Shinazugawa: This is impossible!

At that, Kirishima Bupai stretched lazily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Whether I'm being naive or not, why don't we test him and find out?"

"Wind Hashira, aren't you supposed to have the most potent Marechi? To demons, your blood is the ultimate temptation."

He pointed at the wooden box on the ground. "Move this box under the eaves over there. Keep it out of direct sunlight. As for you..."

As he spoke, he looked at the scars covering Sanemi Shinazugawa's body. "One more cut won't make much difference, will it? Cut yourself and tempt her with that exquisite delicacy of yours."

"If she really can't help eating people, just as you claim, and lunges at you to bite you, you can cut her down on the spot. I won't say a word against it. I'll even hand you the blade."

"But until we have the results, how about we stop acting like a volatile powder keg that explodes at the slightest spark?"

"Hah?! Test her?" Sanemi Shinazugawa reacted as though he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

He deliberately tilted his head and stretched his mouth into an exaggerated, malicious sneer. "Fine! Your flamboyant lordship, the Void Hashira! Then tell me, just how do you propose we test her?!"

Pushing up his sunglasses, Kirishima Bupai smiled faintly. "Simple. Put the box under the eaves, cut your arm, and drip your Marechi onto the box. Or... just splash some inside?"

His tone was calm as he began explaining as though it were perfectly ordinary. "Close range, high concentration, the most direct temptation possible. If she can resist even that, wouldn't that lend some credibility to my claim that she's special?"

The proposal made the Hashira present frown slightly, but it was indeed the most direct and effective way to verify the claim.

The air instantly grew tense, and everyone's eyes focused on that little wooden box and Sanemi Shinazugawa.

"Hmph! Absurd!"

Sanemi Shinazugawa remained defiant in his words, but his gaze turned incredibly sharp.

He waved his hand abruptly, and two Kakushi members hurriedly moved the box into the shade of the nearby building as though they had been granted a reprieve, ensuring it was completely safe.

At the same time, Tanjiro's heart rose into his throat. He watched the box anxiously and prayed silently, Nezuko... hold on!

Even Inosuke fell quiet for a rare moment, the eyes beneath his boar mask fixed on the box.

The air in the center of the courtyard abruptly tightened, and everyone's eyes focused on Sanemi Shinazugawa and the bloodstained Nichirin Blade in his hand.

"Hmph! Fine, let's test her!"

Sanemi bared his teeth in an almost savage grin.

His eyes flashed with extreme loathing for demons and a trace of excitement at the prospect of exposing a lie. "Let's see if there's really a demon in this world that doesn't go mad at the sight of Marechi!"

Calmly chewing his Snickers, Kirishima Bupai urged him on through a mouthful of chocolate. "Please, begin your performance, Lord Wind Hashira. You've already got plenty of medals on your body. Surely you won't mind adding another."

"Enough talk!" Sanemi growled. With a turn of his wrist, he drew the sharp Nichirin Blade across his sturdy forearm without hesitation.

Slash-

A wound appeared instantly.

Blood-the Marechi that was like the finest aged wine to demons-immediately came rushing out.

An almost unbearably thick smell of blood, carrying a strange allure, burst through the cool morning air.

Everyone present instinctively held their breath, their bodies tensing slightly.

They had slain countless demons and knew all too well what Marechi meant to them.

It was the most primal hunger, the ultimate, irresistible temptation.

Even deep within Shinobu Kocho's seemingly calm purple eyes, a barely perceptible trace of tension flickered.

She instinctively glanced at Kirishima Bupai, who was still chewing his Snickers.

"Come out, demon!"

Sanemi thrust his bleeding arm toward the opening of the wooden box. Blood dripped down, almost splashing onto its door.

His voice was filled with provocation and anticipation. He was waiting to see that supposedly special demon leap out and tear into his flesh, so he could then rightfully cut her down.

At the sight, Tanjiro's eyes stretched wide with anguish, and his heart seemed to stop beating. "Nezuko!!!"

Creak-

The wooden box's door was suddenly rammed open a crack from inside!

A petite pink figure darted out like a startled little animal, coming into everyone's view.

A pink kimono, a bamboo tube clenched tightly in her mouth, and a pair of large pink eyes filled with fear and unease.

It was Nezuko Kamado!

Everyone's gaze instantly fell on her.

The scent of Marechi filling the air was so intense that it was like an alarm ringing frantically in their ears.

A demon! Was she about to pounce?

And yet...

The anticipated scene of a beast frantically lunging for its meal never came.

When Nezuko's large pink eyes caught sight of Sanemi Shinazugawa and his bleeding arm, rather than filling with greed and longing, they were instantly flooded with immense fear and disgust.

"Mmph... mmph!"

She let out muffled, frantic whimpers, her little body recoiling sharply as though she had seen the most terrifying thing in the world.

Under everyone's astonished gazes, she even clamped her little hands over her eyes and small nose, curling her entire body into a ball as she desperately hid in a shadowy corner deeper inside the wooden box.

She whimpered, her little body shaking violently with resistance and fear, yet she firmly suppressed her demonic instincts, showing not the slightest desire to approach the Marechi.

Her posture was not that of a predator seeing prey, but of an innocent child seeing a hideous monster.

The entire courtyard fell deathly silent.

The rustle of wind through the leaves sounded as clear as pounding drums.

The savage grin on Sanemi Shinazugawa's face froze completely.

His eyes widened until they nearly bulged out of their sockets as he stared incredulously at Nezuko, who was trembling in the corner, desperately avoiding the scent of his blood.

Warm liquid slid down his arm. His wound was still bleeding, and the precious Marechi dripped into the dirt, silently spreading into a small patch of dark red.

"This... how is this possible?!"

Sanemi sucked in a sharp breath, his voice turning hoarse and distorted with utter shock and incomprehension.

As though he had been burned, he abruptly pulled back his bleeding arm and looked down at his bleeding wound...

Then he jerked his head up to look at Nezuko, who seemed to wish she could squeeze herself into a crack in the ground in that corner, before looking down at his wound again. His eyes were filled with confusion and collapse.

"How is this possible!!!"

Sanemi roared, losing his composure, his voice making the courtyard reverberate. "Why are you pretending?! How could a demon be unmoved by Marechi! You must be pretending! You cunning demon!"

Amid his furious roars, his entire worldview seemed to suffer an unprecedented shock.

His roars were filled with the fury of having his understanding overturned, and a barely perceptible trace of... panic?