"What do you mean? Hasn't Muzan already been destroyed?"
Shinobu looked at Shinichi in confusion, an uneasy feeling gradually spreading through her heart.
Shinichi made no attempt to avoid her question. Instead, he answered without hesitation.
"That's right. Muzan is dead, but not every demon in this world has disappeared. Those twisted beings created through the power of Yomi, creatures that violate the boundary between life and death, must all be eliminated."
He raised his left hand and pointed his Nichirin blade toward the distance.
"That is the purpose of my existence: to restore the balance between Yomi and the living world, between life and death, once and for all."
Shinobu trembled slightly.
She wanted to deny what he was implying, to convince herself that she had misunderstood his words. But when she saw the cold, indifferent light in his black eyes, her heart sank.
"You're talking about Lady Tamayo and Yushiro, aren't you?"
Disbelief filled her voice.
Shinichi did not deny it. He simply nodded.
"That's right. Tamayo and Yushiro."
He spoke their names without the slightest change in his tone.
"They're demons too. Their continued existence is proof that the boundary between life and death remains broken."
"But they're different!"
Shinobu's voice rose sharply as she stared at him in shock.
"Shinichi, how can you say that? Lady Tamayo spent hundreds of years researching ways to defeat Muzan! Yushiro helped her! Without everything they've done for us, how could we possibly have defeated Muzan?"
"I know."
Shinichi nodded, but his response remained merciless.
"That doesn't change what they are. A sword may be used to save someone's life, but its fundamental nature remains that of a weapon designed to kill. As long as those two remain alive, the boundary between life and death cannot be fully restored."
With that, Shinichi took a step forward.
"Shinichi!"
Shinobu immediately moved in front of him, blocking his path.
"You can't do this! They're our comrades!"
"Move."
"No!"
Shinobu spread her one remaining arm, her voice firm and unwavering.
"I won't let you hurt Lady Tamayo or Yushiro!"
Shinichi studied her silently, a faint glimmer passing through his black eyes. Then, without another word, he tightened his grip on his Nichirin blade.
His figure abruptly vanished.
Shinobu's pupils contracted.
She spun around at once.
"Shinichi!"
Just as she feared, he had already slipped past her and was heading straight toward the building where Tamayo was treating the wounded.
...
Inside one of the empty houses serving as the Demon Slayer Corps' temporary medical station, Tamayo was kneeling beside a severely injured Demon Slayer.
Her hands moved skillfully as she stitched his wounds, while Yushiro stood behind her holding a tray of medical instruments. His eyes remained fixed on Tamayo, his concern impossible to conceal.
"Lady Tamayo, you've been working for hours. Please, take a short break," Yushiro urged quietly.
"Once I've finished treating this man's wounds," Tamayo replied gently, her fingers continuing their careful work. "His injuries are serious. We can't afford to delay his treatment."
"But…"
Yushiro never finished speaking.
A sharp whistle suddenly tore through the air from the side.
A sword was hurtling directly toward Tamayo.
She barely had time to raise her head before a flash of bluish-green steel filled her vision, its edge descending toward her neck.
"LADY TAMAYO!!!"
Yushiro's eyes widened in horror.
Driven by desperation, his body reacted with extraordinary speed. He threw himself toward Tamayo and shoved her aside with all his strength.
But in doing so, he exposed his own back to the incoming blade.
Pshk!
The sound of steel slicing through flesh rang out with horrifying clarity.
The Nichirin blade cut so deeply into Yushiro's body that it nearly severed him in half. Blood gushed from the wound, and the force of the strike sent him pitching forward before he crashed heavily onto the floor.
"Yushiro!"
Tamayo, knocked to the ground by his desperate shove, turned her head and saw him lying in a spreading pool of blood.
Panic instantly replaced the composure on her beautiful face.
The horrifying scene had unfolded so suddenly that everyone in the room was stunned. The injured Demon Slayers and the Kakushi tending to them stared at the figure who had appeared without warning, then at the blood dripping from his Nichirin blade and Yushiro's collapsed body.
For a moment, no one could even comprehend what they were seeing.
"L-Lord Forest Hashira?"
One of the Kakushi finally managed to speak, his voice trembling.
"Wh-what are you doing?"
Shinichi did not answer.
His gaze passed over the shocked faces around him and settled on Tamayo, cold and perfectly calm.
Then he raised his sword again.
"SHINICHI, STOP!"
An urgent shout suddenly rang out from the doorway.
Everyone turned toward the entrance, still struggling to recover from their shock.
Shinobu stood there, pale-faced and breathless, supporting herself against the doorframe.
The bandages covering her severed arm were completely soaked with blood. She had forced herself to run all the way here despite the pain, but she had still arrived too late.
The moment she saw Yushiro lying in his own blood and Tamayo staring at Shinichi in bewilderment, an overwhelming mixture of hurt and anger surged through her chest.
"SHINICHI MORIKI! HOW COULD YOU?!"
Shinobu rushed forward and placed herself between Shinichi and Tamayo, clutching her Nichirin blade tightly in her remaining left hand.
"I already told you. Shinichi Moriki is only a single drop in the ocean of my existence. Move aside."
Shinichi's voice was completely devoid of emotion.
"No! I won't let you hurt them!"
He looked at her, his gaze briefly dropping to the hand holding her sword before returning to her face.
The unfamiliar coldness in those eyes made Shinobu's heart sink even further.
Shinichi raised his blade, pointing its tip toward Tamayo.
"Some sacrifices are unavoidable if the balance of Yomi is to be restored. I'm warning you one last time. Move."
"I WON'T!"
Shinobu's voice grew louder.
"You're right about one thing. You're not Shinichi! The Shinichi I know would never murder his own comrades!"
Shinichi remained silent for a moment.
Then he took a step backward.
"You're leaving me no choice."
The instant those words left his mouth, his figure vanished.
In the blink of an eye, Shinichi appeared beside Shinobu. His Nichirin blade flashed like lightning as it swept toward her waist.
Shinobu instinctively raised her sword to block.
Clang!
The two Nichirin blades collided, sending sparks scattering through the air.
A sharp pain shot through the webbing between Shinobu's thumb and forefinger, and the overwhelming force of the blow drove her backward. But she gritted her teeth, planted her feet firmly against the floor, and held her ground.
Using the momentum of her retreat, she adjusted her stance and positioned herself in front of Tamayo once more.
The hurt building inside her had become almost unbearable.
Tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes.
Never in her wildest nightmares had Shinobu imagined that a day would come when she and Shinichi would draw their swords against each other.
No.
That wasn't right.
The man before her was no longer Shinichi.
He was merely an ancient soul, one that cared for nothing beyond maintaining the balance of Yomi.
With that thought, Shinobu wiped away her tears and lifted her head.
"I will never let you hurt Lady Tamayo!"
Meanwhile, the Demon Slayers watching the confrontation could hardly believe their eyes.
Why was the Forest Hashira trying to kill Lady Tamayo and Yushiro?
And why was the Insect Hashira fighting him?
None of it made any sense.
Some of the quicker-thinking Demon Slayers, realizing how serious the situation had become, forced themselves through the pain of their injuries and rushed outside to seek help from the other Hashira.
Inside the makeshift medical station, the confrontation between the Forest Hashira and the Insect Hashira had reached a tense stalemate.