A Stand could phase through a human body.
The audience outside the light curtain already knew this, but they never imagined it could be used to remove a ring attached to Tanjiro's heart.
To this day, even the most advanced medical technology in the human world struggled with complex operations near the heart.
One small mistake, and you could say goodbye to the world. But with a Stand, cardiac surgery could potentially see incredible advancements.
Heaven Canceler: "The power of a Stand? It seems it could be used in the medical field. Setting aside Hermit Purple for a moment, Star Platinum's precision has already reached the level of Academy City's most advanced medical technology."
In Academy City, having just sent his frequent patient Kamijou Touma on his way, Heaven Canceler happened to see the scene of Star Platinum helping Tanjiro remove the ring.
If he had a Stand, performing surgery on patients would be much more convenient. But... wouldn't it be even better if patients had regenerative abilities similar to demons or Pillar Men? With his skills, if he had a test subject, it would be more than possible to isolate only the healing factor while eliminating all other defects.
Gabriel DropOut: "No wonder it's called the all-powerful Star Platinum. I wish I had that Stand, too. Maybe it could even go to school for me."
Yukino Yukinoshita: "No, even the all-powerful Star Platinum couldn't do that. Ordinary people can't see it."
Detective Conan: "Next up is the decisive battle against Kars and Wamuu, right? Two Stand users, plus the full strength of the Demon Slayer Corps. This should be a sure victory. As long as they prevent the Red Stone from falling into Kars's hands, victory is guaranteed."
Sosuke Aizen: "But Kars is determined to get that Red Stone. And I, for one, am very curious... just how strong will Kars become once he obtains it?"
---o---
On-screen—
The scene shifted to Wamuu. In his hand, the demon known as Akaza was struggling, his neck caught in a vice-like grip.
Wamuu brushed some dust off his body with his other hand, a look of resignation in his eyes.
He had finally encountered a decent demon, only for it to be a brute who relied on fighting head-on with his fists.
Using close-quarters fist fighting against a Pillar Man? Wasn't that just asking for death? Especially for a demon, whose very biology was hard-countered by the Pillar Men.
"Stop struggling. I can kill you with ease right now."
Wamuu's cold voice trampled all over Akaza's fragile ego. He had thought that even if he lost, it would be after a fierce battle.
He never imagined he would be the one to be taken out in an instant. Like a clown, he had boasted before the fight, claiming he would defeat Wamuu in just a few rounds.
Now... he was a complete joke, his very life and death completely out of his control.
"Tell me, where is the demon who controls the movement of this Infinity Castle?" Wamuu demanded, his expression icy as he squeezed Akaza's neck.
As a warrior, Wamuu respected Akaza's fearless attitude, but as a follower of Kars, he could not afford to waste any more time here.
He had to capture the demon controlling the castle as quickly as possible, kill it, and then seize the Red Stone, allowing Lord Kars to become the true Ultimate Lifeform!
Akaza, his neck in a death grip, had no intention of answering Wamuu. But the gap in their power was simply too vast, leaving him to struggle like an ant.
Akaza, who had always despised the weak, had become the very thing he loathed for the second time. The first was when he faced DIO.
"I see... I understand." Wamuu sighed. He hadn't expected Kibutsuji Muzan to have a subordinate with such a warrior's spirit. Akaza's willingness to die rather than submit earned a sliver of respect from him.
CRACK.
With a crisp snap, Akaza's neck was broken. His body rapidly shriveled, and the last vestiges of his life force faded away.
Even without Akaza, Wamuu could still find the castle's controller. It was only a matter of time.
He coldly stepped over Akaza's body when, suddenly, his heel was grabbed with immense force.
"Hm?" Surprised, Wamuu looked back at Akaza, his expression shifting slightly.
Even with his head on the floor and his body absorbed into a desiccated husk, Akaza was moving. Fueled by sheer will and resolve, his body writhed like a mass of flesh, struggling to rise from the ground.
Wamuu's cold expression vanished, replaced by one of genuine admiration. "Has the honor of a warrior allowed you to transcend your own species?"
"In my tens of thousands of years, I, Wamuu, have never seen such a being."
"Very well. In that case, allow me, Wamuu, to be your final opponent."
The words had barely left his mouth when a fist from Akaza slammed toward him.
Wamuu stood his ground, meeting force with force. The two warriors clashed.
The air filled with the afterimages of countless fists, the sound of colliding limbs echoing incessantly.
Akaza's blue fighting spirit crashed against Wamuu's wind power, and for a moment, they seemed evenly matched.
Fist techniques based on his Destructive Death: Compass Needle rained down on Wamuu, a storm of blows that was nearly impossible to block.
"Excellent! This is what it means to be a worthy opponent for Wamuu!"
With his hands crossed before him, Wamuu withstood every one of Akaza's punches and kicks with his bare body.
The floor around Wamuu was now pockmarked with hundreds of craters punched into the wood. On closer inspection, there were several hundred of them.
In other words, in less than three seconds, not even counting the blows that landed on Wamuu himself, Akaza had thrown hundreds of punches.
The blue fighting spirit continued to surge around him. Akaza had no head, and even the blood in his body had been completely drained moments before.
What fought on now was the martial artist's will and resolve. Having experienced true death, Akaza had finally reached the supreme state he had pursued his entire life.
Having entered this ultimate realm, he had reached the pinnacle of power in the world of Demon Slayer. Whether it was Upper Rank One Kokushibo or the Demon King Kibutsuji Muzan, the current Akaza had the power to fight them.
However... the one he faced now was Wamuu, a being from beyond his world. A Pillar Man who was the natural enemy of his kind, and the one with the greatest talent for combat.
As the fight raged on, Akaza quickly realized just how brilliant Wamuu's combat genius was. It was why, despite being the youngest of the three Pillar Men, he had been able to surpass Esidisi and even his master, Kars.
