~# Keep the chapters coming — Support with Power Stones!
<><><><><><><><>
"Moon Breathing, Fifth Form: Moon Spirit Calamitous Eddy!"
Kokushibo spun continuously, generating a massive vortex of blade energy around his body. Crescent-shaped projectiles erupted along every trajectory, creating a lethal web of cutting force.
Sanemi leapt clear, sliding back several meters before charging forward again—blade raised.
Kokushibo met him head-on. Every slash from his demonic sword spawned dozens of crescent blades—small, razor-sharp, and unpredictable.
"Wind Breathing, Third Form: Clear Storm Wind Tree!"
Three powerful wind blades erupted from Sanemi's position, colliding with Kokushibo's crescents. But he was still being pushed back.
'This bastard's swordsmanship is terrifying. The blade length and size keep changing—no wonder Tokito couldn't handle him!'
Yet despite the overwhelming assault, Sanemi continued evading with practiced precision, counterattacking whenever possible.
Kokushibo showed no surprise. He simply continued his relentless offensive.
"HAHAHA! Now this is interesting! You're worth killing!"
"Wind Breathing, Second Form: Claws—Purifying Wind!"
Four wind blades shaped like talons ripped forward. Kokushibo gripped his blade with both hands, blocking horizontally. The wind strikes hammered against Kyokokukamusari's surface with enough force to nearly shatter it.
He deflected all four with a single sweep—but Sanemi was already airborne, descending with a overhead strike.
Kokushibo raised his blade to block—
And Sanemi grabbed Genya's fallen sword with his toes, driving it toward Kokushibo's jaw.
The demon bent backward with inhuman flexibility, avoiding the thrust. Then his body erupted with crescent-blade projections, all converging on Sanemi.
Sanemi launched multiple wind blades in response—but they weren't enough. Several crescents cut through his defense, tearing flesh.
"SHINAZUGAWA!"
"Brother!"
"Moon Breathing, Sixth Form: Perpetual Night, Lonely Moon—Incessant!"
Kokushibo unleashed a concentrated barrage—rapid, cross-cutting slashes that created overlapping blade winds and countless crescent projectiles.
SLASH!
Sanemi couldn't evade them all. Multiple strikes connected, carving deep wounds across his torso. Blood sprayed in crimson arcs. His chest was torn open—another inch deeper and his organs would've been exposed.
Surrounding pillars disintegrated under the assault.
"Impressive... your body withstands punishment remarkably well. You're stronger than before... weathering attacks that should have killed you."
"Heh... I've got Kaido's Enhancement Pills to thank for that! And fighting you? I've completely absorbed their effects now! Come on—ROUND TWO!"
Kokushibo's body suddenly tensed. His pulse accelerated. His heartbeat intensified.
'What's happening...?'
"Heh... hehehehe... Rare blood affects demons the way catnip affects cats! Never thought it'd work on Upper Ranks too!"
Sanemi charged during the opening, unleashing a hurricane-force strike.
Kokushibo shifted backward—but Sanemi pursued relentlessly, blade carving through air in continuous slashes.
"HAHAHA! My blood is the rarest of the rare! Any demon that smells it gets drunk off their ass!"
"Wind Breathing, Sixth Form: Black Wind Mountain Mist!"
WHOOSH—
A devastating black wind blade erupted upward from below, surrounded by additional cutting currents.
Despite the rare blood's influence, Kokushibo remained combat-effective. He countered with a draw cut, spawning dozens of crescent projectiles.
"This intoxication... truly nostalgic. Combined with the rare blood... exhilarating."
Sanemi deflected the projectiles and charged again, leaping high with a downward slash. Kokushibo evaded—then stomped Sanemi's blade into the floor.
His own weapon rose toward Sanemi's exposed throat—
CLANG!
Sanemi had grabbed Genya's explosive rifle, blocking the strike from behind. He pulled the trigger point-blank.
Kokushibo had dismissed the weapon before—but he'd experienced its regeneration-suppressing effect firsthand. The suppression was brief, but he couldn't afford complications.
He abandoned the kill and dodged.
But rather than waste the opportunity entirely, he unleashed another technique mid-evasion.
"Moon Breathing, Third Form: Loathsome Moon, Chains!"
Crescent blades materialized from his weapon's edge. Multiple sweeping slashes generated two crescent-shaped blade winds, surrounded by countless additional crescents—all converging on Sanemi.
When the attack dissipated, only slash marks remained. No body. No blood.
