Just as Ubuyashiki Kagaya left, three figures blocked Rin's path in perfect synchronisation.
"Hey, kid. Although the Master gave you privileges, I haven't swallowed my anger yet!"
Shinazugawa Sanemi twisted his neck, which still ached from the earlier kick, his bones cracking loudly. His bloodshot eyes stared intently at Rin.
"I was careless just now and didn't use any Breathing Styles! I don't believe someone like you, who doesn't even draw his Nichirin Blade, can be that strong!"
"Umu! Sanemi is right!"
Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku strode forward, his eyes blazing with intense heat, his voice booming like a bell.
"Young Rin! To be able to slaughter all of Fujikasane Mountain, your strength is undoubtedly top-tier! But as swordsmen, if we do not communicate with the blades in our hands, how can we truly understand each other? I, Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku, officially challenge you to a duel!"
"Although your taste in clothes is not flamboyant at all, and your arrogant attitude earlier was quite irritating, I admit that the way you flipped Sanemi with one hand just now did have a trace of flamboyance."
Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui pulled the two giant twin blades from his back, clashing them together in mid-air and sending sparks flying. A fanatical smile spread across his face.
"Count me in! Let me see if you really are the kind of monster the Master spoke of!"
Even the Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito, who had been sitting off to the side in a daze, tilted his head curiously, his gaze falling on the black sword with purple patterns at Rin's waist.
"Although I'll probably forget your name as soon as I turn around... your sword looks very interesting. Can I take a look?"
Seeing this group of Hashira instantly turn into battle maniacs and surround Rin, Kocho Shinobu, standing to the side, helplessly pressed her forehead.
She had known it. These proud individuals would never be fully convinced by a newcomer just because of a single sentence from the Master. Without a real fight, they would never acknowledge Rin.
"You all should not go too far." Tomioka Giyu frowned, his right hand once again resting on the hilt of his sword as he prepared to step forward to help Rin out.
"It's fine, Giyu."
Rin suddenly spoke, interrupting Tomioka Giyu's movement.
He slowly turned around to face Sanemi, Rengoku, Tengen, and the others. There was no panic on his handsome face. Instead, a bloodthirsty smile with a hint of excitement appeared.
That was the innate battle instinct of a Uchiha.
"A duel? Sure."
Rin casually pulled off the haori draped over his shoulders and tossed it to Kocho Shinobu, then flicked his left thumb.
Zheng!
The Kusanagi Sword, entwined with dark purple lightning patterns, instantly slid half an inch from its scabbard. A heart-stopping, bone-chilling killing intent erupted from Rin's body without restraint.
Under this aura, even the surrounding air seemed to grow heavy.
"However..."
Rin slightly raised his head. His originally pitch-black pupils transformed into an extremely eerie scarlet within a tenth of a second.
Three black tomoe spun wildly within the blood-colored eyes, emitting a terrifying pressure that made it feel as if one's soul would be drawn in just by looking at them.
Rin's gaze swept across the faces of the Hashira one by one, the curve of his mouth becoming more and more arrogant.
"Fighting one by one is a waste of time. You should all come at me together. Let me teach you, for free, what true power really is."
Boom!
As soon as these words were spoken, the anger and battle intent of the Hashira were completely ignited.
"You arrogant brat! I'm going to teach you a lesson you'll never forget!"
The Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa, whose temper was already explosive, was instantly ignited by Rin's taunt to "come at me together."
Boom!
The ground beneath Sanemi's feet instantly exploded into a deep crater. Cyan wind pressure swirled around his Nichirin Blade as he charged toward Rin's face like a violent tornado, tearing through the air.
"Wind Breathing, First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter!"
Sanemi did not hold back at all with this strike, imbuing it with terrifying destructive power.
Even a Hashira of the same level would have to avoid the brunt of such a sudden, lunging draw.
However, Rin, standing in place, merely tilted his head with extreme nonchalance.
Within the vision of his scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Sanemi's lightning-fast trajectory, the exertion points of his muscles, and even the minute air currents created by the blade slicing through the air were all slowed countless times, clearly imprinted in his mind.
Swoosh!