Wamuu seized the opening as Akaza adjusted to his new state, immediately unleashing his Wind Mode.
"Secret Technique: Divine Sandstorm!"
As Wamuu spread his arms, a ferocious gale erupted. The power of the Divine Sandstorm was like two colliding tornadoes, violently tearing apart everything in its path.
Akaza took the attack head-on. His body was continuously shredded by the raging wind. One gash, two, then countless wounds appeared all over him.
The wind blades carved deep fissures into the floor, and everything nearby was swept up in the tempest.
"Can you still stand? To take my Divine Sandstorm head-on and still be on your feet... that will is worthy of praise. It has been a long time since I have had such a battle."
His opponent's body was covered in wounds. Although it was constantly healing, he no longer had a shred of his human form left.
Akaza's body was now like a grotesque, dark blue ball of flesh, truly looking like a 'demon'.
Even so, Akaza lifted his horrifying body and swung a fist toward Wamuu.
"Stop. You have already lost. There is no meaning in continuing this fight."
Wamuu made no move to defend himself, allowing the weak, powerless blow to land on his body. He sighed, his eyes filled with regret.
Another true warrior had fallen by his hand. How could he not feel a sense of loss?
"..."
Only silence answered Wamuu. Akaza's body was still regenerating, but the wounds left by the Divine Sandstorm carried the power of wind, slowing his recovery to a crawl. It felt as if his healing would stop at any second.
I can't lose. I absolutely cannot lose. I must keep getting stronger. Only by getting stronger can I... can I...
In a daze, Akaza suddenly stopped punching. That's right... why did he want to become stronger?
To endlessly hone himself, to constantly grow stronger... for what? For Kibutsuji Muzan? Or was it...
"Please, stop this, Hakuji-nii."
On screen, as Akaza's consciousness began to fade, a woman appeared before him.
Who was that? The audience looked on with curiosity at the spirit-like woman who had suddenly appeared.
The girl embraced Akaza's body, which was now neither human nor demon, tears streaming down her lovely face.
Akaza, held in her embrace, froze. Hakuji...?
"Are you... Koyuki?"
In his spiritual form, Akaza embraced the girl named Koyuki. He remembered... his past, his reason for wanting to become strong...
Then, as the scene unfolded, the story of Akaza's life was laid bare before the audience.
It turned out that Akaza was born in Edo-period Japan. Because he was born with sharp canine teeth, he was named "Hakuji."
When he was eleven, his relatives passed away one by one, leaving only his gravely ill father. With no money for medicine, Hakuji resorted to stealing to provide for him.
While he stole, he constantly trained his body. Though he was caught and punished by the magistrate many times, he was always let go due to his young age.
At fifteen, having trained relentlessly since childhood, his body was much stronger than an average person's. He remained conscious even after receiving a hundred lashes. But one day, he returned home to learn from a neighbor that his father, heartbroken by his son's constant thievery, had hanged himself in the hope that Hakuji would start a new, honest life.
After his father's death, Hakuji became a wanderer. Thinking back on how his efforts to save his father had led to this outcome, he grew furious at the ugly world where the rich could do as they pleased while the poor could do nothing. To vent his rage, he beat down seven adults who had provoked him.
It was then that he met his future master, Keizo, who defeated him and forcibly brought him to his Soryu dojo.
At the dojo, Hakuji discovered he was the only student. His master had to work outside jobs to keep the dojo afloat. The master asked Hakuji to help care for his sickly daughter, Koyuki.
Seeing the ailing Koyuki reminded Hakuji of his father, and he decided to stay, tirelessly caring for her. During this time, unbeknownst to him, Koyuki fell in love with him.
The son of the neighboring kendo dojo's master was also in love with Koyuki. He once tried to forcibly take the weak Koyuki out, but when she had an asthma attack, he panicked and abandoned her. If Hakuji hadn't found her in time, she would have died.
Furious, Keizo challenged the neighboring dojo to a match. Hakuji defeated nine of their members and warned them to never approach Koyuki again.
The dojo master's son, enraged and having lost his mind, attacked Hakuji with a real sword. But Hakuji shattered the blade with his signature technique. The kendo master, moved by the power of Hakuji's style, reprimanded his son's dishonorable actions, and no one from their dojo ever bothered them again.
At eighteen, Keizo asked Hakuji if he would inherit the dojo and marry Koyuki. Hakuji was stunned, but then he remembered his father's final wish and accepted.
He took Koyuki to see the fireworks she had missed as a child, promising her that he would become stronger than anyone to protect her for the rest of their lives.
On the eve of his wedding, Hakuji returned to his hometown to visit his father's grave and share the happy news.
By then, the rival dojo master had passed away. His son, hearing of Hakuji and Koyuki's impending marriage and incited by his students, took a despicable route. While Hakuji was away, they snuck over and poisoned the well at the Soryu dojo. However, a neighbor witnessed the act.
When Hakuji returned, the neighbor told him that his master and fiancée had been poisoned to death by the people from the kendo dojo. Utterly broken and enraged, he went to their dojo and single-handedly killed all 67 people inside, dismembering them so completely that not a single full corpse was left. The remaining servants went mad with fear. The incident was so gruesome that rumors began to spread of a 'demon' haunting the area.
Having once again failed to protect those important to him, Hakuji lost all direction in life. By chance, he was found by Kibutsuji Muzan, who had come to investigate the rumors of a demon in an area where none should exist. Intrigued by Hakuji's immense strength, Muzan forcibly turned him into a demon.
Due to the trauma, Hakuji lost almost all of his memories, left with only the obsessive desire to become stronger. He became Twelve Kizuki, Upper Rank Three, and took the new name Akaza.