"Shinichi! Shinichi! There's a mission! Frequent disappearances have been reported in Gunma Prefecture, Tokyo. Suspected Demon activity. Proceed to Gunma immediately to investigate!"
From the rooftop, Shinichi Kasugai crow, Eizo, squawked the orders loudly with its beak wide open.
Directly in front of Eizo, a red-and-green dual-colored Nichirin Blade halted mid-swing against a wooden post.
Shinichi turned his head, his blue-green and peach-colored eyes flashing with understanding.
"After over ten days, finally a mission?"
He sheathed his blade casually, then grabbed the Blue-green battle robe hanging on a nearby tree branch and slipped it on smoothly.
With two Nichirin Blades of differing lengths tucked into his belt, he grabbed Maru-ni by the scruff—who was currently baring his teeth at Eizo—and within two minutes of receiving the order, Shinichi strode out the door of his Demon Slayer Corps residence, dragging Maru-ni along.
Clearly, he had been preparing for this moment all along.
Thus began the first official mission of Shinichi Moriki, a Kinoto-ranked swordsman of the Demon Slayer Corps.
"That Shinichi, always so decisive. I was hoping to see him off, but well, if he's made it to Kinoto rank, he must be pretty capable. Hope everything goes smoothly." Goto a 'Kakushi' watched Shinichi retreating figure and silently offered his well-wishes.
Though they hadn't known each other long, Goto had become one of Shinichi few friends in the Demon Slayer Corps—or perhaps the only one, since Shinichi barely interacted with anyone else.
****
In this era, aside from traveling on foot, the most common mode of transportation was horse-drawn carriages.
Though trains existed, they only operated in major cities—certainly not in the mountainous regions where the Demon Slayer Corps was based.
Fortunately, the country wasn't too large and even relying on foot and carriages, Shinichi reached his destination, Gunma Prefecture, within two days.
The disappearances were concentrated in Takayama Village, a settlement under Gunma jurisdiction.
Nestled deep in the mountains, most of Takayama residents were hunters who made their living off the land.
Recently, however, numerous hunters had gone missing—not just one or two, but over a dozen, including seasoned veterans with decades of experience.
The village had organized search parties, but none had turned up any clues.
Even a team of four of the most experienced hunters had vanished without a trace.
Wild animals couldn't be responsible—not even a tiger, the king of beasts, could take down so many skilled hunters.
That left only one possibility.
Upon arriving in Takayama, Shinichi quickly sought out the village chief for details. The white-haired elder seemed well-informed, for when he noticed the Demon Slayer Corps uniform beneath Shinichi battle robe and the two Nichirin Blades at his waist, he showed no surprise.
Instead, he provided a thorough account of the recent disappearances.
"It's hard to believe the Nakano and Nakata brothers could vanish. Their ancestors were true samurai—though their family has declined, they've upheld their martial traditions to this day. Both were formidable in combat and swordsmanship. So, it's absolutely impossible for this to be the work of wild beasts" the village chief stated gravely.
Shinichi sat across from the village chief, thoughtfully stroking his chin.
"Chief, you seem to know who I am, don't you?"
The chief of Takayama Village wasn't surprised by these words. Looking at Shinichi uniform, he nodded with deep emotion.
"Over ten years ago, I was fortunate enough to encounter one of your Demon Slayer Corps member. Otherwise, my family and I might have fallen victim to a Demon fangs."
"Who would have thought the legends were true—that terrifying Demons truly exist in this world? But fortunately, reality also has brave swordsmen like you from the Demon Slayer Corps, fighting against the darkness and Demons to protect people safety."
"To be honest, I'd suspected that the disappearances in the mountains might be caused by a Demon, but it was just a guess. After all, unless someone has seen one with their own eyes, no one would believe in the existence of Demons. Until I saw you, young man—now I'm almost certain there must be a Demon in those mountains."
Shinichi looked at the chief with some surprise, not expecting this connection between the chief and the Demon Slayer Corps. But this was good—with the chief' cooperation, his mission would proceed more smoothly.
Based on the chief information, they could essentially rule out the forests north and west of Takayama Village.
The east led to the main road to Numata City, leaving only the southern mountain forest where most hunters had disappeared.
Even the search teams that entered hadn't returned.
Having roughly identified the Demon location, Shinichi made a request.
"In that case, Chief, I'd like to ask for your help."
The chief nodded firmly. "Please, speak. I'll do everything in my power to assist. Just promise you'll rid us of this vile Demon!"
Shinichi stood, his Nichirin Blade at his waist clinking softly as his dark green haori swayed gracefully.
"Slaying Demons is my duty. Don't worry, Chief—my request is simple."
"To avoid alerting the Demon, please organize villagers to seal off all entrances to the southern mountain forest. Prevent anyone from entering."
"I'll eliminate this Demon before dawn tomorrow and restore peace to Takayama Village!"
"Understood. I'll see to it immediately."
Without delay, Shinichi bid farewell to the chief and immediately headed for the southern mountain forest with Maru-ni.
Above the man and dog, the Kasugai crow Eizo flapped its wings, ready to relay any Demon-related intelligence at a moment notice.
With one hand resting on his sword, Shinichi sprinted swiftly.
His deerskin boots kicked up loose soil, inevitably collecting mud and grass fragments.
Before night fully fell, Shinichi reached the southern forest—a vast expanse of towering trees stretching beyond sight.
No wonder most families in Takayama Village were hunters, with such expansive woodlands it would be a shame not to hunt or cutting log.
But the forest density wasn't good news.
If Shinichi had to search alone, even seven days and nights might not be enough to cover the entire area.
However, Shinichi wasn't foolish enough to search slowly.
He crouched down, plucked a small green blade of grass from the ground and gently closed his eyes, emptying his mind.
A peculiar breathing rhythm began to flow as he listened to the vibrant sounds of all living things.
"Forest Breathing, Eighth Form: Whispering Forest Eye!"
Soon, Shinichi opened his eyes, his left green iris glowing with light.
Vast stretches of lush vitality reflected in his vision.
Though somewhat blurry, he was certain—the Demon responsible for the disappearance of over a dozen hunters was somewhere in these mountains!
Through the Whispering Forest Eye, deep within the forest, the normally steady and gentle vitality of the woodland now seemed disturbed by some presence, churning like turbulent waves.
------------------------------
Please read my new book : One Piece : Make Marines Great Again
Read 30 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator