Why did Horitake need to compensate Zenitsu?
Wasn't it because Nezuko had been snatched by him in advance?
Nezuko was already his, so it was absolutely impossible to give her to Zenitsu. This was Horitake's bottom line.
But without Nezuko, what would Zenitsu do?
Horitake had no doubt that with Zenitsu's personality, after losing Nezuko, he would truly be unwanted by anyone, and he would truly be destined to be alone for life.
To cause his junior disciple to be lonely for life because of himself, Horitake truly felt a bit guilty.
Now, encountering Yae, Horitake discovered that this girl's personality should be able to handle Zenitsu, and her attractiveness absolutely met Zenitsu's requirements.
Thus, Horitake had the idea of setting them up.
If Zenitsu and Yae could be together and find happiness, then he would consider that his compensation to Zenitsu.
This was Horitake's thought.
Facing Shinobu Kocho's doubts, Horitake certainly couldn't explain why he felt bad about Zenitsu, nor could he mention Nezuko's matter.
He could only vaguely prevaricate:
"Anyway... I did something that I feel bad about regarding my junior disciple, and he doesn't even know about it.
I feel guilty towards my junior disciple, so I want to help him find a partner as compensation.
Of course, this is just a vague idea of mine; it's still far from becoming a reality.
After we slay this demon, I'll ask Yae for her thoughts and see if I can persuade her to join the Demon Slayer Corps and go to my master's place."
Shinobu Kocho gently chided Horitake:
"What do you mean 'persuade her to join the Demon Slayer Corps'? Your word choice is too unpleasant. Our Demon Slayer Corps is clearly a legitimate organization."
"Yes, a legitimate organization, unrecognized by the government. What a legitimate organization!"
Shinobu Kocho couldn't be bothered to argue with Horitake on this point.
Frowning, her eyes shifting, she smilingly brought up the question that had bothered her earlier:
"By the way, Horitake-san, what about that Tanjirou and his sister Nezuko you mentioned just now?"
Horitake's heart immediately sank!
As expected of Sister Shinobu, her intuition is so sharp!
Even though Horitake had already tried to brush it off, Shinobu Kocho still instinctively found Horitake's weak point.
Horitake suppressed his internal panic and spoke evasively:
"Ah, Sister Shinobu is referring to my little brother and his sister.
My little brother, Kamado Tanjirou, and his sister, Kamado Nezuko.
As I just said, about this time last year, their family was wiped out by a demon. All of the siblings' family members perished; it was very tragic.
Coincidentally, Tomioka Giyuu was passing by at the time and saved them.
Afterward, Tomioka Giyuu introduced Tanjirou to his master, Sakonji Urokodaki.
Later, the siblings encountered a demon on their way to Mount Sagiri.
At the critical moment, the siblings were saved by me, who happened to be passing by, and that's how I met this little brother.
After that, I escorted the siblings all the way to Mount Sagiri and went to great lengths to ask Senior Urokodaki to take Tanjirou as his disciple.
And so, my relationship with this little brother, Tanjirou, grew stronger and stronger.
That's how it is."
Shinobu Kocho rested her chin on her hand, exuding her charm, and gently expressed doubt:
"Really? Is that all there is to it?
You have a very good relationship with that little brother named Tanjirou, so you should have a good relationship with his sister Nezuko too, right?
At that critical moment, you saved both siblings.
For Tanjirou, this was a life-saving grace, and for that little sister Nezuko, it was not only a life-saving grace but also a heroic rescue!"
Speaking of this, Shinobu Kocho playfully tapped her head, and her tone became teasing:
"Oh my, a heroic rescue, why does this scenario sound so familiar to me?
It seems when you first met Riko, you also used the heroic rescue tactic, didn't you?
What happened after that?
Oh, that's right. After the heroic rescue, Riko naturally fell right into your hands.
So, is this little sister Nezuko also the same?"
Horitake almost wanted to kneel before Shinobu Kocho!
Is this a woman's intuition!? It's simply terrifying!
The main thing was that when Shinobu Kocho said the above words, she didn't say them sharply.
She was entirely gentle, her unique charm exuding to the extreme, slowly saying these words in a teasing tone.
Horitake was not one to back down easily.
But facing such a Sister Shinobu, he could only admit defeat.
"Sister Shinobu is absolutely right! Sister Shinobu is brilliant! Sister Shinobu is mighty and domineering!"
Shinobu Kocho huffed unhappily, while giving Horitake a captivating eye-roll:
"Hmph! Horitake-san, are you admitting it by default?"
Horitake simply threw caution to the wind and directly nodded:
"Yes, I admit, Nezuko is also one of my targets.
And Nezuko's situation is somewhat similar to yours, Sister Shinobu. Nezuko's parents also entrusted Nezuko to me!"
Shinobu Kocho understood Horitake's meaning almost instantly.
She asked with a complex look in her eyes:
"Did... her parents' souls entrust her to you?
Just like my sister entrusted me to you?"
Horitake nodded.
At this, Shinobu Kocho couldn't say anything anymore.
Her parents had already passed away, and in their spiritual state, they had entrusted their child to Horitake. Even if Shinobu Kocho was still displeased, she couldn't say anything, much less try to separate Nezuko and Horitake.
Moreover, Nezuko's entire family had been killed by demons, just like her own relatives.
This made Shinobu Kocho feel a sense of shared suffering with Nezuko, a sister she had never met.
This feeling and emotion, when layered together, made Shinobu Kocho have no resistance or opposition towards this sister Nezuko, whom she had never met.
Shinobu Kocho frowned slightly, looking at Horitake:
"How many targets do you have exactly?"
Horitake seriously held up three fingers:
"Just the three of you, there are no others, I can guarantee that!"
"Really?"
"Really!"
Horitake answered decisively, his attitude very sincere.
With his attitude so open and sincere, Shinobu Kocho found it difficult to make things difficult for him.
Thinking about Nezuko's plight, Shinobu Kocho sighed and asked:
"Alright then, what is the situation with this little sister Nezuko now?
Is she on Mount Sagiri, training under Senior Urokodaki's guidance, along with her brother Tanjirou? Are they working hard together to join the Demon Slayer Corps?"
Horitake shook his head:
"No, Nezuko is currently sleeping."
"Sleeping?"
"Yes, she's probably been sleeping for a year."
"Sleeping for a whole year!?" Shinobu Kocho asked strangely: "Could she have contracted some strange illness?"
"No.
Nezuko is transforming her body through sleep.
She's transforming her body so that she only needs sleep to recover her strength, instead of having to eat humans!"
Shinobu Kocho immediately thought for a moment, then was suddenly startled. Her face instantly darkened, and her hand reached for her Nichirin Blade!
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