"Huh? What's going on?" Shinichi frowned, still holding Shinobu's hand, as he stared at the Butterfly Mansion.
His instincts told him two powerful forces were clashing inside.
Meeting Shinobu's gaze, he saw her tilt her head slightly—she'd noticed the anomaly too.
Inside the mansion's courtyard, two blindingly fast figures collided repeatedly.
The black and white afterimages left the onlookers dizzy, while the shockwaves from their impacts drew gasps.
"Haah!" Shinazugawa Sanemi's bloodshot eyes bulged, veins popping along his dust-covered arms.
His white shirt was filthy, his entire appearance disheveled.
Whoosh!
Before he could catch his breath, a massive iron fist filled his vision.
"Damn it! Persistent bastard!"
With no time to dodge, Sanemi clenched his own fist and met Uzui Tengen's strike head-on.
Crunch!
The sickening sound of impact made the spectators collectively wince—just hearing it hurt.
"Sanemi! Tengen! Stop this at once! This is the Butterfly Mansion—no fighting here!" Kanae shielded the dazed Kanao behind her before glaring at the two battling Hashiras, her voice sharp with anger.
However, although Sanemi was willing to cease the fight, his pride absolutely wouldn't allow him to be the first to stop.
Similarly, the flamboyant Uzui Tengen was also unlikely to back down first.
"You two!!"
Seeing that no one was listening to her, the usually gentle Flower Hashira finally showed signs of anger.
But before Kanae could act, a green figure rushed into the fray, forcefully intervening in the Wind-Sound battle.
BOOM!
The thick sole of a deerskin boot stomped heavily on the Butterfly Mansion's stone floor, cracking the tiles with countless fractures.
Using this as a pivot point, the figure launched a powerful flying kick that nearly created a sonic boom.
With such tremendous force, that kick could probably shatter a boulder.
Swish!
Yet the expressions of Shinazugawa Sanemi and Uzui Tengen didn't change at all.
Both easily adjusted their stances, completely unfazed by the sudden flying kick.
But this was enough, as the kick's owner hadn't intended to join the fight anyway.
Taking advantage of the moment when the two adjusted their positions, Shinichi forcefully wedged himself between them.
Crack!!
Bang! Bang!
Both hands shot out simultaneously, blocking Sanemi and Tengen's fists at almost the same time.
The terrifying force of their punches landed squarely on Shinichi's palms.
Crack~
Sanemi's strength was manageable, but the power behind Uzui Tengen's fist genuinely surprised Shinichi—so much so that his arm emitted a faint bone-grinding sound.
Hum~~
As the dust gradually settled, the onlookers including Tanjiro could clearly see that the Forest Hashira, who had appeared out of nowhere, had stopped the battle between the Wind Hashira and Sound Hashira.
"Sister, we're back. What happened here? Why were Shinazugawa-san and Uzui-san fighting?" Shinobu stood beside Kanae and asked in confusion.
Suddenly, she felt someone tugging at her haori.
Turning around, she saw Kanao's watery, wide eyes.
"Master~" Kanao, who had nearly been abducted earlier, clung to Shinobu's haori.
Leaving aside the sisters' reunion for now, back at the battlefield, Shinichi frowned as he looked at the somewhat disheveled Sanemi and Tengen.
"What's the reason for fighting like this? If you want to fight, why not go to the training grounds? This is the Butterfly Mansion! You two are Hashiras—do you have any idea how bad this looks? If you still haven't had enough, I'll gladly spar with you."
Shinichi spoke sternly to them.
Although, in theory, Tengen was Shinichi's senior in the Demon Slayer Corps, this was still the Butterfly Mansion—a place Shinichi had contributed significantly to establishing.
Fighting on someone else's turf simply wasn't justified.
Thus, Sanemi reluctantly withdrew with a scowl, while Tengen smiled and smoothed his slightly tousled hair, casually remarking.
"Alright, that was indeed impolite. I'll offer Butterfly Mansion a splendid apology later. But this time, it really was a matter of urgency."
"So what happened, Tengen?" Shinichi released the two men and asked seriously.
As one of the earliest Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps, Shinichi may not have known Uzui Tengen extremely well, but he was at least aware that despite the Sound Hashira's occasionally flamboyant personality, his strength and sense of responsibility were absolutely top-notch.
He was also a senpai who took great care of the Corps' younger members.
"It's like this..."
Shinazugawa Sanemi let out a faint snort, then expressionlessly shook his slightly numb and aching fist.
Although his earlier fight with Uzui Tengen had been fueled by some personal emotions, on the other hand, Sanemi couldn't help but admire Tengen's speed and power.
Without using Breathing Techniques or his Nichirin Blade, the ninja-born Uzui Tengen's formidable strength, astonishing speed, and unparalleled agility were truly breathtaking.
This wasn't to say Tengen was stronger than Sanemi—no one knew just how powerful Sanemi could be when going all out.
Soon, under Tengen's explanation, everyone understood what had happened and why the Sound Hashira needed female members.
"The red-light district?" Tanjiro dumbly scratched his head, vaguely recalling hearing about it from the big trees at the foot of the mountain—it seemed like a place very popular with men.
"Three wives?!!" Zenitsu, his arm bandaged, widened his eyes until they were as big as saucers, his mouth gaping wide enough to fit a duck egg.
He glared at Uzui Tengen with sheer envy.
'Seriously?! Just because you're tall, handsome, and strong, does that mean you get to have three wives?! Damn it! This is so unfair!!'
"Another Upper Moon? YEAHHHH! Let this lord go! This time, I'll definitely chop off an Upper Moon's head!!" Ionsuke was as fired up as ever.
"So that's how it is? I understand now, but... the red-light district... Kanao definitely wouldn't be able to handle the reconnaissance mission. That child is too shy..." Kanae said worriedly, looking at the girl shrinking behind Shinobu.
"Tch! Why bother with reconnaissance? Let's just charge in! I want to see what these Upper Moons are really made of!" Sanemi, who had never had the chance to fight an Upper Moon, grumbled resentfully.
This time, even without being scolded by others, he quickly realized his mistake—after all, Tengen's wives were still missing.
If they alerted the enemy...
Shinichi was also deep in thought when his gaze swept over the group, especially catching the meaningful look Shinobu gave him.
"Uh, for reconnaissance, we don't necessarily need female members, right? We could just find some good-looking male members and dress them up a bit..."