DS Chapter 108: Dragon Hashira Has Been Captured—All otherHashira Are Shocked!
She felt that Ren would never say something like that without reason. There had to be some information hidden within his words that she had yet to fully understand.
The first sentence was easy enough to understand. He was simply telling Kanao to practice her swordsmanship properly. Ren must have taught Kanao something special last night.
But the second sentence...
Suddenly, Shinobu's expression changed.
She immediately ran toward the backyard.
The girl's figure was light and graceful. After a few swift leaps, she had crossed from the sickroom to the backyard of the Butterfly Mansion, where Ren usually practiced.
The place was still a complete mess.
From the uneven craters scattered across the ground and the neatly severed trees surrounding the area, it was obvious that a fierce battle had taken place here the previous night.
"Ren... what exactly did you do while I was away?"
Shinobu's eyes became slightly moist.
Looking at the battlefield before her, she could almost imagine the brutal fight Ren had endured.
She hadn't been here yesterday.
It had been Ren who had fought to the death to protect the Butterfly Mansion.
In the past, Shinobu's heart had been occupied only by thoughts of her elder sister.
But now, the name Katsuragi Ren had found its way into her heart.
Shinobu slowly walked across the battlefield.
Suddenly, she noticed bloodstains on the ground.
The girl immediately understood.
Could this be the blood of an Upper Rank demon?
Shinobu turned around and looked around the area.
She found several severed demon limbs scattered throughout the battlefield.
And then, she understood everything.
Ren wanted her to use the blood of an Upper Rank demon to develop a poison capable of fighting Upper Ranks!
Ren had visited her laboratory before.
With his extraordinary understanding, it wouldn't have been difficult for him to figure out what her research needed.
Ren...
Why are you always thinking about me?
Shinobu could no longer hold back her tears.
Two clear streams of tears slid down her cheeks.
Ever since Kanae had left her, the girl had been living in the shadow of the past.
Until she met Ren.
Ren had been like a ray of light that illuminated her life.
But last night, he had been taken away by demons once again!
Shinobu bit her lip tightly.
Blood seeped from between her teeth.
Why?
Why did you have to take my Ren away from me?!
The girl clenched her fists tightly.
At that moment, her hatred toward demons reached its peak.
No!
Shinobu suddenly came to her senses.
Ren had only been taken away.
No one had said that he was dead!
She still had a chance!
With that thought, Shinobu steadied herself and immediately ran toward her master's residence...
...
The sky was gloomy.
Beneath the murky white clouds, several Kasugai Crows were scattered across the sky.
Every member of the Demon Slayer Corps had received the news.
Katsuragi Ren had been captured by two newly emerged Upper Rank demons the previous night while protecting the Butterfly Mansion!
All the Hashira were furious.
The Mist Hashira had just completed a mission and was folding a paper airplane when his Kasugai Crow, Gin, suddenly flew toward him.
An emergency letter was tied to its leg.
After reading it, Muichiro's usually expressionless face became unusually serious.
"That Ren, who's supposedly even more talented than me... He fought two Upper Ranks in a single night, and was seriously wounded while protecting the Butterfly Mansion..."
...
While carrying out a mission, the Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka, killed a demon with a Total Concentration slash.
He lowered his head and spoke coldly.
"Ren. The Demon Slayer Corps needs you to become a Hashira. Don't die."
...
Under a waterfall, the Stone Hashira shed tears and pressed his palms together.
"Namu Amida Butsu."
...
The Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, had been corresponding with his wives through letters.
After reading the message, he silently wrote a reply.
"Suma, Hinatsuru, Makio. When you have some free time in the red-light district, help me find someone. If you hear anything, make sure to inform me..."
...
Sanemi Shinazugawa, who had been practicing and becoming accustomed to his Mark, suddenly stopped.
His expression turned serious.
"Ren, don't die... I'm still waiting to surpass you."
The moment he finished speaking, a faint pain suddenly appeared in his waist.
Sanemi thought to himself that he really needed to find some time to visit the Butterfly Mansion and have Shinobu treat his lingering injuries...
...
At another location, the Serpent Hashira, Obanai Iguro, was pursuing Mitsuri Kanroji.
Mitsuri's eyes widened in shock.
"How could this happen?! Lord Ren was captured!"
She looked anxiously at Obanai.
"Mr. Iguro, do you think Lord Ren will be in danger?"
Obanai frowned.
"I don't know. But that idiot Ren is stubborn. How could someone like him die so easily?"
He paused.
"Besides, I haven't settled my score with him yet."
...
The Flame Hashira had just arrived at his destination.
He was trying to eat while riding the Mugen Train when he suddenly stopped his chopsticks and picked up the letter delivered by a Kasugai Crow.
His expression became furious.
"Those wicked demons! As long as I, Kyojuro Rengoku, remain alive for even one more day, I will cut every last one of you down!"
This was a rare moment of genuine anger from Kyojuro.
No one noticed that at the very instant his emotions changed, a Flame Mark suddenly appeared on the Flame Hashira's face.
It remained for two seconds.
Then, just as suddenly, it disappeared.
...
Meanwhile, on the way to their mission aboard the Mugen Train, the three troublesome youngsters were dealing with another problem.
Tanjiro and Zenitsu were doing their best to restrain Inosuke's rampage.
"Let go of me!"
Inosuke struggled violently.
"I'm going to fight those Upper Rank demons to the death! They dared to capture my master! I'll kill every last one of them!"
He roared at the top of his lungs.
"Master! You have to wait for me!"
Zenitsu's ears were practically numb from all the shouting.
"No, bro! You're not the only one worried about Mr. Ren! Besides, you don't even know where Mr. Ren is! Where exactly are you planning to go fight?!"
Tanjiro tried to play peacemaker.
"Inosuke, calm down. Lady Shinobu and the others have probably already taken action. If you keep acting like this, you'll only disrupt everyone's plans!"
From inside the wooden box, Nezuko nodded vigorously.
"Mm! Mm!"
After hearing their reasoning, Inosuke dejectedly sat down.
His eyes became empty.
"Master... how am I supposed to live without you?"
Although Inosuke himself didn't acknowledge that they had a master-disciple relationship, the two of them had effectively become master and disciple.
His master had been captured.
How could the disciple not be anxious?
Inosuke remained sullen for a long while before finally speaking angrily.
"Fine! I'll complete this mission first and kill that demon!"
"Then I'll go find my master. None of you are allowed to stop me!"
Unexpectedly, Zenitsu and Tanjiro nodded at the same time.
Even Nezuko, inside the wooden box, bumped her head against the box, making a sound that clearly expressed her agreement.
Now it was Inosuke's turn to be confused.
"You... You aren't going to try to stop me?"
Who would have thought that Tanjiro and Zenitsu would suddenly laugh together?
"What are you talking about?! Mr. Ren is a hero of the Demon Slayer Corps. Of course the three of us are going to rescue him together!"
The moment they finished speaking, Nezuko began banging her head against the wooden box even more enthusiastically.
Tanjiro and Zenitsu burst into laughter.
"Right, right! Four people! It's four people!"
Their gazes were firm, and faint smiles appeared on their faces.
At that moment, the three boys had a shared goal.
They were going to rescue Katsuragi Ren!
As for whether Ren would be able to hold out until then?
Of course he would.