Just as Urokodaki Sajou was feeling deeply worried, his granddaughter's voice, full of confidence, rang in his ears.
"Next time, whether it's Upper Rank Two or Upper Rank Three, I will personally sever their necks."
Confidence gleamed in Demon Slayer Na's eyes, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
The next time she encountered an Upper Rank would be the moment she transcended to a new realm; she felt that was the ultimate secret of this world.
Only by possessing that power could she protect everyone in this dangerous world.
For the sake of those girls' sweet smiles, she would definitely drive out all the demons!
On the other side of the sea is...
*Cough, cough* Wrong script.
"..."
Urokodaki Sajou looked at his granddaughter with the confident smile on her face. After a moment of silence, he nodded slowly and said:
"Ah... I believe you have that ability."
His granddaughter wouldn't say things she wasn't sure of; he knew that much.
She must have figured out the abilities of Upper Rank Two and Three to be so certain about slaying them next time.
Creak—
At that moment, the wooden door was pushed open.
The grandfather and granddaughter turned their heads together and saw Tanjiro, covered in dirt but exceptionally excited, and Makomo, with a gentle smile on her face.
"Looking at you two, you must have succeeded, right?"
Demon Slayer Na spoke with a smile, her eyes constantly sizing up the two of them.
If they hadn't succeeded, they wouldn't be so happy.
Sure enough...
"Senior Kiana! I finally succeeded in splitting that big Shitou!"
Tanjiro clenched his fists and looked at Demon Slayer Na with excitement.
Makomo stood to the side with her hands behind her back, nodding with a smile:
"Yes, Tanjiro is really amazing. He actually cut such a large rock in half. He's much more impressive than Sabito, Giyu, and I were back then."
As for why Makomo didn't compare him to Demon Slayer Na, it was because this girl wasn't a normal person.
On the back mountain, there was a boulder several times larger than Tanjiro's that Kiana had sliced into ten pieces with a single strike back then.
"Well done, Tanjiro. You've already surpassed most of your peers now."
Demon Slayer Na nodded slightly, looking at Tanjiro with a radiant smile.
This way, she could feel at ease leaving Nezuko in his care.
Although Demon Slayer Na really wanted to keep the little cutie Nezuko by her side to protect her personally.
But the bond between these siblings was too strong; she couldn't bring herself to force them apart.
She just had to make Tanjiro strong enough—strong enough so that Nezuko wouldn't take any DMG.
Now that she had laid the foundation for him, the rest would depend on actual combat and his subsequent growth.
"It's exactly as Kiana said. By splitting that boulder, you have grown into an excellent swordsman, Tanjiro."
Urokodaki Sajou also looked at Tanjiro with great approval and nodded with relief.
He was very confident in Tanjiro's current strength.
Urokodaki Sajou stood up, picked out a fox mask from the shelf behind him, and handed it to Tanjiro.
"Tanjiro, take this mask as a graduation gift."
He gave a mask to every disciple he trained as a graduation present.
Tanjiro happily accepted the mask, wore it on the side of his head, and bowed deeply to Urokodaki Sajou.
"Thank you, Master Urokodaki!"
He shouted loudly with a voice full of energy.
Urokodaki Sajou nodded with relief and patted Tanjiro's head like an elder.
Tanjiro's voice woke Nezuko. The little cutie rubbed her eyes and then looked at Tanjiro.
"Nezuko, Brother is ba—"
Seeing his sister looking at him, Tanjiro turned around to hug Nezuko, but in the next moment, Nezuko affectionately hugged Demon Slayer Na, nuzzling against her palm.
Crack—
The sound of a heart breaking came from Tanjiro's chest, making everyone present want to laugh.
"Oh, little cutie Nezuko is awake! A cutie like you was born to be eaten up by Big Sister!"
Kiana dropped her previous gentle and dignified demeanor and started nuzzling Nezuko frantically, like someone with a late-stage cat addiction.
After being nuzzled like this, Nezuko looked at Tanjiro with tears in the corners of her eyes, casting a pleading gaze for help.
Although she liked the scent on Demon Slayer Na and liked being close to her, she didn't like being nuzzled like this constantly; it was very uncomfortable!
"Ah...! Senior! Nezuko is very uncomfortable, please stop nuzzling her!"
Tanjiro gestured wildly beside Demon Slayer Na, trying to get her to let go of Nezuko.
But...
"Nonsense, Nezuko clearly likes me."
Demon Slayer Na glanced at Tanjiro, then tilted her small chin up and gave a playful hmph.
Meanwhile, the eyes of Nezuko in Demon Slayer Na's arms had already started spinning; she looked like she was about to faint.
Ah... ah... Nezuko, I'm sorry! Your brother is too useless! I'm sorry!
Tanjiro wanted to reach out and rescue his sister, but facing this senior who had carefully taught him, he couldn't bring himself to do it!
I'm sorry! Nezuko! Forgive your brother! Hontoni gomen nasai!
Tanjiro's art style became peculiar as he stood frozen in place like a statue, his inner voice echoing with desolation.
He was just an incompetent brother.
"Eh?"
Demon Slayer Na felt Nezuko go silent in her arms. She held her up to take a look and asked in confusion:
"Is Nezuko sleepy again?"
"Xiao Na, could it be that you made her faint?"
Makomo poked her chin with her finger, tilting her head as she looked at the unconscious Nezuko.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible."
Demon Slayer Na waved her hand grandly and patted her chest righteously.
She was clearly holding Nezuko so gently; how could she possibly have made her faint? Honestly.
"Whatever makes you happy..."
The corner of Makomo's mouth twitched slightly as she looked away and whispered.
She remembered when she first arrived, Kiana used to hold her and nuzzle her like this every day.
In a while, once Kiana's interest waned, she would probably let Nezuko go...
No, in a couple of days, Tanjiro would likely be taking Nezuko to Mt. Fujikasane for the Demon Slayer Corps selection.
Nezuko would be free soon!
Makomo thought secretly to herself.
"It's good to be young..."
Urokodaki Sajou watched the children's interaction, a gentle smile appearing on his face behind the mask.
He felt immensely happy right now. His disciples and granddaughter were all safe and sound. He truly hoped to see the moment they got married and had children.
But Urokodaki was probably overthinking it. He might never get to hold a great-grandchild in this life, unless Kiana became a demon and researched child-bearing technology between women.
So he could only count on Sabito and Giyu, because Makomo also seemed to have designs on his granddaughter?
No one knew for sure.
Suddenly, an albino crow flew in and landed in front of Demon Slayer Na. It opened its beak and spoke in a loli voice:
"Kiana, there are suspected clues of the Twelve Kizuki to the southeast."
"Xiao Bai, I'm an injured person right now, you know."
Demon Slayer Na lifted her bandaged hand, but Xiao Bai just blinked its eyes at her.
"Fine, fine, I'll go..."
Demon Slayer Na sighed, then picked up her sword leaning nearby and walked outside.
Anyway, her injuries had mostly healed.
"I'm leaving, Grandfather... also, Tanjiro, protect Nezuko well for me, or else be prepared to be beaten to death by me."
Demon Slayer Na waved her hand with her back turned and left the place under their gaze.
"I will definitely protect Nezuko!"
After Tanjiro snapped out of it, he shouted outside with a smile, but by then, Demon Slayer Na had already run far away.
Demon Slayer Na, who had already run down the mountain, seemed to remember something and muttered to herself:
"Did I forget to teach Tanjiro Total Concentration Breathing...? Well... with Makomo there, I don't need to worry."
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