The next day, Sumi, Naho and Kiyo all make their way to Tanjiro's room to take him his breakfast. They knock on the door and walk in, only to see Tanjiro running around the room.

"Tanjiro-san, are you feeling better?" Sumi asks as she looks at Tanjiro.

"Yeah, Sumi-chan. I feel so much better!" Tanjiro says as he grabs Sumi, lifting her into the air above his head.

"Whoa! It's like I'm the wind!" Sumi says as she spreads her arms out wide.

"I want to go next!" Kiyo says as she puts Tanjiro's plate down.

"Me too! Me too!" Naho says as she balls her fists.

The two girls have a turn and then they leave Tanjiro in peace so he can eat his breakfast. After his breakfast, he washes up and goes for a run around the grounds. He makes it into one of the training rooms as the three butterfly girls help his stretch.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!" Tanjiro says as he leans forwards, "so frustrating! I just want to get out there and go out on missions but Sakura-san says I'm not healthy enough!" he says as Naho grabs his hands, pulling him up from the ground, "hey, wait! Did a new sword come for me while I was asleep? You know, to replace the one I chipped?".

"Oh!" the three girls say, shocked.

"A sword, you say?" Naho says as she looks at Tanjiro, "a sword...".

"You did get some letters from Mr Haganezuka..." Sumi says as she looks at Tanjiro, "would you like to see them?".

Kiyo brings over some letters as she passes them to Tanjiro. Tanjiro smiles as he opens them, only for his smile to fade as he reads Haganezuka's harsh words, such as 'fuck you!', 'I hate you', 'I'll curse you', 'go to hell'.

"This is... really bad" Tanjiro says, scared by what might happen to him if he faces Haganezuka.

"It is, isn't it?" Kiyo says as she looks down.

"Two months went by, but no swords ever arrived" Naho says as she brings over some rice crackers for them all to enjoy.

"And it was only chipped this time" Tanjiro says as he crumples the letters, "I snapped it in two last time!".

"Swords are always getting damaged, but Haganezuka-san just seems to be a little bit difficult, doesn't he?" Sumi says as she looks at Tanjiro.

"Why don't you go visit the village? I remember Sakura-san telling me that you had free access to the village once you woke up. I can have Aoi-san send a crow to the village to get someone to come take you there" Kiyo says with a smile.

"Did she really?" Tanjiro asks as his eyes light up, "and would you really? That would be amazing, Kiyo-chan!".

"I'll go to Aoi-chan right now!" Kiyo says as she runs out of the room.

About two hours later, Tanjiro is ready to depart for the village. He says goodbye to Aoi, the girls and Shinobu as he walks out the entrance of the mansion.

"Nice to meet you" a female Kakushi says as she bows to Tanjiro, "as Sakura-sama has granted approval, I shall be guiding you to that place".

"Nice to meet you!" Tanjiro says as he bows to the woman, "I'm Tanjiro Kamado! Thank you for taking me!".

"As your guide, I cannot tell you my name, but I look forward to serving you. Now, put these on, please" the woman says as she passes Tanjiro a blindfold and some earplugs.

"What are they?" Tanjiro asks as he takes them.

"A blindfold and earplugs" the woman says as she helps Tanjiro tie the blindfold at the back of his head, "the village is hidden. Also... I will be carrying you on my back. Moreover, as you are known to have an acute sense of smell... take these nose plugs" she says as she plugs up Tanjiro's nose.

The woman puts Tanjiro on her back as she runs off.

The Swordsmith Village, where the Nichirin swords are forged, is an extremely vital place for the Demon Slayer Corps. Its whereabouts must be kept completely secret to protect it from demon attacks. The only two people alive who know the location of the village are Sakura-san and Master Ubuyashiki. Needless to say, the lady who I first started off with didn't know where it was, either. As I was passed around amongst the Kakushi, they all took me to a certain part of the path to get to the village before passing me onto another Kakushi. They knew their part of the path and that was it. So one single Kakushi couldn't go from the start of the treck to the other. The Kakushi are guided by specially trained Kasugai crows who know exactly where they're going. I'm told that the mansion where Master Ubuyashiki resides is even harder to find! Seriously, smart people are incredible!

