Chapter 166 — An Imminent War?
"Dream?"
Tanjiro was stunned.
What did Ren mean by saying [in my dream]?
Tanjiro couldn't understand what he was getting at.
But Nezuko did.
She made a soft humming sound before walking over and staring intently at Ren's head.
Ren chuckled.
"This isn't about something inside my head!"
But then he thought about it.
Well... technically, Enmu really had been destroyed inside his mind.
Just now, when Enmu entered his consciousness and Ren used the Thunder Dragon within his spiritual core to destroy his opponent, he had also destroyed Enmu's dream core.
In other words, the demon who trapped people in dreams had ultimately died inside someone else's dream.
At that point, Ren carefully recounted everything that had just happened.
Tanjiro was utterly shocked after hearing the story.
He never imagined that Enmu would directly enter Lord Ren's dream and attempt to kill him!
Lower Rank One!
What a vicious scheme!
At first, Tanjiro had been shocked that Ren could kill a Lower Rank One within a dream.
But then he remembered who Ren was.
This was a terrifying figure who had already killed three Upper Rank demons!
Thinking about that, Tanjiro suddenly felt that it actually made perfect sense...
Although perhaps Lower Rank One had never imagined that breaking into someone else's dream would result in Lord Ren killing him instead.
The look Tanjiro gave Ren immediately filled with admiration.
In the past, hadn't he always been the one charging straight into the front lines, fighting the boss by himself while everyone else dealt with the small fry?
But things were different now!
As long as Lord Ren was around, there was absolutely no need for him to take risks.
All he needed to do was lie down obediently!
Tanjiro smiled.
"Lord Ren, how did you know that demon would enter our dreams? Do you have the ability to see the future?"
Ren was startled by the question.
Then he smiled.
"I didn't expect you to be so perceptive. You actually figured it out."
"That's right. Look at the surroundings. I discovered something was wrong by observing the environment around us."
"The environment?"
Tanjiro was somewhat surprised.
He looked around.
A moment later, he lowered his head, apparently deep in thought.
Is it similar to my sense of smell?
Could Lord Ren detect the presence of demons through subtle changes in the environment?
Furthermore, Ren's observational abilities were clearly far beyond Tanjiro's sense of smell.
After all, Tanjiro hadn't noticed anything just now. He had simply awakened from his dream.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he had seen several suspicious-looking people and Nezuko, who had come to save him.
At that time, however, he hadn't even smelled the presence of Lower Rank One, Enmu.
Yet Lord Ren had already sensed his opponent inside the dream and dealt with him.
Indeed...
It seemed that no one capable of becoming a Hashira could possibly be weak.
Tanjiro felt that he still had a very long way to go.
Then, an idea suddenly occurred to him.
Become his disciple, just like Inosuke!
Within the Demon Slayer Corps, members normally underwent training before going out to carry out missions.
During that time, it wasn't as though encountering a Hashira meant they couldn't become that Hashira's disciple.
If they earned a Hashira's recognition and the Hashira was willing to accept them as a successor, they could become that Hashira's successor.
And now, Tanjiro and Ren had precisely such an opportunity.
Tanjiro immediately told Ren what he was thinking.
Ren fell silent for a moment after hearing him.
He knew that, originally, the Flame Hashira would choose these three young men as his successors.
Then the Flame Hashira sacrificed himself.
Later, during the Entertainment District arc, the Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, would also want to take them as his successors.
And then the Sound Hashira would become crippled...
My goodness!
It seemed like becoming the master of these three children was really bad luck!
If someone's fate was already difficult enough, then honestly, aside from retiring or dying immediately, there weren't many other options.
But who cared?
Gyutaro had already been killed by him, hadn't he?
So Ren absolutely didn't believe those rumors.
Of course, Ren wasn't treating Tanjiro as a successor to Sun Breathing or Water Breathing.
Absolutely not!
The next moment, Ren cleared his throat.
His eyes unconsciously drifted toward Zenitsu.
"A successor? It's not impossible. Just bring that yellow-haired kid along when the time comes."
Tanjiro looked toward Zenitsu.
"All right. Since it's Lord Ren's request, I'll definitely do it!"
It seems Lord Ren thinks very highly of Zenitsu, Tanjiro thought.
But Ren's Thunder Breathing still wasn't complete.
He was considering using Zenitsu to learn the entire Thunder Breathing system!
Especially Zenitsu's master.
He absolutely had to learn from the old man before he committed seppuku.
Otherwise, if Ren waited any longer, he wouldn't have the chance to learn it!
"All right, Lord Ren!"
Tanjiro spoke excitedly.
"I'll wake Zenitsu up right now."
"No need."
Ren interrupted him.
"They look exhausted. Let them rest a little longer."
Of course, there was one thing Ren didn't say out loud.
He actually thought Zenitsu was safer while sleeping than while awake.
At least when he was asleep, Zenitsu had the ability to protect himself.
Otherwise, listening to him scream and cry after waking up would be incredibly annoying.
"Tanjiro, sit down and rest for a while too. There aren't any demons here for the moment."
Ren smiled at Tanjiro, his tone gentle.
For a moment, Tanjiro was overwhelmed by the kindness.
"No need, Dragon Hashira. I'm fine. I don't need to rest."
Unexpectedly, Ren's tone suddenly became stern.
"Get some proper rest. There's going to be a major battle later. You need to keep yourself in peak condition."
Tanjiro was stunned by Ren's tone.
This was the first time he had ever seen Lord Ren angry.
For some reason, however, he didn't feel ashamed or angry.
Instead, that warmth brought him a long-forgotten emotion.
It feels so good to have someone take care of me.
"Yes, Lord Ren!"
Tanjiro shouted loudly, several tears even welling up in the corners of his eyes.
Seeing this, Ren muttered under his breath.
"I only told him to sleep a little longer so he'd have the energy to deal with Akaza later. Why is this kid getting so emotional?"
Ren didn't say anything else.
Instead, he pointed toward the place where Tanjiro had been sitting.
"Sit there, and put your sister back in the box."
"Mm—"
Nezuko hummed and shook her head, seemingly unwilling to go back inside.
"Nezuko, what's wrong?"
Tanjiro looked at her.
"Don't you want to sleep?"
Nezuko nodded.
Ren understood.
After all, Nezuko spent practically the entire day inside that box. She was probably going to go moldy if she stayed in there much longer.
And waiting until nightfall inside that cramped box was hardly pleasant.
She really did want to come out and walk around for a while.
As her older brother, Tanjiro naturally understood.
"Then Nezuko doesn't have to go into the box tonight. You can sleep beside your brother instead. Mr. Ren said there'll be a big battle later!"
"Mm-hm!"
This time, Nezuko nodded.
Then she continued walking forward.
She walked straight toward Ren.