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In that instant, Kaido understood something fundamental about swordsmanship.
A blade was not merely a weapon—it was an extension of will. Thunder Breathing concentrated power in the legs for overwhelming speed. Water Breathing flowed like a river, adapting to any situation. Flame Breathing burned with unyielding conviction.
And Dragon Breathing? It was domination incarnate.
The dragon did not ask permission. It did not hesitate. When it moved, the world bent around it.
'Speed isn't just about moving fast,' Kaido realized as his technique completed. 'It's about arriving before your opponent knows you've left.'
Zohakuten's eyes widened.
One moment, Kaido was dozens of meters away.
Suddenly—
Kaido materialized behind Zohakuten, poured every ounce of force into his leg, and delivered a full-power kick directly to the demon's crotch from behind.
Then he vanished to the side.
CRACK.
The sound of something shattering echoed across the battlefield.
"AAAAAGHHH!! YOU BASTARD! YOU SHAMELESS, DISHONORABLE HUMAN!"
As an Upper Rank demon, being kicked in the groin by a human—especially with such a juvenile tactic—was the ultimate humiliation.
Zohakuten collapsed, clutching his crotch. He didn't even know why his body had responded that way.
But before he could recover, Kaido's expression shifted into something darkly amused. He reappeared behind the downed demon and kicked him square in the ass with the same devastating force.
Strike while the iron's hot—or in this case, while the demon's down.
Zohakuten went flying face-first into the dirt.
He scrambled to his feet, glaring at Kaido with murderous rage, teeth bared. "YOU DESPICABLE, SHAMELESS DEMON SLAYER! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!"
"Blood Demon Art... where are my drums??"
Zohakuten raised his staff to strike his drums—and froze.
They were gone.
He looked down at Kaido's feet. The drums lay there, split cleanly in half.
'When did he—??'
The moment Kaido had used [Dragon Flash] to appear behind him, he'd simultaneously sliced through all five drums without Zohakuten even noticing.
"Dragon Flash!"
While Zohakuten was still processing, Kaido blitzed forward again, activated his [Demonic Eye] to induce a split-second of disorientation, then delivered a haymaker to the demon's nose.
Two more punches followed—one to each eye, another to the jaw. Teeth went flying.
Kaido was winding up for a fourth strike when searing pain shot through his legs. He collapsed, barely catching himself with his hands.
'Damn it. Used Dragon Flash too many times—and poured too much power into my legs. The backlash hit.'
He glanced down. His legs were bright red, bleeding from the strain.
"Heh. Worth it, though. Kicked that bastard twice, punched him in the face a few times—I'd say Tanjiro and Nezuko have been properly avenged."
When Zohakuten finally recovered and wiped the blood from his nose, he saw Kaido collapsed on the ground and assumed the boy had run out of stamina.
"Hehe. Vile scum. Your time has come!"
Zohakuten summoned new drums through his Blood Demon Art, raising his staff to strike—
"Not on my watch! Kaido-kun isn't dying today!"
A cheerful voice rang out from the treeline.
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"Not on my watch! Kaido-kun isn't dying today!"
Mitsuri appeared out of nowhere, scooped Kaido onto her back while Zohakuten was distracted, and leaped to safety in the opposite direction.
"Sorry I'm late, Kaido-kun! Are you okay? That was way too close!"
"Mitsuri-nee, if you'd been any later, that bastard would've torn me apart. But... thanks. I mean it."
"Don't mention it! Leave the rest to me and Muichiro—you just rest!"
Mitsuri set Kaido down in a relatively safe spot, then turned and walked toward Zohakuten with her whip-like blade in hand.
Muichiro appeared beside Kaido moments later. Kaido immediately noticed the mark blazing across the Mist Hashira's face.
"Thank god you're alright."
"Muichiro... your memories came back?"
"Yeah. Leave this to me and Mitsuri-san. You need to recover."
"Be careful—this isn't Upper Rank Four's main body. Even if you behead him, it won't matter. Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Genya are hunting the real one. We just need to stall."
"Got it."
"Wait!" Kaido called Muichiro back, pulled an [Enhanced Longevity Pill] from his pocket, and pressed it into the boy's hand. "Take this. It'll counteract the side effects of the mark."
Muichiro swallowed the pill without hesitation and gave a quiet "Thanks" before rushing to support Mitsuri.
'I need to heal fast. Zohakuten's Blood Demon Art is too versatile—I'm worried Mitsuri and Muichiro won't be able to hold him off alone.'
