"This presence…"
Inosuke's pupils shrank to pinpoints as he stared fixedly at the tightly shut vermilion gate.
There was only one presence.
Yet that single presence was as heavy as a mountain, as deep as an abyss.
He had never felt such overwhelming pressure before.
There was only one possibility.
"Kokushibo…"
Inosuke ground out the name through clenched teeth.
He had never seen him—but there could be no mistake.
Upper Rank One.
The elder brother of Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
The warrior who abandoned everything in pursuit of power.
"Why is he here?!"
"Father and the others just vanished… and Muzan immediately sent this monster?!"
"Luring them away—and letting Kokushibo strike straight at the heart…"
Inosuke suddenly turned his head.
His gaze passed the panicked Zenitsu and Tanjiro, landing on the woman resting in the bedroom.
Kotoha.
His heart skipped violently.
A chill shot from his feet straight to the top of his skull.
"…It's for Mom."
"Muzan finally figured out my biggest weakness?!"
"KONPACHIRO!! ZENITSU!! YOU IDIOT SENIOR!!"
A roar like thunder exploded through the hall.
Inosuke's voice was hoarse and ferocious, carrying an urgency no one had ever heard from him before.
"STOP STANDING THERE—MOVE!!"
He leapt down from the table and rushed into Kotoha's room.
Grabbing her wrist, he dragged her out and shoved her straight into Tanjiro's arms.
"TAKE MY MOM! TAKE NEZUKO! RUN TO THE BACK MOUNTAIN!!"
"NOW! IMMEDIATELY! RUN AS FAR AS YOU CAN!!"
"DON'T LOOK BACK! DON'T STOP! EVEN IF YOUR LEGS BREAK—KEEP RUNNING!!"
"W–What? Inosuke?!"
Tanjiro barely caught Kotoha before she fell, completely stunned.
He had never seen Inosuke like this.
"What's happening? Who's outside? We can fight together—"
"SHUT UP!!"
Inosuke kicked Tanjiro square in the backside, sending him stumbling forward.
He turned his back to them and faced the gate.
Slowly, he drew the paired fans from his chest.
Reflected in the fan's surface was his pale, feral face.
"That's Upper Rank One."
His voice dropped low.
"I don't care how you do it—get Kotoha away."
"Muzan won't kill me. He's here to take her and use her to control me."
Inosuke tilted his head.
The exposed multicolored eye was bloodshot.
"RUN!!!"
That shout finally jolted everyone awake.
Tanjiro smelled it—
A stench so thick it made him choke.
"GO!!"
Biting down hard, tears flooding his eyes, Tanjiro hoisted Kotoha onto his back, grabbed Nezuko, and sprinted toward the hidden passage in the rear courtyard.
"BIG BROTHER!! YOU HAVE TO LIVE!!"
Zenitsu cried as he dragged the still-dazed Kaigaku along.
"Senior! Move! Don't look back!"
Their footsteps faded into the distance.
The hall was left with only Inosuke.
Alone.
Like a solitary island standing against an incoming tsunami.
Creeeak—
The massive vermilion gate was slowly pushed open by a pale hand.
Moonlight spilled in like liquid mercury, slicing the darkness into fragments.
A tall, imposing figure stepped inside.
A purple kimono patterned with serpents swayed with each step.
At his waist hung a grotesque blade covered in eyes, radiating ill omen.
Six crimson eyes stared coldly at the boy in the center of the hall.
Upper Rank One — Kokushibo.
He did not attack immediately.
Those six eyes examined Inosuke up and down.
They pierced through skin, bone, muscle—into the unique structure of his body.
"So you are Inosuke?"
Kokushibo's voice was deep.
Each word struck like a hammer to the chest.
"Those eyes resemble Dōma's."
Inosuke drew a deep breath.
He forcibly suppressed the instinctive trembling and pulled his mouth into a wild, arrogant grin.
"That's right!"
He wasted no words. No probing. No testing.
Against a monster of this level, anything but an all-out first strike was meaningless.
The only chance—
Was to go on the offensive.
To throw every card on the table in the first second.
"Hah…"
Inosuke adjusted his breathing.
His temperature spiked. His heartbeat shattered its limits.
"Rin-Nichi Breathing — First Form: Frost Sky Flame Dance!!"
BOOM!
The floor beneath his feet exploded into powder.
He became a streak of golden light—so fast it vanished from sight.
One fan radiated absolute cold.
The other ignited with dazzling flame.
At the instant he moved—
At the instant fire and ice erupted together—
Kokushibo's six previously calm eyes violently trembled.
Time slowed in his perception.
What he saw was no longer Inosuke charging toward him.
Within that blazing heat, he saw a figure that had haunted him for four hundred years—
A man in a red haori.
