Demon Slayer: Tanjiro becomes a ghost, Nezuko becomes a pillar!

Chapter 21 Urokodaki Sakonji

"Snap!"

On the misty mountain in the early morning, an old man wearing a tengu mask was chopping wood.

Above, an elderly raven was slowly circling, as if confirming its location.

The old man wearing the tengu mask also noticed the kasugata crow, stopped what he was doing, and looked up.

"Hmm? Kanzaburo?"

The old man's voice sounded somewhat puzzled, but he recognized the raven at a glance.

After circling a few times, Kanzaburo confirmed the location, and his slightly aged voice rang out.

"Ah~ Ah~ There's news~ There's news!"

Upon hearing Kanzaburo's words, the old man in the tengu mask raised his arm in confusion, providing Kanzaburo with a place to stand.

Before long, Kuansaburo landed on the old man's arm, with a letter tied to his ankle.

For some reason, the old man stared at the letter on the crow's foot for a long time, hesitating to untie it.

The eyes behind the mask seemed somewhat dazed, and also held a hint of worry.

But after seeing Kanzaburo's normal appearance, the old man seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and slowly unwrapped the letter.

【Mr. Urokodaki Sakonji, please forgive me for omitting the pleasantries!】

Recently, I met a pair of unusual siblings. The brother was turned into a demon by Muzan, but unusually, he didn't attack anyone...

……

After reading the letter, Urokodaki Sakonji glanced at Kanzaburo on his arm.

"Tomioka, I never expected that you, who had everything taken away by the demons, would be willing to believe them. Soga, I understand..."

After Urokodaki Sakonji finished speaking, he released Kanzaburo, glanced at his wooden house, and then ran down the mountain.

"Tomioka, please take good care of yourself!"

After a day's journey, Urokodaki arrived at the foot of the mountain. Although he was old, his keen sense of smell quickly made him notice a dilapidated temple in the distance.

As the former Water Pillar, he quickly abandoned his search for the brother and sister that Giyu Tomioka had mentioned and instead ran towards the temple.

[Are the number of demons increasing? They're here too!]

Urokodaki quickly climbed to the top of a tall tree, wanting to observe the situation inside.

But an unexpected encounter unfolded before his eyes.

The boy-like ghost gradually changed, while the little girl beside him picked up an axe.

When I saw the little girl and the boy who had changed his appearance brush past each other, each facing a ghost.

Urokodaki confirmed that these were probably the brother and sister that Giyu Tomioka had mentioned.

As the battle drew to a close, Urokodaki jumped down and arrived at the temple entrance.

Nezuko and Tanjiro both turned to look at Urokodaki, startled.

At this moment, their nerves were on high alert. The sudden appearance of a man wearing a red tengu mask made Nidouzi instantly think that this was another ghost.

However, Tanjiro sniffed the air and, finding that the masked old man harbored no hostility, gave him a warm smile.

Even with her heightened senses, Midouzi did not perceive any hostility from the other party.

But his doubts only deepened, and after hesitating for a moment, he finally asked.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Urokodaki Sakonji!"

Seeing Nezuko's wary look, Urokodaki gave his name and then looked at Tanjiro, who had a smile on his face.

[It was indeed a ghost, and instead of attacking those around it, it turned on its own kind. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I probably wouldn't have believed that a ghost could retain its humanity!]

Urokodaki looked at Tanjiro and silently made his assessment in his mind.

Upon hearing this name, Midouzi was overjoyed, and her initial wariness completely dissipated.

"Great! We've finally found you, Lord Urokodaki Sakonji. My sister and I are Giyu-san, oh, no, it was Lord Tomioka Giyu who sent us to find you. My name is Kamado Nezuko, and this is my brother... his name is Kamado Tanjiro!"

Midouzi happily recounted the whole story, but when she introduced herself and then her brother, her excited expression slowly faded.

Especially when looking at her brother beside her, although he was not much different from an ordinary person, his blood-red eyes and sharp nails indicated that her brother was already a ghost.

Seeing the expression on Mizuko's face after her introduction, Urokodaki nodded slightly and then pointed to the head wrapped in black cloth that she was holding in her arms.

"Use your axe and chop it to pieces!"

"Wh...what!"

Mizuko looked at Urokodaki Sakonji with some shock, not understanding what he meant for a moment.

Meanwhile, Tanjiro tilted his head and looked at the monk demon's head in Nezuko's arms.

"Even though you've cut off its head, without special swords and sunlight, they will still live. Now, the only thing you can do is smash this head to truly make it disappear!"

Urokodaki explained with a blank expression, but his tone revealed seriousness and absoluteness.

Midouzi subconsciously looked at the head in her arms, then turned to look behind her at the monk's ghostly body, which was wandering around like a headless fly.

However, the crawling ghost, which was already recovering slowly, was trampled on several times by the monk ghost, making its recovery even slower.

However, this scene left Mizuko somewhat bewildered.

She could cut off her brother's limbs without hesitation for his safety.

However, now that the threat is practically a non-existent head, the thought of her cutting it off... well, she just can't bring herself to do it.

"Lord Urokodaki Sakonji..."

Just as Mizuko was about to speak, she found that Urokodaki had appeared in front of her and then snatched the head wrapped in black cloth from Mizuko's arms and threw it on the ground.

"Look closely, they are no longer human. If you don't kill them, they will kill you and your cherished family."

Urokodaki used almost cruel facts to tell Mizuko about the choice she had to make at this moment.

Midouzi stared in shock at the head that had rolled to the side, her mind filled with memories of her family's tragic fate.

Tanjiro stood to the side, tilting his head to look at Urokodaki. He couldn't smell any sign of life from him, so he didn't stop him.

However, a sense of sadness and grief emanated from Midouzi, which made him step forward with some concern and stroke Midouzi's forehead.

Urokodaki watched Nezuko and Tanjiro quietly, noticing the hesitation and struggle in Nezuko's eyes, and thought to himself.

"No, Tomioka, she's too weak. Someone like that can't join the Demon Slayer Corps!"