VIP Shoutout: Massive thanks to Nikkolasand Cameron Doyle for joining the P-Tier!!♥
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A faint floral scent mixed with the delicate fragrance unique to her filled the air between them.
The kiss was brief, light as a dragonfly touching water, yet it carried a quiet sense of possessiveness.
They separated almost immediately.
Rin released Shinobu, who stood frozen in place as if her mind had completely stopped working. His thumb brushed lightly across the corner of her lips.
"Thanks. I've received your feelings."
Rin looked at the pretty face now flushed so deeply it seemed ready to drip red, and let out a soft chuckle.
"Be good and wait for me at the Butterfly Mansion. Go to bed early tonight. No staying up late mixing medicines."
With that, he turned around with effortless swagger, waved a hand behind his back, and strode toward the main gate.
It wasn't until his figure completely disappeared into the night that Shinobu Kocho finally came back to her senses. She pressed both hands tightly against her burning cheeks, her legs feeling weak as she leaned against the trunk of the wisteria tree.
"That idiot… that scoundrel… who gave you permission to suddenly take my…!"
Although she muttered curses in embarrassment and indignation, the purple eyes behind her hands sparkled like shattered starlight, filled with a sweetness and fluttering excitement she could not suppress.
…
Late at night, at a train station on the outskirts of Tokyo Prefecture.
WHOOO—!!!
Accompanied by the deafening blast of a whistle, a steel beast spewing thick black smoke rested quietly at the platform.
"What kind of monster is this? It screams and spits steam!" Tanjiro asked, his face full of confusion.
"Is this the ruler of this land?! Watch this great Inosuke smash it with a headbutt! Boar Rush!"
Inosuke, on the other hand, was bursting with excitement. He drew his twin serrated Nichirin blades and lowered his head, preparing to ram straight into the locomotive.
Thud! Thud!
Two crisp, heavy knocks sounded.
Rin had delivered sharp taps to both Tanjiro and Inosuke's heads, sending them crouching on the ground while clutching their skulls in pain.
"If either of you dares to shout and embarrass yourselves here again, I'll stuff you straight into the boiler and burn you as coal."
Rin withdrew his hand coldly and tightened the haori over his shoulders.
"Get on the train."
Under Rin's absolute suppression, the youngsters instantly became as obedient as quails, quietly following him through ticket inspection and onto the train.
The moment they stepped into the first carriage of the Mugen Train, a shout so loud it drowned out even the roar of the engine rang out.
"TASTY!!!"
"TASTY!!!"
"SO TASTY!!!"
In a seat in the middle of the carriage, the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, with his striking yellow-and-red hair, was holding a vintage beef hotpot bento. He shoveled rice into his mouth while loudly declaring its deliciousness, his wide, shining eyes blazing with enthusiasm.
At his feet, more than a dozen empty bento boxes were already stacked in a neat pile.
This astonishing appetite drew the attention of the surrounding passengers, who kept glancing over.
"This big brother… seems a little strange?" Zenitsu whispered, hiding behind Tanjiro as he swallowed nervously.
"Rengoku san."
Rin walked over with long strides, hands in his pockets, the three youngsters following behind him.
Hearing his name, Kyojuro Rengoku suddenly turned his head.
The moment he saw Rin, his eyes lit up instantly. He immediately set down his chopsticks and stood up with solemn respect.
"Umu! Rin-dono! I did not expect the Master to send you personally!"
Rengoku's voice rang out like a bell, filled with unrestrained passion and respect.
Ever since he had been instantly defeated by Rin's large-scale Lightning Release in the Ubuyashiki courtyard, the Flame Hashira had been completely convinced of Rin's strength.
"Just passing by to take a look. Keep eating."
Rin sat down in the seat opposite Rengoku, while Tanjiro and the others quickly found seats nearby.
