The time rewound slightly.
In front of the Kyogoku House, where Zenitsu had vanished.
"Oh, you've arrived."
Tanjirou looked apologetic: "My apologies, Mr. Uzui, I'm late."
Uzui Tengen glanced at the twilight sky: "No, you've arrived just in time."
"Yosh! Let's go, let's go!!" Seeing Tanjirou arrive, the Pig-headed Boy brandished his two Nichirin Blades and prepared to swagger into the Kyogoku House.
"idiot!" Uzui Tengen's face darkened. He grabbed him and pulled him back, "Calm down!"
"Listen up. You two stay here and wait for my signal."
Tanjirou nodded seriously: "I understand."
Inosuke: "Huh?!"
"What 'huh'?! Stay put and don't cause trouble!"
After chastising Inosuke, Uzui Tengen let out a long breath.
This guy really is a handful.
In comparison, Tanjirou was much more agreeable.
Uzui Tengen concealed his body and slipped in through the window, placing a kunai against the Shop Owner's neck.
"Make it quick. What happened to Zenko and Hinatsuru?"
The Shop Owner was sweating profusely: "Zenko disappeared, and Hinatsuru fell ill and was sent to a short-stay room..."
Uzui Tengen: "Tell me everything you know. Who seems suspicious?"
The Shop Owner's eyes bulged, and he hesitated.
Seeing this, Uzui Tengen pressed his advantage: "Trust me, I will kill that bastard and avenge you."
Several days ago, the proprietress of the Kyogoku House, Mitsu, was found having fallen from an upper floor and died.
Incidents of suicide in the Pleasure District were countless, so the proprietress's death was treated as just another one, gossiped about for a few days after dinner before becoming old news.
Recalling the appearance of his wife, the Shop Owner grit his teeth: "It's the Oiran named Daki, who lives in a north-facing room where sunlight doesn't reach..."
Hearing this, Uzui Tengen was almost ninety percent certain that this Oiran was a demon.
He should have used this method from the start; then Zenitsu wouldn't have been put in danger.
He released his grip, and his figure flashed, vanishing from the room... Outside the shop, Uzui Tengen returned to the two of them and instructed: "Listen up. You two go to the short-stay room and rescue Hinatsuru. Leave this side to me."
"If I don't find the demon here, I will quickly catch up with you."
"Mr. Uzui, please be careful." Tanjirou immediately nodded and left with Inosuke.
Watching the two leave, Uzui Tengen took a deep breath and infiltrated Daki's room through the north window.
"No one here? Is she out hunting..." His gaze swept from right to left, and his pupils contracted slightly.
Someone is here!
Yet he hadn't sensed any presence at all.
A tall figure dressed in a purple kimono was kneeling on the tatami mat, facing away from Uzui Tengen. The deep red long hair made him subconsciously think of Mizuki's face. The dignified posture was like that of an imposing General, and a katana was placed beside him.
Even though the figure was only facing away, Uzui Tengen felt a wave of dread; every cell in his body was resisting.
It's not Daki... Who is it?
A samurai?
"I have been waiting for a long time." A slow, heavy voice sounded. The tall figure, dressed in a purple-black kimono, slowly turned around, carrying the aura of a superior.
Seeing the figure's face clearly, Uzui Tengen's trembling pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks, and his heart began to pound rapidly.
The rank carved into the eye... Upper Rank... One... It's Upper Rank One?
At this moment, he no longer had the presence of mind to wonder why this demon looked so similar to Mizuki.
Kokushibou slowly rose, displaying the composed demeanor of a superior.
Uzui Tengen instinctively wanted to reach for the bombs on his waist, but... his body couldn't move!!!
What a joke!!
Only then did Uzui Tengen realize his body was subtly trembling.
Simply facing this guy... every cell in his body was resisting.
Kokushibou tucked his sword into his waist and looked up at Uzui Tengen: "I have a question..."
Before he finished speaking, Uzui Tengen, having bitten his tongue, broke free from the pressure of the aura, pulled out the bombs from his waist, and threw them towards Kokushibou.
Kokushibou stood still, not moving.
This monster... isn't he going to dodge?
A trace of surprise flashed across Uzui Tengen's face.
BOOM!!!
An explosion sounded. Uzui Tengen's Nichirin Blades behind him were released, and he used the blast wind to escape the room and descend onto the street.
That woman... she said her intuition told her the demon was over there!!
Uzui Tengen muttered a complaint under his breath and looked with cold sweat toward the exploded room.
A cloud of dust and smoke was rising from there.
Although the bombs were specially made, powerful enough to injure a demon's body—and many Lower Rank demons had suffered because of them—Uzui Tengen knew very well that this guy was different... Uzui Tengen grinned wryly: "So, how am I supposed to stall this mon..."
"I have a question..."
The calm, slow tone sounded from behind him.
Uzui Tengen shuddered. Without thinking, he spun around and swung the two swords in his hands horizontally behind him.
CLANG!!!
The slender katana, complete with its sheath, was held up beside Kokushibou's face. Uzui Tengen's tightly gripped dual blades struck the sword, producing a crisp sound.
With just one hand... Uzui Tengen's arms trembled uncontrollably from the intense effort, yet he couldn't move the blade in front of him an inch.
Kokushibou held Uzui Tengen's dual blades with one hand, his terrifying eyes looking at Uzui Tengen: "Where is Mizuki?"
It took immense courage just to meet the gaze of a monster like this.
Hearing Kokushibou's words, Uzui Tengen was slightly stunned.
So that's it... Aside from the eyes on his face, this monster looks almost exactly like that woman.
However... adhering to the principle of annoying the enemy to please himself, Uzui Tengen sneered: "Who knows?"
"Why don't you go look for her in Hell?"
Given that woman's awful personality, she's definitely going to Hell!!!
Kokushibou frowned and was about to speak, but Uzui Tengen took a large leap back, drew a semicircle with his dual blades in front of him, and charged forward proactively.
"Sound Breathing, First Form: Roar!"
Uzui Tengen raised his dual blades high and slashed towards Kokushibou.
Kokushibou didn't draw his sword, instead lightly blocking the attack with the sheathed blade in front of him.
As the blades drew closer, Uzui Tengen grinned.
BOOM!
A cloud of white smoke caused by the explosion enveloped both figures.
Kokushibou's clothes had slight black marks from the blast, but they returned to normal after only a moment.
A demon's clothes can be formed from its own flesh and blood.
Kokushibou was slightly stunned. A sword strike had caused an explosion?
Was it something special about those two swords?
Before he could ponder, a rushing sound cut through the dust and smoke.
Dozens of kunai pierced the smoke, flying rapidly toward Kokushibou.
Interesting... This kind of killing technique, is he a ninja?
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