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'Tamayo-san's concoction contains four separate drugs. Muzan hasn't detected them all yet. I need to stall him until they fully activate. Please—everyone arrive soon.'
Kaido's resolve crystallized. No matter what happened next, he would pin Muzan in place. Whatever the cost.
"DIE!"
Muzan's thorned whips lashed forward. Kaido blocked with his greatsword, then exploded toward the Demon King—legs driving him forward like a missile.
Transparent World revealed everything—but Muzan's whip attacks exceeded the speed of sound. And those were just the two visible ones. Nine more whips lurked in his back, eight more in his legs.
Time to gamble.
"Dragon Breathing, Sixth Form: Dragon Tornado Storm!"
Kaido gripped his blade and spun—faster, faster—transforming into a violent cyclone that surged toward Muzan. Sword energy radiated from the vortex, carving the air itself into ribbons. The roar mimicked a genuine hurricane.
Muzan recognized the threat immediately. If that technique connected, he'd be shredded. Even if he survived the initial impact, the damage would be severe.
Regeneration was fast—but this white-haired warrior wouldn't give him breathing room.
Decision made in microseconds: Muzan severed his partially regenerated arm—the one Kaido's Bright Red Blade had damaged earlier—letting it fall away. A fresh limb sprouted instantly, transforming into a third thorned whip.
BOOM! BOOM!
Both whips hammered the tornado. Explosive concussions rippled outward—but Kaido didn't stop. The cyclone continued advancing.
'This bastard won't quit!'
"Blood Demon Art: Black Blood Barbed Bramble!"
Black thorns erupted from Muzan's arms, weaving between the whips. The combined assault struck repeatedly—dozens of impacts per second.
Against overwhelming numbers, Kaido's tornado faltered and dispersed.
Muzan saw his opening. He spread the whips and brambles wide—creating a pincer formation designed to crush Kaido from both sides and devour him completely.
'This white-haired hunter is extraordinary. If I consume him, my power will increase dramatically. Then neither the Corps nor the Ubuyashiki bloodline will survive. Nothing will prevent me from finding the Blue Spider Lily.'
Anticipation surged—but caution tempered it. Instinct whispered that Kaido wouldn't fall so easily. Three Upper Ranks had died to this man. Underestimating him would be fatal.
"Dragon Breathing, Eighth Form: Wandering Dragon Flash!"
Exactly as Muzan predicted—Kaido wasn't trapped.
Kaido's form blurred, materializing directly before Muzan—less than a meter away. He burned half his remaining mental energy activating Demon Eye, plunging Muzan into momentary disorientation.
Then he swung with everything he had—aiming for the throat.
CLANG!
"WHAT?!"
Black brambles had coiled protectively around Muzan's neck. The blade didn't penetrate.
Kaido knew Muzan had overcome decapitation—but he'd hoped the Bright Red Blade's regeneration suppression would create an opening, reduce pressure in the fight.
'He's too cautious. He was holding that defense in reserve the entire time.'
"Tenacious, aren't you, Kaido? DIE!"
'Oh hell—'
Brambles wrapped around the greatsword. Whips descended. Kaido released his weapon and flashed backward, creating distance.
Without his grip maintaining it, the sword reverted to normal size.
'Two seconds. I burned half my mental energy and only stunned him for two seconds. Muzan's willpower is monstrous.'
Muzan hurled the blade off the platform, smirking. "No weapon. Let's see what you can do now."
Kaido responded with a middle finger and a single word: "Idiot."
Then he dove off the platform.
Muzan assumed the weaponless warrior had chosen suicide over defeat.
"Pitiful human..."
He turned to leave—
Kaido materialized behind him, greatsword raised, carving toward his nape.
Sensing murderous intent, Muzan whipped around. Kaido twisted mid-strike, evading—then his tail lashed out, striking Muzan's eyes.
In the instant Muzan's vision went dark, Kaido severed his right arm at the shoulder.
