Forever Supporting Tanjiro

Thinking up to this point.

Sakonji Urokodaki sheathed his sword, looked at the stunningly beautiful young girl before him, and unconsciously adopted a respectful title.

"May I ask, Lady Ashura Maru, how are you able to restore your strength, and will you change your sword master?"

Hearing this, Tanjiro also realized something, but he did not say anything, instead waiting for Lin Fan's reply.

Hearing this, Lin Fan knew the most crucial point had arrived, so he immediately pondered for a moment, furrowed his brows, and said with displeasure.

"To restore my strength, there are two ways."

"The first is to slowly recover on my own through time, and the second is by slaying sinful things; I can absorb malicious thoughts to quickly recover my strength!"

"The man-eating ghosts you speak of are a great tonic to me."

"Also, you can stop thinking about it. Since Ashura Maru and Tanjiro have already signed a contract, I will not change my sword master again. Even if he dies, it cannot change this."

The earnest expression mixed with a trace of tsundere did not look fake, and fearing that someone might harbor ulterior motives, Lin Fan specifically added.

"If Tanjiro really dies, then I will only fall back into a deep sleep, waiting for the next person qualified to awaken me to appear!"

Hearing this, Sakonji Urokodaki also roughly understood. In short, killing ghosts could quickly restore strength, and as for wanting to change the sword master, no way!

Apart from Tanjiro, no one else could ever hope to be her sword master.

Yet he still refused to give up, only this time he changed his phrasing, "Then, without changing the sword master, can other people use you?"

"Naturally, but it requires Tanjiro's confirmation..."

Before the words finished.

Sakonji Urokodaki felt a wave of rapid breathing. The first thing that came to his mind was whether the curse of the leader could be cured.

However, Lin Fan's next words quickly poured a bucket of cold water over him, "Of course, aside from that, anyone who has not gained my approval is likewise unable to use me!"

Finished speaking, Lin Fan waved a hand, showing an impatient expression, "I've said enough. If there's anything else, go ask Tanjiro."

The moment the words fell.

The figure scattered and dissipated into thin air before the eyes of the two.

Sakonji Urokodaki, having regained his wits, still found it hard to believe what he had just seen and heard, yet the sword in his hand forced him to believe it.

Having obtained so much intelligence, Sakonji Urokodaki still felt it was not enough, and he was seen offering the sword to Tanjiro before him with both hands.

"I'm sorry, Tanjiro, I didn't consider your feelings earlier."

Seeing this, Tanjiro hurriedly extended both hands as well to respectfully receive it.

"Urokodaki-san, please don't mind it. Ashura Maru and I are not master and servant, but friends. Her staying or leaving is decided by herself, so you don't need to apologize for this."

Hearing this, Sakonji Urokodaki could not help but sigh in his heart, "Tanjiro, you are always so sincerely considerate of others."

However, he quickly adjusted his mindset, and through his mask, he asked again in a solemn and serious tone.

"Tanjiro, can you explain Ashura Maru's abilities? The more detailed, the better; this is very important to us!"

Regarding this, Tanjiro recalled the sentence Ashura Maru had said earlier, and then nodded in reply, "I will say everything I know."

Next.

Tanjiro recounted everything he knew about Ashura Maru.

Especially when mentioning that Ashura Maru could also enhance his physical fitness in a short period of time, it left Sakonji Urokodaki continuously astonished.

However, what he cared about the most.

Was that this sword could also continue to grow stronger!

Eternal Sister-Complex Tanjiro

As the two chatted and chatted, evening arrived.

Inside the adjoining room.

Faint movements suddenly came from within, and Tanjiro looked toward the sound.

The next moment.

The door was pushed open, and inside was impressively Nezuko, who had finally awakened.

After two whole years, his younger sister had finally awakened.

Tanjiro emotionally stepped forward to embrace Nezuko, tears streaming down his face as he wept with joy, "Nezuko... That's great, you're fine, it really, truly is great..."

Nezuko also hugged Tanjiro without moving, seeming to comfort him.

Sakonji Urokodaki, standing aside, watched this scene and could not help but feel happy for this pair of siblings.

As for Lin Fan inside the sword, he turned his thoughts to which ability would be most appropriate to unlock.

After thinking it over and over, Lin Fan ultimately chose the ability [Nourishment]. After all, having this ability could allow Tanjiro to grow stronger rapidly.

The stronger Tanjiro was, the higher his ghost-killing efficiency would be.

And the faster he himself would acquire Emotion Points!

A virtuous cycle was thus achieved!

"Tanjiro, you mustn't let down my expectations!"

In the blink of an eye, another fifteen days passed.

During this period, under Sakonji Urokodaki's guidance, Tanjiro hunted several more man-eating ghosts and witnessed Ashura Maru's power firsthand.

The ghosts slashed by it could not heal their wounds, and at the same time, they were continuously weakened by the massive loss of blood.

Moreover, Ashura Maru was extremely sharp, easily severing the heads of man-eating ghosts without needing any force, smooth as a knife cutting through tofu.

From every aspect, this sword was simply the natural enemy of ghosts!

