Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters

The Demon Slayer Corps headquarters was hidden away. Of all the Corps' facilities, only the Swordsmith Village could rival it in secrecy.

Only high-ranking swordsmen and the Demon Slayer Corps' support personnel were permitted to move about headquarters. Having "defeated the Twelve Kizuki," and with "Nezuko being a demon" as another reason, Chinatsu and the others followed Giyu Tomioka and Shinobu Kocho there.

They had barely arrived when the Corps' Pillars appeared before them. Their grave gazes fixed on Nezuko, especially that of the Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa.

"She really is a demon... doesn't eat human flesh or drink blood... what a joke!"

Sanemi spoke through gritted teeth. Had Oyakata-sama not already given them instructions, he would have drawn his blade and killed Nezuko on the spot.

Most people who joined the Demon Slayer Corps had a personal hatred of demons, and even among them, the Wind Hashira stood out.

Three long scars marked his face. His white hair bristled like a hedgehog's spines, and he wore a white haori bearing the character for "kill."

Sanemi had been born into an ordinary family with seven children, of whom he was the eldest.

His father was a vicious man. After an enemy killed his father, Sanemi took on the duty of protecting his family.

One day, his mother went out and failed to return for a long time. He told his second-oldest brother to protect the rest of the family while he went looking for her. But he could not find his mother outside. When he returned home, dejected, he found a demon slaughtering his family and rushed forward to fight it.

The battle lasted from night until dawn. As faint light appeared, Sanemi finally saw the face of the demon he was fighting. It was his mother...

His mother, now a demon, slowly disappeared in the sunlight. His young second-oldest brother arrived, saw what was happening, and took Sanemi for a murderer.

That battle shattered Sanemi, but it also set him on the path of slaying demons. Several years had passed since then, yet his hatred had not diminished in the slightest. On his missions, he had witnessed even more tragedies caused by demons.

Sanemi glared fiercely at Nezuko. With tiny, dot-like eyes, she hid behind Chinatsu. Chinatsu lifted her head slightly to judge the light, felt that dawn was probably approaching, and told Nezuko to return to her wooden box for now. Nezuko nodded and climbed back inside, temporarily escaping everyone's stares.

With all the Pillars before them, they entered the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.

The Pillars present were:

The Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku.

The Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui.

The Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito.

The Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji.

The Serpent Hashira, Obanai Iguro.

The Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa.

And beside Chinatsu and Tanjiro stood the Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka, and the Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho.

They were the strongest members of the Demon Slayer Corps, and the strongest generation after the original Pillars of the Sengoku Era!

As they entered headquarters, Oyakata-sama slowly emerged. The sight of the man startled Tanjiro.

"Oyakata-sama!"

The Pillars bowed and lowered themselves onto one knee in their customary greeting. Chinatsu followed suit.

Kneeling on one knee was neither kneeling on both knees nor prostrating oneself. It was a gesture of respect, and Chinatsu genuinely respected Oyakata-sama, who, in the original story, had lured Muzan into his home and detonated a massive quantity of black powder in an attempt to take Muzan down with him.

Seeing everyone around him do it, Tanjiro hurried to follow their example. But he had barely been kneeling for two or three seconds when Oyakata-sama told everyone to rise.

"You should all know about Nezuko's circumstances by now. I hope you can place your trust in her. The former Water Hashira sent me a letter. Both the former and current Water Hashira have pledged their lives to vouch for Nezuko."

Hearing that Giyu Tomioka had actually staked his life on her, everyone turned toward him, their faces full of shock.

"Oyakata-sama, I still can't trust her! Let me test her!" Sanemi gritted his teeth and drew his Nichirin Blade from its sheath. He lightly sliced his arm, leaving a wound from which drops of blood began to flow.

Sanemi had rare blood. To a demon, one person with rare blood offered as much nourishment as fifty ordinary people. And Sanemi's was rare even among rare blood. Its scent would intoxicate ordinary demons until they lost all reason, leave Lower Rank demons in a drunken haze, and make even Upper Rank Demons feel drunk.

As the drops of blood fell, Nezuko instinctively began to salivate inside her wooden box.

"You there, give me that box!"

Sanemi beckoned to Tanjiro, motioning for him to hand over the wooden box. He planned to use his blood to tempt Nezuko into attacking him. If necessary, he was even considering stabbing her a couple of times to weaken her and make her crave blood even more.

But how could Tanjiro possibly hand Nezuko's box over to Sanemi? His impression of Sanemi was hardly favorable.

Just as Sanemi tried to seize the wooden box by force, Chinatsu stepped behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Just lure her with your blood. Leave it at that."

Chinatsu was considerably stronger than an ordinary person, and the pressure of her grip made that strength unmistakable to Sanemi.

Sanemi's expression shifted subtly. This strength practically rivals the Love Hashira's, and her muscle density is eight times normal. Are there really this many muscular women around now?

"Sanemi, simply tempting her with your blood will be enough. We all know how unusual your blood is." Watching the scene, Oyakata-sama spoke up in agreement. Only then did Sanemi abandon his little scheme. Despite his volatile temper, he held Oyakata-sama in the utmost respect.

Tanjiro then placed the wooden box inside the building. Sanemi held his arm above it, letting blood drip from his wound onto the box.

The blood seeped inside through the gaps that allowed air into the box. Even smelling it from a distance had been agonizing; now it was actually dripping onto Nezuko's face.

This super rare blood, offering at least as much nourishment as a hundred people, was excruciatingly difficult for Nezuko to resist. Though her saliva had already dripped all over the floor, she ultimately forced herself to endure it. Her ability to do so came not only from her unusual nature as a demon, but also from her tremendous mental strength.

Everyone looked shocked as they watched Nezuko resist Sanemi's super rare blood.

Amid their astonishment, however, Chinatsu's gaze turned somewhat peculiar. She, too, had begun to salivate, though fortunately not very much.

It really does live up to the name "super rare blood." That's pretty potent...