Hanafuda earrings swaying at his ears.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
"T–This is…"
That stance.
That breathing rhythm.
"Sun Breathing?!
No—wait…!"
Kokushibo's grip tightened sharply.
All six eyes spun wildly, dissecting every detail of Inosuke's body.
He saw the frost coiling around the other fan.
Supreme heat and absolute cold—
within one body, one breathing style, perfectly balanced.
"Combining the origin breathing with an unseen one…?"
Impossible.
How could a body endure such contradiction?!
Unless—
Unless he was a true monster of talent.
One even more unreasonable than Yoriichi.
Clang.
A blade rang.
No one saw when Kokushibo drew his sword.
"Moon Breathing — First Form: Dark Moon, Evening Palace."
BOOM!
Inosuke never even got close.
He didn't touch a corner of Kokushibo's sleeve.
The slash was too fast.
Beyond the limits of sight.
SHLK!
A bone-deep wound tore across Inosuke's chest—from left shoulder to right abdomen.
Blood erupted, splashing across the golden fan.
"Ghk—!"
Inosuke was blown backward, smashing into the high priest's seat and shattering it.
He crashed to the floor, vomiting blood, his organs feeling displaced.
"So this is… the gap?"
He knelt, trembling as he braced himself on the ground.
Just a casual swing.
A light, almost indifferent slash.
And he was nearly dead.
If he'd been a fraction slower, he'd already be cut in half.
Kokushibo did not pursue.
He stood still, blade hanging at his side, the eyes along it shifting restlessly.
All six of his eyes locked onto Inosuke—filled with disbelief, shock, and rising malice.
"Who taught you?"
His voice had changed.
"This breathing. This body."
His gaze fixed on Inosuke's collarbone.
There, from the violent exertion, a blue lotus-like pattern was slowly emerging.
The Mark.
"You awakened the mark.
You are Upper Rank Five.
And you wield Sun Breathing."
Kokushibo's hand trembled.
Not only with anger—
But with jealousy.
A jealousy that had burned his soul for four hundred years.
He had abandoned humanity, become a demon, and spent centuries chasing Yoriichi's shadow.
And this boy—
How old was he?
Ten-something?
A joke?!
He possessed talent rivaling—even surpassing—Yoriichi's.
And unlike Yoriichi, he would not die as a human.
Then what was his centuries of struggle?
A farce?
Muzan's order?
Blunt his edge?
Those thoughts were cast aside.
Before this twisted pride and all-consuming envy, orders meant nothing.
"Genius…"
"What a revolting genius."
Kokushibo's voice turned glacial.
Killing intent froze the entire hall.
"You must die."
"You want to kill me?!"
Feeling that absolute killing intent, Inosuke laughed even more wildly.
"No choice then…"
"I have to stall him."
"If a human body won't do—"
Demonification — Activate!!
BOOM!!
Jet-black demonic aura erupted skyward, shattering the floor.
His wounds regenerated at visible speed.
Blue lotus patterns spread across his face.
Silver-red hair lifted without wind.
Seven-colored glass eyes—gold-red pupils.
Upper Rank Five.
In an instant, he transformed from a human swordsman into a powerful demon.
He stood again, his presence several times stronger.
"COME AGAIN!!"
He roared and charged once more.
"Moon Breathing — Sixth Form: Everlasting Night, Lonely Moon — Infinite."
Kokushibo showed no restraint.
He swung.
Countless intersecting blade winds erupted, mixed with innumerable crescent moon slashes, shredding the hall instantly.
Pillars collapsed. The roof was torn away.
This was a killing strike.
"Blood Demon Art: Fog Ice — Lotus Bodhisattva!!"
A massive Bodhisattva of black-red ice surged up before Inosuke.
BOOOOOOM!!
Moon blades slammed into the ice statue.
Before Kokushibo's full power, it was like paper.
It shattered instantly—less than a second.
SHLK!
A flash of cold light.
Inosuke had no time to react.
The world suddenly flipped.
Everything turned blood-red.
Then the pain hit.
Half his head was gone.
Blood sprayed like a fountain, soaking the shattered carpet.
"Ghh…"
Inosuke collapsed to his knees, still gripping the fan.
With his remaining eye, he saw Kokushibo advancing like divine punishment.
Too strong.
So this was the monster that had ruled the summit for centuries.
Kokushibo raised the grotesque blade, preparing the final blow.
"Such talent…"
"Be destroyed."
"Destroy… me…"
Inosuke's voice was slurred—half his mouth gone.
But his demonic blood surged wildly.
Flesh and nerves were already weaving his missing half back together.
The pain was unbearable. His consciousness was on the verge of collapse.
He couldn't die.
If he died—what about Mom? Everyone?
