Chapter 38: The Lifted Shinobu Kocho. Sakonji Urokodaki's True Face

On this day, Zero was rarely free. He didn't go to patrol the area under his jurisdiction, and the other Hashira were the same, all having a short holiday.

As for the reason...

Naturally, it was because of the actions of Zero and Sanemi Shinazugawa.

Not only did they clear all the evil demons in their own areas, but they even ran to the areas of other Hashira and wiped out the evil demons together.

It was the kind where not even ashes were left. Others didn't understand why these two were so competitive?

Zero could still be understood, after all, he wanted to collect information and related information. As for running to the areas under the jurisdiction of other Hashira, they also turned a blind eye.

But for them, this was not a bad thing. The free time was just right for continuing to train themselves and improve their strength.

But Sanemi Shinazugawa... they couldn't figure out what was going on?

Simply stopped caring, ate and drank, trained, soaked in hot springs, and made children...

(??? Ahem, off-topic.)

Kie Kamado managed everything in Zero's estate in an orderly manner, not only cleaning the estate cleanly but also taking on the obligation of a nanny.

Zero told her not to be so hard, but she said that compared to what he did, these things she did were nothing.

As for Takeo and Shigeru, they shared the housework together, and Hanako took care of Rokuta.

But every time Rokuta saw Zero, he liked to let him hold him.

After coaxing Rokuta to sleep, he handed him over to Hanako to take care of.

He didn't know what to do next, so he came directly to the courtyard, preparing to organize all the equipment in the 【Nano Space】 and do some maintenance.

If it is not maintained for a long time, the performance of the equipment will also decrease.

In the courtyard, Zero first took out the scythe to wipe it, to see if there was any damage, and found that it was the same as before, intact.

Then he took out a series of weapons such as 【Dark Alloy Type 4】, 【Dark Alloy Annihilation Cannon Sniper】, and 【Quantum Dual Pistols】, turned on the 【Analytical Glasses】 to scan them one by one, then disassembled them one by one, checked the parts...

After doing all this, he assembled the weapons and put them back into the 【Nano Space】, and then took out the motorcycle and armored combat vehicle and 【Dark Alloy Battle Armor】 to start scanning and checking...

After a few hours, most of the weapons had been checked, but after thinking about it, he always felt that something was missing?

Looking at the 【Nano Space】, he noticed that the 【Giant Dark Alloy Battle Mecha】 had never been checked.

Although it had never been used since coming to this world.

To be on the safe side, to ensure that he wouldn't encounter any bad situations in the future, he still had to check it once.

Immediately, he took out the 【Giant Dark Alloy Battle Mecha】 as well.

Vroom!

A fluctuation appeared in the space around the mid-air, and a giant mecha composed of dark red colors fell from the sky.

With a loud "boom," it landed steadily in the courtyard.

"Gaa!" The Kasugai Crow Yuki, who was resting on the tree, was frightened by this loud noise and almost lost its balance and hit the wall.

Looking at the ten-meter-high battle mecha, Zero felt that if Muzan Kibutsuji, that guy with worrying IQ, saw this, would he also run away in a panic?

But the battle mecha also had shortcomings. Although the defense and destructive power were very strong, the agility of the movements was a bit slow, and it also consumed a lot of 【Energy Crystals】.

If agility is compared from 1 to 10, then the agility of the battle mecha can only reach about 8.

But these were not the most important things. At least self-protection was no problem.

"Big Brother Zero, what happened...!?" Hanako, holding the awakened Rokuta, stood at the window and saw that strange steel monster, and her mouth opened wide!

Kie Kamado and the others also walked out of the house, wanting to ask what happened, but they saw this situation, and their expressions became exactly the same as Hanako's!

Kie Kamado was so frightened that she covered her mouth with both hands, and Takeo and Shigeru were even more shocked!

"Master, what are you...?" Xiao Yue flew over and landed on Zero's shoulder, not understanding why he took out the mecha?

"Sorry, Aunt Kie, this was manufactured by me. It's just that it hasn't been used for too long, so I took it out to check it. I'm really sorry for scaring you."

Hearing Zero's explanation, Kie Kamado then recovered and said: "So that's how it is... scared me to death, I thought something happened."

She patted her chest and felt relieved.

