The trio charged forward without restraint.
Tanjiro Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma, and Inosuke Hashibira departed early in the morning, heading toward Mito Prefecture under urgent orders from the Demon Slayer Corps.
Along the journey, the three of them moved at such reckless speed that they completely ignored road conditions, terrain, and basic travel discipline.
Inside the wooden box on Tanjiro's back, Nezuko Kamado endured the violent shaking in silence.
Fortunately, she was protected by the box reinforced for demon transport otherwise even she might have been jostled beyond comfort.
This mission was not classified as especially high-risk.
That was precisely why the trio had been dispatched without Hashira accompaniment.
The report from Kasugai Crow reconnaissance indicated that the entities known as "Monjushiro" were not individually strong in direct combat.
Their danger lay in their unnatural persistence and difficulty of elimination rather than raw strength.
As for the demon presence reported in the area, intelligence suggested only moderate threat levels.
By the time they reached Mito Prefecture, night had already fallen.
Tanjiro closed his eyes briefly, relying on his extraordinary sense of smell to trace faint traces of demon activity through the town.
The scent patterns were unusual fragmented, overlapping, and deceptively human.
Something was wrong.
Mito Prefecture Tenbu CompanyInside the headquarters of the Tenbu Company, a young man named Qi He sat tensely behind his desk.
Before him stood three demons.
One was his assigned bodyguard, Saito Arashi.
The other two were unknown outsiders.
The atmosphere in the room was strained, almost brittle.
One of the outsiders, a demon named Shusamaru, grinned sharply.
"Well, well… I didn't expect to find another one like us here, serving as a bodyguard for humans."
His eyes gleamed with predatory curiosity.
Saito Arashi immediately stepped forward, claws extending from his fingers.
"This is Lord's command!" he said firmly. "He said I still have use here!"
At the mention of "Lord," both outsiders stiffened slightly.
"Lord…?" another demon, Yahaba, asked cautiously.
Their tone carried hesitation speaking certain names carelessly among demons was dangerous.
Yahaba lowered his voice further.
"The one you serve… could it be that Lord?"
Saito Arashi blinked.
He misunderstood completely.
He thought they were referring to another Upper Rank demon or perhaps even Kokushibo's faction.
"Yes," he answered without hesitation. "That Lord."
A strange silence followed.
Both sides had completely misunderstood each other.
Yet, somehow, communication proceeded smoothly.
Shusamaru leaned forward slightly.
"Then… what order did that Lord give you?"
Saito Arashi tilted his head.
"You were also sent by Lord Kokushibo, weren't you?"
The misunderstanding deepened further.
Yahaba quickly improvised.
"Yes… we were sent to assist you. A powerful Monjushiro has appeared nearby. That is our mission."
Shusamaru immediately nodded.
"Yes. That is correct. We were dispatched for the same reason."
Qi He, the only human present, quietly observed them.
"…Why does it feel like none of them are actually talking about the same thing?"
Saito Arashi relaxed slightly.
"So it's reinforcement."
Without hesitation, he produced sealed blood packets.
"Then rest for tonight. Tomorrow, we eliminate the Monjushiro together. We cannot allow interference with Lord's operations."
He handed them the packets of diluted demon blood.
The two demons accepted them cautiously.
At first, they expected something ordinary.
But the moment they tasted it
Their expressions changed instantly.
"…This blood…" Shusamaru muttered.
Yahaba's eyes widened.
"It's… incredibly refined…"
Even diluted, the quality was beyond anything they had expected.
Saito Arashi nodded casually.
"It's permitted by Lord. I can consume it freely."
The truth was simple.
Kokushibo had allowed Saito Arashi controlled access to refined blood as part of his experimentation system.
The dilution prevented instability, but preserved enough potency for demon sustenance.
Shusamaru and Yahaba exchanged glances.
Neither wanted to admit how much they liked it.
"…We accept your hospitality," Yahaba said carefully.
"Good," Saito Arashi replied. "Then tomorrow, we hunt."
Wisteria Residence Night ShelterMeanwhile, Tanjiro and his companions found lodging at a Wisteria Family estate.
These families, once aided by the Demon Slayer Corps, maintained safe houses marked with the wisteria crest to support slayers on missions.
The night passed quietly at first.
Inside the room, Nezuko slowly emerged from her box.
Zenitsu immediately froze upon seeing her.
"Nezuko-chan…!"
However, Nezuko instinctively moved closer to Tanjiro and Inosuke, avoiding him.
Inosuke, proudly wearing the boar mask, stood between them as if declaring guardianship.
Zenitsu collapsed emotionally.
"WAAAHH… WHY DOES SHE ONLY TRUST THOSE TWO?!"
Despite exhaustion, Tanjiro smiled faintly.
Seeing his companions alive and noisy gave him a strange sense of reassurance.
For the moment, he pushed aside the doubts in his heart.
Dream Fragmented RestThat night, sleep did not come peacefully.
Tanjiro's exhaustion dragged him into fragmented dreams.
Zenitsu sprawled half off his bedding, muttering in his sleep.
Inosuke grinded his teeth loudly, occasionally kicking unpredictably.
At one point, Inosuke even ended up completely upside down on his futon.
Tanjiro, conditioned by years of caring for his siblings, kept waking to adjust them.
He gently covered Zenitsu.
He repositioned Inosuke.
He checked Nezuko's box.
Finally, he lay back down.
For a brief moment, he imagined a future.
A world where Nezuko was human again.
Where Muzan was defeated.
Where everyone could live in peace.
But the dream shattered abruptly.
Inosuke, in his sleep, suddenly kicked him squarely in the chest.
" ?!"
Tanjiro jolted awake.
"…Why does that feel so real…?"
Another kick followed immediately.
"OW !"
He stared at Inosuke, who was now sleeping upside down again.
Silence returned.
Tanjiro sighed softly.
"…Tomorrow will be another long day."
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