Chapter 112 The Road Ahead and the Selection

"I see."

Iwakatsu nodded and walked past him into the house. As they passed each other, Yoriichi Tsugikuni grabbed his wrist.

"?!"

Iwakatsu was startled and tried to shake off the hand, but his wrist was firmly locked. He frowned slightly and was about to speak when Yoriichi Tsugikuni pulled Iwakatsu's hand up and pressed his forehead against the jade-like back of his hand.

"Brother, I heard there's a summer festival in the neighboring town soon. Would you like to come with me?"

Yoriichi's body temperature was slightly elevated, and Iwakatsu felt as if his hand was being burned, making him extremely uncomfortable. Iwakatsu tried to pull his hand away, but he couldn't move it at all.

"knew."

"Thank you, elder brother."

When Ji Guoyuan looked up, his eyebrows curved slightly, a sight that made Yan Sheng feel even more annoyed, and his stomach involuntarily twitched.

Iwakatsu always had a feeling that Yoriichi Tsugikuni knew he had all his memories. He didn't know when it started, but the other party had been subtly sending out bait.

Did I reveal something? Yan Sheng frowned as he looked at the calm-faced person in front of him, pondering the question.

Iwakatsu felt that even if he and Tsugikuni Iwakatsu were the same person, there were actually many differences between them, so there was no possibility of him unconsciously revealing his identity.

Yan Sheng forcefully pulled his hand back, turned around and walked into the house, ignoring the person behind him, and closed the door tightly.

Yoriichi Tsugikuni stood there with his eyes downcast until the morning sun shone on him.

It's so similar, so very similar to my older brother when I was a child, even more so than when I first saw him again.

Yoriichi Tsugikuni noticed this over their long time together: it wasn't habits or personality that had remained unchanged. It was definitely their perspective on things.

Yoriichi Tsugikuni remembered that he noticed his older brother's way of thinking was different when he was in the Demon Slayer Corps. He had a more methodical and deliberate approach to things, but things were different now.

Yoriichi Tsugikuni shook his head; all he wanted to do now was stay by Iwakatsu's side.

——

The final selection was conducted by Fujisakuyama.

Tanjiro Kamado followed the steps covered in wisteria blossoms to the mountaintop, where he saw many other people who had come to participate in the competition.

"Hello everyone, thank you for participating in tonight's final selection."

A pair of twins dressed in purple kimonos and carrying lanterns appeared before the crowd. They were almost identical except for their different colored inner garments and their hair, one black and one white.

"Many demons, captured alive by numerous demon-slaying swordsmen, are imprisoned in this Fujikasa Mountain, and they cannot leave this place."

"That's because the most hated wisteria flowers bloom year-round from the foot of the mountain to the halfway point."

The two spoke in turns, each uttering a line, creating an ethereal effect.

"But from here on, there are no more wisteria flowers, only ghosts. If you can survive here for seven days, you can pass the final selection."

"Then the final selection begins."

As soon as the two finished speaking, everyone sprang into action, rushing along the path into the woods.

As soon as Tanjiro Kamado entered the forest, he encountered two demons. These two strangely-looking demons argued and charged at him.

Trapped in this mountain, the two demons hadn't eaten human flesh in a long time. Kamado Tanjiro placed his hand on his sword and, following the scent of the thread, slew it.

"Water Breathing, Unleashed Form, Tide of Strike".

Tanjiro Kamado watched the demon gradually dissipate with joy. It was the first time he had killed a demon with his own hands, proving that his efforts had not been in vain.

As he was about to leave, a putrid smell wafted over, causing him to instinctively cover his nose.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!"

The piercing screams caught Tanjiro Kamado's attention, and he saw a man running towards him.

"How could there be such a huge alien monster? I've never heard of such a thing!"

The black-haired man rushed over in a panic, followed by a terrifying alien covered in arms.

Except for its head, the ghost's body was covered in long arms, making it appear to be over two meters tall. One of its arms was gripping a person's neck, clearly indicating that it was already dead.

This bizarre scene shocked Tanjiro Kamado.

As the long arm grew longer, it grabbed the black-haired man's ankle and lifted him up sharply.

Tanjiro Kamado, sweating profusely, stared intently at the terrifying demon and drew his sword.

Don't be afraid, it's okay. Save him. I'm not the weak and helpless person I used to be.

"Water Breathing - Second Form - Waterwheel".

He charged forward with the blade of the water-like sword, spun like a top, and severed the elongated arm.

Ghost Hand rolled its eyes, looked at the disaster-averting mask on his head, and couldn't help but sigh.

"Another cute little fox has arrived. Little fox, what year of the Meiji era is it now?"

Tanjiro Kamado stood in front of the black-haired man, gripping his sword tightly with both hands, staring into the terrifying eyes of the demon hand looking down at him.

"This is the Taisho era..."

His words provoked the ghost hand, and the arms wrapped around his body twitched because of his agitation.

"Aaaaaaahh ...

Ghost Hand screamed, and the surrounding area began to tremble slightly at his voice.

"Shirin Taki, Shirin Taki, Shirin Taki, I'm going to kill him! Aaaaaaah!"

Tanjiro Kamado opened his mouth, unable to comprehend the thoughts of the demon before him.

"Why do you hate Professor Urokodaki so much?"

"Because of him, he's the one who captured me and, taking advantage of my serious injuries, struck me as I tried to escape. Back then, he was still a demon hunter during the Edo period."

While Tanjiro Kamado was in shock, the black-haired man behind him shouted excitedly, "Liar! There can't be any demons living that long here. At most, they only eat two or three people. The demons killed during the selection process also kill each other. It's impossible for any demon to live that long."

“I am still alive. In the cage of the vine flowers, I have already eaten 48 little devils.”

His mocking voice triggered a memory for Tanjiro Kamado. He recalled that Sakonji Urokodaki had told him that demons grow stronger by eating people, and some demons can even change their bodies and acquire demonic powers. If you have a sensitive nose, you can even smell exactly how many people they have eaten.

"Ten, eleven, twelve, you are the twelfth."

The demon pointed at Tanjiro Kamado and gestured, sending chills down Tanjiro's spine. For some reason, he felt that this number was not a good thing.

"What are you doing?!"

"I've been counting how many of Urokodaki's disciples I've swallowed, and I've decided to kill his disciples."

Ghost Hand's eyes curved into a mocking smile, and he seemed to have thought of something, which made him dissatisfied.

"There were two people, two people ran away. The kid with pink hair and a scar on his lip was the strongest, but unfortunately I still managed to crush his organs. He's probably ruined now, hahaha."

"That little girl in the patterned clothes wasn't very strong, but she was very agile. If it weren't for my injury, I could have torn her limbs off."

He looked at the mask on Tanjiro Kamado's head, and his smile deepened.

"I remember the way that fox mask was carved. Urokodaki himself also wore a mask that looked like a tengu, and they were carved in the same way. What was it called? A disaster-averting mask, I guess."

"What a pity, that's why I killed them, just like Urokodaki Sakonji killed his apprentice, hahahahahahaha."

As Tanjiro Kamado listened, his grip on the hilt of his sword tightened. He gritted his teeth and charged forward, swinging his blade to sever the arms blocking his way.

"Bang—".

The suddenly appearing giant arm sent him flying, crashing heavily into a tree trunk.

Blood slid down his forehead, and just as the ghostly hand was about to succeed, a familiar figure appeared in front of him; the boy was looking at him.

"elder brother!"