Through Transparent World, Kaido had mapped all five brains and seven hearts. The right arm concealed one heart—closest to his current position.
Destroying a heart meant weakening Muzan's overall strength.
As Kaido moved to finish the organ, whips intercepted him. He abandoned the kill and dodged.
Muzan's brambles retrieved the severed arm, reabsorbing the heart. He stared at Kaido with genuine confusion—the warrior had clearly jumped off the platform. How had he returned unharmed?
Then Muzan laughed. Information from Nakime flooded his consciousness.
"Kaido—several of your comrades are dead. Nakime killed them. The survivors won't arrive in time. You're alone. Do you honestly believe you have a chance?"
Kaido showed no surprise. He'd anticipated this—Yushiro must have seized control of Nakime. Which meant Mitsuri and Obanai would arrive shortly.
As for the "deaths"—Yushiro was following his instructions, creating illusions to deceive Muzan.
Seeing no reaction, Muzan pressed forward. "I'll repeat my offer. Accept my blood. I'll grant you eternal life and overwhelming power. All you need to do is—"
"KEEP DREAMING!"
"Dragon Breathing, Eighth Form: Wandering Dragon Flash!"
WHOOSH—
Kaido's form vanished, leaving an afterimage. He appeared before Muzan, blade descending—
Then vanished again as whips and brambles struck empty air, reappearing behind Muzan with another slash—
The pattern repeated. Continuous strikes from impossible angles. Muzan found himself on the defensive—each near-miss accompanied by the Bright Red Blade's searing pain and suppressed regeneration.
Humiliation ignited his fury. This was supposed to be a one-sided execution. Instead, a lone human had him pinned down.
"FILTHY HUNTER—GET AWAY FROM ME!"
BOOM—
A shockwave erupted from Muzan's body, hurling Kaido backward and obliterating the surrounding architecture.
The impact caused internal bleeding. Blood trickled from Kaido's mouth.
Muzan concentrated every whip and bramble into a single unified strike, launching it like a spear.
Kaido couldn't dodge. He planted the greatsword vertically—right hand on the hilt, left braced against the flat—hoping to withstand the assault.
CLANG!
CRASH—
The defense held—barely. Kaido was launched backward, the crack in his blade spreading wider. Additional injuries manifested across his torso.
"Cough—the drugs are taking effect. Otherwise that strike would've shattered my sword completely."
The attack's force had diminished compared to earlier exchanges. Tamayo's medication was working—slowly undermining Muzan from within. But could he survive long enough for it to matter?
Kaido drove his blade into the ground, using it as a crutch to stand. He stared at Muzan through bloody vision.
Without his enhanced physique—superior even to Gyomei's—and his dragon transformation, that last attack would have crippled him.
Muzan severed his damaged sections with clinical precision, regenerating pristine flesh. His gaze locked onto Kaido.
"Kaido. Final offer. Accept my blood and live. You'll become the strongest Upper Rank demon under my command."
"You sound like Akaza—always trying to convert people. My answer hasn't changed: NO."
"Then you've chosen death."
Muzan gathered his whips and brambles into a single devastating formation—this time, he would annihilate Kaido completely.
Kaido raised his blade defensively, preparing to endure the strike through pure physical resilience—
"Flame Breathing, Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!"
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
"Hinokami Kagura: Raging Sun!"
A blazing tiger. Flowing water that adapted between offensive and defensive. Solar flames that seared like concentrated sunlight. Three simultaneous techniques converged on Muzan from different vectors.
Muzan deflected all three with a casual whip stroke.
After dodging the counterattack, the three newcomers rushed to Kaido's side—Giyu, Kyojuro, and Tanjiro forming a defensive line.
The pressure radiating from Muzan was suffocating.
"Kaido-kun, can you still fight?"
"I'm fine. Muzan will drop dead before I do! We promised everyone would survive—I'm not breaking that promise!"
All four warriors exchanged brief smiles—then raised their weapons as one, facing the Demon King together.
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