Kaido retrieved a healing pill from his system inventory and swallowed it. Warmth flooded through his legs, and he watched the wounds begin to close—slowly, but visibly. A few minutes and he'd be back in fighting shape.
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Zohakuten watched Mitsuri approach with her flexible, whip-like Nichirin blade and sneered with barely concealed contempt.
"You're way too loud! You bullied Kaido-kun, so you need to apologize—right now!"
"Shut up, you harlot! The only one who gives me orders is that man!"
"(ʘдʘ╬) H-harlot?? Me?? Are you talking about me?? Why would I be a harlot??"
Mitsuri felt like something sharp had stabbed through her heart. The insult hurt more than any physical wound.
"That's so mean! That's incredibly mean! Kaido-kun says I'm pretty and cute and calls me 'big sister!' Why would you call me a harlot?? That's awful!"
"Shut up, harlot. You're giving me a headache!"
"Blood Demon Art: Thunder Massacre!"
"Blood Demon Art: Sonic Scream!"
Twin wooden dragons unleashed lightning and sonic waves at Mitsuri, the attack range wider and more concentrated than before.
"Love Breathing, Third Form: Catlove Shower!"
Mitsuri moved like a cat—graceful, agile, impossibly flexible. She dodged Zohakuten's attacks while simultaneously cutting through the wooden dragons with her whip-blade, creating devastating wide-range slashes.
Zohakuten summoned more dragons. Mitsuri evaded them all.
Her natural flexibility combined with the unique properties of her blade made her an impossibly difficult target. Every time a dragon lunged for her, she twisted her body at an unnatural angle and severed the construct mid-strike.
"Love Breathing, Second Form: Love Pangs!"
"Love Breathing, Sixth Form: Cat-Legged Winds of Love!"
Watching her dart around like an oversized housecat, Zohakuten's frustration mounted.
'She keeps dodging everything. Let's see how she handles this.'
"Blood Demon Art: Endless Karma Tree!"
BOOM! BOOM!
Zohakuten struck both drums simultaneously. Countless wooden dragons erupted from beneath the ground, rolling toward Mitsuri in a tidal wave of timber and teeth.
"Oh no! This is such a huge area-of-effect attack! Can I even block this??" Despite her doubt, Mitsuri refused to retreat. She had to try.
"Love Breathing, Fifth Form: Swaying Love, Wildclaw!"
She retracted her whip-blade and unleashed a flurry of chaotic slashes, shredding every rolling dragon into splinters. Just as she was about to close the distance to Zohakuten, seven more dragons burst from the ground beneath her feet.
"No, no, no! I'm going to get hit! I can't dodge—I was so close!"
"Mist Breathing, Second Form: Eight-Layered Mist!"
Muichiro arrived in a blur, his blade unleashing eight consecutive strikes that reduced the ambush dragons to ash.
"Oh! Muichiro, thank you! How's Kaido-kun doing?"
"He's recovering. Should be ready to rejoin us soon."
"That's a relief!"
"Another Hashira! Displeasurable. Utterly displeasurable! One after another—this is never-ending!"
Zohakuten's irritation reached a boiling point. He hammered his drums in rapid succession.
"Blood Demon Art: Piercing Sorrow Strike!"
"Blood Demon Art: Thunder Massacre!"
Shockwaves and lightning bolts filled the battlefield, the attack radius expanding with every strike.
"Mist Breathing, Sixth Form: Lunar Dispersing Mist!"
"Love Breathing, Second Form: Love Pangs!"
Muichiro's blade scattered like moonlight through fog, while Mitsuri danced through the chaos at high speed, tearing through shockwaves and lightning alike.
Using the opening Muichiro created, Mitsuri closed the distance and wrapped her whip-blade around Zohakuten's neck like a noose, preparing to sever his head.
Zohakuten didn't panic. Instead, he opened his mouth—and energy began to gather inside.
"Mitsuri-san, watch out! Kaido said he's not the main body—cutting off his head won't kill him!" Muichiro shouted.
"Wait, seriously??" But it was too late to retreat.
Oppressive Sonic Roar!
A devastating sonic blast erupted from Zohakuten's mouth.
Mitsuri was too close to dodge. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself, tensing every muscle—
The expected pain never came.
When she opened her eyes, Kaido stood in front of her, greatsword raised, absorbing the full force of the attack.
He'd used Dragon Flash one more time—despite his injuries—to reach Mitsuri before the sonic wave connected.
His body trembled violently from the shockwave. Blood poured from his legs again, which could no longer support his weight.
