The little girl continued speaking, but Kocho Shinobu's smile had already vanished.
"Big Brother asked me to tell you that he had something to do and left first. He'll definitely treat you next time."
"Mm, I understand, thank you, little sister." With that, Kocho Shinobu, fuming, was about to leave when the little girl tugged at her pants leg.
"Hm? What is it again, little sister? Is there something else?" Kocho Shinobu asked, puzzled.
The little girl shook her head, then opened her palm and said, "Big Brother said that after I tell Big Sister those words, Big Sister will give me money to buy candied hawthorn."
Kocho Shinobu's eyes went dark. She had never seen such a shameless person! Even the money for the candied hawthorn for delivering a message had to come from her.
Kocho Shinobu handed the money to the little girl and said, "Here, this is enough for you to buy several."
"Buy one when you want to eat it, don't spend it all at once."
"Big Sister is leaving, bye-bye~"
"Mm-hm, thank you, Big Sister, bye-bye!" The little girl happily waved at Kocho Shinobu, who was slowly walking away.
Kocho Shinobu rubbed her temples, slowly leaving the Northern Post Station. She decided that after she returned, she would definitely settle the score with Tomioka Giyu.
Life returned to normal, but it could also be said to be the last peaceful year.
After this year, it would be when Tanjiro passed the Final Selection, and when the plot officially began.
Tomioka Giyu did not slack off. During the day, he would occasionally spar with the Stone Hashira, and at night, he would guard his jurisdiction, slaying demons.
He wanted to develop the potential within his body as much as possible, enabling him to withstand even more powerful Moves.
It is worth mentioning that Shinazugawa Sanemi would come to spar with Tomioka Giyu whenever he had free time.
Tomioka Giyu gladly accepted this. Shinazugawa Sanemi's fighting style, which gave the enemy no chance to breathe, was worth learning from.
A year passed quickly. On this day, Ubuyashiki Kagaya called Tomioka Giyu and Kocho Shinobu aside.
At the entrance of the courtyard, upon seeing Tomioka Giyu, Kocho Shinobu snorted coldly and immediately turned her head away, refusing to look at him.
"Uh..." Tomioka Giyu scratched his head awkwardly. He hadn't expected this girl to hold such a grudge.
"Don't be angry, I'll treat you to something delicious later~"
"Hmph!" Kocho Shinobu walked into the courtyard without looking back, clearly not wanting to bother with Tomioka Giyu.
Seeing this, Tomioka Giyu quickly caught up and said, "Two meals, three meals! It was just a joke last time, I promise it won't happen again."
"You said it, three times, not one less!"
"Alright, let's go quickly, don't make the Master impatient."
Following behind Kocho Shinobu, Tomioka Giyu shrugged helplessly. The straightforward Kocho Shinobu was indeed difficult to deal with.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya was currently comforting the Kasugai Crow in his hand. The Kasugai Crow looked very weak.
"You really tried hard to fly back. Almost all of my swordsmen have been massacred."
"There might be a Twelve Kizuki there. We need to send a Hashira to the scene."
"Giyu, Shinobu, I'm counting on you."
"Understood!" Tomioka Giyu and Kocho Shinobu said in unison.
On the way, Tomioka Giyu couldn't help but sigh, time really flies. Before he knew it, they had already reached the Natagumo Mountain arc.
"Tomioka, do you think it might be an Upper Rank again this time?" Kocho Shinobu asked with some worry.
Although he knew everything, Tomioka Giyu still pretended to shake his head.
"No, it's most likely a Lower Rank. If it really were an Upper Rank, the Master would naturally foresee the danger, so don't worry."
"Besides, even if it really is an Upper Rank, we still have a chance to fight. At worst, we can always save ourselves."
The premise was that they didn't encounter Upper Rank One or Upper Rank Three, Tomioka Giyu silently added in his heart.
He wasn't confident enough to beat Akaza to the point of having his internet disconnected, let alone make Kokushibo anxious about his appearance.
Their speed was both very fast, and it didn't take long for them to reach Natagumo Mountain.
As soon as they entered the Spider Mountain, a clap of thunder caught their attention. Kocho Shinobu asked curiously, "Hm? Is it thundering?"
"No, it doesn't seem to be..."
Tomioka Giyu glanced in the direction of the thunder and suggested, "Let's split up. Since you're interested in the thunder, why don't you go investigate over there, Shinobu?"
"I need to pick up the pace and continue forward. The Life Qi from afar is getting stronger!"
"Okay, then be careful, Tomioka." Kocho Shinobu was very decisive and agile, her light figure heading straight in the direction of the thunder.
Tomioka Giyu, on the other hand, leaped high, gaining an open view while also using the large trees to quickly traverse various parts of the mountain.
At the same time, by a river, a young man wearing a boar's head mask was fiercely gripped by the head by a tall and strong spider demon.
It looked like it wanted to crush the young man's head directly!
That's right, this was our boar-headed youth, Hashibira Inosuke!
But the next second, the spider demon's arm, which was clutching the boar-headed youth, suddenly broke!
Inosuke, who had been saved, looked at Tomioka Giyu's back and instinctively thought in his heart,
"Wh-what? Did that person save me? No, did he draw his sword?"
The spider demon's arm quickly regenerated, and the first thing it did after recovering was to roar and charge at Tomioka Giyu.
In response, Tomioka Giyu simply took a step back. Just as the spider demon's blade-like arm was about to descend, he swept upwards with his sword!
The spider demon didn't react at all. It seemed to still be fantasizing about the human in front of it being cut into pieces.
Inosuke, crouching to the side, was completely stunned by the shock. He muttered to himself, "Amazing, amazing!"
"Not on the same level. The power of a casual slash from him compared to my full-power slash is like the difference between heaven and earth!"
"Such a hard monster was cut open like tofu. Amazing! Amazing!! Amazing!!!"
"Who is this guy?! I'm so excited!!"
Seeing Tomioka Giyu about to leave, Inosuke quickly shouted, "Fight me, Half-and-Half Haori!"
"You defeated that Twelve Kizuki! Then I'll defeat you, and that way, I'll become the strongest person!!"
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Tomioka Giyu was speechless for a moment. This boar's way of thinking still needed to evolve.
"Don't laugh, you stupid boar. That wasn't a Twelve Kizuki at all. Don't you even know that?"
Saying that, Tomioka Giyu took out a rope from his pocket.
"Ah... huh? What did you say?!" Inosuke's mask twisted in anger as he vehemently argued, "Of course I know that!"
"Because that Tanjiro guy said it was a Twelve Kizuki!! I was just repeating what he said—"
Inosuke's voice abruptly stopped because he realized that he had unknowingly been tied to a tree by Tomioka Giyu.
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For Every 50 Powerstones I'll update an extra chapter.
Current Progress: 00/50
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