"Thank you all for coming to the Demon Slayer Corps Final Selection tonight. In this Fujikasa Mountain, the demons captured by the Demon Slayers are imprisoned, but the demons cannot leave because there are wisteria flowers from the foot of the mountain to the mountainside. However, there will be no wisteria flowers further ahead. If you can survive in the area ahead for seven days, that is the requirement to pass the final selection."
The two spoke calmly about the basic requirements for the final selection. Upon hearing that passing the final selection only required surviving for seven days, some people breathed a sigh of relief, while others held their breath.
The requirement is not to kill the ghost, but simply to survive, which indirectly illustrates the cruelty of the ghost.
As the two finished speaking, they made way for the path leading up the mountain, and the group took steps forward, one by one, towards the mountain where ghosts were said to exist.
"Sis, what tactics do you think we should adopt?"
"Tactics? Of course, it's killing! Indiscriminate killing! Frenzied killing!"
"………………"
Chinatsu crossed her arms and exhaled two puffs of air from her nostrils. Tanjiro, standing beside her, twitched slightly at the corner of his mouth, thinking to himself that perhaps it would be better to play it safe at this moment...
Suddenly, he caught a whiff of a ghost, and almost instantly he realized it was above him.
"Sister, watch out!"
Tanjiro immediately drew the sword from his waist and struck in the direction from which the demonic scent was emanating.
Whoosh!
The sound of a sword clashing, clear as flowing water, rang out. Tanjiro had intended to block the attack of the charging demon, but in the blink of an eye, the blade in his hand actually severed the demon's outstretched hand.
Tanjiro: Huh? A... staged accident? ? ?
Tanjiro blinked in bewilderment. This was completely different from the script he had imagined. Were all the demons here so weak? Or was this demon trying to scam him or mislead him?
It should be... the latter, right?
Tanjiro gripped his swords tightly with both hands, exhaling and exhaling, perfecting the cycle of Water Breathing, when he smelled the scent of a demon again.
Behind, behind my sister!
Tanjiro turned his head, intending to remind Chinatsu, but saw that Chinatsu had already drawn her sword and quickly raised it behind her back, defending against the attack from the demon that was about to rush over in the next second.
Chika took a deep breath, and with a sharp turn, she unleashed the first form of Water Breathing, "Water Surface Slash," instantly severing the neck of the demon behind her.
"Tanjiro, hurry up over there too."
"Oh... okay, sure!"
Upon hearing this, Tanjiro quickly snapped out of his daze and stared intently at the low-level demon whose arm had been severed and was now regenerating.
If my sister can do it, so can I!
Tanjiro took a deep breath. He didn't need to deliberately enter the "Total Concentration" state to unleash the power of his swordsmanship, because he and Chinatsu had already mastered "Total Concentration: Normal Mode," and their bodies were always maintaining a low-consumption version of "Total Concentration."
"Fourth Form: The Tide of Strike!"
Tanjiro took a step, and water ripples gushed from his blade. In the blink of an eye, he was behind the demon that had been in his line of sight.
The sound of flowing water faded away, and the ghost's head separated from its body.
"Well done! That was a brilliant water-based head-cutting strike!"
Chinatsu clapped her hands with her eyes narrowed, and Tanjiro's lips twitched slightly. Although he was used to the nicknames his sister gave to the various Water Breathing techniques, he still couldn't help but retort.
"This is a tidal wave of attacks..."
Despite his complaints, Tanjiro was even more surprised that he had dealt with this low-level demon so easily.
Am I incredibly powerful now?!
Tanjiro gripped the blade tightly, his face showing excitement and joy. After all, he had been training in the mountains for two years, always being outdone by his sister. His opponents were either his sister or his master Urokodaki. Tanjiro had always thought that his strength was far from sufficient.
I'm already this strong!
Tanjiro was only happy for a few seconds when Chinatsu delivered another "love chop" to his forehead with a soft thud. Chinatsu didn't use much force this time because she knew the hardness of Tanjiro's skull; using force would only be asking for trouble.
Are you still planning to play it safe until the end?
"No! Now that I have the power to defeat demons, I should kill as many demons as possible!"
"Great, very energetic. How about I take charge of the east side and you take charge of the west side?"
"no problem!"
Tanjiro and Chinatsu decided to split up and, just like Sabito did back then, carry out a thorough cleanup of the demons in Fujikasane Mountain, especially that demon that clearly shouldn't exist in the beginner village.
"Water Breathing - Water-Based Headcut!"
Chinatsu wielded her blade, using the fourth form of Water Breathing, and cleared away the demons she encountered at high speed.
The demons that exist on Fujikasayama are all low-level demons. Anyone who can survive among these low-level demons for 7 days can become a formal member of the Demon Slayer Corps. This rule has certain requirements and is quite reasonable.
However, a demon that was significantly stronger than the low-level demons appeared on Fujikasake Mountain. It reigned supreme on Fujikasake Mountain, and many promising talents who should have passed the qualification line were nipped in the bud.
Of course, for those who have already mastered "Total Concentration - Normal", whether it is "Vine Mountain Attack - Ghost King" or a large number of low-level ghosts, it is just a matter of one strike versus several strikes.
After slaying several low-level demons who came to their deaths along the way, Chinatsu still couldn't find the "Demon King." Thinking that she might have gone too far or was in Tanjiro's territory, she stopped and turned around to turn back.
Just then, her gaze caught sight of a girl in a pink, kimono-like outfit not far away.
Chestnut Blossom Falls - Kanao!
In the original work, she is the strongest person in the final selection at this stage. She is a disciple of "Flower Pillar", one of the strongest members of the Demon Slayer Corps. It can be said that if low-level demons come to her one by one in a regular manner, she can even become a new Pillar by "one of the only two conditions for becoming a Pillar: killing 50 demons".
Of course, under the same circumstances, replacing Kanao with Chinatsu and Tanjiro wouldn't be a big problem either. After all, if the low-level demons came one by one head-on, they, who have reached the "normal level", could easily deal with them. At most, their stamina might be a little problematic.
However, most demons are not social creatures, so finding just 50 demons would take a lot of time, not to mention the various situations that could lead to death during the battle...
Upon seeing Kanao, Chinatsu immediately abandoned her plan to turn and run away, and instead looked at Kanao with both eyes.
There was a low-level demon in front of Kanao, trying to lock onto her as its prey so it could have a good meal. Chinatsu commented that this demon really knew how to pick its opponents; it probably thought Kanao looked harmless and was easy to bully.
The demon opened its mouth, revealing its sharp fangs, and after gathering its strength, it charged swiftly towards Kanao, extending its equally sharp claws.
Whoosh!
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