night

Stove door house.

The empty hilltop was silent, and the cold moonlight covered the forest.

Shortly after the Hidden Team left.

When!

The strange sound of the lute sounded out of nowhere.

Squeak——!

As an abrupt Japanese-style wooden door opened in midair, a warm dim light leaked out.

A panicked figure in a black suit fell from within.

With a click, his feet touched the ground.

The figure on the ground bowed his upper body, sneakily and very carefully looking around.

The two scarlet eyes looked nervously left and right, so conspicuous in the dark night.

Long.

“… Absence. ”

With fine sweat on his miserable white forehead, he seemed to finally breathe a sigh of relief, and straightened his upper body with a long sigh.

The hand kept soothing his chest, and the seven hearts in his body were beating violently.

Narrow, scarlet eyes narrowed.

Just as imagined.

That guy was too busy dealing with Tong Mo to take care of his own side.

Tong Mo, well done.

Case!

"And then there's it!"

Wu Miao regained the momentum of the ghost king of the past, his face turned cold, and he suddenly turned his head to look at the location where Naruto's blood ghost art saw.

That clump of blue buds!

Unable to suppress the excitement in his heart, he faintly shouted:

"The other side of the cyan side—"

But.

“？”

The next moment.

When Wu Miao's excited gaze flickered left and right twice, he finally determined that the scene in front of him was the same as the cyan flower cluster he saw before.

The expression of excitement and excitement gradually became stunned.

The voice also suddenly deepened:

“…… Flower ——? ”

He frowned tightly and took hesitant steps.

Slowly walked over to the clump, black, withered and rotten grass.

His face leaned down like dead ashes, and his two fingers twisted the withered flower buds on the other side.

Front.

The flower cluster that was shoveled away by the Hidden Guards seemed to be for some reason.

It's all withered at the moment.

Not even a single brilliant cyan could be seen.

Completely turned into a damp, dark, disgusting sludge.

Smack.

The withered branches and leaves that had been twisted up by Wu Miao swayed twice in the gaze of his red eyes, and snapped apart.

Fall to the ground.

His gaze gradually became dull as the buds landed.

"Ahh

No miserable look, mouth half open, meaningless whimpering.

Suddenly.

"Ahh

His pupils trembled, he clutched his head violently, and fell to his knees as if his whole body was out of strength, not paying the slightest attention to the mud-stained suit.

Desperate and helpless shouted.

"-Ahhh!?!h

The bright moon above his head hung in the middle of the sky, and the moonlight tilted on Wu Miao's body.

"Why?!"

The pale expression was faintly crazy.

Bang!

He thumped to the ground in front of him.

"It's just a little bit of time, and it's withered?!"

"In front of me!"

Wu Miao was stunned and bloodshot.

Kneeling on the ground, clenching the withered buds on the ground with his palms, the black sludge squeezed out from between his fingers:

"Ahhh

He let go of his palms tremblingly, and lay down in embarrassment, wrapping his arms around the mudflats in front of him, his eyes full of unacceptability.

Even the thought of "whether it will have an effect if you eat this mud directly" popped up in my mind.

opened his mouth slightly, raised the mud in his hand, his eyes were dull, and he put it towards his mouth:

"Obviously, when that human found out, it was so lush..."

Suddenly.

Wu Miao's eyes kept looking, and something seemed to flash between his five brains.

The movements in the hands also stagnated.

- The human just now.

- He remembers, it seems to have brought a cyan flower...

- The buds in front of me have become mud, and the one that has been taken away...

I can't think about why the buds withered, and whether the buds that were taken away would wither.

He didn't dare to think about it.

At the moment, only one sentence echoed in my mind.

There's one left!

Take a deep breath.

"Naruto——!!"

The ghost king's long roar echoed among the mountains and forests, and the birds that had fallen asleep were awakened and flew out of the woods with their wings.

Swish!

The figure lying on the ground disappeared in an instant.

……

Soon.

Squeak——!

In midair, a wooden door opened again, and the palms of the black nails poked out of it.

Smack!

He grabbed a handful of mud from the ground.

Withdraw.

Syllable!

Then he slammed the wooden door shut.

……

……

Yamashita.

The screams of no misery also spread here.

Lives alone at Saburo's house at the foot of the mountain.

Squeak –

The old windows were slowly pushed open.

“… Is it coming again? Saburo poked his head out of it and looked nervously in the direction of the top of the mountain.

The voice.

He frowned slightly, his eyes full of solemnity.

In the hands of Saburo.

Clutching a rudimentary-looking musket that seemed to be well-maintained.

