People in Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began with Demon Slayer

Yang Jie shook his head and said, "I don't know either, you'll find out if you ask."

Yang Jie approached an elderly scavenger, took out a bill, handed it to him, and asked, "Old man, I have some questions I'd like to ask you."

The old scavenger's eyes lit up when he saw the money. He quickly took the money from Yang Jie's hand and said with a smile, "Ask me any questions you may have. I've lived here for decades and I know everything."

"Excuse me, this is a port, why is it so deserted?"

Upon hearing Yosuke's question, the old man cautiously looked around and, finding no one paying attention to them, replied in a low voice, "This place wasn't always like this. This port used to have very smooth access to all places, making it the top choice for merchants to trade, so it has always been one of the most famous and prosperous ports."

However, one day a few years ago, everything changed. A group of terrifying monsters appeared out of nowhere, slaughtered the port, and jumped into the sea and disappeared without a trace.

Since that day, all ships departing from this port have disappeared at sea. Gradually, the place became deserted, and now it is completely forgotten.

The elderly scavenger sighed deeply.

Chapter 255 Cursed Seal Experiment Field

Yosuke pondered for a moment. The main problem now was the lack of ships. Without ships, there was no way to get to the island where Orochimaru's base was located.

The old scavenger saw that Yosuke and Yekura wanted to go to sea and earnestly advised them, "Young man, listen to my advice, don't go to sea. Even if you have to go to sea, choose a different port. Otherwise, it's not worth losing your life."

However, the nearest port is several days away, which is too time-consuming. Yosuke asked, "Sir, where can we find a boat? We still want to set sail from here."

"Sigh, why won't you listen to advice, young man? Do you know the old saying, 'Those who don't heed the words of their elders...'"

When Yang Jie took out a few more banknotes, the old scavenger immediately changed his tune: "It's right not to listen. We old folks have never seen anything like this. Young people should have an adventurous spirit!"

Yosuke and Yekura exchanged a glance and smiled helplessly. Yosuke interrupted the old scavenger and continued, "Old man, what about the boat?"

The old scavenger said to Yang Jie, "Come with me!"

Yosuke and Yekura followed the old scavenger to the entrance of a cave. The cave was not large, but there was an object in the middle that was covered by a canvas.

The old scavenger gently stroked the object covered by the canvas and said with great reluctance, "Back in the day, I was an apprentice crew member on a merchant ship. I heard the legend that there was an island on the other side of the sea where the treasure of the Pirate King was hidden. So I always had a dream of going to sea and hoped that after I learned the knowledge of navigation, I could go to sea to find the legendary treasure of the Pirate King."

But after that incident a few years ago, when my companions perished at sea, I developed a fear of the ocean and dared not venture out to sea again. However, I still built a boat, always hoping that one day I could return to the sea and pursue my seemingly unattainable dream.

The old scavenger lifted the canvas, and a 'perfect' boat appeared before Yosuke and Yekura.

This is a sailboat, very old and dilapidated, with patches all over its hull, making one wonder if it can even go out to sea.

"Um... are you really planning to use this ship for exploration?" Yecang asked with some skepticism.

"Don't let my dilapidated appearance fool you, my boat is made of top-quality materials, it'll be perfectly fine for going out to sea!" the old scavenger assured, patting his chest.

Yosuke sighed, "There's no way to complain. As long as it can sail, that's fine. Let's go, Yekura."

Just as Yang Jie was about to drag the boat away, he was stopped again by the old scavenger.

"This is the ship that carries all my dreams... Maybe it's because of this ship that I can find that treasure, and maybe even become the Pirate King. I can't bear to part with it..."

The elderly scavenger lay on the boat, wailing and crying his heart out.

Yosuke asked helplessly, "Then what do you want in return for letting me leave with the boat?"

The old scavenger rubbed his index finger and thumb together: "I'll have to pay more!"

...

Yosuke towed the sailboat and Yekura to the port.

As for the old scavenger, he kept counting the two banknotes, "One thousand...nine thousand...ten thousand! I'm rich!"

Yosuke chuckled and said, "The illusion technique Itachi taught me is quite useful. He was able to count two thousand-tael banknotes into tens of thousands of taels."

Ye Cang complained, "That old man is too greedy. He dared to ask for five thousand taels for a broken boat. In my opinion, he shouldn't have even given him two thousand taels!"

"Alright, let's ignore him, it's not worth it."

Yosuke pushed the sailboat into the water and found that although it looked broken, at least it didn't leak.

Yosuke and Yekura jumped onto the sailboat.

Row towards your destination.

After rowing for a whole day, Yosuke and Yokura finally arrived at an island.

This island is also one of Orochimaru's bases, his northern stronghold.

Upon entering this island, a sinister and eerie atmosphere immediately envelops you.

The island is covered with stone pillars, forming a natural barrier.

Yosuke and Yekura continued to venture deeper into the island, and could occasionally hear the screams of humans.

In the rocky mountains at the center of the island, a passage was discovered.

Just as Yosuke and Yekura were about to enter the passage, dozens of long, strangely shaped humanoid monsters emerged from the passage and surrounded the two of them.

