Author Note: A new chapter is here. Hope you like it.


Chapter Nine: First Mission


Haganezuka was a strange man. He didn't show any courtesy talking to Urokodaki, who was once the Water Pillar, let alone to Tanjiro. The man wore a strange mask with a piece of cloth covering his hair. He was well built, a man in his thirties, but the odd mask and the way he spoke made him look like a clown. The people who make Nirchin Blades living in a secret village wear these masks to conceal their true identity.

"Come on!" The man yelled at them as he was standing in front of Urokodaki's hut. "Take the sword! I want to see a bright red colour this time!"

"Colour?" Tanjiro asked in confusion. Despite being a promising and highly talented Demon Slayer, he was still Naruto, someone who was not the brightest man in the room. "What does colour have to do with the blade?"

"YOU DON'T KNOW?" Haganexuka yelled harder. "What kind of Demon Slayer are you, huh?"

"I am sorry, sir." Tanjiro bowed, making the already furious man more angry. "I am not familiar with most of the terms about the Demon Slayer corp."

"WHEN A NIRCHIN BLADE IS HELD BY A DEMON SLAYER, IT CHANGES COLOUR. RED IS SAID TO BE THE LUCKIEST AND MOST POWERFUL ONE. COME ON…" Haganezuka continued yelling.

Sakonji let out a silent sigh before saying, "Haganexuka-san, please come in."

"Alright," the man said as he stepped in. "But I don't have all day. Let's finish it quickly, I want to see my blade turning red." He said the final line with great belief.

The man handed the item to Tanjiro. The sword is light, though a little heavier than the one he used before. The boy removed the red patched cloth from the sword. He unsheathed the sword from the scabbard. The handle is like a round disc. It has a black and red design. He held the handle and lifted it a little and waited for the so-called colour change.

Ten seconds.

Thirty seconds.

One full minute.

The desired red colour did not come.

"WHY IS IT NOT CHANGING COLOUR? ARE YOU NOT EVEN A DEMON SLAYER? TELL ME! TELL ME! YOU ARE A DISAPPOINTMENT! YOU HEAR ME?! YOU ARE A DISAPPOINTMENT! YOU ARE A DISAPPOINTMENT!" Haganezuka yelled as he firmly gripped Tanjiro's haori and shook the boy violently. Tanjiro looked not only perplexed, but also sad.

"Calm down," Sakonji said, clearly irritated. Haganezuka let the boy go.

"Something has changed; but I don't understand what has changed." Remarked Tanniro.

"Give it to me," Sakonji took the katana in his hand. He is a seasoned swordsman, hence he is familiar with almost all sorts of blades, thus he might have an idea about this case.

Sakonji took a good look at the thing from behind the mask. Then without saying a word, Tanjiro put the sword back in his hand and stood up, closing them one by one, darkening the room. Later it was seen what the change was. The colour of the sword has changed and that colour is white, bright white, radiating a dim light in the dark. Tanjiro was a bit shocked, he hadn't predicted such a result.

"Why is this shining?" He finally asked.

"While there have been white coloured ninchin blades, there has never been a shining one." Said Sakonji as he sat next to Tanjiro.

"Hmm." Haganezuka said. "It is not a red colour but at least it is better than nothing."

"Sensei," Tanjiro said. "What exactly does a white colour mean?"

"It means happiness and a bright future for the wielder."

"That's so cool!" He paused. "May I channel some Chakra into my sword?"

"Experimenting, huh?" Sakonji said as he thought for a moment. "You may."

Tanjiro then channelled some Chakra into his sword. No sooner had he done it than it turned a very bright red colour. It was so bright that the semi dark room was illuminated completely by it.

"IT'S A RED!" Exclaimed Haganezuka. "It's the Red…"

"No…" Sakonji said as he marvelled at the beauty of the blade. "It's not red, but scarlet. It's much brighter than red. Plus, it's shining."