Takeo and Shigeru looked at the huge mecha, couldn't help but go up and touch it, looked left and right, and liked it more the more they looked at it.

Takeo: "Big Brother Zero, what is this? It feels so powerful!"

Shigeru: "Mm-hmm, it's really amazing! I have never seen such a big piece of iron!"

Zero: "This is a mecha I manufactured a long time ago. Taking advantage of this time, I took it out to check it."

"Big Brother Zero, you are so amazing!" Takeo and Shigeru looked at Zero with admiration.

"Alright, alright, Takeo, Shigeru, hurry inside and help me cook. It's almost noon!"

"Oh, okay~" x2

Hearing their mother's instructions, Takeo and Shigeru could only leave reluctantly, but they thought in their hearts that if they could sit on it, how good would that be...

Zero looked at Hanako and the others holding Rokuta at the second-floor window and waved. Hanako and Rokuta also waved back in response.

As a result, just as he turned around, he saw a large group of people standing behind him, and was startled!

"Aleh? What's the situation?! Why did you all come?"

Boom!

A loud noise came out, and most of the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters heard it, thinking that an evil demon was attacking, but it was still daytime, and it felt a bit unrealistic.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki immediately ordered people to go and check the source of the loud noise.

Just as he walked out of the house, he discovered a black-red monster standing not far away at Zero's estate, and he was very worried about Zero, so he planned to go with everyone.

"Amitabha, Master, please stay here, let us go and check!"

"Yes, Master, let us go!"......

The Hashira persuaded one after another, but Kagaya Ubuyashiki still couldn't beat everyone and agreed: "Alright, then please everyone must be careful! I don't want to lose any of you."

"Yes!" x11

The ten Hashira and the former Flame Hashira rushed to Zero's estate to check the situation. Shinobu Kocho was the most worried one, afraid that something would happen to Zero.

But when they saw that black-red steel monster, everyone gasped.

Gyomei Himejima couldn't see, but he could feel it.

Hiss!!!

The mecha was just standing there, but it radiated an invisible murderous aura.

This mecha had also experienced countless battles with Zero in the past, conquering and beheading over ten thousand mutant monsters, so it was also stained with quite a bit of murderous aura from the war.

Only Shinobu Kocho stood at the back, but she could only see the upper body of the mecha, not the lower body, and didn't understand what was going on?

The others were tall and all surrounded there, she was short and couldn't squeeze over at all.

Seeing this, Giyu Tomioka reached out and grabbed Shinobu Kocho's back neck, just like picking up a chick, and lifted Shinobu Kocho up all at once...

Shinobu Kocho: (ー`? ′ー)!!!

Giyu Tomioka: No need to thank me.

"Aleh? What's the situation?! Why did you all come?" Zero turned around and saw that everyone had come, and was also startled, asking.

Sanemi Shinazugawa: "Isn't it because of the commotion you guy made!"

Shinjuro Rengoku: "Zero, are you okay? What exactly is this?"

Tengen Uzui: "This is too gorgeous! Zero, what is this gorgeous iron monster? I have never seen such a gorgeous guy! Too gorgeous!"

Muichiro Tokito: "What was this thing again?"

After a good explanation, everyone understood what was going on and sighed at how Zero's brain grew? He could even manufacture this kind of thing!

Although they didn't quite understand how he manufactured it, it didn't hinder their admiration.

Finally, everyone dispersed, only Giyu Tomioka, who was foaming at the mouth and purple in the face, was carried back by Tengen Uzui and Kyojuro Rengoku together. As for the reason...

Shinobu Kocho: "Giyu Tomioka seems to have eaten something unclean. Help me send him to the Butterfly Mansion, I'll help him take a look."

People with clear eyes knew it must be Shinobu Kocho's handiwork. As for why, only Shinobu Kocho understood...

After some twists and turns, Zero also successfully completed the inspection of the 【Giant Dark Alloy Battle Mecha】 and was about to put it back into the 【Nano Space】 when he thought of other things.

To ensure that unnecessary things wouldn't happen, he still took out two hundred 【Energy Crystals】 and injected them into the mecha, stored them, and then put them into the 【Nano Space】.

Thinking about it, he also injected 【Energy Crystals】 into other weapons to store them, not for anything else, just wanting to be cautious.

After all, don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of the unexpected.