Sakonji Urokodaki also placed high hopes on Tanjiro.

Meanwhile.

Walking down a path in the forest was a man wearing a yellow sun-patterned kimono, carrying a rectangular canvas-wrapped box on his back, wearing a straw hat tied with a circle of wind chimes, and bearing an ugly mask on his face.

He happened to bump into Tanjiro.

Yet before he could even ask, that man had already arrived close by and spoke first, "My name is Hotaru Haganezuka, and I have forged and brought Kamado Tanjiro's sword!"

Tanjiro bowed slightly.

"I am Tanjiro, please come in..."

However, Hotaru Haganezuka ignored him, instead unbuckling the bundle on his back, opening it, and then speaking on his own.

"This is the Nichirin Blade. It was forged by me. The raw material for the Nichirin Blade is..."

Listening to him rattle on for a long time, they finally entered the house.

At this time, Sakonji Urokodaki had already been waiting for a long time, and the three of them sat around each other.

Hotaru Haganezuka handed the sword to Tanjiro and continued.

"The Nichirin Blade is also known as the Color-Changing Blade; it changes color according to its master. A child of brightness like you might just have the sword turn red. Hurry up and draw it for me to see!"

Hearing this, Tanjiro hurriedly drew the sword.

The next moment, the blade of the Nichirin Blade in his hand began to turn black at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Black?!"

Seeing this, Hotaru Haganezuka trembled with anger all over.

Thinking something was wrong, Tanjiro hurriedly asked.

"What? Is it inauspicious?"

Fortunately, Sakonji Urokodaki was there to explain from the side, "No, it's just that pitch-black is rarely seen."

Meanwhile, Hotaru Haganezuka seemed to have reached the limit of his patience.

"I thought I'd be able to see a bright red blade; how hateful!"

Crying out loudly, he pounced forward, directly locking Tanjiro down sprawled on the floor, though this also made him notice the sword at Tanjiro's waist.

He snatched it away in one go, released Tanjiro, went off to the side alone, drew the sword from its scabbard, and began to examine it closely.

At the very first glance, the gaze behind the mask had already grown heated, and even his breathing began to grow hurried.

"This... This sword, this sharp blade, this perfect curve, and it even has green patterns, this hilt is also the absolute best of the best... And what on earth is this material... This is the most perfect work I have ever seen..."

His hands kept toying back and forth on the blade.

Lin Fan felt numb watching him.

Can you roll far away? I'm not into men!

However, it was still not the time to expose himself, so he could only transmit his voice to Tanjiro, Tanjiro, don't just stand there stunned, hurry up and snatch me back!

"Eh... Understood!"

Tanjiro snapped back to his senses, sheathed the sword in his hand, hurried forward, and looked at Hotaru Haganezuka as he said, "Please return the sword to me..."

Hotaru Haganezuka was completely unmoved, his heart and soul devoted to the sword in his hand, as if the thing in his grasp was some peerless beauty!

Seeing this, Tanjiro could only step forward intending to snatch it back.

Yet at that exact moment.

A Kasugai Crow suddenly flew in from outside the door, folded its wings, landed steadily inside the wooden house, opened its beak, and emitted a hoarse voice.

"Kamado Tanjiro, I shall convey the orders!"

Tanjiro looked somewhat surprised at the Kasugai Crow, not expecting this bird to actually be able to speak.

The Kasugai Crow continued.

"Head to the town in the northwest direction! Girls are disappearing there. Find the ghost hidden among them and subjugate it!

Please note, this is your first battle as a Demon Slayer!"

Hearing this, Tanjiro's expression turned solemn.

"First battle, huh?"

He finished speaking and turned back to grab Ashura Maru, but Hotaru Haganezuka refused to let go no matter what.

The two of them pulled and tugged back and forth, and Lin Fan now wanted nothing more than to go outside and slash Hotaru Haganezuka with a blade.

Sakonji Urokodaki stood quietly to the side and watched.

Time passed in a wild and chaotic blur.

In the blink of an eye, it was the following morning.

Tanjiro changed into the Demon Slayer Corps uniform, draped a green checkered haori over his shoulders, and wore two swords hanging at his waist, one on the left and one on the right.

The scar originally on his forehead had changed shape at some unknown point, but no one paid any attention to it.

Lin Fan looked at it and was also unsure whether this was actually a Demon Slayer Mark.

Before departure.

Sakonji Urokodaki gave a few final instructions and brought out a wooden box meant for carrying Nezuko. When everything was ready.

And after Nezuko shrank her body and crawled into the box, Tanjiro unlocked a title.

Eternal Big Brother!

Lin Fan mentally complained, but the thought of being able to slay demons put him in a slightly better mood, though he carefully reminisced about the plot.

If he remembered correctly, it seemed he would run into Muzan in the near future. At that time, possessing Tanjiro and imitating the words Yoriichi Tsugikuni had spoken back then.

He wondered just how many Emotion Points Muzan Kibutsuji could provide him...

As for whether Muzan would fight back?

That was completely impossible; this coward was utterly spineless!

Even if he really wanted to make a move, he would only send his subordinates to test the waters!