"WELL OLD MAN, I DON'T SEE THE DIFFERENCE, IT LOOKS RED TO ME!"

"Sensei," Tanjiro said, turning his head towards Urokodaki. "What does this mean?"

"Hmm, usually red represents good luck and indicates that the wielder of the blade is extremely strong. However, since it is not exactly red, I cannot tell what it means. Still, I believe it to be a good sign." Replied Sakonji.

"NOW EVERYONE WILL RESPECT—"

"Really, sensei?" Exclaimed Tanjiro.

"I think so." Nodded Urokodaki. "Regardless of what the colour indicates, I know you have a very glorious future ahead."

"HOW GREAT OF A SWORDSMITH I AM. THEY WILL KNEEL BEFORE—"

"Arigatou sensei!"

"HEY! ARE YOU PEOPLE IGNORING ME!" Haganezuka yelled.

Tanjiro and Sakonji turned towards him.

"Sorry," Tanjiro smiled apologetically. "Did you say something?"

"WHAT'S WITH THIS ATTITUDE?!" Yelled Haganezuka. His manner of speaking was becoming more and more bothering to the mentor student duo.

Tanjiro's new winged companion entered the house through the now opened window.

"Hello, Tanjiro," the bird said as it landed on his shoulder. "How have you been?"

"Fine," he replied with a kind smile. "What about you?"

"Great."

"What have you got for me, dattebayo?"

"Your first mission!" The bird replied cheerfully.

"Really?" Tanjiro became excited. "What is it?"

"Apparently there are some young girls being kidnapped frequently from the North-West Village. The Corps believe that demons are involved in this case. Being the closest Demons Slayer to the place, you are elected to go and investigate the matter."

"Hmm. I understand." He turned his head towards his sensei, who was watching the interaction the whole time. "Sensei, with your permission I would like to go on my first mission. I hope you will bless me."

Sakonji stared at him for a brief moment before replying, "Of course you have my blessing. And I have no doubts you will triumph."

Naruto went to a room to change his clothes. He now had his very own Demon Slayer uniform. It was a perfect fit. There was kanji for "KILL ALL THE DEMONS" on the back. Ut had a white belt which looked great. Naruto misses his signature orange colour, which is 'obviously cooler'. But this isn't bad either.

~• •~

The village is 'quite' lively. For some reason the atmosphere is cold for some reason. Of course, Tanjiro knows the reason. Teenage girls are being kidnapped almost every night. Age sixteen is the majority. According to the spies of Demon Slayer Corp, demons are behind all these kidnappings.

Naruto spotted a young adult male with a lot of bruises wearing a yukata walking aimlessly on the street with a blank look on his face.

"Excuse me," he called, but the young man didn't turn, kept walking, maintaining a straight line. Tanjiro held his right hand from behind. The man looked back. "Sorry to stop you in the middle of the street. But can you tell me anything about the kidnappings that have been happening lately? It would be a great help."

"What…" The blank look was replaced by a sad expression which was slowly, but surely evolving into a grieving expression. "They… thought it was me… who did it…" he collapsed on his knees on the road and began sobbing loudly. People around them gave disgusted looks.

"Would you mind sharing with me?" Tanjiro kneeled beside him and patted on the man's back. "I am sure that I can help."

"But you are just a kid!" The man retorted.

"We'll see about that!" Naruto gave a foxy grin.

"Really?" The man gave him a doubtful look before letting out a sigh and saying, "I guess it won't hurt telling you my story. Okay then, listen—"

"I went for a walk yesterday with my girlfriend. Once evening came, I said goodbye to her and returned home. I returned home after that. Then suddenly in the middle of the night there was a loud knock on my door. I opened the door and saw my girlfriend's father. He grabbed my collar and started punching me hard without saying a word. His wife was standing outside the door with a tearful face. After beating me, he asked where his daughter was. I said I didn't know. Once I found out that after the girl left home with me, she never came back. Her family thinks that I have done something to her... Not only that, but I have a hand behind the disappearance of other girls..."

