Step by step, he walked towards the father and daughter. They could barely move due to their leg injuries, but even if they hadn't been injured, they would have been helpless against Kokushibou.
Hearing footsteps, the daughter in Nakatayama's arms trembled even more violently. She was so frightened that she couldn't even cry.
Nakatayama stopped temporarily after seeing Kokushibou approach and no longer continued to curse Kaigaku.
"Can you spare my daughter?"
He asked Kokushibou with trembling lips.
"Yes…"
Kokushibou uttered two words, then drew his blade of vain cries and stabbed it into both their bodies. As a weapon forged from his own flesh and blood, the blade of vain cries also contained his blood.
As the blood was injected into Nakatayama's daughter's body, the Muzan's blood contained within it immediately caused her body to change.
After a while, when the gnawing sound disappeared, a new demon was born…
Kokushibou had never intended to turn both of them into demons; that would merely be a waste of blood.
What is most attractive to demons is the flesh and blood of their relatives. If two people with a blood relation are simultaneously turned into demons, it is almost certain that the one who transforms first will devour the one who transforms later.
Upper Rank Six was an exception to this; perhaps it was because they willingly became demons, or for some other reason, this situation did not occur with them.
After sending away the newly born demon, Kokushibou looked at Kaigaku, who was in the process of turning into a demon.
"How far you can go… depends on yourself…"
…
"It hurts so much!! It's killing me!! Why do my legs hurt so much?!"
In the ward, Zenitsu's legs were already in casts and wrapped in bandages. He was crying loudly at the moment.
The Hidden member responsible for taking care of him covered his ears, wishing he could just knock Zenitsu out directly in the room.
Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore and walked out, firmly closing the ward door.
The high-decibel shouts quieted down a bit then; the room's soundproofing was still quite good.
"Taking care of the injured is really not easy. I wonder how things are with Goto-senpai. This yellow-haired Corps member is practically tormenting me to death. No wonder the senior turned down the option of taking care of this less severely injured one and chose that unconscious red-haired youth instead…."
It was then that the Hidden member finally let out a sigh of relief, grumbling in distress.
The Goto he mentioned was another Hidden member, currently responsible for taking care of Tanjirou.
Speaking of which, this Goto indeed had a deep connection with the three of Tanjirou. At Mount Natagumo, Tanjirou was kicked unconscious by Kanao, and it was Goto who found the unconscious Tanjirou at that time.
Immediately after the trial of Tanjirou and Nezuko, he was also the Corps member who carried Tanjirou on his back, and when they arrived at the ward, Zenitsu even got snot on his clothes.
Not long ago, he also went to the Entertainment District for post-battle clean-up, and he was the first to find Tanjirou and the others.
After spending such a long time together, Goto also understood the personalities of these three swordsmen. Therefore, when assigning injured members, he generously gave the less severely injured Zenitsu to his junior.
Chiba Yo had just walked to the side of the ward when he heard the Hidden member's grumbling. He remembered it was pretty much the same last time he came to visit Zenitsu in the ward.
"You've worked hard. Zenitsu can indeed be quite noisy often," Chiba Yo said to the Hidden member with some helplessness.
"What do you mean 'a little'! He's practically the noisiest person I've ever met in this world… Eh?" The Hidden member indignantly intended to condemn Zenitsu, but then suddenly realized something was off. He turned his head and saw Chiba Yo.
"Ch-ch-Chiba-sama! Please don't misunderstand. Although this injured member is a bit noisy, I have absolutely taken care of him diligently, without any slack!"
The Hidden member quickly and clumsily explained.
The Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen were objects of reverence for the Hidden members. Those who couldn't fight evil demons due to insufficient talent or various reasons deeply admired these swordsmen, and thus were willing to wholeheartedly take care of them.
"Yes, I know. I'll have to trouble you again in the future." Chiba Yo smiled and said to him, then pushed open the door and walked into the ward, leaving the Hidden member somewhat confused in place.
As a Hashira, why would Chiba-sama come to visit a lower-ranking Corps member? Could it be that this yellow-haired Corps member is his Tsuguko? Then my grumbling just now…
Thinking of this, he suddenly felt uneasy.
As soon as the ward door opened, Zenitsu's cries assaulted Chiba Yo's eardrums. Chiba Yo even wondered why his hearing was still so good despite his loud screams every time. Could it be that high notes could clear one's ears and improve hearing?
"Stop shouting! Your legs won't really be lost!" Chiba Yo closed the door, covering one ear, and shouted at Zenitsu.
Last night's discussion didn't come up with any effective plans, so the Master decided to first search for the so-called blue spider lily as Tamayo suggested. At the same time, he also arranged a residence and research facility for Tamayo near the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters, for her to develop medicines.
Afterward, Chiba Yo, after running a few laps around the Headquarters with Kyoujurou this morning, heard that Tanjirou and the others had finished their surgeries, so he rushed over to visit them.
After hearing Chiba Yo's voice, Zenitsu first froze and stopped crying, then immediately started crying even louder.
"Yo!!! My legs seem to be broken!! And they broke while I was asleep!! How could something like this happen?! Why do strange things often happen every time I wake up?! Waaah, waaah, waaah…"
Chiba Yo had already used Transparent World to observe the condition of Zenitsu's legs. It was merely due to overexertion from using Godspeed. If he had only used Godspeed once, it wouldn't have come to this, as Chiba Yo had already trained Zenitsu to use Godspeed multiple times a day previously.
So, his current state was most likely due to the continuous combined use of Godspeed twice, causing his legs to be unable to withstand such speed and break.
Although it sounds terrifying, with his physical constitution, he would recover very quickly with proper treatment.
"Shut your mouth! I can make sure you don't encounter strange things every time you wake up!" Chiba Yo covered his ears and shouted at Zenitsu.
Hearing this, Zenitsu stopped and asked with some disbelief, "Really?"
"Of course, it's true. When have I ever lied to you?" Chiba Yo replied.
"You lied to me last time when we were on a mission together, and more than once," Zenitsu said, staring at Chiba Yo.
"Ahem, that time it was unavoidable. I was also trying to make you a bit braver. This time, I definitely won't lie to you." Chiba Yo thought about it and realized it was indeed true, then coughed twice and said to him.
"Alright then, I'll believe you one more time," Zenitsu said, believing Chiba Yo.
"This matter also needs Chuntaro's help."
Chiba Yo said to Zenitsu, then reached out his hand towards Chuntaro.
"Come, Chuntaro."
Chuntaro, hearing Chiba Yo's voice, curiously hopped onto his hand. Chiba Yo was still familiar to it.
After Chuntaro hopped onto his hand, Chiba Yo brought it to his mouth, turned around, and quietly said to it, "Next time Zenitsu falls asleep during a mission, pinch his nose with your claws to wake him up."