After abandoning the fate that would have led to her death, Shinobu Kocho seemed to have cast off a heavy burden. Not only was she more confident in her speech, but the vitality about her had also become much more vivid.
"I'm about to get rusty staying at the Butterfly Mansion. I'll tag along with you two and stretch my limbs."
Rin casually reached out and flicked her smooth forehead.
"Besides, the demons on that mountain are excellent 'prey.' How could I let them go?"
"Ugh!" Shinobu Kocho covered her forehead and shot him an annoyed look. Surprisingly, she did not get angry. She only muttered softly, "Resorting to domestic violence, huh? Hmph, whatever, suit yourself."
Giyu Tomioka, standing to the side and completely lacking social awareness, added, "Since Rin-san is coming along, this mission is bound to succeed."
The three of them did not linger any longer and immediately used their movement techniques to head rapidly toward Natagumo Mountain.
By evening, a dark mountain range shrouded in extremely gloomy energy and the scent of blood came into view.
...
Natagumo Mountain.
The entire mountain was covered in an eerie layer of white spider webs, and the air was filled with a nauseating smell of rot.
"Such a strong scent of blood... and this oppressive aura. There must be a Twelve Kizuki-level demon inside." Giyu Tomioka gripped the hilt of his sword, his gaze turning extremely serious.
"Be careful. These spider threads carry a very mild toxin. Do not..."
Shinobu Kocho was about to warn them, but she saw that Rin had already ignored the dense web barriers and walked straight into the depths of the dark forest.
"Hey! You idiot, listen to people!" Shinobu Kocho said in exasperation.
Just as they stepped into the forest,
"Help... someone save me!"
A desperate cry suddenly came from the bushes not far away.
A regular swordsman wearing the Demon Slayer Corps uniform stood in an extremely twisted, unnatural posture. His limbs were being pulled through the air like a marionette, and he held a Nichirin Blade while hacking wildly toward Rin and the others, tears streaming down his face.
"My body is out of control! Run! Don't come near me!"
The swordsman shouted in despair.
"Hmm.. It's some kind of extremely tough invisible spider thread controlling them!"
Giyu Tomioka, who had followed behind, immediately saw through the trick and was about to draw his sword to use Water Breathing to cut the spider threads hidden in the air.
But Rin moved far faster than he could.
Buzz.
His pitch-black eyes instantly turned blood-red, and the Three-Tomoe Sharingan emitted a chilling pressure in the dim forest.
Under the Sharingan's sharp perception, the thin spider threads that were nearly invisible to ordinary people became clearly visible to Rin.
"Insignificant tricks."
Rin did not even draw his Kusanagi Sword. He simply raised his right hand slowly.
The violent lightning-attribute Chakra within his body instantly gathered at his fingertips.
Zizizit—!
Accompanied by the sharp crackle of electricity, more than a dozen senbon formed from high-density lightning condensed at Rin's fingertips.
"Lightning Release: Chidori Senbon!"
Shua! Shua! Shua!
Rin casually flicked his hand, and the dozen lightning senbon shot out instantly.
Ding ding ding ding!
A series of sharp snapping sounds rang out in mid-air.
Those lightning senbon not only cut through all the tough spider threads connected to the swordsman instantly, but also followed the threads' paths and electrocuted dozens of small spiders hidden in the treetops that were acting as signal relays, reducing them to ash.
Thud.
The swordsman who had been controlled collapsed heavily onto the ground. Although the fall was rough, his life had been saved.
"This... what kind of terrifying hidden weapon technique is this?" Giyu Tomioka held his half-drawn Nichirin Blade, frozen in place once again.
He had not even seen how Rin managed to lock onto those transparent spider threads.
"Let's go. Don't waste time here."
The lightning at Rin's fingertips dissipated, and those blood-red Sharingan looked toward the deepest part of the forest.
"I'm in a hurry to harvest the head of a Lower Rank."
...
