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Chapter Seven: Final Selection
Mount Fujikasane, a place filled up with demons. Slayers from all over Japan bring demons and trap them here. Due to the presence of Wisteria flowers, demons cannot leave this place. Thus, demons ranging from the weakest ones to those of Lower Moon level are trapped here. Most of the demons captured are relatively weak, and have only killed up to two or three people, presenting enough of a challenge for candidates to test their skills. However, there was one example of an abnormally strong demon that managed to kill and devour over fifty candidates for decades.
As the mountain came to his view, Tanjiro recalled his conversation with his teacher he had last night.
"Sensei," he asked Sakonji, who was looking for something in the cupboard. "What do you want to give me?"
"This is," Sakonji turned towards him and held something for him. Tanjiro took and looked at it. "As you can see this is a fox mask. I have a hobby of making aesthetics from woods, surely you have noticed. I give my students this mask when they set out for the Final Selection Exam. I call it the "Warding Mask" imbued with a powerful spell. Its purpose is to safeguard them from harm and invoke the mountain god's protection, ensuring their safe return from the daunting challenges of the Final Selection. I…"
"Ah!" Tanjiro said cheerfully. "This is the mask Sabito-senpai and Makomo wear all the time.
If Sakonji wasn't wearing a mask, Tanjiro would have seen a horrified expression on his sensei's face. 'THEY have been dead for several years…' he thought. 'Perhaps they have chosen him as…' Sakonji didn't say anything to Tanjiro about that. Instead, he simply asked, "I see, what did they tell you?"
"Makomo-san did most of the talking," Tanjiro looked thoughtful for a moment. "Senpai is not much of a talker. But I am eternally grateful to them, especially Sabito-senpai, who helped me train for the Final Selection. He is a great teacher, not like you of course, hehe…"
"Tanjiro-kun, listen," Sakonji said with a serious tune. "There is something I want you to know. Many years ago, I captured a demon and trapped it on Mount Fujikasane. Over the years, the demon kept devouring children who came to participate in the exam to this date, it holds a grudge against me. So in order to hurt me, he kills my students. Promise me, you will return, no matter what."
"I will!" Tanjiro replied instantly.
Sakonji patted his head with affection.
As Tanjiro was leaving, he told his trainer to thank Sabito and Makomo and ran off to the Final Selection Exam. Urokodaki Sakonji didn't say anything.
It took Tanjiro six hours to reach there from Sakonji's hut without using Chakra. He was wearing a white chequered blue haori with a fox mask identical to the ones Sabito and Makomo wear all the time. He had a sword having the same design as his haori tied with his waist. He waited for a few hours before he was summoned.
At nightfall, he, along with the rest of the candidates were instructed to ascend the stairs leading to the mountaintop shrine and await the commencement of the event. Nearly twenty young swordsmen usually participate in each iteration, it was no exception this time. Kiriya Ubuyashiki and Kanata Ubuyashiki, representing the Ubuyashiki family, act as the event organisers. They were wearing purple kimonos and the funny thing was you couldn't tell which one was a male and which was a female. But Tanjiro easily figured out which was which thanks to his inhuman smelling ability. Together they began to brief the candidates on the rules.
The exam entails surviving seven consecutive nights on the mountaintop, relying solely on their own resources without external assistance. Candidates who manage to survive all seven nights successfully are granted the opportunity to join the esteemed ranks of the Demon Slayer Corps as official Demon Slayers The newly inducted Demon Slayers are also given the opportunity to select their preferred ore for their Nichirin Sword, which will be crafted by skilled swordsmiths and delivered to them two weeks later. Additionally, each member is assigned a Kasugai Crow, a messenger essential for communication with the Corps.
"The Final Selection begins," The boy began.
"Now." The girl finished.
The candidates ran towards the forested part of the mountain.
It has been three days since the Final Selection began. In that time a good number of demons were slayed by Tanjiro. Whenever he met a fellow candidate, he simply helped them by killing the demons that faced them. He would never let his comrades die. That's what Kakashi taught him.
No demon was strong enough to last more than a few seconds against him save for the Hand-Demon who was enraged after seeing his unique haori and fox mask.
"That fox mask…" the demon said, not moving his gaze from Tanjiro. "You are Sakonji Urokodaki's student, aren't you?"