Without uttering a word, these humanoid monsters launched an attack on Yosuke and Yekura.

Just as Yekura was about to use her Scorch Release ninjutsu to deal with the group of humanoid monsters, Yosuke stopped her.

"These were all once human beings."

Yecang's pupils contracted sharply as he stared incredulously at these humanoid monsters, whose features were completely different from humans, except for their upright walking.

If these humanoid monsters are all transformed humans, then what exactly happened to them to turn them into this form?

Yosuke's mood also became somewhat heavy, as he recalled the humans in his world who had been turned into demons by Muzan Kibutsuji.

"I'll take care of them."

Yosuke drew his katana and held it horizontally in front of his chest.

"Blood Breathing? First Form? Crimson Corruption."

The scarlet stamens bloomed, and a shockwave carrying the scarlet petals swept across the entire venue.

Most of these humanoid monsters were killed outright, with only a small number surviving.

But as their consciousness was corrupted by the crimson, putrid poison, the surviving humanoid monsters began to fight each other.

Just as Yosuke and Yekura were about to enter the base, a humanoid monster corrupted by scarlet putrefaction toxins swung its claws and attacked Yosuke.

A swift flash of light appeared, and Yosuke instantly severed the humanoid monster's arms, causing blood to gush out.

The humanoid monster collapsed to the ground with a mournful cry, and its form changed. It shed its monster body and transformed into a body covered in black circular patterns, before finally returning to a complete human body.

This person actually regained consciousness after being eroded by the scarlet putrefactive toxin.

"You...you were sent by Orochimaru to eliminate us?"

Yosuke shook his head and said, "No, we're here to find Orochimaru. Is Orochimaru in this base?"

"No, Orochimaru hasn't been here for a long time. This place is Orochimaru's human testing ground for researching the Cursed Seal. We are all failed products that didn't pass the Cursed Seal test. I've told you everything I know. Please give me a quick death. I don't want to live in that ugly form anymore..."

Yosuke nodded silently and slit his throat, giving him a near-painless death.

"Yosuke, since Orochimaru isn't here, should we leave now?"

“This kind of human experimentation facility should not exist. Let me destroy it.”

Yosuke sheathed his katana, his eyes icy cold, and stepped into the base.

Chapter 256 Chongwu

Upon entering the base, Yosuke and Yekura were greeted by even more experimental humans who had failed to withstand the cursed seal and had been transformed into monstrous forms.

However, lacking reason, they were no match for Yosuke and Yokura, who easily killed them together.

Yosuke noticed that everyone here had a black pattern on their neck, which should be the cursed seal that Orochimaru was researching here.

Yosuke also discovered that this cursed seal was very unique, possessing a magical power similar to chakra, yet different from chakra.

“The same unique chakra as Jiraiya back then…” Yosuke murmured.

Yosuke was unaware of the existence of Sage Chakra.

However, when Yosuke took Itachi and the other Uchiha clan members away from Konoha, Jiraiya appeared and stopped Deidara's unfinished Explosion Release ninjutsu. At that time, Jiraiya used a similar chakra.

Just as Yosuke and Yekura continued to venture deeper into the base, one person who should have died from Yekura's Scorch Release by evaporating the moisture from his body was still alive.

"You...you must be targeting Jugo...even if you're strong...you'll still be killed by that madman..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the man breathed his last.

"Jugo? Could he be the strongest person in this base?" Yosuke frowned slightly.

However, Yosuke didn't seem to care much and continued to venture deeper into the base.

After that, Yosuke and Yekura did not encounter any further attacks, and it seemed that the people they had just met were among everyone in this base.

Upon arriving at the center of the base, it was still deserted. Ye Cang asked, "There shouldn't be anyone here, right?"

"No, there's someone else, listen carefully!" Yosuke, whose hearing was exceptionally sharp, heard a voice.

Yecang pricked up his ears and listened quietly, and he also vaguely heard a strange sound.

"Kill...kill..."

"If the woman comes in, kill her..."

"If it's a man... kill him too..."

Yosuke and Yekura followed the sound and arrived at a huge iron gate.

There were five locks on the iron gate, and two chains binding it. Just by looking at the setup, you could tell that the person imprisoned inside was very important.

Yosuke used his katana to destroy all the locks and chains. As soon as he opened a crack in the door, a boy whose body was covered in runes raised his fist and smashed it at Yosuke.

Yosuke opened his hand and grasped the boy's fist; the immense impact caused the entire iron door to deform and dent.

Seeing his fist being gripped, the boy looked surprised, then laughed maniacally. His body changed, and like the humanoid monsters outside, half of his body became monstrous, with an axe-shaped arm emerging from it, which he slashed fiercely at Yosuke.

"Sun Breathing? First Form? Waltz!"

A fiery slash traced a graceful arc, severing the boy's entire arm at the root.

The boy stumbled backward and crashed into the wall.

"You're really strong... Hahaha, this is more interesting! Let's start fighting, let's fight!"

The boy's missing arm grew back, but his overall body size became much smaller.