~# Keep the chapters coming — Support with Power Stones!
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BOOM!
A massive gust of wind demolished an entire building, reducing it to rubble.
Karaku laughed at the destruction. "Hahaha! Much better! Now we've got a clear view—nowhere left for them to hide!"
"Stop wasting time. I'm getting angrier by the second. Find them and finish this." Sekido's voice dripped with venom.
Beneath the rubble, Nezuko was pinned and unable to move—but her blood-soaked hands clutched Tanjiro's Nichirin blade with desperate strength.
"Nezuko, let go! You're going to hurt yourself!"
WHOOSH!
The blade ignited. Flames roared across the steel, turning it a brilliant crimson.
"Her blood made the blade catch fire! It turned red! This is... the Exploding Blood Blade!"
A memory surfaced in Tanjiro's mind—a voice from centuries past.
'The samurai's blade turns red when he fights! It's so beautiful!'
"Who...?"
'Normally it's black like obsidian! So pretty!'
"Ancestral memory. That's right—the swordsman with the earrings had a black blade too. Just like mine. And now mine's turned red as well. I can do this. I can do this!"
"Every time I fight demons, I think I've gotten stronger—but every time, someone saves my life and keeps me going. I can't let everyone down! I have to defeat these demons and save lives!"
Gripping the crimson blade, Tanjiro emerged from the rubble with unshakable resolve.
"Hahaha! There you are! But that flashy trick won't help—even if you cut us, it won't hurt!"
Urogi dove from the sky, talons extended.
Only Sekido noticed the blade in Tanjiro's hand—and a memory from Muzan's cells triggered in his mind.
"A burning blade... that's... a Bright Red Blade! The blade that nearly decapitated Lord Muzan! The blade of that swordsman!"
Tanjiro's heartbeat thundered in his chest. His body temperature soared. A mark—crimson like flames—spread across the scar on his forehead.
Sekido watched as the image of that ancient swordsman overlapped with Tanjiro's figure. His body began to tremble.
"Hinokami Kagura: Solar Heat Haze!"
BOOM!
A roar like thunder split the air. Tanjiro moved like a dragon wreathed in flames, decapitating Urogi mid-flight before vanishing and reappearing behind Karaku and Sekido—severing both their heads in less than a heartbeat.
The pain from the red blade suppressed their regeneration. They couldn't heal.
"I can do this! One more left!"
Tanjiro spun toward the last demon—only to find Genya had already beheaded Aizetsu.
"Genya! Thank god, you're okay—"
The words died in his throat.
"Is that... really Genya? He looks like... like..."
Genya's appearance had transformed. His face was demonic, his teeth elongated into fangs. He looked barely human.
"Don't get cocky. I'm going to be a Hashira! I'll kill these demons before you do!"
"I understand! Nezuko and I will do everything we can to help you! Let's give it everything we've got!"
"..."
Genya stared at Tanjiro's clear, earnest eyes—and for a moment, he had no idea what to say.
"Genya. Tanjiro. Nezuko. You three alright?"
"Dragon Hashira-sama!"
"Kaido-san!"
Kaido arrived at the battlefield. He'd been delayed rescuing villagers on the way, but he was here now.
"Listen carefully. You three are going to hunt down Hantengu's main body. I'll hold off these four clones. The main body is the key—kill it, and the rest vanish."
"But Kaido-san, I'm worried—"
"Tanjiro, no matter how many times the demon splits, the main body will be somewhere nearby! Trust yourself! Genya—I believe you, Tanjiro, and Nezuko can handle this!"
"Understood, Dragon Hashira-sama!"
"Right!" Kaido pulled a pill from his pocket and tossed it to Tanjiro. "Take this."
He'd noticed the mark on Tanjiro's forehead had darkened significantly—a clear sign the boy had awakened his Demon Slayer Mark.
Tanjiro swallowed the pill without hesitation. He trusted Kaido completely.
"Dragon Breathing, Fourth Form: Coiled Dragon!"
"Blood Demon Art: Piercing Sorrow Strike!"
Aizetsu regenerated and launched a sneak attack while everyone was distracted. But Kaido's [Hyper Intuition] had already sensed it.
He blocked the strike and turned to the three behind him. "Leave this to me. I know you'll succeed."
"Yes, Kaido-san! I won't let you down!"
"Please be careful, Dragon Hashira-sama!"
The moment they were gone, Kaido countered Aizetsu's attack and vanished—reappearing in front of the sorrow demon and kicking him halfway across the battlefield.
"Now then. Time to settle accounts... Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Pleasure."