Tanjiro and another Kakushi make it to the village as the woman stops.

"I'm going to remove this now" the woman says as she takes off Tanjiro's blindfold.

"Whoa!" Tanjiro says as he adjusts to the bright light as he looks at the large village in front of him, "wow! These buildings sure are amazing!".

"Everyone who comes here for the first time says the same thing" the woman says happily.

"And this scent..." Tanjiro says as he sniffs the air, "there must be a hot spring nearby!".

"Yes, you're right about that!" the woman says as she looks at Tanjiro, "please go there later to refresh yourself. It's a tradition that you visit the hot spring as soon as you come to the village. But first things first, turn left at the end of this street, and you'll find the chief's home. Please go there and greet him before you do anything else".

"Right!" Tanjiro says as he turns to her.

"I'll be taking my leave now, but I wish you all the best!" the woman says as she bows to Tanjiro.

"Thank you very much!" Tanjiro says as he bows to the woman.

Meanwhile, up in the hot springs, Mitsuri and Sakura are bathing in the hot springs when they hear the echo of Tanjiro's thanks.

"I just heard an echo of gratitude" Mitsuri says as she stands up, "does that mean someone's here? I can feel my heart pounding!".

Sakura's eyes widen as she slips under the water, hiding her eyes from Mitsuri's nude body. Tanjiro makes it to the village chief's house as he knocks on the door. The door opens and Tanjiro walks inside. He sees the chief and takes his shoes off and Nezuko's box from his back as he stands in front of the chief.

"Hello there! I am the chief of this village, Tecchin Tecchikawahara" Tecchin says as he looks at Tanjiro, "nice to meet you! The smallest and most important person in the village is me. Well, why don't you bow your head so low that your forehead touches the tatami mats?".

"I'm Tanjiro Kamado!" Tanjiro says as he falls to the ground on his knees, slamming his head onto the ground, "it's a privilege to meet you!".

"Well, what a fine boy! Come here!" Tecchin says as he fawns over Tanjiro's respect, "have some sweets".

"Thank you very much!" Tanjiro says as he sits up, one of the men passing Tanjiro a bowl of sweets, "these are delicious!".

"Aren't they?" Tecchin says as he looks at Tanjiro, "oh, about Hotaru, at this time, he seems to have gone missing. We're searching for him, too, so please be patient".

"Hotaru?" Tanjiro asks as he tilts his head.

"That's right. Hotaru Haganezuka" Tecchin says with a nod.

"That's such a cute name!" Tanjiro says with a smile.

"Right? I'm the one who named him!" Tecchin says as he points to himself, "but Hotaru himself said to me that it was too cute and blasted me".

"That's sad" Tanjiro says with a slight pout.

"That boy's been like this since he was a child" Tecchin says as he lets out a loud sigh, "he loses his temper just like that and falls off the face of the earth. Sorry about that".

"No, please!" Tanjiro says as he leans forward, "it's my own fault for breaking my sword and chipping it so easily!".

"No, you're wrong about that" Tecchin says calmly, "he's the one who forged a faulty sword, so it's all on him".

"As soon as he's found, we'll apprehend him and bring him back here" one of the men behind Tecchin says as he swings his arm, pretending to punch someone, "so, please, rest assured".

"Right" Tecchin says with a nod.

"You... aren't going to hurt him, are you?" Tanjiro asks worriedly.

"I hear that you haven't healed enough to hunt down demons yet" Tecchin says as he looks at Tanjiro, "if Hotaru hasn't forged another sword by then, I'll assign someone else to be your swordsmith. Our hot spring can work wonders on a broken and weak body, so go have a good, long soak".

"Yes, I will. Thank you" Tanjiro says as he stands up, bowing to the chief before he leaves.

"I'll show you the way" one of the men says as they walk out of the room with Tanjiro.

"Thank you" Tanjiro says as he steps to the side, allowing the man to go in front of him, "I hope this won't turn into an argument".

They walk through the village as Tanjiro hears some banging in a nearby building. They walk past and Tanjiro looks inside as he sees some swordsmiths at work.