"ROOOAR!!"
Ignoring his half-regenerated head, Inosuke charged again—
Like a moth flying into flame.
...
Back Mountain of the Paradise Cult
Tanjiro ran through the forest with Kotoha on his back.
Zenitsu dragged Nezuko. Kaigaku guarded the rear with sword in hand.
Branches tore their faces, but no one stopped.
"Inosuke… Inosuke didn't come…"
Kotoha sobbed uncontrollably, clutching Tanjiro's clothes.
Tanjiro bit down hard, tears trembling in his eyes, but he didn't dare look back.
"We have to live! We can't waste what he's buying us!"
"But—"
Rustle…
Dense footsteps suddenly echoed through the forest.
Disgusting demonic auras closed in from all sides.
"Hehehe… found you…"
"That woman's scent is here…"
Dozens of shadows dropped from the treetops, blocking their path.
Demons.
Not ordinary ones.
Each had been strengthened by Muzan—each close to Lower Rank level.
Muzan's hunting pack.
"Hand over the woman!!"
A leading demon lunged, claws aimed at Kotoha's throat.
"NOT A CHANCE!!"
"Thunder Breathing — First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!!"
Golden lightning split the night.
Zenitsu didn't hesitate.
Using a Nichirin blade taken from the Paradise Cult's armory, he severed the demon's neck in one strike.
Their original swords were left at the Demon Slayer Corps—but the armory still had backups.
"That was close… it's dull, but it works…"
Zenitsu's palms were slick with sweat, but he planted himself in front of Kotoha.
"Everyone, be careful! There are too many!"
Tanjiro set Kotoha down against a tree and drew his blade.
"Water Breathing — Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"
A water dragon danced through the forest, cutting down demon after demon.
Kaigaku grit his teeth and took position on the other side.
Three boys.
Surrounded by endless demons.
Back to back, they formed a circle—shielding the gentle woman within.
"Don't be afraid, Aunt Kotoha."
Tanjiro's voice was iron-steady.
"We won't let them touch you."
...
Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters
The night was silent.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya sat on the veranda, feeling the evening breeze.
Suddenly, his heart convulsed.
A powerful unease surged through him.
Flap flap!
A Kasugai Crow stumbled down and landed on his hand, gently pecking him.
The strange behavior made his chest tighten.
This matched the prophecy exactly.
His hand trembled.
Tears slid soundlessly from his blind eyes.
"So soon…"
"The night of the prophecy… already here?"
The night he had spoken of at the Hashira meeting.
The night Inosuke would need them.
Tonight.
"There's no time…"
The gentle man erupted with unprecedented decisiveness.
He raised his arm, sending the crow skyward.
"ISSUE THE ORDER TO ALL!!"
His voice, though soft, carried through the crows across headquarters.
"Follow Shinobu Kochō to the Eternal Paradise Cult."
"Inosuke needs us."
"This is the debt the Demon Slayer Corps owes him!"
...
Butterfly Estate
Shinobu Kochō was organizing medicine.
The instant she heard the crow's cry, the bottle in her hand shattered.
"Inosuke… needs help…"
Her pupils constricted.
"Damn it!!"
Tears burst from her eyes.
"Weren't you supposed to be happy?!"
BOOM!
She smashed through the window and leapt out.
Nichirin blade in hand, she sprinted across rooftops like a maddened butterfly.
"All units—move out!!!"
She screamed into the night.
In the next second—
From every corner of the Corps, countless crows took flight.
Drawn by some unseen call, they gathered behind Shinobu.
A black mass—hundreds, thousands strong.
A dark convoy escorting the enraged Insect Hashira.
Shinobu charged at the front.
The crow swarm blotted out the sky.
"WAIT FOR ME!!"
...
Elsewhere
By a campfire, Rengoku Kyojuro rose instantly upon hearing the message.
"UMM!!"
The rock beneath his feet cracked.
"Flame Breathing — Total Concentration: Constant!"
He became a blazing meteor racing across the land.
"Hold on, young man!!"
...
By a riverbank, Giyu Tomioka stared at the water.
The crow's call reached him.
His eyes sharpened.
Confusion vanished.
He drew his blade and sprinted across the water like an arrow, white spray trailing behind.
"Sabito… protect that child."
...
Sanemi Shinazugawa had just finished a mission when he heard.
His scarred face twisted into a ferocity worse than any demon.
"Needs help?"
"With his power and background… what could threaten him?"
"The Demon King?"
Sanemi drew his newly forged blade.
"No matter what—"
"This time, I help you!!"
That night—
Black crows circled the sky.
A dark convoy followed Shinobu like a spear piercing the heavens.
All the Hashira were racing behind it.
All converging on one place—
The Eternal Paradise Cult.
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