The Nichirin Blade, wrapped in wind pressure, slashed down, nearly grazing the tip of Rin's nose. The sharp sword wind carved a deep trench more than ten meters long into the ground behind him.
"What?!" Sanemi's pupils shrank abruptly.
He didn't just dodge it. He perfectly evaded the strike with the smallest movement, without retreating even a single step.
"Your speed is barely acceptable, but your movements are too easy to read."
Rin's cold voice sounded beside Sanemi's ear. At the same time, Rin's left thumb, gripping the hilt of the Kusanagi Sword, gave a sudden push.
Clang!
A pitch-black sword light entwined with purple lightning patterns suddenly flashed out of the scabbard, striking toward Sanemi's wrist from an extremely tricky angle.
At that critical moment, two piercing explosions suddenly rang out from both sides of Rin.
"Sound Breathing, First Form: Roar!"
Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui had appeared to Rin's left at some point. His two enormous twin blades slashed down, accompanied by the violent explosion of special gunpowder, instantly turning Rin's position into a sea of fire.
"Well done, Tengen!" Serpent Hashira Obanai Iguro sneered from a tree branch, just about to draw his sword to block Rin's escape route.
But in the next second, everyone's expressions froze.
The dust cleared.
Rin, who should have been blown back or seriously injured, had disappeared. In his place was a charred pine log.
"A log? Where's the kid?!" Tengen Uzui's red-painted eyes widened, his face looking as if he had seen a ghost.
What kind of unflashy trick is this?
"Above!"
Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku's voice rang out like a great bell.
He snapped his head upward, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit. Gripping his crimson Nichirin Blade with both hands, he pushed off the ground with explosive force and shot upward like a burning meteor.
"Flame Breathing, Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun!"
A violent, crescent-shaped slash of flame surged upward from below, striking toward Rin, who was standing on a tree trunk in mid-air.
"Good timing."
Rin looked down at the blazing flames, the wildness at the corner of his mouth becoming even more pronounced.
Clang!
The Kusanagi Sword, etched with purple lightning patterns, was finally fully unsheathed.
At the same time, the massive amount of lightning-attribute Chakra within Rin's body began pouring frantically into the blade.
"Chirp, chirp, chirp!"
The piercing sound of birds chirping instantly echoed throughout the courtyard.
Extremely violent, high-density purple lightning danced and extended wildly along the blade of the Kusanagi Sword, turning the black weapon into a dazzling blade of thunder.
Rin did not dodge. Instead, he gripped the sword with one hand and slashed down with brutal force against Kyojuro Rengoku's incoming flame strike.
Lightning Release: Chidori Blade!
Boom!
Purple lightning and crimson flames collided violently in mid-air.
A terrifying shockwave burst outward in all directions from the clash, causing the clothes of the surrounding Hashira to whip wildly in the wind.
"Ugh! Such heavy force! And this lightning!"
Kyojuro Rengoku's expression changed drastically in mid-air.
The moment their blades collided, he felt an irresistible, terrifying force pressing down from the other man's single hand.
Not only that, but the wild purple lightning conducted through his Nichirin Blade, instantly sending his arms into severe paralysis.
Bang!
After less than a second of stalemate, this Flame Hashira, renowned for his strength and explosiveness, was smashed back to the ground from mid-air by Rin's single strike.
He staggered back seven or eight steps before barely regaining his footing, his arms still trembling uncontrollably.
"Are you kidding me... he suppressed Rengoku with one hand?!"
Standing on the porch, Kocho Shinobu covered her mouth, her purple eyes filled with shock.
Although she knew Rin was strong, seeing him treat the Demon Slayer Corps' highest combat power like playthings created a visual shock that words could hardly describe.
"Don't be careless! This kid's techniques are very strange!"
Serpent Hashira Obanai Iguro finally could not hold back any longer.
Using the scattered dust as cover, he employed an extremely bizarre, twisted movement technique that seemed to defy the normal limits of human joints, instantly circling behind Rin's blind spot as Rin landed.
"Serpent Breathing, Third Form: Coil Choke!"
The wavy Nichirin Blade traced a lethal curve, silently sweeping toward the back of Rin's neck.
At the same time, Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito, who had been standing absentmindedly, also moved.
"Mist Breathing, Fourth Form: Shifting Flow Slash."