"There are foundries and workshops all over this village" the man says as he walks over to Tanjiro, "that's how all of the demon slayer swords are forged".

"It's thanks to you all that we can wield our swords, isn't it?" Tanjiro says as he looks at the man, "thank you very much!".

"Oh please, it's our job, so there's no need to thank us" the man says happily, "if we keep going, we'll soon reach the entrance to the hot springs!".

Tanjiro and the man continue to walk when they make to the entrance to the hot springs.

"The hot spring is at the top of this hill" the man says as he points at the stairway leading up the hill, "it has all kinds of healing properties. Cuts, burns, haemorrhoids, bleeding piles, constipation, everything from gout to the pain of a broken heart. It works on anything, so please treat yourself to a leisurely soak".

"Right!" Tanjiro says with a nod.

"I'll be down here, preparing your meal" the man says as he looks over at a small hut nearby.

"Right! Thank you very much!" Tanjiro says as he bow to the man.

"Ah!" Mitsuri screams from the top of the stairway as she starts to run down, "ah! It's you, Tanjiro-kun! Tanjiro-kun!".

"W-watch out!" Tanjiro says as he puts his arms out in front of him, "please be careful! Your breasts are this close to spilling out!".

"Ah!" Mitsuri yells as she grabs Tanjiro and spins him around.

"There!" Tanjiro says as he closes the robe to cover her up.

"Listen to me! Listen, will you!?" Mitsuri says upset, "just now, up there, I got ignored! I said hello, but he ignored me!".

"Who ignored you?" Tanjiro asks as he helps Mitsuri stand up.

"I don't know! So, I asked him his name, only to be ignored!" Mitsuri says as she waves her arms around, "I would have asked Sakura-san, but she left before I saw him!".

"Sakura-san's here?" Tanjiro asks in shock.

"Uh huh. She had to come relay an important message to the chief so she's staying here" Mitsuri says as she nods, "but isn't what happened to me awful, Tanjiro-kun?! I'm a Hashira, you know! And all the good vibes I got from my bath have been cancelled out!".

"I hear that dinner will be ready soon" Tanjiro says as he looks at Mitsuri, "it's supposed to be matsutake rice!".

"What? For real?!" Mitsuri says excitedly as she gets up and skips away, "tonight's dinner is matsutake rice, oh yes it is!".

"So she's a hearty eater, huh?" Tanjiro says as he watches Mitsuri skip away.

Tanjiro makes it to the hot springs as he stands in front of one of the pools.

"Wow! It's so spacious!" Tanjiro says as he looks around, "ouch!" he says as he catches something that was thrown at his head.

He opens his hand as he looks at the tooth in his hand, "a tooth?! Where did this come from?!" he asks as he looks around and spots someone familiar to him.

He smiles as he realises who it is, "Genya Shinazugawa!" Tanjiro shouts to get Genya's attention.

"Die!" Genya yells as he turns to look at Tanjiro.

Tanjiro pouts as he places Nezuko's box on the ground, stripping off as he jumps into the pool.

"Huh?" Genya says, confused.

"Long time no see!" Tanjiro says as he walks towards Genya, "how have you been? I forgot to ask. Are you and the wind Hashira related?".

"Stop talking to me, damn it!" Genya yells as he grabs Tanjiro's head, shoving him under the water.

He lets go as he grabs his towel and storms out of the pool, wrapping the towel around his waist as he walks off.

"And here I thought we could bond in our nakedness" Tanjiro says as he resurfaces, Nezuko swimming by him, "making new friends sure is hard".

After his bath, Tanjiro gets changed and meets Mitsuri for dinner with Nezuko.

"Wow, that's impressive!" Tanjiro says as he looks at the large stack of plates around Mitsuri.

"You think so?" Mitsuri asks shyly, "I really only nibbled today!".

"I'm going to eat plenty, too, so I can get stronger again!" Tanjiro says proudly, "oh, I almost forgot. The guy you met at the hot spring was Genya Shinazugawa, who was my fellow swordsman".