The man then burst into tears. Tanjiro started comforting the man who was crying like a baby.

"Don't worry mister. I will help you find your friend. You can count on me, dattebayo!"

"Dattebayo?" The man looked at him with a confused expression on his face.

"Hehe," Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "It is a verbal tic."

"O-okay. So how do you plan to find her?"

"That should not be very hard." He replied. "Do you have something that belongs to her?"

"Why?" The man raised an eyebrow.

"You may not believe it but I have a very keen smelling ability. If I can get the smell right, then it should be easy to find her."

"Really?" The man's face lit up. "Arigatou!" He pulled a yellow handkerchief from his yukata and handed it to Naruto. "It belongs to her. Will it be fine?"

"It is perfect for the job!" Naruto grabbed the handkerchief and brought it close to his nose and smelled it after closing his eyes— it smelled like pineapple. He moved it away from his face and began smelling all around the place. After a few moments, a faint, but identical smell greeted him from a particular direction. "I've got it!" He turned to the man, who was looking at him with bewildered eyes. "Follow me, we'll find her in no time!"

"Um," the man looked unsure. "O-okay, I guess."

~• •~

It turned out that tracking the woman was not easy. Her smell was everywhere. It took him a few hours before he discovered that the handkerchief's smell was very common in the village as most women used such. The handkerchief the man gave him indeed belonged to her, but she didn't use it for a long time. In fact, a lot of women bought it lately from a certain vendor. So, yeah, a lot of thrashing, yellings, and some mob chasing later, Naruto gave up on the 'smell and track strategy'. The day couldn't get any worse.

"Look," the man said as he was panting beside Naruto. "I know that you are trying to help, but… this… is this really the only way?"

"There is one way…" Naruto thought for a moment before making a ram seal with his hand. "Henge!" Smoke engulfed Naruto and the man jumped a good two feet before falling on his back. Instead of Naruto, there stood a girl…

"What?!" The man's eyes almost came out of their sockets. "Are you a demon? A witch?"

"Huh?" The girl said, in a girly voice. "N-no! I mean… this is a trick… yeah, a magic trick it is. Pretty cool, dattebayo?"

"I have never seen one like this before."

"Hehe." Naruto scratched the back of his head. 'I totally forgot that this place doesn't have Chaka. Phew, that was a close one.' he looked at himself. It was Sakura's teen form he will be using to lay the trap. If Sakura was here today and saw him using her form to lure demons… he gulped.

"So what's the plan?" The man asked, halting his train of thoughts.

"Well, according to my sources, these kidnapped girls are no older than sixteen. So it would make sense why I am under a disguise." 'Sakura' replied.

"Ah." The man understood.

"I will be baiting myself by wandering in the street at night. Clear?"

"You are so smart, miss!" He cheerfully said. 'Sakura' sweat dropped from his antics.

"Don't get any funny ideas," 'Sakura' warned. "I am still a boy."

"Whatever you say, 'miss'!" He teased.

~• •~

"I wonder what beauty we will devour today…" a high pitched voice mused.

"I would like a slim one." Another voice, almost identical to the first one said.

"Any kind of beauty is fine by me." Another one added.

"You have no…" The first voice was cut off by the second.

"Shh!"

"What?"

"Look over there-"

The two demons followed their companions' fingers and they couldn't help but smirk.

"It's not spring yet, but it looks like we have a beautiful Sakura leaf within our grasp!" The third demon spoke.

They swiftly ambushed the pink haired girl and began to walk around her. The girl had a shocked expression on her face.

"Look boys," one of the demons said. "It's a little lady!"

"W-what do you want?" The girl cried out.

"We just want…you." A demon replied.

"A-a-are you the ones who kidnapped the o-other girls?" The girl asked in a shaky voice.

"Well aren't you a smart one?"A demon laughed. "And to answer your question: yes, we indeed are the ones who 'preserved' those beautiful yet fragile, poor things."

"W-what do you mean by that?"

