"Hey, have you heard? Everyone in the next town suddenly disappeared."
"Yeah, I heard... What do we do? What if something happens to our town too?"
"Don't say things like that. You're scaring me. I'm packing my things and leaving right away."
The town bustled with people, but the atmosphere was uneasy. Rumors laced with panic circulated through the crowds. Meanwhile, two figures arrived.
One had yellow hair streaked with red, and a hearty smile never left his face.
The other had black hair and a perpetually expressionless face.
What they had in common was the Nichirin Blade hanging at each of their waists. Any member of the Demon Slayer Corps who saw them would have recognized the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, and the Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka.
"Giyu, I never expected Oyakata-sama to send us on a mission together! It's been ages since I last worked with another Hashira!"
"..." Giyu Tomioka remained silent.
"Come to think of it, you created your own Water Breathing form, didn't you, Giyu? I'd love to see it!"
"..."
"You can't keep going all day without saying anything, Giyu! You need to talk more! If you keep shutting yourself off like this, people will start disliking you!"
Seeing that he still refused to speak, Kyojuro Rengoku kept his cheerful smile and reached out to pat Giyu Tomioka on the shoulder.
"I..." Giyu Tomioka finally spoke his first words. "People don't dislike me."
"The town where the incident happened is very close to here! But Oyakata-sama has already sent Ye Chen and the others to investigate. Otherwise, I'd have liked to go myself!"
Kyojuro Rengoku ignored Giyu Tomioka's remark. Partway through speaking, his hearty smile suddenly turned somewhat serious. "The demons haven't made any major moves in centuries, but now they've done something this