"Namu Amida Butsu."
Kokushibo looked up—another Demon Slayer had arrived.
"Another one..."
Gyomei Himejima descended, his massive frame blocking Kokushibo's view.
"Until every demon is purged from this world, the Demon Slayer Corps will never fall!"
He glanced at Sanemi. "Shinazugawa, treat your wounds. I'll hold him off."
"Yeah... thanks."
Gyomei stood before Kokushibo, wielding a spiked flail and axe connected by a long chain.
Through Transparent World, Kokushibo analyzed his new opponent—and found perfection. Strength, physical conditioning, technique—all honed to their absolute limits.
'Extraordinary. A body tempered to its peak. I haven't encountered a swordsman of this caliber in three centuries.'
Gyomei spun the flail, building momentum. Faster and faster until the surrounding air itself was drawn into the rotation.
CRASH!
The flail hammered down. Kokushibo evaded—the impact shattered stone like a spiderweb.
'Moon Breathing—'
Before he could deploy the technique, Gyomei's axe came swinging from the opposite direction, aimed at his throat.
Kokushibo twisted, bending nearly horizontal—but the assault continued.
"Stone Breathing, Second Form: Upper Smash!"
Gyomei stomped the chain, anchoring it. Then he swung the flail directly at Kokushibo's skull.
The demon dodged again—but the chain had wrapped around his neck. He raised his blade to cut through it—
The chain held. His flesh-forged weapon couldn't sever it.
Kokushibo dropped vertically, escaping the stranglehold—but lost several strands of hair in the process.
'The axe and flail are both forged from exceptionally pure iron. My blade, created from my own flesh... would be destroyed before severing such metal. Even during the Warring States period, weapons of this quality were rare.'
━━━━━━━━
Gyomei pressed the offensive, alternating between axe and flail in a relentless rhythm that left little room for counterattack.
Not only because of the devastating force behind each strike—but because of Gyomei's mastery. He wielded both weapons simultaneously, attacking from multiple angles with perfect coordination.
'He wields weapons with overwhelming power. His strength cannot be underestimated. But this fighting style has a weakness—if I close the distance, those long-range weapons become liabilities.'
Having identified the pattern, Kokushibo formulated his approach.
The flail swung toward him again. He ducked low, then burst forward—closing into melee range, blade aimed at Gyomei's throat—
And realized his mistake.
His crescent-enhanced slash carved through empty air. Gyomei had leapt skyward, evading completely.
Then the axe descended from above.
Kokushibo sidestepped—and the flail followed immediately after.
He raised his blade to block—
The chain wrapped around his weapon.
Before Kokushibo could deploy blade energy—
His sword burned away at the contact point.
"Moon Breathing, Second Form: Pearl Flower Moongazing!"
"Stone Breathing, Fourth Form: Volcanic Rock—Rapid Conquest!"
In the instant his blade regenerated, Kokushibo unleashed two crescent-blade projectiles.
Gyomei responded by spinning both axe and flail in a defensive barrier, deflecting most of the attack—though one crescent grazed his face, drawing blood.
Kokushibo raised his regenerated blade. "The severed portions... regenerate instantly. Your attacks are meaningless. Pitiful... human."
"I planned to conserve strength for Muzan—but if I can't defeat you, reaching him becomes impossible."
Gyomei crossed his arms.
Gray-black stone patterns manifested across both forearms—his Demon Slayer Mark awakening.
"I see... you're a Marked swordsman as well. How unfortunate."
"Unfortunate?"
"Based on your appearance and bearing... you're approximately twenty-seven years old."
"So?"
"I merely lament the early death of exceptional talent. Every Marked swordsman without exception... dies before their twenty-fifth birthday."
"We're already aware—but Kaido solved that problem! He was the first to manifest the Mark in this era, and he eliminated its fatal side effect!"
Kokushibo's confidence wavered. 'That's... impossible. If someone had found a solution, I wouldn't have—'
"But facts are facts. And even if he hadn't solved it, the Corps made our peace with death long ago! Anyone who fears dying has no business becoming a Hashira! Your words are an insult to all eleven Pillars. UNFORGIVABLE!"
"I'm not referring to something as trivial as life. Becoming a demon preserves both body and technique indefinitely. Why can't you understand... how foolish..."
"Living as humans and dying as humans is OUR DIGNITY! Don't you dare force your twisted worldview on us like it's some noble truth!"
