Sworn Enemies

Please take good care of me!

Kanao responded to Tanjiro with a smile.

The two smiled at each other, completely unaware that a pair of malicious eyes were watching them from the side.

"Damn it! Tanjiro, instead of training properly, he's always here flirting with girls!"

"Damn it!! Tanjiro really deserves to die!!!"

Zenitsu was internally cursing Tanjiro.

The group returned to the Butterfly Mansion without any incident. After separating from the rest of the team, they headed towards the backyard.

Just as he turned the corner, Zenitsu stopped in his tracks because Kanon Kanao stopped ahead of him.

Zenitsu looked up at them curiously, then followed their gaze.

There, two figures, one tall and one short, were sitting under the eaves of the courtyard.

Zenitsu had been slouching, quickly straightened his back and sprinted over at top speed. As he approached his target, he quickly knelt down and slid to Nezuko's side.

"Ah--! Nezuko!! Is that you? Is it really you?" Zenitsu looked at Nezuko in front of him with great excitement.

"Yes! Zenitsu, welcome back!!" Nezuko turned her head and smiled at Zenitsu.

"Arigato! Nezuko!!"

Zenitsu thanked him happily, then exaggeratedly covered his chest with both hands.

"Ah--! I'm going to die!!"

Having said that, he started to lean back, but halfway down he remembered something, immediately straightened his back, and said:

"No, Nezuko, I've always been at the Butterfly Mansion, I was just out training. You're the one who went out; I should be the one saying welcome back!!!"

"Joyous..."

Before he could finish speaking, Inosuke nudged him aside with his foot.

"Damn it, get out of my way!"

Inosuke said impatiently, then looked at Nezuko and said:

Welcome back, Nezuko!

"Arigato!"

Nezuko smiled and responded to Inosuke, then turned to look at the next group of people. Just as she was about to greet them, Zenitsu roared.

"Die, Inosuke! You stole Nezuko's first words after Nezuko came back! I'll never forgive you!!"

With that, Zenitsu charged forward, fists clenched.

The two had barely started fighting Teiichi was forced to stop meditating, focus on breathing, and raise his hand.

With lightning speed, he grabbed the back of the collars of the two men in the midst of the melee, then swung them forward, throwing them into the wide courtyard in front of him.

"It's so noisy!" Teiichi raised his hand and gently picked at his ear.

Inosuke has always had a loud voice, and Zenitsu's voice gets even louder when Nezuko gets aroused.

"Mr. Kato!" Tanjiro ran over and greeted Teiichi.

Teiichi nodded in response, and then Tanjiro ran to Nezuko's side to show concern.

"Brother Teiichi, welcome back!"

Kanon also quickly walked over to Teiichi's side and greeted him with a smile.

Kanao followed closely behind Kanon, calling out, "Teiichi- nii!"

"Hmm!" Teiichi smiled and nodded at the two of them, then looked at Kanon and asked, "How's training with the team going lately?"

"Let's proceed as normal, but the only ones with really good aptitude are Tanjiro and the other two!" Kanon replied.

Teiichi nodded slightly; this was something he already knew.

"Brother Teiichi, last time Kanae took Nezuko with her, saying she was going to pass a message to Muzan. You brought Nezuko back this time, so has the message already been passed?" Kanon asked.

Upon hearing this, Tanjiro also stopped paying attention to Nezuko and looked over.

"Yes, the final battle with Muzan should be starting soon!" Teiichi replied.

"So fast?" Tanjiro couldn't help but exclaim.

This is all too fast for him. He's only been a member of the Demon Slayer Corps for less than a year, and he's only killed a few demons, yet the final battle is already here...

"Wouldn't it be better to hurry up?" Teiichi light laugh.

"No, that's not it!" Tanjiro scratched the back of his head. "So, what preparations should we make during this time?"

Teiichi replied, "Later, Kagaya Ubuyashiki will arrange for the team members to gather in nearby areas, and then the Pillars will continue to guide your training. However, unlike before, this time, you will rotate among the various Pillars, taking turns receiving training from each of them!"

Upon hearing this, Tanjiro immediately turned to look at the two people who were already entangled in the courtyard, pinching each other's faces.

"Zenitsu, Inosuke, we can now go and receive training from the other Pillars!"

"Go and ask!" Zenitsu said with difficulty.

"Is Tanjiro happy?" Kanao asked Tanjiro curiously.

"Yes!" Tanjiro nodded seriously. "Different Pillars have different Breathing Style and are good at different things. I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Pillars will train us!"

Teiichi chuckled softly, then looked at Tanjiro and said:

"By the way, Nezuko will have to stay with me for a while until the final battle. I'll have someone help keep an eye on her and help Nezuko turn into a human!"

"Okay! Alright!!" Tanjiro nodded seriously in reply.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

The fiery red afterglow of the setting sun shone down.

Teiichi sat quietly on the roof of an abandoned temple, waiting for the other pillars to arrive.

Today is the first day of the training program. The pillars will first complete the training of the ordinary team members on their own, and then they will come over near dusk to participate Teiichi Dingyi's Training the Hashira.

At Zhu's pace, it would probably take him about twenty or thirty minutes to get here.

Time passed slowly, and soon, one figure after another appeared in the open space in front of the temple.

Only after Kanae and Shinobu Kocho arrived did Teiichi open his eyes and jump off the roof of the shrine.

Seeing that he had Teiichi, before Teiichi speak, Sanemi spoke up:

"Hey! Wait a minute, before training starts, we want to have a match with you!"

Teiichi glanced at Sanemi and said:

"That will be arranged later! I'll play with each of you then!"

"No, it's different. This time, I want all of us to come up together and spar with you!" Sanemi said.

"That's right, we all want to see just how strong Mr. Kato is now!" Kyojuro stepped forward, crossed his arms, and said enthusiastically.

"Let's consider this a rehearsal for our battle against the Upper Rank and Muzan!" Obanai added.

Giyu silently drew his card and took a step forward without saying anything.