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A Kasugai Crow flapped its wings, soaring over Tokyo Prefecture.
At the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters, Kagaya Ubuyashiki drank the medicinal soup from his bowl, letting the Kasugai Crow perch on his shoulder.
"Lower Moon Three, Yamai, from Mt. Muyun, has been vanquished! The demon slayer is Demon Slayer Corps Kanoe-ranked swordsman Takanashi Haruto!"
Kagaya's hand, which was setting down the medicine bowl, paused. It wasn't until the Kasugai Crow repeated the message twice that a smile finally appeared on his face.
On Mt. Sagiri, Giyuu, bare-chested, cut through several bundled wooden stakes with a single stroke. He was stunned when he heard Kanzaburo's message: "He killed a member of the Twelve Kizuki... Doesn't that mean he can become a Pillar?"
Makomo, who was beside him, was carefully re-wrapping a wisteria vine around her sword guard, exclaiming, "As expected of Haruto-nii."
In a village somewhere in Tokyo Prefecture, Sabito stroked the Kasugai Crow's head, his silver eyes filled with keen interest: "Twelve Kizuki..."
In the Swordsmith Village, Gyomei Himejima's Kasugai Crow, Zekkai, was reporting the incident to the Great Monk and Godou River.
Gyomei clasped his hands together and, for the first time in a long while, showed a smile: "It seems the Pillars' ranks are about to grow."
Only Godou River lowered his head then raised it again, quietly asking, "Is Haruto... doing well?"
Haruto, he wasn't doing well right now.
The Kakushi team arrived just in time. They laboriously pulled Haruto's nichirin blade from the tree, collected the priest's remains, and transported the unconscious Haruto to a nearby Fuji no ie (Wisteria House).
Haruto's body was covered in wounds, big and small, making him look like a broken doll.
All the bones in his body looked as if he had been hit by a train; his chest had almost no intact bones.
The penetrating wounds from the vines and branches were also extremely difficult to treat; the plant matter left inside his body was like barbed dog teeth, stubbornly biting into Haruto's muscles.
The healer at the Fuji no ie (Wisteria House) feared infection, so they could only dig out the flesh along with the vines and branches.
The surgery lasted all night, and the blood that flowed out soaked more than a dozen bedsheets.
"If it weren't for Constant Concentration Breathing, Mr. Takanashi might have died long ago."
Haruto lay in the Fuji no ie (Wisteria House) for a week, his life hanging by a thread.
Aside from his faint breathing, which proved he was alive, his face was as pale as a corpse.
A week later, he woke up and saw Sora by his bedside.
"If you're still alive, come to Headquarters after you've recovered."
Sora opened his mouth: "These are the Master's exact words."
Footsteps sounded outside the door, and a boy with long, pinkish-red hair poked his head in: "Hey, you're awake."
Haruto was in excruciating pain; every bone and muscle in his body screamed that they wanted to die. He could only breathe deeply, letting the oxygen soothe him.
But deep breaths always caused his chest to rise and fall, and so his shattered sternum felt like it was riding on his head and beating him up, making him feel groggy all over.
"Why is it you again?" Haruto struggled to utter a hoarse voice from his throat: "Are you working part-time at the Fuji no ie (Wisteria House)?"
Sabito chuckled, holding up his tightly bandaged arm: "Have some conscience, will you? I'm injured, and I still came all this way to see you.
Now tell me, the Twelve Kizuki, how did you do it?!"
It was then that the true feeling of having killed a Lower Moon Three finally surged into his heart.
Haruto blinked, looking at the ceiling, then let out a long, lingering sigh of relief: "He ate a priest, and that was a rare blood type..."
He was so fast, he could use ninjutsu, and his Blood Demon Art was bizarre... If it weren't for the rare blood taking effect within Yamai's body, Haruto estimated that even if he rewound time three times, he might not have been able to kill Yamai.
Sabito heard the disappointment in his tone, so he smiled gently and sat by his bedside.
"A swordsman's strength is always improved through actual combat.
This time was very difficult, but when the same opponent appears before you again after your injuries heal, you'll be able to deal with him easily.
It's the same for the Pillars; their limits are broken in actual combat. Compared to other swordsmen in your cohort, you are already exceptionally outstanding."
Listening to his comforting words, Haruto's mood indeed brightened a little.
A knock sounded, and the female healer from the Fuji no ie (Wisteria House) pushed the door open, carrying a medicine tray: "Mr. Takanashi, it's time to change your dressing."
"Do I need to leave?" Sabito pointed to himself.
"You can go downstairs; everyone is preparing lunch," the healer politely nodded, but then looked up and saw the white-haired boy's large eyes.
"Lunch?"
The female healer nodded: "That's right, today we have black pork sent from the village. Everyone is discussing whether to make gravy pork cutlet donburi or grilled black pork."
His eyes widened.
"Black pork."
Sabito covered his face, constantly giving the female healer a look: "Please, don't say any more!"
"Or perhaps stew it to make pork ramen..."
His pupils dilated.
"Nonsense! Of course it should be braised—ouch!"
A desperate roar echoed through the Fuji no ie (Wisteria House). Sabito covered his ears: "I told you to be quiet!"
"I want to eat."
"How will you eat? Chewing and swallowing will be very painful!"
"I want to eat."
Sabito used his ultimate move: "Even if you're not afraid of the pain of chewing and swallowing, you'll still need to relieve yourself, won't you?"
He gestured to his injured hand: "I can't help you with that. Do you want this lovely young lady to help you?
Please, you're a Breathing Technique swordsman; skipping a few meals won't kill you!"
The rain soaked the sky, ruining it in a refined way.
Haruto, whose wounds had been agitated by his roaring, lay on the bed, silently shedding tears.
Sabito ultimately did not abandon his teammate to enjoy the delicious food himself. He watched the female healer peel back the bandages covering Haruto, and the sight of those wounds made his scalp tingle.
"It's a good thing the penetrating wounds avoided the chest and abdomen, otherwise..."
The healer shook her head, removed the medicated cotton filling the holes, and then inserted new medicated cotton.
"If it hurts, you can cry out," the female healer sighed with sympathy; just watching such pain made her feel breathless.
You see, tears were welling up in the white-haired boy's eyes.
Several days later, the powerful vitality of a Breathing Technique swordsman became apparent.
After the finger-thick blood holes healed, Giyuu arrived after completing his mission, and together with Sabito, whose arm had recovered, they carried Haruto back to Mt. Sagiri on a stretcher.
Actually, there was no need to rush so much, but Haruto knew that Makomo was going to participate in this year's Final Selection.
Having lived on Mt. Sagiri for more than half a year, this light-voiced, lively, and adorable girl had become like a true younger sister to him.
When their younger sister was going to such a major selection, they, as her older brothers, naturally had to be there.
"Haruto-nii!"
Seeing the three appear at the foot of the mountain, Makomo dropped the firewood in her hands and shrieked as she rushed towards them.
"Gently, gently, you silly girl!" Sabito, who had been running all day, wrapped a hand around the girl's head, stopping her from pouncing: "Quick, go make up the bed!"
Haruto laboriously raised his hand and tugged at Sakonji Urokodaki's blue patterned haori: "Urokodaki-sensei..."
The Great Tengu mask gazed at him.
The boy, weak yet firm, said: "Black pork..."
"I want to eat black pork."