Facing everyone's confusion, Karin and Miki simply gave a brief explanation. The specifics were up to them to consider.
For now, they could focus on making dishes from the Red Haired Pig and Spice Cow. The Cheese Rabbit and Elephantboar could be saved for next time.
Hearing this, Senzaemon breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Takeru and the others were quite reasonable, at least not deliberately making things difficult for them.
Then, everyone quickly took the ingredients, butchering and cooking them. Karin and the three watched from the side.
Kurome, who had barely spoken the whole time, just kept taking out Chocolate Mushrooms and Mushroom Puddings to eat. These two types of mushrooms were her favorite snacks.
...
Back to Takeru's side. After a careful search, about fifteen minutes later, Takeru noticed Rikka and Shizuka suddenly disappear.
Seeing this, Takeru directly teleported to the area where they had disappeared. It turned out this spacetime tunnel was perfectly overlapped with a large tree near the apartment.
"Everyone, I've found the specific location." Thinking this, Takeru quickly notified everyone. Instantly, everyone quickly gathered beside Takeru and looked at the tree.
"I'll go in first and check on them." Then, Takeru told everyone and directly dove into the tree. Soon, familiar spacetime turbulence appeared around Takeru. Before long, Takeru arrived in a new world.
"Are you two alright?" Looking at Shizuka and Rikka, who were curiously examining their surroundings, Takeru quickly asked.
"Takeru, you're here!" Hearing Takeru's words, the two turned to look at him, their expressions filled with delight. They completely breathed a sigh of relief.
"We're fine!" Shizuka quickly answered.
Then, Takeru looked directly at the large tree behind him. Just like in the main world, the spacetime tunnel here overlapped with the tree.
Looking at the time, in the main world it was only 4:30 p.m., but here the sun had already set. A quick sense suggested it was probably around 7:00 p.m. So, the time difference was about two and a half hours.
Then, Takeru released his Observation Haki to search for clues. Soon, he opened his eyes. He already knew where he was, and even the timeline.
This was Mount Natagumo. Takeru could also see Tanjiro and Inosuke already inside the mountain, as well as the surviving Lower Rank Five, Rui, and Rui's 'family'.
"We've found the spacetime tunnel. Do you want to go back now?" Looking at Rikka and Shizuka, Takeru asked them directly.
"Well, Takeru, what do you plan to do?" Hearing Takeru's words, Rikka and Hiratsuka Shizuka hesitated.
"Me? I plan to stay here a little while. You can also sense it, right? The ominous aura emanating from this mountain. This forest is infested with many Demons. Besides that, there are also many weak Demon Slayers." Hearing her words, Takeru said with a light laugh.
"Since that's the case, I want to go with you, okay?" Hearing this, Rikka looked at Takeru expectantly. Shizuka, on the other hand, hesitated.
She knew her strength was still far from Rikka, Mio, and the others.
After all, she had only gone through four or five Reincarnation Missions, far fewer than Takeru and the others who had completed eleven. Of course, what worried her most was becoming a burden.
"Okay. Then, Hiratsuka-sensei, I'll trouble you to go back and tell Yukino and the others that they can go home first. I'll handle this world's matters. If they're curious about this world, they can come back tomorrow." Hearing Rikka's words and noticing Shizuka's hesitant expression, Takeru decisively spoke.
"Well, alright." Noting Takeru's tone left no room for argument, Shizuka nodded and directly re-entered the spacetime tunnel.
Before she left, Takeru quickly set up a barrier around the area to protect the spacetime tunnel and prevent any Demons from entering.
After doing this, Takeru sensed the events in the forest and, taking Rikka, disappeared from the spot, appearing elsewhere...
Time rewound a few minutes.
Tanjiro and Inosuke, the fated children of the Demon Slayer World, had entered this forest.
Zenitsu, too scared, was at the foot of the mountain, not daring to come up.
After going up the mountain, the two found the forest filled with spider webs. They soon noticed another Demon Slayer Corps' member crouching by a large tree, watching. Without much thought, they quickly went behind the Demon Slayer.
Upon arriving, Tanjiro reached out and touched the frightened member. The man turned around in panic, his hand already on his sword.
"We're here to support. I'm Kamado Tanjiro, rank Mizunoto." Under the man's tense, wary expression, Tanjiro moved as slowly as possible and kept his voice soft.
"Mizunoto?! Why not a Hashira? No matter how many Mizunoto come, it's useless, it doesn't matter." Hearing Tanjiro's words, the Demon Slayer Corps' member, reacting, complained.
Before he could finish, Inosuke punched him, forcibly interrupting his complaints.
"Inosuke!" Seeing Inosuke act so violently, Tanjiro was momentarily stunned. Coming back to his senses, he called out to Inosuke angrily, scolding him for his violent behavior.
"Shut up! If talking is useless, then your existence itself is useless! Quickly explain the situation, you coward!" Inosuke ignored Tanjiro, instead angrily grabbing the Demon Slayer Corps' member, Murata's hair and demanding.
'What's with this guy? I'm his senior here.' Looking at Inosuke's rough demeanor, Murata was bewildered.
But although Inosuke's methods were brutal, they were the simplest form of communication right now.
Murata quickly told Tanjiro and Inosuke what had happened.
It turned out that before Tanjiro and the others arrived, ten Demon Slayer Corps' members had entered here.
But shortly after entering the mountain, the members started killing each other, without even seeing a Demon.
Murata, scared, had run away and was now here, observing the situation and waiting for support.
Meanwhile, in a hidden area far from Mount Natagumo, Ubuyashiki Kagaya, the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, received desperately transmitted information from a Kasugai Crow.
He deduced there might be a [Twelve Kizuki] at Mount Natagumo. He then sent the currently free Flower Hashira, Kocho Kanae, and Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka, to Mount Natagumo.
Yes, in this timeline, Kocho Kanae hadn't been killed by Upper Rank Two, Doma, at age seventeen.
However, the price she paid was not small. Her left arm was completely severed and eaten by Doma. When the sun rose, Doma retreated, allowing her to survive.
Although she paid with an entire arm, due to her exceptional talent and unyielding will, Kanae continued fighting on the front lines after her injuries healed.
Her younger sister, Kocho Shinobu, after experiencing Doma and her sister's arm loss, changed. Her personality became no longer sharp-tongued, and she became gentle and calm. Of course, she was still far from Kanae...
"If only Demons and humans could get along. What do you think, Tomioka-san?" Accepting Kagaya's orders, Kanae sighed again with emotion. Although she had lost an arm, her ideal had never changed.
"It won't work, as long as Demons keep eating humans," Giyu replied expressionlessly, but unconsciously thought of the scene over two years ago: Nezuko, a Demon, desperately protecting her brother Tanjiro.
...
Back at Mount Natagumo.
Having just learned a few things from Murata, Tanjiro, Inosuke, and the others heard a creaking sound. Compared to the confused Tanjiro and Inosuke, Murata's face went white, his expression extremely tense.
"It's that sound again! After hearing it, before I knew it, the members started killing each other." Thinking this, Murata quickly told Tanjiro and Inosuke.
'Where is the sound coming from?' Thinking this, Tanjiro warily looked around.