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The time goes back to a moment earlier.
When the golden barrier rose around the Ubuyashiki Mansion, the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen lurking in the mountain forest all witnessed it with their own eyes.
At the same time, everyone's spirits grew tense.
"Is it starting?"
Kanae and Mitsuri stood on a waterfall not far from the residence, watching the situation in the courtyard from afar.
Shinobu and three other first-rank swordsmen followed behind the two.
These six swordsmen formed the mobile squad for this war, responsible for battlefield reinforcements and rescues.
"There's only one person!" Mitsuri said, looking at the figure fighting the swordsmen in the courtyard.
"That's Muzan!" Shinobu said. "Be careful. It seems he's the only one trapped inside the barrier; the other demons are outside!"
The group remained on high alert while watching the rapid battle unfolding in the courtyard.
Until Kaito's figure appeared, using a protective barrier to save the swordsmen on the brink of danger.
Then, with the sound of a biwa ringing in their ears, they suddenly realized that the ground beneath their feet had somehow turned into wooden doors and windows.
"Careful! Dodge quickly!"
Just as they were about to jump, the doors and windows beneath their feet suddenly opened.
"Ah!!"
"What's going on!!"
Amid several screams, they involuntarily fell into the suddenly appearing space.
Then, as the biwa sounds continued to ring out, the Demon Slayer Corps members lurking in the forests in various directions were successively swallowed by the abrupt spaces appearing under their feet.
...
Inside the Infinity Castle.
Kanae fell into a room surrounded on all sides by identical shoji doors.
"Mitsuri! Shinobu!"
She called out loudly a few times but heard no response, immediately realizing that everyone had been separated.
"It seems this is the blood demon art that controls space, as Mr. Uchiha mentioned."
She gripped her Nichirin sword and walked toward a door on one side of the room.
"I must quickly find the demon using this blood demon art."
However, just as she was about to push the door open, a large group of grotesquely shaped demons suddenly burst through the shoji door and attacked her ferociously.
"Flower Breathing: Fifth Form: Peonies of Futility!"
Kanae instinctively unleashed nine consecutive strikes in an instant.
Nine peach-colored blade arcs decapitated the surrounding demons along the way, finally piercing through the thick neck of the largest demon simultaneously.
Ignoring the demons turning to ash, Kanae held her sword and strode out of the room.
These demons were not weak; two of them even had the strength of Lower Strings.
At this point, she began to worry about the other members.
'I must quickly deal with the demon controlling this space!'
Her expression hardened, and she ran swiftly.
She then began racing through this incredibly complex underground castle, occasionally rescuing other Demon Slayer members under siege. Through conversations with them, she immediately understood the current situation.
"It seems Muzan wants to wipe us all out in one fell swoop to interfere with the Pillars and Mr. Uchiha who are fighting him."
She shared her judgment with the member named Murata in front of her.
"Please rendezvous with the other members as soon as possible!" She pointed out the direction toward where the Demon Slayer Corps members were gathering for Murata. "I must find the demon controlling this underground castle's space!"
"I... I heard the sound of a biwa coming from that direction earlier," Murata suddenly provided a seemingly useful clue.
"Excellent, thank you."
Kanae nodded and immediately rushed toward the direction Murata indicated.
Meanwhile, Shinobu was already in grave peril.
After falling and separating from her sister and Mitsuri, what appeared before her was a porcelain pot with gorgeous patterns.
At first, she paid it no mind, but as she passed by the pot, a demon with an appearance that challenged the limits of human tolerance suddenly burst out from it.
Shinobu nimbly leaped back in a graceful retreat. Upon seeing the demon clearly, she struggled to maintain her composure.
This was a completely snow-white demon, its lower body seemingly connected to the pot. A massive head was attached to a slippery body, with several small hands dangling from the head.
Most bizarrely, it had two mouths growing where its eyes should be, while its two eyes were located on its forehead and mouth positions.
"Upper Rank!"
Though instantly repulsed by the demon's ugliness, the moment she saw the characters engraved in its eyes, she calmed her mind.
"Running into an Upper Rank right away." She drew the slender Nichirin sword from her waist. "My luck isn't great, it seems."
"I am Upper Rank Five, Gyokko." The demon's two mouths spoke simultaneously. "What was that expression just now, you ugly girl?"
"My name is Kanae Shinobu."
Shinobu's forehead bulged with veins. "How should I put it... I especially don't want to be called ugly by a guy like you!"
"Do you have any objections to Lord Gyokko's perfect and flawless form? Ugly girl!" Gyokko's body twisted on the pot.
"Oh my, I'm afraid I can't agree with your taste, Mr. Gyokko." Shinobu took a deep breath to suppress her inner anger, saying with a smiling face.
"Speaking of which, that pot of yours..."
Gyokko immediately raised its massive head high in contempt: "What's wrong with my pot! Can you offer any meaningful suggestions about my perfect art, ugly girl!"
"Your pot..." Shinobu's body abruptly vanished.
"Is a bit asymmetrical—it's hideous!"
When she reappeared, she was already in front of Gyokko, her slender Nichirin sword rapidly thrusting toward Gyokko's eyes.
"Insect Breathing: Dance of the Bee Sting: True Flutter!"
However, this high-speed thrust struck nothing.
All that remained before her was an empty pot, while Gyokko's voice abruptly came from behind her.
"You detestable hag, how dare you slander Lord Gyokko's art!!"
Shinobu leaped up rapidly, flipping and turning to look behind her.
Gyokko had now emerged from another pot, its small hands connected to the head also holding a porcelain pot with water grass patterns.
"Die, you tasteless hag!" It raised the water grass-patterned porcelain pot. "Blood Demon Art: Thousand Needle Fish Kill!"
Large and small goldfish floated out from the pot, spewing countless sharp needles from their mouths.
Poisonous!
The moment Shinobu saw the sharp needles, her expression changed, and she began dodging rapidly.
"Hahaha... You can't escape, hag!"
Gyokko continuously summoned goldfish through the water grass-patterned porcelain pot, the rapidly shooting poison needles covering an increasingly wide area.
Soon, Shinobu's body was pierced by the poison needles. As her speed slowed, more and more needles struck her.
It was a neuro-paralyzing poison.
As the Demon Slayer Corps' poison expert, she quickly assessed her body's condition. Though she could probably concoct an antidote, she couldn't find the opportunity.
'Is this the end...?'
Shinobu's speed completely slowed, and she finally collapsed to the ground.
At this point, the spraying of poison needles had stopped.
Gyokko laughed loudly: "This is the price you pay for slandering my art! Hag!!"
Now, it held out another porcelain pot with wave patterns, pouring the water from it onto Shinobu.
"I will torment you painfully to death and then turn you into a decoration for my pot!!!"