White mist rose from the street vendor's hot water, enveloping the small space in a hazy shroud. The old man's face blurred within the steam, and even his originally stiff tone seemed to soften, carried away by the rising heat.
"Young man, this bowl of noodles is on the house. It's rare to find someone willing to chat with a scruffy old man like me. Consider this bowl your payment for the company."
Rengoku Mujuro nodded with a look of pleasant surprise. He looked at the old man and accepted the offer with a simple, hearty grin.
The old man smiled back, satisfied. As he boiled the noodles, he sighed to Mujuro, "Now that you mention it, I do recall some strange things lately. Yoshiwara's public safety has never been great, but usually, when a murder happens, you can at least find a body, even if the case isn't solved."
"But lately," the old man continued, "forget a whole body—you can't even find a stray limb. Most of the time, there's nothing left but a pile of blood-stained clothes. No one can say for sure where the bodies are going."
Hearing this, Mujuro's thick eyebrows furrowed slightly. The old man's description confirmed the suspicions growing in his mind. Those missing bodies were almost certainly being devoured by demons.
Although these were years of famine, the act of humans preying on their own kind was still relatively rare in a major city like Yoshiwara; this wasn't some remote, isolated village. Furthermore, Mujuro had observed upon entering that the famine hadn't paralyzed the city. Shops were still operating normally. Prices were high, yes, but as long as one had the coin, filling one's stomach wasn't an issue.
Thoughts raced through his mind as Mujuro downed the last of the buckwheat noodle broth. He stood up and bid the old stall owner a smiling farewell.
"Old man! The soba was delicious! If I ever pass through here again, I hope I can taste your cooking once more!"
The old man, stretching a fresh batch of dough, replied teasingly, "You brat, I plan on living for a long time. Just make sure you don't drop dead somewhere before you get the chance to eat here again."
Mujuro let out a brilliant, toothy grin. He gave the old man a respectful bow and turned to leave.
"If I can help it, I really hope I never have to come back here, old man. If you knew what I did for a living, you wouldn't want to see me again either..."
His voice drifted back from a distance, carrying a hint of melancholy. It was unclear if the old man heard him; the words seemed swallowed by the white mist rising from the dough—or perhaps the old man simply kneaded them into the flour.
The stall owner reached out to clear Mujuro's bowl, only to find a few coins tucked neatly beneath it.
"Hey! You brat!" the old man bellowed.
A laughing response echoed from the distance: "Old man, pack up early! Don't work too late these days! Go home before the sun goes down!"
The voice, along with the flash of flame-colored hair, vanished into the crowd.
The old man stared at the spotlessly clean bowl in his hand and muttered, "If I'd known you were that hungry, I would've given you a larger portion... Stubborn brat. I wonder if he even got full."
Amidst the surging crowd, Rengoku Mujuro was now crouched atop a roof. His eyes, burning like twin suns, were locked onto a figure drenched in the heavy scent of blood.
It was Kondo. He was still stained with the blood of his subordinate, Chojiro. In his desperate rush to kill Kiyokazu, he hadn't even bothered to clean himself.
Mujuro could tell the man was human, but sensing the dense, murderous intent radiating from him, Mujuro knew he was on his way to take a life. The reason Mujuro had finished his meal so quickly was that he had noticed Kondo's movements.
Whether Kondo was a demon or not, Mujuro would not allow such an atrocity to happen before his eyes. That was his way of life.
Taking a deep breath, the power of Flame Breathing gathered within him, flowing like an unceasing warm current through his limbs. He moved swiftly through the night, his orange hair fluttering like a rising sun against the darkness.
Far away beneath the bridge culvert, Izumi Kiyokazu's eyes snapped open. He could smell a thick, metallic scent of blood hovering above, and trailing closely behind it was the foul, putrid stench unique to a demon.
He took a deep breath, activating his Sun Breathing. His body began to digest the food he had eaten with extreme efficiency, converting it into a specialized ki that nourished every muscle in his body.
His wounds weren't healing particularly fast—perhaps only thirty to forty percent recovered—but his stamina had returned significantly. At the very least, dealing with a few thugs wouldn't be a problem. The real issue was... how to handle the demon.
He didn't have a Nichirin Sword. With only a small dagger, he couldn't inflict any meaningful damage on a demon. It was currently around ten at night; trying to stall until daybreak was nearly impossible, as his stamina wouldn't hold out that long.
The only possible way to deal with the demon was to sever its limbs, weigh down the torso with stones, and throw it into the river to be swept away...
As he mentally prepared for the worst-case scenario, Kiyokazu crawled over to Ume's side. He gently nudged her awake, and while she was still bleary-eyed, he clamped a hand over her mouth.
"Shh. They've found us. Don't make a sound. If they get close, I'll lure them away. You can't escape while carrying a sick man, so your mission tonight is to stay here and protect your brother."
Ume felt the warmth of his palm against her face; it felt like a stream of hot water had come to a standstill. Though she heard nothing, her trust in Kiyokazu was absolute. Without hesitation, she nodded.
Seeing that she had calmed down, Kiyokazu released his hand. The people above hadn't discovered them yet. Remaining still and silent was their best option.
In the pitch darkness, they had already used river water to wipe down their bodies, erasing much of their scent. With the culvert entrance covered in mud and aquatic weeds, the heavy, fishy smell of the river would likely mask their presence from the pursuers.
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Demon Slayer: Starting by Snatching Daki(52 Chapter- Ongoing)
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