"WE… simply keep them…" he pointed his finger to his belly. "Here."

"You eat them?"

"No! Of course not!" He retorted. "We… we… we…" he sighed. "Yes, we eat them. But you don't have to think too much about it. You are going to be meeting them very soon. Kuku~" he pulled something out from his odd clothes. "This belonged to her."

"So the girl you abducted last night is… dead?" The girl asked in a cold tune. "You are going to pay for this, dattebayo!"

"What's with the attitude?" The demons were confused. "Anyways, after we are done preserving you, we will keep those beautiful earrings of yours…" the demon had to stop talking otherwise, he would've been beheaded by now. "Oh… so you are one of those so-called 'Demon Slayers'. No problem, after all, you are just a weak girl…"

"Not quite…" a puff of smoke later, the transmigrated shinobi stood all in his glory. He took an offensive stance. "Sakura-chan is anything but a weak girl. Now, prepare to be eradicated, dattebayo!"

The demons jumped at him together, but he simply teleported away. The demons were disturbed. They all had a similar thought, 'Is this a Hashira?'

They were wrong, very very wrong. This was a Kage, the greatest shinobi of history.

They threw barrages of punches at him. But he kept teleporting here and there. Finally they decided to overwhelm him with their teamwork. One of them attacked him from the front while another was waiting for the right moment behind him with his portal open. The last one was hiding inside a wall, just in case the boy decided to teleport there. They motioned their plan.

The first one jumped at him. Naruto, in order to evade the attack, jumped backwards. The second demon began to close his portal as soon as the boy was seen to be falling on it. They all grinned. However, Naruto simply body flickered away and stood in front of the wall where the third demon was waiting.

"Is this the best you have to offer?" He sighed. "You guys are barely Genin-level."

"W-what?" The second demon said, not quite understanding the term "Don't underestimate us Hashira!"

No sooner had he said it, than the third demon came out of the wall and jumped at Tanjiro. Before they could see anything, Naruto was standing behind the demon with his blade unsheathed.

Tanjiro swung his blade before sheathing it.

"You don't get it, do you?" Tanjiro softly said as he beheaded the third demon who was trying to attack him from behind. The demon's head and body began to fade away in a swift motion. "You are no match for me."

The remaining demons gulped.

He disappeared before beheading the second demon.

Before the final demon could escape by opening a portal, Tanjiro cut the demon's legs in a blur. The demon fell on the ground with a thud sound.

"I have a question for you," Tanjiro said as he pointed his blade at the demon's throat. "Where is Muzan?"

The demon's eyes widened. "I can't…"

"As expected," Naruto sighed. "Very well." Tanjiro swung his blade.

Before the demon could fade away completely, Tanjiro took the girl's red hairpin from it.

~• •~

"I am sorry…" Tanjiro bowed as he handed him his girlfriend's hairpin. "I couldn't save her as she was already killed… this belonged to her…"

"Yumiko-chan…" the man fell on his knees as he took the hairpin. He looked at Naruto with fury in his eyes. "You said you will find her…!" He launched himself at Naruto and grabbed the younger boy by his collar. The older boy began to punch him on his face. "YOU DID THIS! YOU DID THIS! YOU DID THIS!" He yelled as he continued his punches. "YOU WERE INVOLVED, WEREN'T YOU? YOU-"

"That's enough," Tanjiro, whose nose was broken by now and bleeding, caught the man's fist. "I know what it feels to lose someone you love…"

"You don't know a thing!" The man let go of him. "You have never lost anyone, have you?"

"I…" Naruto felt his eyes getting hydrated. He politely bowed once more before saying, "Thank you for helping me throughout the mission."

Naruto left the place, tears coming out of his eyes. "Hinata… Boruto… Hima… Kurama..."


Author Note: Thanks for all the support guys! I hope you liked this chapter. Add it to FAVOURITE & FOLLOW. Don't forget to REVIEW!

The next chapter is coming soon! Till next time!