ONE WEEK LATER
Haganezuka-san came to the old man's hut with the katanas to give us, and he talked about the glory of ore and forging and praised Tanjiro for his red hair, like he was some kind of god's gift, and his forged katana turned into a red-colored sword. When Tanjiro sheathed his katana, it became black, which caused Haganezuka-san to become hostile towards Tanjiro and assault him.
When I heard the commotion from the hut, I ran towards it and saw what was happening. Something clicked in my mind, and with swift motion, I lifted the sword smith with one hand, put pressure on his mask, and asked, "You try to hurt my little brother. Do you have a death wish, old man?" Tanjiro reacted quickly and came to my side. He explained everything: "Due to you wanting a red sword, go make it yourself. How dare you put pressure on my little brother? What's wrong with black?" Tanjiro and the old man begged me to release him.
I released my hand. Haganezuka tried to breathe and calm himself down. He looked at me with fright, and I stared at him. "Where is my Katana, you child assaulter?" He pointed a finger at the katana, and I took it from the spot and sheathed it. It turned sky blue with a white line, and wind blew into the house. It shocked everybody, and I put it back. I asked him who made it, and he said an old swordsmith in their village who is stubborn and doesn't work on anything except rare ores.
MC, "Tell him I acknowledge his work; when my journey ends, he can take it and put it as an heirloom and take this money and give it to him." These words shocked everybody, but Haganezuka nodded and took the money.
Tanjiro Crow came and gave him a mission, but not me. This puzzled me, so I decided to let him take on the mission.
Before he left, I talked to him and gave him an improved version of NZT. I told him to use it when you feel overwhelmed by demons. The good kid didn't doubt a sec and took it and put it away.
Tanjiro is now clad in the uniform of the Demon Slayer Corps. With his Nichirin sword on his hip and Nezuko, now awake, in a special box made by Urokodaki on his back, he heads out for his first assignment: a town to the northwest where girls have been vanishing nightly. There, Tanjiro meets Kazumi, haggard with worry after his girlfriend has been abducted. Though he does catch the scent of a demon nearby, none are in sight. Tanjiro is sure that a demon is behind this sinister incident.
Hearing the rumors of the townsfolk regarding the vanished girls, Tanjiro questions him. Kazumi takes him to the area where she disappeared, an alley in town. When he claims no one believes him, Tanjiro responds that he does, to his surprise, and begins his investigation. Using his sense of smell, he realizes that the area still contains the faint scent of a demon.
Kazumi tries to dissuade Tanjiro from continuing his investigation at dark hours and picking up again during the day, but Tanjiro remains vigilant and continues to smell around the area, telling him that "those things" are only active at night.
Then a girl gets abducted at night, and Tanjiro senses it. Suddenly, Tanjiro gets up and begins to run away, much to the confusion of Kazumi. Tanjiro tells him the scent is now stronger and the demon is now around. He leaps into the air to run atop the roof tiles, with Kazumi stunned by his high jump and realizing that Tanjiro is indeed a member of the Demon Slayer Corps. Landing in another alleyway, he senses the demon's presence and a woman's scent. Determining where the scent is strongest, he stabs into the ground, causing a spray of swamp water to spurt out. He spots something in the water and grabs it, rescuing the young girl from the demon's grasp.
Remembering Sakonji's words about a demon's abilities, Tanjiro realizes this one is capable of blood demon art. With the girl in his arms, he asks the demon about the whereabouts of the missing girl. The demon only grinds its teeth in response and returns to its swampy portal. Kazumi appears alongside him and wonders what he saw, as Tanjiro asks him to take the girl into his care. With Kazumi vulnerable, Tanjiro stands in front of him and looks around the area. He notes that even while it's submerged, its scent isn't masked. He detects the likely location to strike but becomes shocked to see three demons now.
The one-horned clone remembers Satoko and showcases its collection of hairpins taken from past victims; upon seeing Satoko's hairpin among them, Kazumi tears up with the realization she was devoured. Tanjiro, upon learning the missing girls are now dead, suddenly reminisces about the murder of his family and Nezuko's transformation into a demon, becoming filled with rage.
Now split into three, the demons have driven Tanjiro into a corner. It is then that Nezuko attacks. Now that she's become a demon herself, she's no longer the fragile sister who needs protection.
Tanjiro feels overwhelmed and cornered. Then he remembers the big brother's gift, takes it, and swallows it. Then something happened. He stood still for 10 seconds, not attacking. This made demons think he froze with overwhelming fear. They decided to kill him and attacked together as they approached Tanjiro. Suddenly, they heard a hissing sound and saw steam coming from Tanjiro's mouth. Then they fell like an apple falling from the tree. This caused them to become confused, and they started to turn into ashes.
Three clones argued among themselves, asking what happened, then Tanjiro came to their side and prayed for them, and Nezuko, Kazumi, and the girl got shocked and couldn't tell what happened. One sec, we were surrounded by demons, and another sec, they died.
Tanjiro, in an absolute state, checked his gift bag, and there was a note and another pill in it. Then he took the note and read, "Little brother, if you're reading this, then you used the medicine and killed your opponent. Congratulations, my brother, but you will be in an absolute state for one hour, so if you're in that state, practice the sword to perfection and total concentration. After the one hour, you will need good sleep and lots of food in the morning, so take care, your big brother."
Tanjiro, with a smile, told Kazumi what he needed, then he practiced sword moves and the total concentration method right there, and until the effects of drug ware off and he fell asleep, Nezuko lifted her brother up and took him to Kazumi House. In the morning, Tanjiro woke up and asked for food. Kazumi had already prepared everything. After an early breakfast, Tanjiro heard some noises from outside and decided to check.
In town, people came to Kazumi and accused him of being a murderer. They asked him, How do you get their children's hair pins if he isn't the murderer? Tanjiro took a breath. "Are you idiots or something? You try to blame innocent people, and one person who tries to find the problem, help me to kill the demon."
Town got scared by his voice, and back off, one man gathered his will and asked, "Where is the demon, then how can you, a child, be a demon slayer?"
Tanjiro suddenly remembered his big brother's teaching in a flash: "Tanjiro, humans are complex, and some people commit all kinds of sins; some become saints, and some become neutral; they don't care anything. People take wrong decisions when they are in fear and try to justify anything, like sacrifice children for some gods, etc.; they only listen to who has the bigger fist, so when you feel yourself in a situation like that, use your fist hard."
Tanjiro, with his renewed vigor, took the katana, reached the wall with swift motion, and cut it into four pieces. This caused the people to shut their mouths, ready to run away. Then a girl came with her mother, seeing Tanjiro point at him. "Mother, he is the big brother who saved me from a demon, and Kazumi, the big brother, hid me behind him so I couldn't get hurt by the demon. They were three demons, but the big brother finished them swiftly with the katana."
Mother came to Tanjiro, and Kazumi bowed, "Thank you for saving my child. You have the gratitude of my family and other people." Then she turned her face and looked at the people. "How can you have become so low? You have seen Kazumi your whole life. You don't know how he is, and you are painting him as the muderer. You were going to marry your daughter to him a week ago. Now you accuse him of your incompetence. Shame on you. You apologize to the demon slayer and Kazumi."
Tanjiro got shocked and remembered his big brother telling him about iron-willed ladies and their authority over people.
Then the crow came and told him about the new mission, which caused people to be shocked. How can a crow talk? Then they realized, kowtowed to Tanjiro, and apologized.