After doing all this, Zero then relaxed and took out his diary to write a diary.

【X Month X Day, Daytime, Weather: God is watching a play】

【Today is another leisurely day, those evil demons in the area are now starting to not do their proper jobs...】

Time passes like water, years pass in a hurry.

In the blink of an eye, another half a year passed.

After patrolling his area, Zero went to Mount Sagiri. After all, he had promised Kie Kamado and the others that if he had time, he would go to see Tanjiro and Nezuko for them.

When he arrived at Mount Sagiri, he followed the instructions of the Kasugai Crow and arrived in the forest.

After a period of time, he arrived at the mountainside and saw a small wooden house not far ahead on the forest path.

Just as he was about to move forward, he suddenly sensed some movement around him?!

This was his perception of battle for a long time. He could feel that someone was hiding nearby, preparing to attack himself, but there was no murderous intent.

Seeing this, Zero just smiled slightly, held the handle of the scythe with both hands, and carefully sensed the wind and grass around him.

Swish!

At this instant, a flat slash attacked from the right side behind Zero.

Water Breathing. First Form. Water Surface Slash!

Clang!

With a turn, the scythe and the Nichirin sword collided to produce sparks, resolving this flat slash.

Immediately, he turned the scythe, bounced the Nichirin sword away! The blade supported on the ground to support his body, suspended in mid-air, and kicked over directly.

Water Breathing. Third Form. Flowing Dance!

The attacker also reacted. At the moment Zero's kick was about to arrive, he turned into an afterimage and disappeared from the spot, opening a distance from Zero.

Zero only saw that the person who launched the attack was an old man wearing a red tengu mask.

But he didn't have much exclamation, but in the breath of falling, he turned passive into active, his legs exerted force and kicked hard! He swung the scythe again and chased after him.

Grabbing the tail of the scythe handle, making the attack distance longer, a powerful horizontal sweep attack was thrown over.

Water Breathing. Second Form. Water Wheel!

The old man with the tengu mask did not panic, jumped up directly to dodge the horizontal sweep of the scythe attack, and when he was about to fall in mid-air, launched an attack on Zero's back.

However, all of this seemed to be in Zero's expectation. His body bent forward to dodge the attack, supported his body with one hand on the ground, and flew over again.

This time, he intended to kick the mask directly, wanting to see who exactly was inside?

The tengu mask old man moved a small step to the side and dodged the flying kick sideways.

Immediately launched an attack again.

Water Breathing. Fourth Form. Striking Tide!

This attack was like a tide, launching continuous multi-stage attacks on Zero.

Zero stood up at this instant, grabbed the scythe handle and rotated rapidly around himself, resolving all attacks.

After the attack ended, he carried the scythe and rushed up again.

The movements were done in one go.

Water Breathing. Seventh Form. Drop Ripple Thrust!

A straight-line attack struck, and both the speed and angle were particularly fast, as if ripples were appearing on the water surface!

Seeing this, Zero set up the scythe horizontally in front of him, and the straight-line attack pierced directly from the scythe handle.

Sizzle!

The blade of the Nichirin sword grazed the scythe handle to produce sparks and continued to thrust forward.

Zero's body bent backward to dodge the attack, and then twisted his body, turned the scythe to press against the Nichirin sword, pressed hard, and buckled the Nichirin sword on the ground.

And he himself also jumped up at this instant, came behind the tengu mask old man, grabbed the tail of the scythe handle with one hand, kept a distance from him, and the blade pressed against his neck.

"You lost!"

Listening to the voice coming from behind, this time, Sakonji Urokodaki was shocked.

He didn't expect that the battle experience of this person wearing a cloak and hood was so rich. Without breathing, he could make himself fall into a disadvantage just by battle skills.

Feeling the bone-chilling cold brought by the scythe blade, recalling the battle just now, all of this felt somewhat unreal, but it really happened in front of him.

"Mr. Zero, right? I am Sakonji Urokodaki, the trainer of Water Breathing." Sakonji Urokodaki said while putting away his Nichirin sword and inserting it back into the scabbard.

Former Water Hashira—Sakonji Urokodaki

If it weren't for his sensitive nose, smelling that Zero was a man, and Giyu Tomioka also wrote in a letter.

Otherwise, just by appearance, he would also mistakenly think he was a girl.

