Time seemed to fracture and solidify at the sound of that brutal impact, plunging the battlefield into silence.
Shinobu Kocho, her body impaled, hung limply from Maito's arm like a broken puppet.
Agony twisted her delicate features as blood gushed uncontrollably from her lips.
Yet, her eyes shone unnaturally bright—violet irises devoid of fear, filled instead with calm acceptance and a hint of relief.
With her back to Maito, Shinobu faced Yuichiro who stood not far away.
The young boy was utterly consumed by overwhelming grief and disbelief, his widened eyes and trembling pupils screaming his refusal to accept reality.
With great effort, she managed to curve her lips into that gentle, familiar smile all Demon Slayers knew—beautiful yet heartbreaking, stained as it was with blood.
"Yuichiro... run..." Her soft voice barely carried as, with her last ounce of strength, Shinobu clutched the final weapons hidden in her sleeves.
Two pitch-black metal spheres—homemade explosives she'd learned to craft from the Sound Hashira, Uzui Tengen.
But unlike Tengen's flamboyantly destructive bombs, Shinobu's iron pellets were packed with something far deadlier: a toxin potent enough to kill any demon.
"NO!! SHINOBU-SAN!!" Yuichiro's voice was a desperate howl, brimming with fury toward the demon.
His maple-red Nichirin Blade flared anew, fueled by rage as he raised it once more.
But before Yuichiro could unleash his desperate assault, Shinobu suddenly seized the arm piercing her chest.
With her final strength, she pulled Maito backward with her.
It was hard to imagine that such a petite girl could unleash such tremendous power in an instant—so fast that even Maito couldn't react in time.
"Are you insane, woman?!" Maito roared in shock and fury, instinctively trying to wrench his arm free.
But to his astonishment, Shinobu slender fingers clamped down like a vice, preventing him from pulling away.
Most critically, in those fleeting moments, Shinobu's other hand—the one gripping the explosive—suddenly clenched tight.
BOOM!!
A not-too-intense detonation erupted in the air.
Flames tinged with thick violet smoke instantly swallowed both Maito and Shinobu, who still clung stubbornly to his arm.
The specially crafted poison Shinobu had prepared proved formidable—Maito felt immediate suffocation the moment he made a contact with it.
'Madwoman!'
'Are all these lunatics who associate with Shinichi insane?!' Maito's mind screamed in rage.
Before the flames consumed her completely, Shinobu's violet eyes locked onto Yuichiro one last time.
Her consciousness was already fading, blurring his expression beyond recognition.
Yet, in that haze, she thought she saw a familiar face—those distinctive heterochromatic eyes.
'If Shinichi were here… he would've done the same, wouldn't he? Protecting his students is a master's duty.'
'So now… I'll fulfill Shinichi's role in his stead.'
"Shinichi…"
With a whisper of the name she cherished most, Shinobu finally closed her eyes.
The shockwave from the explosion struck like an invisible hammer, slamming violently into everything around it.
Scorching heat and debris-laden winds howled outward in all directions!
"This is bad!" Lee, hidden beneath a gray cloak, sighed as she raised a hand to shield her face from the incoming dust storm.
Her gray eyes remained fixed on the heart of the explosion.
Yuichiro, who had been pushed back by Shinobu earlier and was thus slightly farther from the blast, was still battered by the violent shockwave.
His vision blurred, his ears rang with a shrill whine, but the deepest pain was..... in his heart.
"SHINOBU-SAN!!!" Yuichiro screamed hoarsely, clawing desperately toward the raging inferno at the explosion's center.
Tears streaked down his face, mixing with soot and grime, turning the once-handsome youth into a disheveled mess.
As the smoke gradually cleared…
...
"What do you mean, no trace of him in all of Tokyo?"
Inside a spacious yet understated office, a line of tall, impeccably dressed elites stood rigidly at attention.
Each one was a successful entrepreneur who could command respect in any city, even warranting meetings with mayors.
Yet now, their faces were uniformly tense, their expressions strained.
The reason was simple—the woman seated at the desk before them exuded an aura that suppressed everyone in the room.
"If not Tokyo, then where? Osaka? Kyoto? Nara? I don't want excuses. I want results. Spare no expense—Shinichi Moriki must be found. Otherwise, the Moriki Conglomerate will have no qualms replacing every single one of you with more competent individuals!" Ryukawa Chinatsu's delicate brows furrowed as her voice turned icy, cutting through the room like a blade.
Ryukawa Chinatsu's words undoubtedly sent a shiver through the gathered merchants.
Had anyone else spoken such things, they would have been mocked for their delusions.
But the woman before them was not one to jest.
The Moriki Conglomerate was no longer merely a business entity.
None could fathom the true extent of Chinatsu's influence, though most knew this single truth: nearly two-thirds of the island nation's foreign trade lay firmly in Moriki's grasp, while domestic commerce occupied half the market.
Countless conglomerates and companies had been swallowed whole in the process.
In other words, Ryukawa Chinatsu now reigned as the undisputed queen of commerce.
Amidst the oppressive atmosphere, a balding man clenched his teeth before stepping forward, his voice trembling with deference.
"Ryukawa-sama, I... I have some information."
"Speak."
The woman's icy gaze made his hair stand on end, yet he forced himself to relay everything he knew.
"The government?... The Demon Slayer Corps." Chinatsu abruptly rose from her seat, slamming the table as her voice turned razor-sharp.
"You're certain of this?"
"Y-yes! My brother works at Kyoto's Administrative Office. This comes directly from him. And... and it seems the military faction has already agreed to certain terms." The man wiped cold sweat from his brow.
"Brain-dead lunatics!" Chinatsu spat the curse before storming out without another glance at the assembly.
"I must contact the Demon Slayer Corps immediately. Trouble's coming."
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