Chapter 76: Hashira Trial [Part 1]

Along the way, Zero carried Hu Die Ren back to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters; the journey was as smooth as walking on flat ground, without any bumps.

Perhaps it was the sense of security and the body fragrance coming from Zero's back that made Hu Die Ren somewhat fascinated.

Gradually, she fell asleep on Zero's back.

Zero didn't wake her up.

In her dream, Hu Die Ren saw her sister punishing Zero, and couldn't help but reveal a wicked smile.

Afterward, Kanae asked Zero to bring a basin of foot-washing water as punishment to wash her sister's feet.

"Hehehehe~ Stinky brother-in-law, you have today too~ Let you bully me!"

Zero heard the voice coming from Hu Die Ren on his back, and the corners of his eyes twitched slightly; what exactly was she dreaming about?

Returning to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.

The Hashira, including the former Flame Hashira—Shinjuro Rengoku, had all gathered here.

Obanai Iguro was staying in a tree.

Giyu Tomioka stood by a small pond, keeping a distance from everyone.

But, Sanemi Shinazugawa was nowhere to be seen.

"Zero, thank you for your hard work." Kanae came to Zero and said.

Afterward, she woke Hu Die Ren: "Little Shinobu, wake up quickly!"

Hu Die Ren, in a daze, rubbed her eyes, and one could even see a trace of drool from the corner of her mouth dripping onto Zero's back.

"Stinky brother-in-law, what are you still standing there for? Why don't you hurry up and wash my feet!"

The Hashira: ！！！！

The air instantly went quiet, and Hu Die Ren also noticed something was wrong.

She turned her head to look to the side and found that everyone was looking at her with a strange gaze.

Her body was still trembling, as if she were holding back laughter!

Instantly, Hu Die Ren's face turned bright red!

How should she put it? It was somewhat socially dead...

Her hand also touched some dampness on Zero's back; without needing to think, it must be her drool...

Being carried by Zero, she couldn't get down, and she couldn't stay up.

"Little Shinobu, aren't you going to get down yet?" Zero said, his tone even carrying a hint of teasing.

Helpless, Hu Die Ren could only silently get down from Zero's back.

Her feet touched the ground, and she immediately ran to Kanae's side, keeping her head down the whole time.

Not long after, Kakushi members carried the unconscious Tanjiro to everyone and placed him on the gravel ground.

"Hashira-sama!" The Kakushi members bowed respectfully to the Hashira.

Zero recognized this Kakushi member; his name was Goto.

Immediately, Goto woke up Tanjiro, who was unconscious.

"Hey, wake up! Wake up, hey!"

"Wake up quickly, hey!"

"Hey!!"

"How long do you intend to sleep? Hurry up and wake up!!!"

Tanjiro was startled awake by this shouting.

Opening his eyes, he lifted his head and saw a large group of people standing in front of him!

"Zero-aniki!"

"Hey! Look at the atmosphere! Standing in front of you are all Hashira!"

"Hashira!?" Tanjiro had also heard about the Hashira from his trainer.

And Zero was also a Hashira, so he wasn't too surprised.

But seeing so many Hashira for the first time, he was still somewhat shocked.

Hu Die Ren: "This is the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, you are now accepting judgment, Tanjiro Kamado."

Kyojuro Rengoku: "There's nothing to judge! Harboring a demon is a violation of the corps rules! Just leave it to us to handle! As long as it's a demon, then behead it!"

Tengen Uzui: "Then let me flamboyantly cut off his head flamboyantly! I will make his blood splatter flamboyantly! Very flamboyantly!"

Gyomei Himejima: "What a pitiful child, his birth was a tragedy from the start~ Amitabha!"

Mitsuri Kanroji: "Eh! Are we really going to kill him? Can't we wait for the Master to come before making a decision?"

Muichiro Tokito: What shape is that cloud in the sky?

Everyone discussed heatedly, indicating they would handle Tanjiro Kamado themselves.

Besides Zero, Kanae, Mitsuri, and Giyu Tomioka not far away, no one else expressed their opinion.

"Compared to this, how should Giyu Tomioka be dealt with? He also violated the corps rules!" Obanai Iguro, who was in the tree, pointed at Giyu Tomioka standing not far away.

"Why isn't he tied up? It's really giving me a headache! How exactly should he be dealt with?"

Obanai Iguro looked at Giyu Tomioka, who didn't say a word, and felt a burst of annoyance.

Hu Die Ren: "It's fine, compared to this, at least he followed, didn't he?! And... brother-in-law seems to have something to say."