The Demon Slayer Mark blazed to life across Kaido's face and arms. His greatsword's crimson hue deepened, transforming from blood-red to brilliant scarlet.
The Bright Red Blade had manifested.
Sekido saw the red blade and trembled. He could feel the overwhelming pressure radiating from Kaido—a presence that crushed the air itself.
"This makes me so angry! Blood Demon Art: Thunder Massacre!"
BOOM!
Dozens of lightning bolts erupted across the battlefield, forming a deadly net around Kaido. One struck him directly—
—but it was only an afterimage.
"Dragon Breathing, Second Form: Dragon's Claw!"
Kaido vanished from the ground and appeared mid-air, his blade descending in a devastating overhead slash that cleaved Sekido in half. The ground beneath them splintered like a spiderweb from the sheer force.
"Hahaha! Your turn to fly, buddy!" Karaku swung his fan with maximum force, trying to blast Kaido into the stratosphere.
But Kaido disappeared again—and materialized behind Karaku, ripping the fan from his hands.
"You think this is fun? Let me show you real entertainment."
He grabbed Karaku by the hair and hurled him backward, where he collided mid-air with Urogi, who'd been diving for a sneak attack.
Kaido swung the fan.
"How about you fly as far as you can—and don't come back!"
WHOOOOSH!
The shockwave launched both demons into the horizon. They vanished like rockets.
"And you."
He turned to Aizetsu, who'd just regenerated his lower half and was struggling to stand. Kaido closed the distance in one step and drove his fist straight through the demon's face.
Moments later, Urogi flew back, carrying Karaku. Sekido had fully regenerated.
Kaido tossed Aizetsu's body toward them and summoned his greatsword back to his hand.
"We're not done yet. This is payback for hurting Tanjiro and Nezuko."
"Dragon Breathing, Tenth Form—Secret Art: Judgment Slash!"
The four emotion demons watched Kaido vanish. They immediately went on high alert—but dragon roars echoed from every direction, making it impossible to predict where he'd strike.
Slash. Slash. Slash.
Ten strikes landed simultaneously across all four demons. Kaido reappeared in front of them, blade still glowing crimson.
Their severed heads hit the ground. The Bright Red Blade's properties suppressed their regeneration to a crawl.
Kaido watched them struggle to heal—and made no move to stop them.
He was waiting.
Waiting for Sekido to absorb the other three and transform into the hatred demon—Zohakuten.
——————————————
"Muichiro, are you alright?"
Mitsuri rushed over, concern written across her face as she found the Mist Hashira in the forest.
"I'm fine. We need to support Kaido—my crow told me he and Tanjiro ran into Upper Rank Four."
"What?? Kaido-kun encountered an Upper Rank??"
"Yeah. We'll talk while we move—this is urgent!"
"Wait, Muichiro, you seem... different somehow?" Mitsuri couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something about him had fundamentally changed.
"I got my memories back. All of them."
"Really?? That's wonderful!"
Mitsuri's genuine happiness for him was palpable as they sprinted toward the battle.
━━━━━━━━
"How infuriating. How utterly displeasurable."
Sekido's body regenerated, and the moment his eyes locked onto Kaido, pure hatred flooded through him—a burning need to unleash violence.
"Blood Demon Art: Thunder Massacre!"
Dense lightning bolts converged on Kaido's position, far more concentrated than before.
While Kaido was trapped in the electrical cage, Sekido extended his hand and pulled the other three emotion demons toward him—crushing them, absorbing their essence into his own body.
He could sense the main body had been discovered. He needed to eliminate this white-haired nuisance immediately and rescue Hantengu.
In the blink of an eye, Sekido's form shifted.
A young demon appeared, five drums emblazoned with the kanji for "Hatred" mounted on his back, an ornate staff in his hands. This was Zohakuten—the Demon of Hatred incarnate.
"YOU VILE, WICKED CREATURE! DISPLEASURABLE! UTTERLY DISPLEASURABLE!"
"Heh. Rich coming from a demon. What, you got a problem with what I've been doing??"
Right in front of Zohakuten, Kaido pulled the fan from his system inventory—the same one he'd used to launch Urogi and Karaku into orbit.
He'd been curious if the fan would vanish once Zohakuten manifested.
It hadn't. Though it would probably disappear once Hantengu died.
"You goddamn—how about you take a trip? Preferably as far away as possible!"
WHOOOOSH!
Kaido swung the fan with full force. A devastating gust of wind roared toward Zohakuten, who recognized the weapon immediately and barely dodged to the side.
"Wicked scum! Truly the most vile of all evil!"
"Blood Demon Art: Wooden Dragon's Gale!"