"What? Is that so?!" Mitsuri asks shocked, "that would make him Shinazugawa-san's younger brother, right? But Shinazugawa-san didn't say anything about a younger brother. I wonder if they're on bad terms. That's just heart wrenching".

"Is that right?" Tanjiro asks as he tilts his head, "I wonder why".

"Hmm? What is it, Nezuko-chan?" Mitsuri asks as Nezuko comes over and lies on her back in order to play with Mitsuri, "there, there!" she says as she starts to tickle Nezuko, "there are five of us siblings in my family, and we all get along... so it's hard for me to fathom. I thought, 'those Shinazugawa brothers are scary!'".

"Genya still hasn't show up" Tanjiro says as he looks at the doorway, "I was hoping that we could at least have a talk".

"I don't think he's coming" Mitsuri says as she hugs Nezuko, "I heard the villagers saying that he never takes the meals they make. I wonder if he brought something to eat with him".

"I wonder if he's alright" Tanjiro says as he looks down, "I'll bring him some rice balls later".

"Good idea! Let's do that!" Mitsuri says happily.

The two get some rice balls as they leave the room, Tanjiro carrying the food for Genya.

"Nezuko-chan, Nezuko-chan!" Mitsuri says as Nezuko holds Mitsuri's hand, "you know what? The sight of those rice balls is making me feel hungry again! Don't tell anyone, okay?".

"Why did you join the demon slayer corps, Kanroji-san?" Tanjiro asks as he looks at Mitsuri.

"Hmm? Me?" Mitsuri asks as she stops for a moment, "well, Sakura-san had seen how strong I was and asked me to join. But the real reason why is because she told me there were lots of single, good looking men who I could marry! I mean, any girl would prefer someone stronger than herself, right? Because we want to be protected! Do you know what I mean? Or maybe it's hard for a boy to understand! See, Hashira are powerful, right? But it's not like you can just meet up with one! So I knew I'd have to become a Hashira myself, and I worked really hard! But turns out Rengoku-san was like a brother to me, Shinazugawa-san was super cold, Uzui-san already had three wives. The only one who kind of talks to me is Iguro-san. Tomioka-san's really shy and I really talk to him. Gyomei-san's very respectful and has his religion. And Tokito-san's far too young".

Mitsuri starts walking again as Tanjiro stands there for a moment, trying to process what he just heard.

"Genya doesn't seem to be hear" Mitsuri says as they arrive at Genya's room, only to see it completely empty.

"Kanroji-sama?" a Kakushi asks as she walks over, "they'll be done honing your sword soon. We'd like you to come along to workshop to make just a few final adjustments".

"Oh my, it looks like I have to go now" Mitsuri says as she looks at the woman.

"Please don't mind us. I'd be happy to walk you over" Tanjiro says with a smile.

"That's alright" Mitsuri says as Nezuko hugs her, "I'll probably be leaving soon anyways".

"Oh, but..." Tanjiro says as he looks at Mitsuri, "I see, then...".

"Tanjiro-kun..." Mitsuri says as she turns to look at Tanjiro, "the two of us may not live to see each other again, but let's fight the good fight! You took on an Upper Rank demon and survived. That kind of experience is priceless! Nothing can ever top what you've learnt from first hand experience. It's equal to five years, no, ten years of training! Right now, Tanjiro-kun, you are way stronger than you were before. Mitsuri Kanroji is rooting for the Kamado siblings!".

"Thank you very much!" Tanjiro says happily as he bows to Mitsuri, "but I've still got a long way to go. Uzui-san just let me win, that's all! I'll work even harder! To defeat Muzan Kibutsuji!".

"Tanjiro, you've been granted permission for a long stay, right?" Mitsuri asks excitedly.

"Uh, yes, that's what I've been told" Tanjiro says with a smile.

"They say there's a secret weapon in this village that will make you stronger" Mitsuri says as she leads Tanjiro away, speaking quietly, "try to find it, okay? Bye now!" she says as she runs off.

Nezuko waves sadly to Mitsuri who goes around the corner with the other woman. Tanjiro stands there stunned for a moment before he holds the tray of food above his head, blood suddenly pouring from his nose.