Deep within the gloomy forest, the stench of rot and blood grew stronger, and even the pale moonlight could not pierce through the layers of eerie spider webs.
"I'll leave the small fry on the outskirts to you two. I'm going to kill the boss of this mountain."
Rin tossed those words over his shoulder, completely ignoring Shinobu's instruction behind him not to run off alone.
The pale blue Chakra beneath his feet burst forth, and his entire body instantly turned into a streak of swift black lightning. With several leaps between the thick tree trunks, he disappeared from the sight of Giyu and Shinobu.
In this world, with the versatile energy system of Chakra supporting him, his mobility in complex terrain was even more terrifying than that of the most agile demons.
...
Meanwhile, in the core area of Natagumo Mountain.
"Whew... whew..."
Tanjiro Kamado gripped his Nichirin Blade, which had only half its length remaining, with both hands as he gasped for breath.
His forehead, arms, and thighs were covered in wounds deep enough to expose bone, and fresh blood dripped continuously from his tattered Demon Slayer Corps uniform onto the ground.
Not far behind him in the air, his sister Nezuko Kamado was suspended upside down by countless thick white spider threads. The threads dug deep into the girl's pale skin, drawing bright red blood.
"What a truly nauseating look in your eyes."
Standing more than ten meters away from Tanjiro was a short demon boy with pale skin, white hair, and red dot markings on his face.
Lower Rank Five, Rui.
Rui's eyes, etched with the characters for Lower Five, were filled with a cold and twisted arrogance.
"The bonds of family should be absolute obedience. Trash like you, who cannot even protect your own sister, does not deserve to speak of bonds."
"Hand your sister over to me, and I might consider giving you a quick death."
Hearing these warped words, Tanjiro's eyes, which had been growing unfocused from blood loss, suddenly ignited with blazing fury.
"Stop joking around!"
Tanjiro let out a hoarse roar. His legs pushed off the ground, crushing the withered leaves beneath his feet as he raised the broken blade and charged at Rui once again.
"Stubborn."
Rui raised both hands coldly. Between his ten fingers, countless tough spider threads instantly stretched out, glowing with a dangerous red light.
"Blood Demon Art: Cutting Thread Rotation!"
Boom!
A massive rotating cage woven from extremely hard blood-colored spider threads descended like a collapsing sky, carrying a terrifying cutting force capable of shredding steel.
"Water Breathing... urg.."
Facing this unavoidable killing blow, Tanjiro tried to swing his broken blade again, but a tearing pain shot through his lungs from overusing the breathing technique.
It's useless... I can't even fully perform the Water Breathing forms... Am I going to die?
Just as Tanjiro was about to fall into despair, countless images suddenly flashed through his mind like scenes in a spinning lantern.
On a snow-covered mountain in the bitter cold, his father, whose body had always been extremely frail, could dance the Kagura through the entire night in the wind and snow.
"Tanjiro, breathe... the method of adjusting your breathing... as long as you master the correct breathing, you won't feel tired no matter how cold it is..."
His father's gentle yet firm voice seemed to cross the boundary between life and death and suddenly rang in Tanjiro's ears.
"Hinokami Kagura..."
Buzz.
Tanjiro's eyes snapped open. His lungs, which had been growing cold from lack of oxygen, were instantly filled with a surge of scorching energy.
The blue flow of water that had been wrapped around the broken blade evaporated at once, replaced by a violent crimson flame as bright as the blazing sun.
"Clear Blue Sky!"
Boom!
Tanjiro roared as he swung the broken blade. That domineering circular slash of flame instantly cut through Rui's strongest blood-colored spider threads.
"What?!" For the first time, Rui's normally expressionless face showed extreme shock.
This Demon Slayer had clearly been at his limit. Why had the power of his blade suddenly increased so dramatically?
Not only that, but Nezuko, hanging in the air, seemed to sense her brother's determination and suddenly opened her pink slit pupils.
Blood Demon Art: Exploding Blood!
Boom!
____
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