Doma

Iron-Head Kid scratched his head. Tanjiro remembered that his mother seemed to have used this flower to make them food before.

After Tanjiro told Kujo Tachibana about it, a glimmer flashed in Kujo Tachibana's eyes.

So that was it!

That explained it. No wonder that after Nezuko became a demon, she could not only control her hunger and keep her reason, but eventually overcome sunlight and become the first demon who wasn't afraid of the sun.

It turned out the Kamado Family had actually eaten Blue Spider Lilies as food...

Speaking of which, could Blue Spider Lilies really be eaten?

Kujo Tachibana went over to Kie Kamado and asked what he had been wondering.

"Of course!" Kie Kamado said matter-of-factly. "These flowers smell lovely. They don't seem poisonous."

Hearing this, Kujo Tachibana couldn't help feeling speechless.

Was this a stroke of luck brought on by poverty?

What normal family would cook and eat a flower with such a strange color and unknown origins...

Tanjiro's mother, Kie Kamado, truly deserved to be the first-generation Head Hashira. She was really ironheaded!

Looking at the short plant with green leaves in front of him, Kujo Tachibana turned to Kie Kamado curiously and asked:

"Miss Kie, is this the plant that grows those blue flowers you said could be eaten as food?"

Kie Kamado nodded and said:

"These flowers bloom during the hottest few days of the year."

"We can dig up a few and take them with us. We just have to be careful not to disturb the soil around their roots. The blue flowers may bloom in another ten or so days."

Kujo Tachibana's eyes lit up. They'd bloom soon?

That was perfect. He could take the Blue Spider Lily back and let Miss Tamayo study it.

It would also be bait that Muzan and Kokushibo couldn't refuse.

Two days later, members of the Demon Slayer Corps finally arrived, driving two horse-drawn carriages.

"Rumble Hashira!!" An exceptionally loud voice rang in Kujo Tachibana's ear.

"Ugh..." Kujo Tachibana couldn't help digging at his ear. Having such sharp senses wasn't always a good thing.

Looking at Fujiwara Naoto, who stood before him with the bearing of a battle-hardened man, Kujo Tachibana could hardly recognize him.

"Are you Naoto, my little buddy?" Kujo Tachibana asked uncertainly.

Fujiwara Naoto nodded excitedly.

"It's me! Rumble Hashira! Fujiwara Naoto, with two and a half years of practice under his belt! I'm a Class B swordsman now!"

"Ah..." Kujo Tachibana sighed softly. He'd tried his best to keep a low profile, but his damn personal charm was just too strong. Wherever he went, he seemed to pick up another little buddy.

Looking at the horrifying scars covering the exposed skin of Fujiwara Naoto's body, Kujo Tachibana knew his little buddy had earned his place as a Class B swordsman in the Demon Slayer Corps.

"Naoto, you've done well!"

After catching up for a little while, the two of them brought along the other Corps member who had come with Fujiwara Naoto and went to Tanjuro's home.

They helped the Kamado Family load their belongings into one of the carriages. Then, without wasting any time, the group headed briskly down the mountain.

Only Tanjuro stuck his head out the carriage window, still gazing longingly at the home growing farther and farther away...

Kujo Tachibana didn't ride in the carriage. He walked quickly ahead of it, chatting with Fujiwara Naoto while keeping a close eye on the carriage as it traveled along the mountain road.

The road wasn't especially narrow, but they still couldn't afford to be careless with a carriage passing through.

Looking at the sword wound on Fujiwara Naoto's neck, which had come close to severing his carotid artery, Kujo Tachibana couldn't help wondering about it.

The cut was clean and precise, a sign that the person wielding the blade had focused their strength with great control.

Fighting demons generally didn't cause wounds like this. Sword wounds were even rarer; demons usually fought with their bodies or Blood Demon Arts.

Aside from Akaza and Kokushibo, Kujo Tachibana hadn't encountered any demons skilled in martial arts.

So by now, Kujo Tachibana had a rough idea of what had happened.

"Naoto, was the sword wound on your neck caused by the new 'Martial Demon'?"

At the question, Fujiwara Naoto instinctively touched the wound near his carotid artery. After a long moment, he spoke, still shaken:

"I was wounded by a female Martial Demon named Yagyu Izumi Harumi, from the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu sword school."

"She's incredibly strong. After fighting her, the Stone Hashira said Yagyu Izumi Harumi was no weaker than an Upper Rank Demon used to be!"

"Damn it, that Martial Demon actually dared to show up in broad daylight at a dojo in Osaka!"

"What's even more infuriating is that the people at that dojo knew she was a man-eating demon, yet they still protected her."

"If the Stone Hashira hadn't been there that day, I'd probably be dead."

"What happened after that?" Kujo Tachibana asked, frowning.

Fujiwara Naoto sighed helplessly and said:

"Before the other Hashira could arrive to help, Yagyu Izumi Harumi escaped the dojo under cover of the people there."

Kujo Tachibana shook his head expressionlessly. There were always a few people in this world who didn't want to be human!

For people who aided evil, Kujo Tachibana had only one answer: kill.

Looking back at Mount Kumotori, Kujo Tachibana vowed to himself that he would completely rid this world of demons within his lifetime!

Late that night, in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Doma, a severely mentally ill patient, wore a little red hood and carried a folding fan as he blinked through the streets like a demon.

Suddenly, four figures of varying heights and builds appeared and blocked Doma's path.

The one leading them looked like a young man.

He was tall and had a long sword at his waist, but his expression was rather gloomy.

When he spoke, however, an old man's hoarse voice strangely came out of the young man's mouth.

"You've crossed the line, Doma!"

"You don't belong here."

Doma tilted his head and looked at the four "Martial Demons" in front of him, asking with great curiosity:

"So, are you going to kill me?"

"That would be..."

"Wonderful!"

"But can you do it?"

Doma stared blankly at the four Martial Demons before him, his eyes vivid with rainbow colors but utterly devoid of emotion.

The eerie young Martial Demon gave a cold snort and said:

"I've heard plenty about you from Lord Akaza. Now that I've seen you for myself, it's just as I expected."

"You lunatic. Lord Akaza is waiting for you outside the city. He wants to fight you!"