After saying this, Sanemi stood up and walked toward the Kakushi holding Nezuko's box. The Kakushi glanced at Kagaya, who nodded calmly. Only then did the Kakushi hand the box over to Sanemi.
Taking the box, Sanemi slammed it onto the ground. He first slit his own wrist with his Nichirin Blade, then stabbed the blade into the box and pulled it out again.
"Nezuko!!!"
Seeing this, the freed Tanjiro cried out and rushed toward Sanemi. He had only taken a few steps before Kazuki grabbed him and stopped him.
"This is the best way to prove your sister and earn the Hashira's acknowledgment. Endure it," Kazuki said quietly.
This time, he did not intervene. He understood Sanemi's intent. When demons are injured, they grow weak and ravenous, becoming even more desperate to consume human flesh to recover. Sanemi was deliberately intensifying Nezuko's craving for his blood.
Kazuki believed Sanemi's method was correct. With a demon's regenerative ability, wounds like these would heal quickly. If Nezuko could not restrain herself from eating humans even while injured, then claiming she would never eat humans in the future would be nothing but empty words. In that case, Kazuki would not stop Sanemi from killing her.
Sanemi stepped on the box and held his bleeding wrist above it, letting his blood drip through the hole he had just made.
"Hey, demon! It's time to eat! Come on, eat!" Sanemi shouted toward the box.
His blood dripped onto Nezuko's hand inside. The scent of rare blood assaulted her senses relentlessly.
Nezuko's body began to tremble as she struggled to endure, beads of sweat forming on her face.
"Don't hold back. Show your true nature! Let me cut you down right here!" the Wind Hashira continued to provoke her.
"Nezuko!" Tanjiro shouted desperately, hoping she could endure.
"Not like this, Shinazugawa. In sunlight she won't come out. Demons won't emerge unless it's shaded," Obanai reminded him from the side.
Hearing this, Sanemi addressed Kagaya. "Master, forgive my rudeness."
He then grabbed the box and leaped beneath the eaves of the front hall where Kagaya stood.
Throwing the box onto the wooden floor, Sanemi drew his Nichirin Blade and stabbed it into the box once more.
"Come out, demon! This is your favorite—human blood!"
After stabbing it several more times, Sanemi pinned the box down with his foot and pried open the lid with his blade.
Nezuko slowly rose from the box, her body gradually growing larger.
Seeing Sanemi's blood-soaked arm, saliva spilled from Nezuko's mouth. The attraction of rare blood was overwhelming.
"What's wrong, demon? Come on. You want it badly, don't you?" Sanemi sneered, his voice low and enticing.
"Mmm…" Nezuko groaned through the bamboo in her mouth. Blood continued to drip from the wound in her hand where Sanemi had stabbed her.
"Nezuko! Hold on!" Tanjiro cried out in anguish.
"She's my sister! My little sister! Nezuko is different!"
A snowy scene appeared in Nezuko's mind, and Tanjiro's voice echoed alongside it.
"I don't know why she's like that now…"
The scene shifted. A modest, impoverished home appeared. Their mother, wearing a headscarf, cooked by the hearth. Their frail father sat on a bench, watching them with a gentle smile. Their mother turned back toward Nezuko, smiling, her lips moving—yet no sound reached her ears.
Outside, her younger siblings were playing. Little Rokuta tugged at her clothes, as if saying something, but still she heard nothing.
"Humans are all your family… protect humans…"
An elderly voice echoed in her mind—words she had heard countless times, now carved deeply into her consciousness.
"Humans are to be protected and helped… you must not harm them… never harm them…"
At last, Tanjiro's figure appeared before her. Nezuko endured the urge to eat. With a heavy mm, she shut her eyes and turned her head away.
Sanemi was utterly stunned. He had accepted Kazuki's proposal because he was certain no demon could resist the urge to eat humans. Yet reality had defied his expectations.
Tanjiro and Kazuki both let out quiet sighs of relief.
Seeing this, Kagaya turned to the other Hashira and asked gently, "What do you think?"
Hinaki added, "The demon girl turned her head away. Even after Lord Shinazugawa stabbed her twice and held his bleeding wrist right before her, she endured and did not bite."
Sanemi snorted coldly. Though unwilling to accept it, the truth was undeniable.
"Then this proves that Nezuko will not attack humans, doesn't it?" Kagaya asked the Hashira with a soft smile.
The Hashira said nothing. Though it was difficult to believe, they accepted what they had seen.
Kagaya then turned to Tanjiro. "Tanjiro, even so, there will still be those who cannot accept Nezuko. You must prove yourselves. From this day forward, Tanjiro and Nezuko may fight as members of the Demon Slayer Corps—prove that you are useful.
Go and defeat the Twelve Kizuki. When you do, everyone will acknowledge you, and the weight of your words will change."
Kazuki smiled at Tanjiro. Though the process had been difficult, the outcome was finally a good one.
Hearing Kagaya's words, Tanjiro's expression hardened with resolve. "Nezuko and I will defeat Kibutsuji Muzan! We will—together—sever the chain of sorrow!"
Kagaya smiled faintly at Tanjiro's declaration. "You cannot do that yet. First, defeat one of the Twelve Kizuki."
The gentle tone made Tanjiro feel lightheaded, but Kagaya's words also embarrassed him. His face flushed red as he answered, "Yes."
Seeing Tanjiro's expression, Mitsuri puffed out her cheeks, barely holding back her laughter, while Shinobu laughed outright.
"There is another reason I have chosen to acknowledge Tanjiro and Nezuko," Kagaya said, turning back to the Hashira. "This Tanjiro has encountered Kibutsuji Muzan before."
His words sent ripples through the courtyard. All the Hashira were stirred, and even Kazuki was shocked. He grabbed Tanjiro by the shoulder.
"Really?! What does Muzan look like? What kind of abilities does he have?!"
Kazuki asked excitedly. The one he hated most—the one he longed to cut down—was Kibutsuji Muzan, the architect of all this tragedy.
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