"Wait for the Master to come before deciding everything." Zero said.

Although he said that, Shinjuro Rengoku's emotions seemed somewhat wrong.

He saw the earrings hanging on Tanjiro's ears and seemed to remember something.

"It... it... it's you... you are the user of 【Sun Breathing】, right? Aren't you? Aren't you!" Shinjuro Rengoku roared!

Everyone was somewhat confused because they all felt Shinjuro Rengoku's very angry and puzzled emotions...

Goto knelt on the ground, trembling.

There was no way, the atmosphere at the scene was really too weird!

Plus the powerful aura of the Hashira, he didn't dare to speak at all!

Seeing this, Zero waved at Goto and said: "You go back first, Goto, leave it to us here, don't worry, the Hashira are all here, there won't be any problems."

"Yes, thank you Zero Pillar-sama!" After saying that, Goto quickly withdrew from the scene and hid in a corner not far away to wait for orders.

Shinjuro Rengoku pointed at the earrings on Tanjiro's ears and said angrily: "Kid, answer me! Are you the user of 【Sun Breathing】? Don't tell me you don't know about 【Sun Breathing】! I recognize those earrings of yours!"

"Sun Breathing? I don't understand what you're talking about?" Tanjiro was somewhat confused, not understanding what he was talking about?

"No, you understand! Of course you understand! Sun Breathing... that's right, it's all written there!! Sun Breathing is the ultimate technique of the first breathing method ever born!!

All breathing methods are derivatives of 【Sun Breathing】, all breathing methods are just following in the footsteps of 【Sun Breathing】!! They are all inferior breathing methods that are just poor imitations of 【Sun Breathing】!! Rock, Water, Flame, Wind, Thunder, and all other breathing methods are!!!"

Everyone except Zero was shocked by Shinjuro Rengoku's words.

Afterward, the angry Shinjuro Rengoku left the scene without looking back!

"Father!" Kyojuro Rengoku wanted to step forward to persuade him, but was blocked by Zero, who said: "Kyojuro, let him calm down alone, regarding Sun Breathing... I have already investigated some results."

Kyojuro Rengoku thought for a moment and decided to listen to Zero.

"Umu, thank you very much!"

Afterward, everyone's gaze gathered on Tanjiro, who was lying on the ground again.

Tanjiro was about to speak when a burst of pain hit his chin.

Seeing this, Hu Die Ren took out a small gourd containing pain-relief medicine from her bosom and handed it to Zero.

Zero also understood, took the medicine, placed it in front of Tanjiro, and untied the rope for him.

"Drink it, I put pain-relief medicine in it, drink some before you speak."

Tanjiro didn't care about his image, picked up the small gourd, and drank all the medicine in one gulp.

He felt the pain in his chin get better, and then he said: "... My sister turned into a demon, but she has never eaten a human! She hasn't in the past, and she hasn't until now! She will definitely not hurt anyone!"

"Stop joking around! Because she is your closest relative, you are shielding her! I won't trust anything you say at all!" Obanai Iguro expressed his thoughts.

Regarding demons, he could be said to hate them to the bone, let alone Tanjiro, who brought a demon to kill demons.

"Amitabha, he is possessed by a demon! Kill him now and let this pitiful child be liberated early."

Gyomei Himejima also refused to believe what Tanjiro said...

"Please... please believe me! I will fight alongside my sister! As a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, I fight to protect others!" Tanjiro roared with all his might, hoping they could believe in his sister.

The scene fell into a tense atmosphere again.

"Hey, hey, hey~ something very interesting seems to have happened here~ Hehehehe... is this the swordsman who brought a demon? It's really interesting~"

Sanemi Shinazugawa walked over from not far away, holding a wooden box in his hand.

A very ferocious smile appeared on his face.

"Nezuko!" Seeing that wooden box, Tanjiro wanted to rush forward to snatch it back, but was stopped by Zero.

"Tanjiro, you stand aside, I will handle the next things."

"But, Nezuko..."

"Listen!"

"... Yes, Zero-aniki."

Afterward, Tanjiro honestly stepped back and stood to the side to wait.

"Hey, kid, you just said you would fight as a member of the Demon Slayer Corps with your demon sister to protect humans? Are you... kidding me?!!!"

Ping!

Sanemi Shinazugawa drew his Nichirin blade, preparing to stab the wooden box.

But before he could act, the wooden box in his hand disappeared and appeared in Zero's hand.

"Zero, are you also planning to harbor a demon?" Sanemi Shinazugawa questioned.