"So you are the one who killed sensei's other students." Tanjiro said coldly.
"That's right!" Exclaimed the demon."So he has sent another of his brats, huh?" He brought out a hand. "Five," he paused before bringing out another hand. "Ten," another hand. "Eleven," and another hand. "Twelve and thirteen. I have already devoured thirteen of his precious students. Which means you are number fourteen!"
"So you have killed them. You have been killing his students for forty seven years?"
"Forty seven years!" The demon's eyes twitched. "What era are we in?!"
"Taishō Period," Tanjiro replied.
"An era has already passed?" The demon's eyes widened in anger and frustration. "I'll kill you, gaki! My only regret would be that I won't be able to see the look on Urokodaki's face when another of his students won't return. You don't seem much tough anyway. I had once met a tough one. He had pinkish orange hair and a scar on his cheek. He was very strong. But he ultimately died protecting others. There was also another one, a girl, wearing a flower-patterned pink kimono. She wasn't strong, but very agile. Regardless of her speed, I managed to catch her. And then I detached her limbs, one by one…"
Meanwhile, Tanjiro was having a turmoil of thoughts in his mind. 'I met them… I talked with them… were they… Makomo-san, Sabito-senpai, I will avenge you.'
Tanjiro recalled his master's words about the demon, so he had made his mind on avenging his master's late students. He expected the over confident demon to be defeated within thirty seconds. Whenever he tried to behead the demon, it simply covered its neck and throat with its cluster of hands. Those hands were very hard to cut through. Naruto thought if he should use Chakra or not, but decided to use his physical strength and speed only.
"You are very fast!" The demon laughed. "Faster than that girl and boy! But you can't cut through my hands!"
No matter how he swung the sword, he couldn't defeat the Hand-Demon. He jumped as he felt hands sprouting out of the ground in clusters. Hands were everywhere and he couldn't reach the head. Meanwhile , the demon kept taunting him.
It took him two minutes to realise something. It turned out he was unable to defeat the demon because he forgot to use any breathing techniques. He mentally cursed himself before using the move- Water Breathing: First Form: Water Surface Slash and beheading it.
The beheaded demon was screaming bloody murder as Tanjiro approached him. "H-how is this even possible?" He stammered. "No blade is strong enough to go through my defence!"
"It wasn't the blade," Tanjiro replied bluntly. "The blade wasn't strong enough, that is true. However, it was my emotion that ended you." The fading demon looked at him with wide eyes, seeing this, Tanjiro gave him a sad smile. "You were a victim of a demon. May you be forgiven and have a beautiful afterlife."
Before the demon's head fully disappeared, it shed a few beads of tears.
Naruto however was very disappointed as he expected a little more. He was too strong for this world. Even the strongest demon, Muzan, was afraid of him. So yeah, his life is boring. Well, at least he avenged Sabito and Makomo.
After his victory against the Hand Demon he continued moving in every direction in the search of more demons. The next thing he did was find a source of water, fortunately, there was a river running down the mountain so he only needed to stay near it and water wouldn't be an issue and there were even some fish there so he could take care of the food problem as well.
Tanjiro would then wake up with a little time of sunlight left and would use them to hunt down demons.
The second night, he realised that having a camp site was a bad idea, as four different demons attempted to attack him together, they didn't pose that much of a threat but if more demons attacked him together he could end up overwhelmed by sheer numbers so when the sun came up again, he used the time to move up the river so any demons that saw him the night before wouldn't find him in the same place.
The third night was uneventful. A few demons came to kill him but were dead before they could even launch an attack. He killed four demons he had found inside a cave on the fourth day.
And as the fifth night began, he noticed something very strange… There were neither demons nor humans in the forest. He had a bad feeling about this…
The sixth and seventh day passed and he had not encountered any demons. So at the end of the seventh week, he went to the assembly ground.
"Welcome back." Two voices spoke in perfect unison as the boy and girl that explained the Final Selection a week ago walked to stand in front of the small shrine; a table was set up with a light purple blanket covering something on top of it.
"Congratulations." The girl said.
"We're pleased to see that you are safe." The girl and the boy spoke in turn.
'You guys send children to fight with demons with a very possibility that they may not return and you say you are glad we are safe? Hah, talk about hypocrisy. Speaking of 'we', where is everyone else?' Thought Tanjiro.