"With Lord Rin here, the demons on this train will have no chance of escape!" Rengoku laughed boldly before turning his gaze to Tanjiro. "Young Kamado! I have heard about you from the Master! The Hinokami Kagura, yes? It seems to be a very ancient breathing technique. Though I do not know it myself, if you are willing, become my Tsuguko! I will train you into a first-rate swordsman!"
Faced with Rengoku's enthusiastic monologue, Tanjiro was completely overwhelmed and hurriedly waved his hands in explanation.
Amid the lively noise...
Click-clack, click-clack.
The carriage door slowly slid open.
A conductor with a pale face and sunken eyes stepped inside with stiff movements, holding a ticket puncher in his hand.
"Please… everyone… show your tickets…" the conductor said weakly, his voice so faint it sounded as though he might collapse at any moment.
As the conductor slowly approached... sniff!
Tanjiro, who had been chatting with Rengoku, suddenly twitched his nose.
"There's a very strong demon scent! And this smell… something about it is wrong!" Tanjiro instantly gripped the hilt of his Nichirin blade.
"Umu! Has the rat finally revealed its tail?!" Kyojuro Rengoku also shot to his feet, his hand already resting on the sword at his waist.
The conductor seemed completely oblivious to the killing intent radiating from the two of them. Mechanically, he reached out and took the ticket handed over by a passenger in front of him.
Click.
The ticket puncher came down, clipping a small notch into the ticket.
The moment that click sounded.. A strange ripple spread through the air inside the carriage.
Aside from Rin, every passenger in the carriage—including Tanjiro and Rengoku, who had just been brimming with killing intent—suddenly lost the focus in their eyes.
In less than two seconds..
Thud. Thud…
The sword slipped from Tanjiro's hand, and his head dropped heavily onto the table.
Zenitsu and Inosuke slumped into their seats as well, letting out the slow breaths of deep sleep.
Even the powerful Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, crossed his arms and sat upright in his seat, yet his eyes had already closed as he sank into a deep slumber.
The entire carriage instantly fell into a strange, deathly silence.
Blood Demon Art:Forced Unconscious Sleep.
This was the sinister trick of Enmu, the Lower Rank One demon lurking in the shadows.
Using tickets infused with his own blood as the medium, the moment the ticket was punched, even Hashira-level Demon Slayers would be dragged into a deep dream they could not escape.
"It is complete… the mission that person entrusted to me…"
Hidden atop the carriage and secretly observing everything, Lower Rank One Enmu curled his lips into a morbid smile.
"Ahhh~~ What delightful sleeping faces. Die peacefully within this endless, beautiful dream… The bodies of the Hashira will become the greatest nourishment for my evolution."
Enmu was just about to order the children to cut the ropes binding Rengoku and the others.
Suddenly..
"Hey. You pervert hiding on the ceiling. Did you really think a trick like that could fool me?"
A voice filled with obvious mockery suddenly rang out in the carriage.
What?!
Enmu's pupils shrank sharply as he looked toward the source of the voice in disbelief.
Among the rows of seats where the passengers had all collapsed.. The young man draped in a pure black haori leaned casually against the back of his seat.
Resting his chin on one hand, he showed absolutely no sign of being affected by sleep.
What made Enmu's soul tremble the most was the moment that young man looked up.
What kind of eyes were those?
An extremely deep crimson filled his irises, and three black tomoe slowly rotated within his pupils like the scythes of a Shinigami.
The moment his gaze met those crimson eyes, Enmu felt as if the blood in his body had completely frozen.
A sense of despair far more terrifying than what he felt in the presence of Kibutsuji Muzan instantly crushed the Blood Demon Art he was so proud of into nothing.
Rin looked up toward the ceiling, the three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes radiating an icy pressure.
"Trying to use hypnotic genjutsu in front of an Uchiha who has awakened the Sharingan? Heh~ I have to admire your courage."
Ting—!
The instant those words fell..
The Kusanagi sword at Rin's waist, wrapped in crackling purple lightning, slid half an inch from its sheath.
Violent Lightning Release chakra immediately roared and erupted throughout the carriage.