He felt confused and angry about Zero's behavior.

At the same time, he was also incomparably shocked in his heart; he didn't understand when Zero had taken the wooden box from his hand?

The speed was so fast that none of the people present had seen it clearly!

But at the same time, he felt a burst of disappointment; he hadn't expected Zero's strength to have reached such a level...

It was simply beyond reach...

"This matter, I already told the Master about it a few years ago..." Zero paused for a moment, then continued: "Wait for the Master to come before deciding everything."

Just then, two voices came from inside the house: "Master-sama, has arrived."

"Everyone is here, my cute swordsmen."

"The weather is really not bad today, the sky is still blue." Kagaya Ubuyashiki came to the door and looked up at the sky.

Hearing this voice, Tanjiro felt his whole body floating.

But before he could react, he was grabbed by Sanemi Shinazugawa and pressed to the ground by his head.

When he lifted his head, he saw all the Hashira present, except for Zero, kneeling on the ground with their heads down.

Even Sanemi Shinazugawa, who had just been irritable, was the same!

"I am really gratified to be able to see everyone gathered together again to participate in the Hashira meeting held every six months." 【76

As the words fell, Kagaya Ubuyashiki's gaze turned toward Zero, and he smiled: "I did not expect you to attend the Hashira Meeting this time as well. Thank you very much."

In past Hashira Meetings, Zero had either been unable to attend due to his duties as a Fujikasane Mountain examiner, or he had let Xiao Yue attend in his stead.

Or, a Hashira Meeting would only be called on short notice if some important intelligence had been gathered.

Zero also nodded and responded with a smile: "It seems your health has recovered quite well; I am also happy and relieved for you."

"Thank you, Zero."

"Master, your subordinate has a question." Sanemi Shinazugawa raised his own query: "Forgive my bluntness, but before the Hashira Meeting begins, could you please provide an explanation regarding this swordsman who carries a demon—Tanjiro Kamado?"

"I apologize for startling you all. In truth, Zero spoke to me about this several years ago, and furthermore... I have accepted Tanjiro and Nezuko, so I also hope that all of you will be able to accept them."

These words instantly caused certain Hashira to bristle as if their fur had been set on end, and they voiced their opposition one after another.

"Amitabha, even if this is a request from the Master, it is difficult for me to comply."

"I also flamboyantly and firmly oppose this! I will not flamboyantly accept a Demon Slayer Corps member who carries a demon!"

"Regardless of which side it is, I will forget it immediately..."

"Cannot be trusted! Absolutely cannot be trusted! Besides, I hate evil demons the most!"

"Umu, I respect the Master from the bottom of my heart, but even so, I absolutely cannot accept this! I oppose it with all my might!"

"I will listen to everything the Master says~"

"Only those who slay evil demons are the Demon Slayer Corps! I hope you will punish the two members, Tanjiro Kamado and Giyu Tomioka."

Kagaya Ubuyashiki placed a finger to his lips, signaling for silence.

Everyone immediately quieted down.

He then looked toward his daughter, Hinaki Ubuyashiki: "Bring out the letter."

"Yes." Hinaki Ubuyashiki took a letter from her bosom and said: "This is a letter sent by the former Water Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki. Allow me to read an excerpt of it to everyone."

"Please forgive Tanjiro for acting in concert with his sister who has turned into a demon. Nezuko still maintains a resilient mental strength and human reason; even during periods of hunger, she remains in a state where she will not eat humans, having spent two years in this manner!

Furthermore, if Nezuko were to attack a human, then Tanjiro Kamado, as well as Giyu Tomioka and Sakonji Urokodaki, will commit seppuku to apologize."

Once the letter was read, everyone fell into silence.

Zero had not expected Sakonji Urokodaki to be so resolute, and he could not help but feel some admiration.

Tanjiro had also not expected that Mr. Urokodaki and Mr. Tomioka would provide such a guarantee for him and Nezuko, which moved him deeply.

"Even so, so what?" Sanemi Shinazugawa still could not accept this: "What good is seppuku? If you want to die that badly, then just go die and rot!! This cannot serve as any kind of guarantee!"

Kyojuro Rengoku also chimed in: "As Sanemi says, once a human is eaten, there is no turning back!! Those who have been killed cannot be resurrected!"

Kagaya Ubuyashiki: "Yes, it is indeed as you say; there is no guarantee she will not attack humans. Conversely, there is also no proof that she will attack humans! After all... the fact that Nezuko has not eaten humans for two years is right before our eyes, and there are even those willing to stake their lives on it!"