"First, we shall issue you a uniform." The white haired girl began. "We will take your measurements, after which your ranks will be engraved."
"There are ten ranks in all…" The black haired boy continued.
"Kinoe" The girl said first.
"Kinoto."
"Hinoe."
"Hinoto."
"Tsuchinoe."
"Tsuchinoto."
"Kanoe."
"Kanoto."
"Mizunoe."
"And Mizunoto." The boy finished.
"Currently, you are at the lowest rank, Mizunoto." The girl informed him.
"Ah," Tanjiro raised his hand. "Can I ask a question?"
"Yes?"
"WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE HERE? IS EVERYONE ELSE DEAD?!"
They shared a glance for a brief moment before the boy asking, "You really don't have any idea, do you?"
"No." He shook his head.
"No one died, Kamado-san. Actually, you have somehow managed to kill all the demons over the week. Thus, no candidate was able to demonstrate his or her skills. Therefore, no one but you passed the test. It is rare… no, it has never happened before."
"Say what?!" Tanjiro sweat dropped. "Those demons were pretty weak, dattebayo. I messed it all up." He let out a sigh.
"Today, we will let you choose the ore for your swords;" The boy resumed. "But, your swords will take ten to fifteen days to complete."
"But first…" The white haired girl clapped her hands twice and suddenly he heard the sound of wings flapping.
A moment later a bird descended from the sky landing on top of Tanjiro's shoulder was a 'Mori no Yōsei' or Forest Fairy. It was a small bird and had multiple colors: red, black, brown, white, green and cobalt blue. Its beak was charcoal black while it had deep black eyes.
"You have your own Kasugai Crow now." The girl said.
"Kasugai Crow?" Tanjiro spoke as he pointed at his bird. "Either I have gone insane or this is a crow disguised as a pretty bird."
"I am no crow in disguise," the bird said as it slowly flapped its wings. "Thank you for the compliment by the way."
"Welcome." Tanjiro was not surprised at all. Naruto had been talking with animals for decades, animals much weirder, bigger and emotionally sensitive. However, he was thinking, 'How did they get such a rare bird?'
"These Kasugai Crows are used primarily for communication." Did the girl just ignore his question?
"Now then, please select an ore." He said after walking to stand at the side of the table. "The steel for the sword that will annihilate demons and protect you will be of your own choosing."
'They're asking me to choose an ore, but how am I supposed to pick one out?' Tanjiro thought. 'I've never seen an ore before and I can't tell the difference anyway. Should I just pick one at random?' Tanjiro wondered when his nose picked up on something.
Out of all the ores on that table, one had a scent that he found more pleasant than the rest; he was not completely sure if this meant it's better, but his sense of smell had never led him to wrong.
"This one, please." He pointed at the ore with his finger.
The swordsmith, who was standing next to him, wearing an odd-looking mask said, "A good choice, lad. I know just the man who will be fit to make your blade."
"Thank you, sir." Tanjiro bowed.
A few minutes later he came down from the mountain and looked at the sky.
"I am coming back, everyone." He thought.
~• •~
In an unknown dark room of an unknown location, we find two figures.
"Ubuyashiki-sama," a man in the dark room bowed.
"What news do you bring from the Final Selection?" The other occupant of the room asked as he sipped from a cup of tea. "Do we have promising slayers this time?"
"About that…"
"Why do you hesitate?"
"There is only one who passed."
"Oh?" The man frowned.
"Yes, apparently, a boy named Tanjiro Kamado slayed all the demons and no one else even got the chance to show their skills."
"That is… unconventional."
"Indeed, sir. That boy effortlessly managed to kill every single demon on Mount Fujikasane."
"This is the same boy who is apprenticed by Urokodaki-san, isn't it?" The other man nodded.
"Yes, my lord. The boy possesses inhuman strength and reflexes. According to the letter Lord Urokodaki sent you, the boy is the transmigrant of a warrior from a separate world. The boy also has some techniques unique to him and him only."
"Tanjiro Kamado…" The man, Ubuyashiki, smiled as he sipped tea once more from the cup. "How interesting."
Author Note: Next chapter is coming soon! So stay tuned. Review!
Till next time!