Proof

Kagaya Ubuyashiki's words shocked everyone present.

"How is that possible?! Not even a Hashira has ever encountered him! And these two brats ran into him?!" The Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, instantly lost his composure, his body almost moving on its own as he fought the urge to rush over to Lin Guang and Tanjiro for answers.

"What did he look like?! What were his abilities? Where was he?!"

Tengen Uzui suppressed the urge to approach them, but he still could not stop himself from firing off a string of questions.

"Did you fight him?" Even the normally taciturn Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito, could not help asking.

Sanemi Shinazugawa slammed his fist into the ground, then demanded, "What was Muzan Kibutsuji doing? Did you find his lair? Hey! Answer me!"

"Shut up. I asked first. First of all, Muzan Kibutsuji's abilities..."

Seeing Sanemi Shinazugawa cut in on his questions, Tengen Uzui spared him no courtesy and bluntly told him to shut up.

Lin Guang folded his arms and said coldly, "If you want to know, wait until you've all quieted down."

Seeing that Lin Guang would not answer, Sanemi Shinazugawa could only glare viciously at him, unable to attack him outright in the Master's presence.

"You damned brat!"

As the situation descended into chaos, Kagaya Ubuyashiki raised a finger to his lips, signaling for silence.

At Kagaya Ubuyashiki's gesture, the Hashira immediately quieted down, and Sanemi Shinazugawa and Tengen Uzui stopped arguing at once.

"Muzan Kibutsuji is sending demons after Lin Guang and Tanjiro. Though his reason may simply be to silence them, this is the first time I've caught a lead on him, and I don't want to let it slip away."

"Something may also have happened to Nezuko that Muzan Kibutsuji never anticipated. Do you understand?"

"I don't understand, Master! If she were human, we could let her go, but not a demon! Think of the conviction with which our Demon Slayer Corps has fought all this time, and how many people have sacrificed their lives for it. That is why I cannot agree!"

Though Sanemi Shinazugawa had made a concession, he remained determined to kill Nezuko because she was a demon.

"I see. Someone like you won't believe anything anyone says unless you see it with your own eyes. Is that right?"

Lin Guang stared at Sanemi Shinazugawa as he spoke.

"So what if it is?!"

Sanemi Shinazugawa looked at Lin Guang, his eyes still filled with violence.

"Then how about letting Nezuko prove it to you?" Lin Guang said coldly.

"Fine. Let me prove to you how vile demons are!"

Sanemi Shinazugawa drew his Nichirin Blade and pointed it at Lin Guang. "Then hand over the demon you're carrying!"

Lin Guang gave Sanemi a look as though he were an idiot.

"I'm not handing her over to you. Besides, we're standing in sunlight! Or do you want Nezuko to burn to death in the sun?"

Sanemi Shinazugawa turned to Kagaya Ubuyashiki and said respectfully, "Forgive my rudeness, Master!"

With that, Sanemi Shinazugawa leaped into the room, where the sunlight could not reach.

"Hey, brat! This should do, right?!"

Lin Guang bowed slightly to Kagaya Ubuyashiki. "Excuse me, Master."

Then Lin Guang carried the wooden box containing Nezuko into the room.

Sanemi Shinazugawa looked at Lin Guang, his lips curling into a smile. "Hey! Now you can give me the box, right?!"

Lin Guang set the wooden box down and said slowly, "No need. I can just open it here."

Sanemi Shinazugawa said disdainfully, "Whatever. Once a demon sees blood, it can't control itself anyway. I'll show you just how vile these creatures really are!"

Lin Guang knew Sanemi Shinazugawa was relying on his own rare blood, but it was not as though they had never encountered rare blood before, so Lin Guang was not concerned in the slightest.

Then Lin Guang slowly opened the wooden box's door and said to Nezuko, "Come on, Nezuko. Let's prove that you won't hurt humans."

Nezuko climbed out of the box, and everyone's eyes immediately fixed on her.

The moment Nezuko emerged, Sanemi Shinazugawa slashed his own arm without hesitation, and blood instantly began flowing.

"Come and eat, demon! This is the human blood you love so much!"

"What's wrong, demon?! Come on! You want it, don't you?!"

Blood dripped from Sanemi Shinazugawa's arm, drop by drop. No matter how he tried to tempt her, Nezuko paid him no attention, as though she could not smell the blood at all.

Nezuko turned her little face away, ignoring Sanemi Shinazugawa completely.

At this sight, a flicker of astonishment appeared on almost every Hashira's face.

"What happened?"

Kagaya Ubuyashiki asked his daughter.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki's eyesight was impaired. Although he was not completely blind, he could not make out anything in such dim surroundings.

"The demon girl turned her head away. Even with a blood-covered arm held right in front of her, she hasn't made any move."

Kagaya Ubuyashiki's daughter recounted everything that had just happened to him.

After listening to his daughter's full account, Kagaya Ubuyashiki said, "Then this should prove that Nezuko will not attack other people."

Hearing this, Tanjiro let out a sigh of relief, as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Faced with the evidence before him, Sanemi Shinazugawa believed that Nezuko would not harm people, but he still would not forgive any demon.

Sanemi Shinazugawa returned to the line of Hashira and stopped looking at Lin Guang and Nezuko, afraid that his urge to kill would rise again.

Nezuko wrapped her arms around Lin Guang's waist and nuzzled against him. Lin Guang affectionately stroked her head, then had her return to the wooden box.

Seeing this, Mitsuri's feelings for Lin Guang grew even deeper.

Lin Guang is so gentle. Will he treat me like that someday too? Would that be wrong?!

Though Shinobu Kocho had seen that Nezuko made no move to harm a human, she secretly clenched her fists at the sight of Nezuko nestled in Lin Guang's arms.

"Tanjiro, even so, there will surely still be people who cannot accept Nezuko. From now on, you must prove that she can fight as part of the Demon Slayer Corps and be of use."

Kagaya Ubuyashiki offered Tanjiro some guidance.

"Go and defeat one of the Twelve Kizuki. Then everyone will acknowledge you as they do Lin Guang, and your words will carry more weight, Tanjiro."

Kagaya Ubuyashiki's words immediately hardened Tanjiro's expression with resolve, and he declared earnestly, "I... Nezuko and I will definitely defeat Muzan Kibutsuji! We'll cut through the chain of sorrow with our blades!"

Seeing Tanjiro suddenly brimming with fervor, Kagaya Ubuyashiki could not help smiling kindly before reminding him, "You cannot do that as you are now, Tanjiro. Start by defeating one of the Twelve Kizuki!"

Kagaya Ubuyashiki's words brought Tanjiro back to his senses at once. For the first time in his life, he was so embarrassed and red-faced that he did not know what to do with himself. All he could do was force out, "Yes."