"Rengoku-san!! How much longer until we arrive?" one of the slayers shouts.
"Almost there!"
"Maintain your breathing, we need to be in good condition if we're going to help!"
"Yes!!" the other three slayers respond in unison.
It was a temporary group of slayers, assigned and formed at the last minute to support a fixed group that was being pressured by a large number of onis.
Some time later, they arrive at the battlefield.
Five slayers are desperately fighting against a group of eight onis.
Rengoku and his group join the fight, and Rengoku quickly moves to assist the squad leader, who was fighting the strongest Oni.
"What's the situation?!" Rengoku deflects a kind of bone spear that the Oni threw at him.
"Haaa… Thank God," the leader takes a deep breath, recovering his stamina.
"Three of ours are seriously injured because of an ambush by those bastards."
"The rest of us are holding them off as much as we can."
The Oni in front of them roars, several bone spikes piercing through its skin, giving it a bizarre appearance.
"This one… is the only one with a Kekki Jutsu, that's why we've managed to survive so far."
"Good work! Let the injured rest, and let's kill these beasts!"
"Ignite your heart!" Rengoku's breath turns into flames as he swings his katana toward the bone Oni.
The tide of the battle turns, and the slayers gain the advantage, two onis without Kekki Jutsu are eliminated, and the bone Oni is on the verge of death while fighting Rengoku.
Just as the flaming blade is about to cut the Oni's neck, Rengoku is forced to retreat, catching a glimpse of an object rapidly flying toward him from the corner of his eye.
"Tsk, how disgraceful, Kimimaro," the blond Oni who fired the strange object spits on the ground in disdain.
"Heh, need help?" another Oni with long black hair says in a mocking tone, licking his lips with an unnaturally long tongue.
The strange object the Oni threw explodes where it lands, causing a tree to collapse in flames.
"So beautiful!" the blond exclaims upon seeing the explosion, jumping from side to side like a child.
"Now that's art!!"
Two new Onis appear, and the weaker ones slowly begin forming a circle around the clearing, surrounding the slayers.
'If I were fully recovered, this wouldn't be a problem…'
Rengoku had not listened to Kanae's advice at the Butterfly Mansion, she had told him to only return to missions when his balance was perfect, which was not the case.
His ears no longer hurt, and he thought that was enough.
Besides, he had heard about Usan's promotion and couldn't stay still.
"Don't get in my way, you bastards!" the bone Oni, named Kimimaro, complains, now having time to regenerate.
A flame-like aura leaves Rengoku's lips, taking shape as the Onis argue.
The three then shift their attention to Rengoku.
"Tsk, let's deal with this quickly before the boss finds out we got delayed."
The other two nod.
Two serpents with human-like faces emerge from the clothes of the long-haired Oni.
They coil around his arms, hissing in a disgusting manner, just like their appearance.
The blond Oni reveals one of his palms, which has a humanoid mouth chewing something at its center.
Kimimaro gathers his bones, forming a gauntlet/spear of bone on his arm.
Rengoku prepares to charge, but just as he is about to move, he sees a crow with a golden feather on its wing land on a tree alongside his own crow.
Rengoku drops his combat stance and relaxes, opening a smile.
The Onis are confused by his sudden change in attitude, but they ignore it and prepare to use their Kekki Jutsus.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three small needles pierce into the throats of each of the Onis.
"It's good to see you again!" Rengoku begins to speak, turning his face backward.
The Onis fall to the ground, clutching their now completely purple necks and groaning in agony.
"Usan!"
Usan appears on one of the branches of a tree, leaning against the trunk, smiling as he turns toward Rengoku.
"Likewise, Rengoku!"
─── ◆ ───
Usan's POV
Quickly, I help the other slayers get rid of the remaining Onis.
Quite strange, I've never seen so many Onis gathering and coordinating like this.
I thought Muzan didn't allow group formations. Maybe this is one of those specific cases, like Rui's.
I had just finished killing an Oni from my mission quite far from here, but I received this request for help from a Corps crow, so I rushed here in just a few minutes.
Looking around, I saw that fortunately I arrived in time.
There were quite a few injured people, but it was all within recoverable levels, no dismemberments or anything terrible.
Cuts and blood loss were the main issues.
"Did you recover properly, Rengoku?" I ask my friend as I approach the injured.
"Perfectly!"
"...Yeah, right…" I narrow my eyes at him.
"Isn't that the Shadow Hashira?" one of the slayers whispers.
"The new Hashira?? That's amazing!"
The squad leader steps forward after checking on his comrades.
"Hashira-dono, members of the support group! Thank you very much! We owe our lives to you!!" He bows deeply, almost collapsing from exhaustion.
The members of the support squad scratch their heads, embarrassed by the praise.
"Good work, you can rest now."
"Yes, sir!" everyone responds in unison.
I make a campfire and help the slayers apply bandages and first aid to the injured.
I applied the bandages properly this time, I didn't almost kill anyone.
After that, I sat down next to Rengoku and the others to talk…
Well, actually, only Rengoku and I were talking, since the others were too shy to say anything.
"You became a Hashira so quickly, Usan, that's great!"
"You must already be close to Hashira level yourself, Rengoku."
"Haha, thank you, but I won't try for promotion until my father retires."
"I want to inherit his position!"
"Well—"
"Ah, call me Kyojuro! We're friends!"
"Alright, Kyojuro."
'But don't be surprised if I just call you Rengoku, sometimes it sounds better."
"AEEE!!"
"Hahaha… Hm?" I stop laughing, wiping a tear from my eye as I see Hotaru carrying a piece of paper.
"What is it, Hotaru?"
She hands me the paper, and I narrow my eyes as I read its contents.
─── ◆ ───
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