Sanemi Shinazugawa

On a dark, windy night, in a boundless wilderness, a demon was running for its life. One of its arms had been severed, and while a demon's regenerative abilities would normally make regrowing a limb a simple matter, a human had shattered its dream of recovery.

The demon twisted its head, eyes widening as it looked behind it. The expression on its face was as if it had witnessed the end of the world.

It truly didn't know what sins it had committed in its past life to encounter such a monstrous demon slayer.

"Hey, hey, hey!"

"Demon ahead, listen up! Please give up your resistance. You've already been surrounded by just me!"

"Resistance will be punished severely, confession will be met with leniency!"

"Get lost, you lunatic!" The demon cursed and sped up. It didn't want to die, especially not at the hands of this guy.

The monstrous demon slayer in the demon's words was none other than Tendo Hiruma. More than half a year had passed since the Fish Scale Village incident, and during that time, he hadn't encountered a single Twelve Kizuki.

His wish to kill a Twelve Kizuki remained unfulfilled, and he was quite displeased.

In the past six months, Hiruma had completed over eighty missions, long exceeding the conditions for promotion to Hashira. However, those were the Demon Slayer Corps' requirements, not his own.

He had told Ubuyashiki Kagaya that he would not become a Hashira until he had killed a Twelve Kizuki. Oyakata-sama, knowing Hiruma to be a man of impulse, allowed him to do as he pleased.

"Brother Demon, wouldn't you like to tell me where your boss, Muzan Kibutsuji, is?"

"Don't be scared, I'm very gentle when I kill demons!"

Hiruma continued his teasing remarks, driving the demon to the brink of collapse.

"Brother Demon, want some wisteria tea? Drink it and you're guaranteed to be poisoned."

"Why aren't you a Lower Rank?"

"Aaargh, I'm going to kill you, you chatterbox!" The demon gave up on escaping and turned to fight Hiruma to the death.

Under the night sky, a streak of golden-red lightning flashed across the grass. The demon died with a smile on its face.

Hiruma twirled his blade, sheathed it, and muttered, "Sigh! Are demons nowadays this weak to psychological pressure? It seems the trash boss needs to strengthen his employees' mental fortitude."

Just then, a gentle breeze swept across the grass, rustling his Sun Earrings, just like Tanjiro's, and his high ponytail, styled like Yoriichi's.

In the past half-year, Hiruma had let his hair grow long and then specifically tied it in the same style as Tsugikuni Yoriichi. Coupled with his already deep red hair color, he bore quite a resemblance.

"Finished the tenth target for the month! Dinner time, dinner time!"

In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the wilderness.

In Kyōbashi Ward, Tokyo Prefecture, the outskirts' slum.

The dilapidated slum was perpetually filled with a series of evils such as theft, robbery, and even murder. The Shinazugawa family lived in such a place.

A drunken middle-aged man stumbled through the door. He had white hair and a ferocious look, and the moment he entered, his family was too scared to move, the air seemingly frozen.

Inside the house was a woman with a face bruised and battered, along with her seven children. The eldest of them was Sanemi Shinazugawa.

He looked at the scumbag man not far away with utter contempt. That man didn't even deserve to be called human, and Sanemi would never acknowledge him.

Gambling, alcoholism, beating his wife and children, even nearly selling his daughter to the Flower District for money – could such a person be considered a father?

"You bastard, what's with that look? You looking down on me?" The man was annoyed by his eldest son's gaze, which was undisguised contempt and fierceness, like a little wolf cub.

"You've never earned a single cent for this family, nor have you ever supported us. It's all thanks to Mom. How could I possibly look up to you, a stinking drunkard, a degenerate gambler!" Sanemi Shinazugawa's temper flared up instantly, and he retorted without mercy.

"You're asking for death!" The man hurled his liquor bottle, but Sanemi dodged it with ease.

"Damn it, I'll beat you to death, you unfilial son!"

The man grabbed a nearby stick and, without regard for whether he might accidentally injure his wife and daughters around them, swung it forcefully at Sanemi.

With a loud bang, the straw mat on the ground was split, and the wooden stick whistled down in front of Sanemi. Had he dodged even a moment slower, he would surely have died.

"Waaah!"

"Waaah!"

His younger brothers and sisters nearby were frightened into wailing, which annoyed the man. Without hesitation, he raised his stick again. Sanemi's mother wanted to stop him but couldn't get up, as she had been severely beaten the day before.

"You bastard!" Sanemi lunged and tackled the man. He could tolerate the beast laying hands on him, but he couldn't tolerate him laying hands on his family.

The alcohol took hold, and the man, though outwardly fierce, was inwardly weak. The stick was knocked away, and he and Sanemi began to scuffle outside.

One fought to protect his family from harm, the other fought to harm his family.

"You bastard, let go of my brother!"

A small child with a dark, spiked hairstyle rushed out of the house, roaring. He was the second son of the Shinazugawa family, Genya Shinazugawa.

Although Genya was only ten years old, he had always wanted to help his brother and mother support the family.

Finally, with the combined efforts of the Shinazugawa brothers, they managed to beat the man away by trading injuries.

As the man fled, he hurled vicious words at his own sons.

"You two ungrateful brats, I'll kill you both sooner or later!"

"Damn you!"

For the man, the most painful thing was not getting any gambling money from home; that was his sole purpose for returning, especially since he hadn't been home in two months.

"Sanemi, Genya, come back quickly! Just let him take the money. If something happens to you two, how will I live!"

Mrs. Shinazugawa looked at her two sons, covered in scars and bloodstains, with a heart full of pain. Tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes.

She trembling reached out and gently caressed their faces and hair. Then, she carefully pulled both children into a tight embrace.

"Mom, I'll collect more scrap tomorrow. We'll live a good life sooner or later!" Sanemi Shinazugawa smiled, his eyes full of hope, because he still had his family.

At this time, he wasn't as sharp-edged as he would later become; after all, his family was still around.

"I'll help big brother too. We'll definitely make everyone happy," Genya said with a smile.

After being chased away, the man ungraciously turned into a filthy alley, still cursing his family under his breath.

Without realizing it, he walked out of the alley. Across the alley was a restaurant, and sitting by the window facing him was a young man.

On the table in front of the young man was a huge spread of delicious food. Just looking at it indicated it cost a lot of money.

"Waiter, bring me another table of the same thing later!" The young man slammed a stack of money onto the table. His cheeks bulged as he moved food around, almost unable to fit more in.

"This distinguished guest, please wait a moment. The kitchen is preparing it!" The waiter's face was fawning. After all, this was a major customer who ordered food by the table.

Seeing all of this, the man was filled with jealousy.

Damn it!

Where did that little brat get so much money? Why didn't I have it?

He likes to show off, does he? That money will be mine soon.

As he thought, the corners of his mouth turned up. The gambling money was right here.

The first rule of the slums: don't flaunt your wealth if you lack strength.

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Muah! (?ˉ??ˉ??)