Tanjiro Kamado finally arrived at Mount Fujikasane.
The mountain was breathtaking.
Endless wisteria blossoms swayed gently beneath the moonlight, their fragrance drifting peacefully through the night air. The pale violet flowers covered the foothills like a sea, creating a scene so beautiful that it hardly resembled a place connected to demons and death.
"It's amazing here…" Tanjiro murmured softly.
His crimson eyes reflected the endless fields of wisteria as a warm smile appeared on his face.
"Once Nezuko becomes human again… I'll bring her here someday."
That simple thought alone filled him with determination.
After climbing further up the mountain path, Tanjiro eventually reached the site of the Final Selection.
A large crowd had already gathered there.
Some stood silently with their swords in hand, while others watched the surrounding competitors with guarded expressions. Nearly everyone carried a heavy killing intent or an air of tension.
"They all look so fierce…" Tanjiro thought nervously.
"But everyone here must have worked hard to come this far."
Naturally sociable, Tanjiro soon noticed a quiet girl standing alone nearby.
She wore her hair in a side ponytail and kept her eyes lowered silently toward the ground.
Thinking she might feel lonely, Tanjiro approached her politely.
"Hello!"
Unfortunately, the girl merely glanced at him once before immediately turning her face away.
"…Huh?"
Tanjiro instantly stiffened.
Realizing he may have disturbed her, he hurriedly bowed in apology.
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bother you!"
Then he quickly retreated in embarrassment.
The girl blinked silently as she watched him leave, seemingly caught off guard by his sincerity.
Since the examiners had not yet arrived, Tanjiro sat quietly nearby and took out the rice balls Urokodaki Sakonji had prepared for him before his departure.
Just as he was about to eat
A figure suddenly burst forward like a wild beast!
"Gahahaha!"
A boy wearing a boar's head mask snatched several rice balls directly from Tanjiro's hands before leaping backward.
"If you want them back, fight me!"
The strange boy radiated wild energy from head to toe.
He was Hashibira Inosuke.
Raised in the mountains and trained personally by Doma, Upper Rank Two of the Twelve Kizuki, Inosuke possessed monstrous instincts and overwhelming physical ability despite his young age. Within Paradise Faith, he was practically treated like a troublesome young master.
Tanjiro stared at him blankly for a moment.
Then, instead of becoming angry, he smiled warmly.
"It's okay! You can have them if you're hungry!"
"…Huh?"
This completely stunned the self-proclaimed Mountain King.
Why wasn't this guy fighting back?
Did he already acknowledge Inosuke's superiority?
After staring at Tanjiro suspiciously for several seconds, Inosuke suddenly slapped him hard on the shoulder.
"You're interesting! Stick with me and I'll protect you! My name is Hashibira Inosuke!"
Tanjiro smiled brightly.
"I'm Kamado Tanjiro! Nice to meet you!"
Although Inosuke behaved strangely, Tanjiro could not sense any real malice from him.
At that moment, another boy cautiously approached them.
His hair was bright blond, and both sides of his face were swollen as if he had recently been beaten repeatedly.
"M-My name is Agatsuma Zenitsu…" he stammered nervously. "Can I… team up with you guys?"
Truthfully, Zenitsu never wanted to participate in Final Selection at all.
Unfortunately, his mentor Jigoro Kuwajima had literally kicked him out after several harsh slaps and forced him to come.
"Of course!" Tanjiro answered immediately.
His kindness made Zenitsu nearly burst into tears on the spot.
At that exact moment, the examiners finally appeared.
Two children dressed in identical kimono slowly stepped forward beneath the moonlight.
One had white hair and calm eyes.
The other had black hair tied neatly behind their head.
Most participants assumed they were both girls.
However, the black-haired child was actually Kagaya Ubuyashiki's only son, Ubuyashiki Kiriya, who had been raised with feminine mannerisms from childhood due to the traditions of the Ubuyashiki family.
Beside him stood his older sister, Hinaki Ubuyashiki.
The siblings bowed gracefully toward the assembled candidates.
"Welcome," they said softly.
"The Final Selection will now begin."
"The wisteria flowers blooming at the foot of this mountain act as a barrier hated by demons. Therefore, the demons imprisoned within Mount Fujikasane cannot escape."
"You must survive inside the mountain for seven days."
"If you remain alive after seven days, you will pass Final Selection."
"Good luck."
