him at high speed. Suddenly, he stopped.
Just now… did I see something strange?
He took a few steps back and saw a figure wearing a boar's head mask, tied up with rope and hanging from a tree.
It's a boy… Those injuries are severe. And he's been tied up and hung like this…
Don't tell me this was Tomioka-san's doing…?
With his transparent perception, Kazuki could tell that the boar-headed figure was a young boy. Looking at him, Kazuki couldn't help but suspect that Giyu was responsible.
The likely reason was to restrain him. His injuries were already extremely serious, and Giyu still needed to search for the Twelve Kizuki. Given his personality, this was something he would absolutely do.
Kazuki untied the ropes binding the boar-headed boy, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and carried him to the nearest Kakushi, handing the boy over to them.
"A boar's head!? What is this?"
The Kakushi were startled when they saw Inosuke, but they still took him in.
"He should also be a Demon Slayer Corps member. I'll leave him to you—I'm heading out," Kazuki said, then left immediately.
Now that he thought about it, he remembered seeing this boy once during the Final Selection. Back then, he had immediately run off shouting "Charge straight ahead!" leaving little impression on Kazuki at the time.
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