If not for his two body enhancements and the dragon blood coursing through his veins, the attack would've shattered his skeleton. Even with those advantages, the damage was severe.
"Cough... I promised... Obanai... that I'd protect... Mitsuri-nee... There's no way... I'm breaking... that promise..."
His legs gave out. He collapsed.
"Kaido-kun!" Mitsuri caught him before he hit the ground, cradling him in her arms as she retreated to safety.
Looking at his wounds—at what he'd sacrificed to protect her—tears spilled down her cheeks.
She set him down gently, grabbed her blade, and charged straight at Zohakuten.
"Love Breathing, First Form: Shivers of First Love!"
Her whip-blade moved like lightning, pulverizing every wooden dragon that tried to intercept her. She closed the distance in seconds.
"You loud, obnoxious monster. Now I'm really angry. You hurt Kaido-kun!"
Zohakuten's drums pounded frantically, summoning dragon after dragon to hold back Muichiro and Mitsuri.
As the battle intensified, Mitsuri felt her heartbeat accelerate, her body temperature spike. Blood rushed through her veins faster and faster.
Two symmetrical, heart-shaped marks appeared on her collarbone.
The Demon Slayer Mark had awakened.
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In that moment, memories flooded Mitsuri's mind.
'Meeting Master Ubuyashiki was my greatest fortune. He told me I'd been blessed by the gods—that I should take pride in my strength, not hide it.'
'Meeting Kaido-kun was another blessing. He told me I was beautiful and cute. He calls me "big sister." He helped me find Obanai—someone willing to spend the rest of his life with me.'
'I won't let any of them down!'
Watching the two Hashira relentlessly press forward despite everything he threw at them, Zohakuten's thoughts turned venomous.
'They're all in my way. First that white-haired brat, then this harlot, now the black-haired kid. I need to finish them off before they reach the main body!'
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Meanwhile...
Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Genya were chasing Hantengu's main body through the forest—but the cowardly demon kept slipping away.
The main body was tiny—smaller than two fists combined—making it almost impossible to track.
Worse, despite its size, Hantengu's neck was unbelievably tough. When Genya swung his Nichirin blade at full force, it didn't decapitate the demon—it shattered his own sword.
"Stop running, you bastard! Stop dodging responsibility! You're going to answer for every crime you've committed—every life you've destroyed!" Tanjiro roared at the fleeing demon.
But Hantengu didn't see it that way. He genuinely believed himself to be a pitiful, innocent victim—a weak, kind soul who'd never told a lie in his entire existence. Why didn't anyone sympathize with him?
"Eeheeheehee! I don't need to take responsibility for anything! I'm just a poor, helpless victim!" Hantengu wailed.
"OH, SHUT THE HELL UP!" Genya grabbed an entire tree, ripped it out of the ground by the roots, and hurled it like a javelin. Then he grabbed another tree. And another.
Tanjiro flattened himself and Nezuko to the ground to avoid getting launched alongside the lumber.
'He's throwing entire trees! What kind of ridiculous strength—??'
"Die already, you piece of garbage! Read the room!" Genya launched three more trees in rapid succession, finally scoring a direct hit.
But Hantengu kept running.
"You're not getting away!"
Tanjiro's mind flashed back to something Zenitsu had once told him. He channeled power into his legs, building pressure, then released it all at once—
CRACK!
The air tore apart like thunder. Tanjiro's blade flashed toward Hantengu's neck.
TING!
The sword lodged halfway through—stuck in Hantengu's impossibly tough neck. The demon shrieked as the red blade seared his flesh.
"Don't you feel sorry for me?? Stop bullying me! I'm weak! I'm innocent!"
Hantengu's body began to swell grotesquely, his hand closing around Tanjiro's face like a vice. Tanjiro gasped for air, but his grip on the sword never wavered. He would cut through this demon's neck no matter what.
Genya and Nezuko arrived and tore Hantengu's arm clean off.
Nezuko ignited her Exploding Blood, engulfing the demon in flames that burned not just his body—but his very soul.
Desperate to escape, Hantengu tried to wrench the blade free and flee—but he'd backed himself against a cliff edge.
He toppled backward, taking Tanjiro, Nezuko, and the embedded sword with him.
"No!" Genya lunged to grab Tanjiro but hesitated—Nezuko's blood was still burning on Hantengu's severed arm, and in his current demonized state, it affected him too.
'Damn it—I'm still partially transformed! Nezuko's blood has the same effect on me!'
The flames seared his hand, and he could only watch helplessly as the Kamado siblings disappeared over the cliff.
"Tanjiro! Nezuko!"
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