Zero also put away his scythe and said: "Just call me Zero. Sorry, for the abrupt disturbance, I came to see Tanjiro and Nezuko. For what just happened, I have offended you."

Sakonji Urokodaki turned around and said: "The old man was just on a whim, wanting to see the legendary person who beheaded the Upper Rank demon and encountered Muzan Kibutsuji and repelled him... what exactly is he like?"

Zero: "Overpraised."

Sakonji Urokodaki: "Let's talk inside. Tanjiro is training on the top of the mountain, and Nezuko is also very good now, but she has been sleeping."

Zero: "Good, then I will disturb you."

Afterwards, Zero followed Sakonji Urokodaki into the house, took off his shoes, and sat down cross-legged.

"Giyu... how is he now?"

"He is very good now, but sometimes he is still not very good at communicating with others."

"Is that so... Giyu is a child I watched grow up, he has always been silent, sigh... Nezuko is in that room, go and see her, the old man will go and prepare dinner."

"Thank you."

Sakonji Urokodaki got up and went out alone, while Zero came to another room, pulled the wooden door and walked in, and closed the door.

Looking at Nezuko, who was sleeping in the quilt with a bamboo muzzle in her mouth, Zero smiled slightly, recalling the scene of meeting Nezuko for the first time.

He came to Nezuko and sat down, gently lifted her head and placed it on his lap, giving her a lap pillow again.

He gently pinched Nezuko's soft and elastic little face.

"You can really sleep, Nezuko. It seems that you should be using this way to restore your physical strength, right?"

From meeting the Kamado family to now, scene after scene of memories flashed in his mind like paintings.

Every thing, every memory, was as if it happened yesterday.

Nezuko's smooth breathing, plus her face, looked like a sleeping beauty.

And he was now checking the information of Sakonji Urokodaki just now.

【Name: Sakonji Urokodaki—Male】

【Age: 70 years old】

【Identity: Demon Slayer Corps Trainer】

【Rank: Former Water Hashira (Retired)】

【Breathing Method: Water Breathing】

【Disciples: Sabito (Deceased), Makomo (Deceased), Giyu Tomioka, Tanjiro Kamado (In training),......】

【Special Ability: Sense of Smell】

【Introduction: Formerly a former Water Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, after retiring from the front line, he lived in seclusion on Mount Sagiri. As a trainer, he cultivates the next generation of members and is deeply loved by his disciples.

The reason why he wears a fierce tengu mask is because he was mocked by demons in the past for his face being too gentle.

Has a unique keen sense of smell, can judge people's emotions through scent, and can also distinguish demons disguised as humans.】

【Note: When he was young, Sakonji Urokodaki was mocked by evil demons because of his overly gentle appearance. It was a suggestion given to him by the former Sound Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps to wear a mask to cover his face.】

"Former Sound Hashira... It seems there is a story in this, mm... I don't know what kind of face Sakonji Urokodaki has under the tengu mask?" Zero thought curiously in his heart...

"Sabito... Makomo... Excluding Giyu Tomioka and Tanjiro, a total of twelve people are deceased... It seems that something should have happened?"

At this time, it was already night outside.

Not long after, Tanjiro's voice came from outside the door: "Mr. Urokodaki, I'm back."

Tanjiro saw that there was no one in the house, thinking that Mr. Urokodaki might have gone out for something, so he wasn't there.

He pulled open the door of the room, wanting to see if Nezuko had woken up, but saw Zero giving Nezuko, who was sleeping, a lap pillow.

"Big Brother Zero?!! When did you come?" Tanjiro was both happy and surprised. He didn't expect Zero to appear here too.

"Long time no see, Tanjiro! I came to see you two siblings. How are you living here?"

"Yes, Big Brother Zero. I am living very well here, Mr. Urokodaki has been teaching me."

"Is that so? By the way, this is for you." Zero took a letter from his bosom, which was entrusted by Kie Kamado to be handed to Tanjiro.

Tanjiro took the letter from Zero's hand, opened it, and basically all of it was the condolences and care of his mother and younger brothers and sisters.

Looking at every word and every sentence in the letter, Tanjiro almost couldn't help crying.

"Thank you, Big Brother Zero!"

"You're welcome. If you want to write a letter to your family, I can help you bring it back."

"Really?! Then I'll trouble you, Big Brother Zero! I'll go take a bath first, and then I'll write it."

