Mount Sagiri, where Kurozawa was sleeping soundly, completely oblivious to the world, suddenly sneezed.
Confused, he rubbed his nose, then rolled over and continued to sleep deeply. Every time he finished a Demon Slaying Mission, Kurozawa liked to sleep for nearly twenty-four hours straight, after which he would feel much more energetic.
At this time, Kurozawa had no idea that Hongyue, based on the location he had mentioned casually, had already set off.
Daylight arrived, and Kurozawa opened his bright eyes. He sat up from the bed with a swift movement and, after sensing his surroundings with Fighting Spirit, found no one nearby.
Presumably, Sakonji Urokodaki and Iguro Obanai had woken up early as usual and were already halfway up the mountain, one guiding while the other trained.
"After a day of rest, I can't slack off either."
He haphazardly splashed water on his face and walked step by step to the open courtyard in front of the house.
Looking up, the sun was already hanging high in the sky, radiating brilliant light and heat. It was summer now, and the sun had been casting light and heat upon the vast land since basically nine in the morning.
However, there was mountain wind in Mount Sagiri, and the upper layer of mist refracted and blocked a lot of sunlight, so the temperature was quite pleasant. It usually wouldn't get annoyingly hot until around eleven o'clock. Kurozawa had lived here for many years and was very clear about the seasonal changes of Mount Sagiri.
With his current physique, he no longer felt the heat of summer. Perhaps only temperatures over a hundred degrees would make him feel uncomfortable.
Staring directly at the sun, Kurozawa's eyes felt nothing.
He withdrew his gaze, no longer looking at the huge orange fireball. Kurozawa looked around, then closed his eyes, standing quietly in the open space.
With steady, strong breaths, his chest rose and fell rhythmically.
With his eyes closed, his vision was filled with darkness, but in Kurozawa's other sense, his Fighting Spirit perception, the world was unprecedentedly colorful.
Many colors that his human eyes couldn't see now appeared in Kurozawa's perception.
The ground beneath his feet, the surrounding forest, the distant mountains... all were enveloped in a distinct aura, possessing their own colors. As the Fighting Spirit flowed, the colors also changed.
Even trees that looked like the same species had completely different Fighting Spirit. Kurozawa could clearly sense this difference.
However, as the distance increased, Kurozawa's Fighting Spirit perception of distant things gradually weakened until it became blurry and difficult to notice. His current limit was being able to roughly perceive things within a hundred meters around him.
"Fighting Spirit... I didn't have time to study it when I fought Rui, but now it seems it's a divine technique."
Whether it was for locating enemies, providing warnings, or assisting in combat, Fighting Spirit could do it perfectly.
Originally, due to the lack of enemy-locating ability, Kurozawa had a lot of headaches trying to find Demons. Now it was good; in front of his human radar, Demons had nowhere to hide.
Kurozawa was at the foot of the mountain, but he could sense the presence of Sakonji Urokodaki and Iguro Obanai halfway up the mountain. Although very weak, he still clearly perceived their location and their states.
The Fighting Spirit on Sakonji Urokodaki was like a surging torrent, while Iguro Obanai's Fighting Spirit was much weaker, like a candle flame that could be easily blown out.
Moreover, within three feet around Kurozawa's body, he even had a strange feeling of controlling the future, being able to know the trajectory of things around him.
However, Kurozawa knew that he wasn't actually seeing the future. It was just because he had acquired a large amount of Fighting Spirit movement information and, through their interconnections, was able to predict the actions of corresponding things in advance.
Not only that, by sensing his own Fighting Spirit, Kurozawa found that his control over his strength had become more subtle and accurate. He could crush a stone with one hand, and also flick an egg without breaking it.
Taking a deep breath, Kurozawa raised his arms. A gentle breeze flowed around him, and the Fighting Spirit information of Mount Sagiri within a hundred meters was all within his grasp.
His understanding of Fighting Spirit also gradually strengthened as he explored and sensed it.
The sunlight was filtered by the tree branches and leaves, scattering into light spots of various shapes on the ground. Kurozawa stood under the sunlight, silently increasing his proficiency with Fighting Spirit.
After about half an hour, when the sun moved closer to the center of the sky, Kurozawa raised an eyebrow and opened his eyes.
"Hmm? Two familiar Fighting Spirits."
On the road at the foot of the mountain, he sensed two human Fighting Spirits. Their auras were quite similar. One was quite strong, with very pure and agile Fighting Spirit all over its body, while the other was weaker, but also full of vitality.
Even though it was the first time he had sensed them, it gave Kurozawa a sense of familiarity.
"It seems to be Kocho Kanae and Kocho Shinobu."
Searching his memory, Kurozawa found the two people whose Fighting Spirit attributes matched.
Closing his eyes again to concentrate on his Fighting Spirit perception, it was highly likely that the Fighting Spirits of the Kocho sisters were heading directly towards Kurozawa along the mountain road.
Soon, just as Kurozawa expected, two figures wearing Demon Slayer Corps uniforms and light purple haori arrived gracefully. They were indeed Kocho Kanae and Kocho Shinobu.
Their clothing was on the thicker side for summer, but Swordsmen had physiques different from ordinary people and were not afraid of the heat, so it didn't matter.
"Hey, old man, long time no see."
Seeing Kurozawa from afar, Kocho Shinobu shouted to him. After all, Kurozawa had helped her out on Mount Fujikasane, so her impression of him wasn't bad.
Kurozawa waved his hand, which was his response to her.
What made Kurozawa's eyes move was that when Kocho Kanae saw him, a strange expression appeared on her face. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and she looked a bit uncomfortable.
A minute later, the two of them approached and simultaneously saw the dark markings wrapped around Kurozawa's body.
Kocho Shinobu and Kocho Kanae's eyes widened at the same time.
"Old man, are you poisoned?"
"Demon Slayer Mark? Is it the Demon Slayer Mark?"
They spoke in unison. After speaking, they looked at each other. Before Kurozawa could say anything, Kocho Shinobu asked her sister curiously, "What's a Demon Slayer Mark? I've never heard of it."
Kocho Kanae, on the other hand, was examining Kurozawa up and down, sensing a powerful aura on him that was no less than the Stone Pillar's, which made people's breathing tighten with oppression.
When they first met, because of Kurozawa's tall physique and tough body, she felt that he was somewhat similar to the Stone Pillar, but she didn't expect that in just a few months, Kurozawa's aura had reached this level.
Kocho Kanae didn't understand Fighting Spirit, but the mutual sensing between strong individuals allowed her to perceive Kurozawa's strength at this moment.
"Demon Slayer Mark... I don't know much about it either. I just heard that it's a very rare derivative of Breathing Techniques." Her gaze lingered on the Demon Slayer Mark on Kurozawa's body, and Kocho Kanae said uncertainly.
Kurozawa didn't take the opportunity to explain the origin of the Demon Slayer Mark. He went straight to the point and asked the two, "Are you here to visit Mount Sagiri, or do you have something else?"
Hearing this, Kocho Kanae glanced at Kurozawa, and then her gentle gaze slowly deepened a few points.
"Kurozawa, you killed a total of fifty-three humans on Hachijo Island, violating the Demon Slayer Corps disciplinary rules. Do you have anything to say?"
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