The place where Nakime's eyeball had been discovered was behind the village, in the direction of the mines.
Those were the mines exclusive to the Demon Slayer Corps, which received sunlight all year round. Only ore mined there could be used to forge Nichirin Blades imbued with the power of sunlight.
But even with the Ubuyashiki Clan's resources, they had only managed to find one such exceptional mining site.
This meant the route from the Swordsmith Village to the mines was relatively fixed. Even if they deliberately took detours to conceal the village's location, they could not stray very far.
And after becoming an Upper Rank, Nakime's reconnaissance abilities had become so powerful that, despite the swordsmiths' caution, she had still picked up clues and followed them all the way to the Swordsmith Village.
Seeing that the sun was about to disappear completely behind the distant mountaintops, Kanzaki Kumo and Kanae hurriedly split up.
Kanamori's residence was in the same direction as the Village Chief's, so while Kanae went to retrieve her blade, she also informed Village Chief Tetchikawahara Tecchin of the situation.
Upon learning what had happened, the Village Chief immediately mobilized the villagers for an emergency evacuation. The vast majority of the village responded quickly, gathering toward the village entrance as instructed.
As for why it was the "vast majority," that was naturally because there was a certain exception-Hotaru Haganezuka.
At that moment, Kanzaki Kumo was fighting Haganezuka over a Nichirin Blade at his residence.
With time running short, Kanzaki Kumo had charged straight into the house and snatched the blade from Haganezuka's hands while he was polishing it.
It was not that he did not want to explain first.
It was just that, first, time did not allow it, and second, when Haganezuka was immersed in forging