Saying that, Tanjiro got up and went to take a bath first. After training for a day, he was covered in mud and sweat.

Clatter!

Just not long after Tanjiro left, Sakonji Urokodaki pulled open the wooden door and walked in, holding several fish that had just been cleaned in his hand.

Zero gently put Nezuko down, covered her with a quilt, and walked out of the room.

Looking at Sakonji Urokodaki, who was boiling fish soup, Zero went up and sat cross-legged opposite him, didn't speak, and also helped Sakonji Urokodaki add firewood to the bottom of the pot.

"You seem very curious why I have always worn a mask?" Sakonji Urokodaki asked. His nose smelled the trace of curiosity on Zero.

"Mm, but this is your personal privacy, even if I am curious, I will not interfere." Zero also generously admitted what he thought.

"Is that so..." Sakonji Urokodaki seemed to be thinking about something, and the action of boiling fish soup in his hand didn't stop for a moment.

Half an hour later.

Tanjiro had also finished his bath, changed into a clean set of clothes, and the fish soup boiled by Sakonji Urokodaki was also completed.

Looking at the white fish soup in the pot, the fragrance permeated.

Tanjiro brought three bowls to Sakonji Urokodaki, and served the fish meat and fish soup in order and handed them to Zero and Tanjiro.

Zero: "Thank you."

Tanjiro: "Thank you, Mr. Urokodaki, I'm starting!"

Afterwards, Sakonji Urokodaki took out another small bowl to serve some fish meat and placed it in front of the Kasugai Crow Yuki beside Zero.

Kasugai Crow Yuki: "Thank you, Water Hashira."

Tanjiro: (*???)!! Woo... crow spoke!

Zero: "Tanjiro, don't be surprised, after you become a Demon Slayer swordsman in the future, you will also have an exclusive Kasugai Crow."

Tanjiro: "Yes, Big Brother Zero, I know."

Sakonji Urokodaki only moved the mask up a bit even when eating, only revealing the position of his mouth.

It was just that this time, he took off the mask, revealing his original face.

Sakonji Urokodaki's true face

This was a face covered with some wrinkles, looking very kind, and also a bit vicissitudes, obviously having experienced many things.

Zero also understood why he did this, it was estimated that it was because of his curiosity...

And Tanjiro on the side was also stunned again. He was also seeing Sakonji Urokodaki's true face after taking off the mask for the first time, a very gentle and kind face.

"Eat, it won't taste good if it gets cold."

Just like that, the three of them and a crow enjoyed the tender fish meat and delicious fish soup, and spent a night here.

Midnight.

Zero couldn't sleep, didn't know what to do next, so he simply came to the top of the mountain alone, feeling the fog and the night wind.

Walking and walking, he arrived at a cemetery, where there were twelve tombstones.

Looking at the names on them, Zero understood that these were the disciples of Sakonji Urokodaki who had passed away. Although he didn't quite understand what was going on, he guessed some of it more or less.

It is estimated that these little babies should have passed away because of participating in the Fujikasane Mountain assessment before he joined the Demon Slayer Corps.

After looking here for a while, he turned around and prepared to leave, but suddenly felt two gazes from behind the trees.

Looking back, he didn't find anything, but he did feel it just now.

【Turn on scan】

【Scanning... No abnormalities found yet】

"Illusion?......"

Just after Zero went down the mountain, two "people" walked out from behind the trees, a man and a woman.

Sabito, Makomo

The male was a boy with flesh-colored medium-long hair, with horizontal stripes in his silver pupils, and a scar from the corner of his mouth to his cheek on the right side. He wore a fox mask with a scar on the corner of his mouth and a tortoise-shell patterned haori interwoven with yellow, orange, and green colors.

The female was a mysterious girl with medium-long ink-green hair, wearing a fox mask with a flower pattern on her cheeks on her forehead.

"What an amazing perception!"

"Yeah, just looking at him made me feel our existence."

"It can be seen that his strength is very powerful."

"Are we not going to see him?"

"Wait until there is a chance to meet him later. That guy in Fujikasane Mountain seems to be a bit irritable recently..."

"Mm... are we going to meet Tanjiro tomorrow?"

"It's not the time yet..."

"I understand."

............ ===== CHAPTER 39 =====