Zohakuten struck one of his drums, summoning a massive wooden dragon that unleashed hurricane-force winds from its maw.
Kaido swung the fan again. The two wind forces collided mid-air, creating a shockwave that sent both combatants skidding backward.
"Tch. Piece of junk."
Kaido stared at the broken fan in his hand with undisguised disdain, then tossed it aside and stomped on it a few times for good measure.
"This thing's quality is trash. Broke after two swings."
Watching this display, Zohakuten felt profound humiliation—as if Kaido weren't crushing a fan, but grinding his face into the dirt.
System: [Did he just get his IQ strategically lowered??]
"Blood Demon Art: Endless Karma Tree!"
Zohakuten struck two drums simultaneously, unleashing countless massive wooden dragons that writhed and coiled toward Kaido like a tidal wave of living timber.
'Oh crap. I might've overdone the taunting.'
"Dragon Breathing, Fifth Form: Tempest Slash!"
Kaido drew his greatsword and swung it at lightning speed, releasing a hundred arcing blade winds that shredded the incoming dragons into splinters.
But Zohakuten wasn't backing down. He hammered his drums in rapid succession, summoning wave after wave of wooden constructs.
"Blood Demon Art: Piercing Sorrow Strike!"
"Blood Demon Art: Thunder Massacre!"
"Blood Demon Art: Sonic Scream!"
Shockwaves, lightning, and sonic attacks erupted from the dragons' mouths in a coordinated barrage. No matter which direction Kaido moved, he'd be hit.
'I really overdid it this time. No choice—I have to go all in! Tanjiro, you better hurry up!'
Kaido activated his Transparent World and stacked it with his Demonic Eye, pushing both abilities to their absolute limits. If there was even the smallest gap in these attacks, he'd find it.
'There!'
The opening was minuscule—barely large enough for half a person to slip through.
But if he moved fast enough, he could break through and counterattack before Zohakuten realized what happened.
'Speed is everything here.'
"Dragon Breathing, Ninth Form: Cyclone Piercing Thrust!"
Kaido gripped his blade and launched himself forward like a drill, his body spinning at incredible velocity. Most of the attacks whiffed past him—though a few landed solid hits.
Seeing this, Zohakuten converged every wooden dragon into a single massive construct and slammed it into Kaido's drilling advance.
The dragons shattered. Kaido's momentum stopped.
Blood trickled down his forehead from the attacks that had connected, dripping into his mouth.
"Ptooey! Listen here, you little bastard. I've changed my mind. If I don't kick you at least once today, I'm not worthy of the name Dragon Hashira!"
"Dragon Breathing, Eighth Form: Roaming Dragon Breakthrough!"
Kaido surged forward again, moving like a serpent through water, his greatsword cutting down every wooden dragon that tried to entangle him at supersonic speed.
In Kaido's assessment, Upper Rank Four was weaker than Upper Rank Three.
But the Blood Demon Art was the problem—versatile enough for offense and defense, forcing Kaido into a war of attrition. He could only stall Zohakuten and pray Tanjiro finished off the main body soon.
Otherwise, no matter how many times he decapitated this fusion demon, it would regenerate endlessly. Kaido would be the one who collapsed from exhaustion first.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Just as Kaido finished his technique, three wooden dragons erupted from beneath the ground, jaws wide, preparing to swallow him whole.
He leaped into the air to evade—but Zohakuten had anticipated this, summoning two more dragons to intercept him mid-flight.
'That small body contains ridiculous power. If I devour him, I'll become even stronger!' Zohakuten's thoughts were calculating, predatory.
But Kaido didn't get hit.
Instead, his petite frame contorted at an almost impossible angle, slipping between the two dragons like threading a needle.
The moment he landed, Kaido retreated several steps to avoid another ambush.
'His Blood Demon Art is too versatile. I need to close the distance. If this keeps up, I'll run out of stamina and he'll kill me.'
'How do I get close? If only I could use Zenitsu's Thunder Breathing... wait. Thunder Breathing. Thunderclap and Flash... Flash?'
A memory surfaced. Thunder Breathing prioritized concentrating power into the legs, circulating oxygen through every muscle fiber and blood vessel for explosive speed.
Kaido tested the theory. It clicked.
'I can do this. I can replicate the concept. Thanks, Zenitsu—I owe you one.'
"Dragon Breathing, Eighth Form..."
He channeled every ounce of strength into his legs, building pressure, accumulating power—
CRACK!!
The air itself seemed to tear apart. A deafening dragon's roar split the atmosphere.
"Dragon Flash!"
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