━━━━━━━━
Muichiro wrenched the blade pinning him to the pillar free. Gritting through the agony, he pulled the sword from his shoulder.
He prepared to bandage the wound and return to combat—
And discovered his severed arm was completely intact. If not for the blood-soaked sleeve, he'd think he'd imagined losing it. Even the shoulder wound had healed perfectly.
'What's going on?'
He looked toward his severed limb—it had transformed into wood.
Reaching into his shoulder, he extracted a small wooden fragment.
'What is this? How...?'
Then memory surfaced—Kaido had given him a wooden puppet, which had merged with his body. Kaido had said it would protect him.
"Everything was part of your plan, huh? Impressive as always, Kaido."
"Tokito-san!"
Genya approached, both arms fully restored.
"Genya! Thank god you're okay!"
"Yeah, I don't understand what happened—my severed arms turned into wood?"
Muichiro explained his theory—Kaido's substitute puppets had saved them both.
"So it was the Dragon Hashira! I heard he knows secret techniques—he must've known this would happen!"
"Genya, I'm going to support them. If I create an opening and immobilize Upper Rank One, shoot him. Don't worry about hitting me—DO NOT HESITATE!"
"But—"
"No buts. We can't waste any opportunity to kill him!"
After a moment's consideration, Genya nodded. "Understood, Tokito-san."
Muichiro retrieved his blade and rushed toward Gyomei's battle.
Once alone, Genya spotted Kokushibo's severed hair strands and broken blade fragment on the floor. He collected both.
Without hesitation, he swallowed the hair.
His body immediately began transforming. Blood circulation accelerated. Demonic energy coursed through his veins.
'Just a few strands of Upper Rank One's hair contain this much concentrated blood!'
Then a voice echoed in his mind—foreign and commanding.
"Kokushibo, how many Pillars have you killed? They cannot be allowed to reach me yet..."
Genya recognized it immediately—Muzan's voice.
He wrapped the broken blade fragment in cloth, grabbed his rifle, and rushed toward Gyomei.
━━━━━━━━
"You know, I just realized something—you told a lie, Upper Rank One!"
"What... are you talking about? I never—"
"There WAS an exception, wasn't there? A Marked swordsman who survived past twenty-five!"
Kokushibo fell silent. Internal conflict manifested as hesitation. A specific figure emerged in his memory—one he'd spent centuries trying to forget.
"Your resolve is wavering!" Gyomei grinned. "My assessment was correct!"
FLASH—
Mid-sentence, Kokushibo materialized before Gyomei, blade descending—blocked by the chain.
They clashed again—blade winds colliding with axe and flail, obliterating everything nearby. Pillars, floors, walls—all reduced to rubble.
Across the battlefield, Sanemi finished his brief respite. He'd sealed his wounds with adhesive bandages, forcing himself upright through sheer willpower.
A green windmill pattern emerged on his right cheek—his Demon Slayer Mark manifesting.
The battle between Kokushibo and Gyomei intensified. The demon unleashed a double draw cut—
Sanemi intercepted both blade winds with his own, then closed the distance with continuous slashes.
'Another Marked swordsman. Does this entire generation of Pillars possess them?'
Kokushibo evaded Sanemi's assault—
Gyomei's flail hammered toward his face from behind Sanemi's attack trajectory.
The earlier strikes had concealed the flail's approach.
Kokushibo sidestepped minimally—but Sanemi dropped low, blade aimed at his ankles.
He leapt skyward—
Another Hashira appeared at his back. Kokushibo raised his weapon defensively—
"Sound Breathing, First Form: Roar!"
Twin blades descended with explosive force, detonating on impact and shattering another section of Kokushibo's sword.
"HAHAHA! The supremely flamboyant Tengen Uzui has arrived to flamboyantly remove demon heads!"
Tengen had been searching for Muzan when he heard combat nearby. Discovering Gyomei and Sanemi battling Upper Rank One, he'd immediately coordinated with their attacks—though failing to decapitate the demon disappointed him.
'Different Breathing users... coordinating seamlessly. Impressive tactical cohesion.'
"Good thing we Hashira train together regularly! Himejima-san, Tengen—let's take Upper Rank One's head together!"
"Namu Amida Butsu. Agreed."
"HAHAHA! Absolutely! The three of us will flamboyantly sever Upper Rank One's neck!"
'These three are the Corps' elite. I must... end this quickly.'
<><><><><><><><>
~# 30 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
~# Every 200 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter!
~# Add to Library!