After speaking, the siblings bowed once more.
And with that
The Final Selection officially began.
As they entered the mountain forest together, the strange trio unexpectedly formed a team ahead of schedule.
The other participants paid them little attention.
One was a cowardly blond boy shaking nonstop.
Another looked overly kind and naïve.
And the last one was a screaming lunatic wearing a boar mask.
No matter how anyone looked at it, this group seemed doomed.
As the moon rose higher into the night sky, the three continued deeper into the forest.
Zenitsu nervously clung to Tanjiro's sleeve.
"W-We should find somewhere safe and hide! We only need to survive seven days anyway!"
But the moment he said that, Inosuke exploded.
"Coward!"
He grabbed Zenitsu by the collar and lifted him off the ground.
"We're here to slaughter demons! I'll crush every last one of them! And those weird bugs too!"
Tanjiro immediately froze.
"Bugs?"
Inosuke tilted his boar mask slightly.
"Yeah! Those creepy things!"
"You mean the Monjushiro?" Tanjiro asked quickly.
"The Monju-what?"
Inosuke looked genuinely confused.
Tanjiro immediately began gesturing wildly with both arms.
"They're giant insect-like monsters that eat humans and demons! About this big!"
His explanation was surprisingly vivid.
Inosuke immediately realized they were discussing the same creatures.
"Oh! Those disgusting bugs! One of them dared to attack me before!"
Meanwhile, Zenitsu stared at both of them in complete disbelief.
"What are these idiots talking about…?"
"Why are giant bugs suddenly involved?!"
Before Zenitsu could continue panicking, Tanjiro suddenly stopped walking.
His expression sharpened instantly.
"There's a demon nearby!"
Almost simultaneously, Inosuke reacted as well.
Without hesitation, he unsheathed both jagged Nichirin swords.
"Hahaha! Mine!"
A demon suddenly lunged down from the trees
But before it could even land properly, Inosuke flashed forward like a wild beast and instantly tore off its head with both blades.
The poor demon died before even introducing itself.
Another demon hiding nearby immediately realized Inosuke was dangerous and changed targets toward Tanjiro instead.
Unfortunately for it
Tanjiro had already drawn his blade.
\text{Water Breathing First Form: Water Surface Slash}
The slash was smooth and fluid like flowing water.
The demon's neck separated cleanly from its body.
Just like that, two demons vanished almost instantly.
Zenitsu's jaw dropped completely.
"These two monsters are rookies too?!"
Without hesitation, he immediately decided he would cling to them no matter what.
Inosuke laughed loudly and slammed his hand against Tanjiro's back.
"Well done, Gonpachiro!"
"It's Tanjiro," Tanjiro corrected gently.
"But thanks! You're really strong too, Inosuke!"
"Of course I am! I'm the strongest creature on this mountain!"
As the two continued complimenting each other enthusiastically, Zenitsu trembled nearby while questioning his entire life.
Unknown to the three boys, however
A pair of sinister eyes was already watching them carefully from the darkness.
Eventually, the trio located a relatively safe clearing to rest for the night.
Since the goal of Final Selection was survival, there was no reason to recklessly search for demons. Sooner or later, demons would naturally come to them anyway.
However, every demon that approached ended up dying almost immediately.
Even when demons attempted sneak attacks, none could bypass Tanjiro's extraordinary sense of smell.
And so, two full days passed.
"If we survive tonight, we'll make it through!" Tanjiro said excitedly.
Unfortunately, the past several days had pushed all three of them close to exhaustion.
They had barely slept.
Food was also becoming scarce.
Even Inosuke had started complaining from hunger.
At one point, he nearly declared he was leaving the mountain entirely, but Tanjiro managed to calm him down and convince him to stay.
After all, abandoning the test now would waste everything they had endured.
Finally, on the last night, Inosuke collapsed asleep almost instantly from exhaustion.
Zenitsu followed soon after.
Tanjiro volunteered to stand guard alone.
However, even he was nearing his limit.
High above the trees, a figure silently observed the exhausted trio.
A twisted grin slowly spread across its face.
"So they're finally running out of energy…"
"One is asleep. Another's practically unconscious."
"And the last one is barely staying awake."
Its gaze locked firmly onto Tanjiro.
"That hanafuda earring brat… he's Sakonji Urokodaki's disciple."
The demon's smile widened hideously.
"Perfect."
"I'll devour him first."