As an elderly person who lives in the mountains all year round, it is natural to carry a shotgun with you for self-defense.

The old hand was white and trembling, and his fingers trembled on the trigger.

Saburo exhaled slowly.

He walked out of the house with his musket on his back.

Last time, after meeting someone who called himself a ghost slayer.

It seems that because of the high status of the polite young man with facial paralysis.

A knife smith who muttered "I'm determined to create a new era for the Demon Slayer" came to the door.

The man cursed and grinned, "Those old old-fashioned people in the Forging Knife Village really don't understand how to be flexible." ”

One side stuffed himself with such a gun.

and three bullets of special qualities.

……

……

The other side.

In front of the windowsill.

"Karma! I understand! Karma! ”

The pitch-black crow brushed its feathers, its yellow eyes twitching twice.

"Hmmm! Please! ”

The hidden team member who had just shoveled the buds smiled, and carefully handed the box where the buds were stored to the crows in front of him:

"Please be sure to put it in the hands of Butterfly-sama!"

The pitch-black crow in front of him nodded, and after a loud scream, it flapped its wings and flew into the sky.

After watching the crows fly farther and farther away.

The Hidden Team members withdrew their gaze.

He walks outside all year round, and when he finds something, he gives it to the crow.

I am rushing to the next discovery.

"Let's go." He muttered to himself, tightening his backpack behind his back.

……

……

Soon after.

High altitude.

Whew!

The crow flew high in the blue sky with a wooden box in its mouth and flapping its wings, its eyes fixed on the thin clouds.

The familiar appearance of the house has come into view.

Butterfly House.

"Wow! What a serious injury! ”

"This way! The swordsman here also needs to stop the bleeding! ”

"Wait!"

"Hey! I'm dying! ”

The hermits were running around in a hurry.

The butterfly house is not very quiet at night.

It seems that because the butterfly ninja who is the main force is not there, it seems to be extremely busy.

"Everyone..."

Tanjiro stood helplessly outside the ward, holding a tray full of medicines in his hand, looking at the panicked crowd in front of him.

Then.

"Karma!! Tanjiro!! ”

In the sky behind them, the voice of a crow was heard:

"Catch!"

Tanjiro subconsciously turned his head away.

In the field of vision, constantly enlarged, is a long box.

His pupils narrowed slightly.

He staggered back and took the opportunity to free a hand from under the tray.

Raise your hand suddenly!

Syllable!

Caught the falling box steadily.

"Caught it!" Tanjiro maintained the [transformation] movement, stabilized his center of gravity, and a drop of cold sweat dripped from his forehead.

"Karma!" The crow landed on Tanjiro's shoulder, and he looked up proudly: "It's Tanjiro!" ”

"It's not something to be complacent."

Tanjiro looked at the box in his hand that was safe and sound, breathed a sigh of relief, and shook his head helplessly:

"It's something important, what if it's damaged.

"Not next time."

"Karma! Got it! ”

The jay seemed to be unconcerned, and lowered its head to comb its feathers.

Then.

"What's wrong, Tanjiro."

Aoi Zhi wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel, she was helping a wounded swordsman stop the bleeding, and turned her head to look at her suspiciously:

"I heard a loud noise."

"Brother!"

Hanako also hurriedly looked over.

"Ahh ”

Takeo stood aside, looking at Tanjiro's appearance, a little distracted:

"Brother."

Tanjiro noticed Takeo's gaze and looked sideways in confusion.

"The tone of the voice... No. Takeo said in a daze.

In his eyes, Tanjiro's figure overlapped with someone familiar.

Looks, figures, tones, everything—

Zhuxiong was stunned, and muttered in his mouth:

"—like my father."

"I think so too!" Shigeru coaxed on the sidelines.

"Because we're family." Aoi smiled and rubbed Shigeru's head.

"Karma!" The crow snorted coldly.

"Ahh As if awakened by a crow, Tanjiro reacted violently.

casually put the wooden box in the tray and looked at the few people in front of him:

"Patronizing and chatting, completely forgot to help!"

In the hospital room.

The yellow-haired swordsman who was struck by Lei for the second time while practicing swordsmanship raised his burnt arm in a dying state.

And in a place where a few people don't care.

Deep in the crow's feathers.

Smack.

A small eyeball, slowly opening the eye.

It's like there's an endless desire to explore.

The pupils of the eyes quickly looked around!

The eye catches everything around him, and the speed of his gaze moves faster.

The smiling Tanjiro, the panicked hermit, the Aoi branch, Takeo, Shigeru, Hanako on the side-

- Everything is reflected in the mirror-like pupils of the eyes.

(End of chapter)