Sanemi's younger brother, Genya Shinazugawa, immediately raised his gun to fire again—but suddenly, a strange floral fragrance filled the air. At once, his limbs lost all strength, and he collapsed to the ground, powerless.
Genya struggled to push himself up, but his body would not obey.
"W-what's happening?! Why… can't I move?!"
"This is a special anesthetic. Not only is it effective, it works very quickly," Shinobu Kocho said in her calm, gentle voice—though her words cut like a knife. "Now, do you still have the ability to speak so flippantly about who 'deserves to die'?"
Genya's vision began to blur. Originally, he had been waiting on standby with the Demon Slayer Corps, but when he heard that his older brother Sanemi Shinazugawa was heading to reinforce Mount Natagumo, he had rashly decided to join the support team as well.
His fading consciousness stirred a memory—after first joining the Corps, he had gone to headquarters seeking out Sanemi, intending to apologize. He had once hurled accusations at his brother, blaming him for killing their mother, calling him a murderer.
But by the time Genya found him, Sanemi was already the Wind Hashira. The brother who once risked everything to protect his family had grown violent and harsh, denying outright that they were brothers at all.
As darkness closed in, Genya seemed to glimpse Sanemi before him and whispered weakly:
"Brother… you still hate me, don't you…"
"Wait—Zenitsu! And Inosuke! They're still fighting!" Tanjiro cried in alarm.
Shinobu turned to him.
"Do you mean the blond boy and the boy with the boar's head?"
"Yes, that's them! Don't worry about me—please, hurry and support them!"
Her elder sister, Kanae Kocho, smiled warmly.
"Rest assured. The blond boy may have been poisoned, but he has already taken the antidote—his life is no longer in danger. As for the boar-headed one, when we arrived, he had several broken bones, but nothing life-threatening."
Tanjiro let out a long sigh of relief. But as the tension left him, pain shot through his body—so severe it felt like every bone was screaming. His willpower had carried him this far, but now even standing was agony.
Shinobu warned him sharply:
"Don't move anymore. If you force yourself, your injuries will only worsen."
Tanjiro suddenly remembered.
"Right—what about Giyu-san? He's fighting a man with three scars across his face!"
No sooner had the words left him than the battle between Sanemi Shinazugawa and Giyu Tomioka spilled into view before the sisters.
"Well, well… if it isn't Tomioka. He showed up too, did he?" Shinobu muttered, her voice tinged with irritation. Clearly, there was some history between them.
She recalled one occasion when Giyu, wounded, had come to the Corps' medical ward where she and Kanae were treating a room full of injured slayers. When she asked him where he was hurt, his cold reply had been:
"My injuries aren't serious. Not like theirs."
What he meant was for her to prioritize the gravely injured before him. But with his aloof tone and detached gaze, it had sounded instead like, "I'm not like them. They're just weak—that's why they're so injured."
Fuming at his apparent arrogance, Shinobu had roughly bandaged him and thrown him out.
Now, on the battlefield, Sanemi froze when he caught sight of his unconscious younger brother. For just a moment, his Nichirin blade wavered—and Giyu seized the opening, kicking him hard and sending him flying.
Sanemi, realizing Genya was merely unconscious and breathing steadily, scowled furiously.
"Useless fool! You have no talent as a slayer, yet you stubbornly insist on joining the Corps. Pathetic trash like you—it wouldn't matter if you died!"
But to Tanjiro's nose, the sharp tang of a lie lingered in Sanemi's words.
The Wind Hashira turned his blazing glare upon the Kocho sisters, Kanao Tsuyuri, and the boy shielding his sister.
"So… even you intend to protect this demon?"
Kanae drew her blade, her voice soft yet firm:
"These two children—I will not permit anyone to harm them."
Shinobu unsheathed her own blade as well.
"I may dislike siding with Tomioka, but compared to him, these two are far more important."
Giyu tilted his head slightly, puzzled.
"Why?"
Shinobu's brow twitched, a vein pulsing on her forehead.
"Could you please have at least a little self-awareness?!"
Seeing both Kocho sisters prepare for battle, Kanao abandoned the thought of tossing her coin. She too drew her blade, leveling it at Sanemi.
"Everyone…" Tanjiro's eyes welled with tears. To have so many risking themselves to protect him and Nezuko—it filled him with overwhelming gratitude.
Sanemi's rage peaked, his bloodshot eyes wild.
"Fine then! I'll take you all down at once!"
But before blades could clash, a flock of kasugai crows descended from the sky, cawing in unison:
"Message from headquarters! Kamado Tanjiro and Kamado Nezuko are to be taken back to headquarters! Bring them back! Bring them back!"
Kanae calmly slid her sword back into its sheath.
"It seems even the Master has no intention of harming these two."
Though bitterly unwilling, Sanemi sheathed his blade. No matter how much he opposed it, he would never defy an order from Kagaya Ubuyashiki.
With the clean-up of Mount Natagumo complete, Giyu Tomioka carried the exhausted, unconscious Tanjiro and the box holding Nezuko back to headquarters.
When Tanjiro finally awoke, he found himself in a courtyard, eight pairs of eyes fixed squarely upon him.
The Hashira, the Corps' strongest swordsmen, had all gathered.
Still dazed, Tanjiro's thoughts spun—only to be interrupted as a frail yet gentle figure emerged from within the house.
The Hashira immediately dropped to one knee, bowing low.
It was Kagaya Ubuyashiki, their Master. The scars upon his face had spread further since Yosuke's visit—now reaching his cheeks.
"You've all come, my beloved children," Kagaya greeted warmly, bathed in sunlight. "Good morning. Today is truly fine weather, isn't it? The sky is so blue. To hold a Hashira meeting with all of you present, without a single change among our number—it brings me joy."
Even the short-tempered Sanemi, who earlier had been snarling and swinging his blade recklessly, now spoke with deep reverence:
"It relieves me greatly that you are still in good health, Master. From the bottom of my heart, I pray for your continued well-being."
Tanjiro could hardly believe his ears. Was this really the same violent man from Mount Natagumo?
Yet as soon as he finished, Sanemi's glare turned venomous once more, his words sharp:
"Before the meeting begins, I ask that you pass judgment upon this boy, Kamado Tanjiro, who harbors a demon, as well as upon Tomioka Giyu."
Kagaya replied serenely, his tone calm and unwavering:
"Regarding Tanjiro and Nezuko… before we begin the meeting, we must first wait for two others to arrive."
The Hashira frowned, each one silently questioning—who could be important enough to keep even the Master waiting?
Then, a sweet floral fragrance drifted through the air. In that instant, they all knew.
They were not Corps members, yet their importance to the Demon Slayers was undeniable:
Kanae Kocho and Shinobu Kocho.