Looking at the agile figure, like a butterfly, Tomioka Giyu's gaze sharpened; no matter what, he had to save this gentle girl this time!
Just then, Uzui Tengen, who had already left, suddenly reappeared.
"Oh? Are you interested in that girl?"
"Hehe~" Tomioka Giyu gave a fake smile, then vanished from the spot, leaving no trace.
"Tch, boring~" Uzui Tengen shrugged, then activated his sprint mode, clearly heading home to his three wives.
After the Hashira Meeting, Tomioka Giyu rushed overnight to the area he needed to patrol. He was going to be busy.
There was no other way; even in the Late Stage, the area each Hashira was responsible for was vast, let alone now.
Two years passed in a flash—
During this period, Tomioka Giyu's strength improvement began to slow down.
He had honed almost all the Moves of Water Breathing to their extreme.
The true essence of Water Breathing, using softness to overcome hardness, he had already integrated into every single Move, essentially maximizing his defense.
For ultimate offensive techniques, he also had a hypothesis and had put it into action, but it wasn't going smoothly.
Simply put, it was about transforming the Eleventh Form, a perfect defense, into a mad offense that abandoned everything!
At the same time, he was also trying to Awaken his demon slayer mark, but the effect wasn't ideal; relying solely on memory or imagination couldn't ignite the extreme rage that needed to erupt from his heart.
This also meant his body temperature never exceeded 39℃, and his heartbeat never reached 200 beats per minute.
However, these were secondary. The most crucial thing was Tanjiro, the first demon slayer mark Awakener of this era!
Both the Yoriichi era and the Tanjiro era proved that only when the first person Awakens the demon slayer mark will others gradually Awaken it.
As for the Red Blade, it was considerably simpler.
Over these two years, whenever Tomioka Giyu had time, he would go to Himejima Gyomei to learn.
The Stone Hashira was a man who had honed his physique to the extreme; training with him was bound to be right!
Facts proved this to be true; he only took a year and a half to forcibly Awaken the Red Blade through his sheer grip strength.
However, in subsequent battles, he wouldn't easily activate the Red Blade.
Because gripping the blade with all his might would lead to his hand and wrist becoming exhausted, ultimately resulting in more harm than good.
Tomioka Giyu lightly flexed his sore wrist and murmured, "This is what I need to train the most next!"
"A Red Blade that's forcibly activated is better not activated at all."
Time flew by, and at the Hashira Meeting two years later, a young man with white hair and several scars on his face and arms arrived.
Wind Hashira, Shinazugawa Sanemi. His appearance also meant that Kanae was about to meet her demise!
Tomioka Giyu secretly resolved that from now on, he would constantly monitor Kanae's movements.
When the time came, he would just drag Sanemi along. The three of them facing Doma, at the very least, they could stall until dawn!
Compared to the Stone Hashira and Sound Hashira, who had to patrol vast areas, Sanemi, the newly appointed Wind Hashira, was clearly more idle.
After all, he didn't know the exact time Kanae would encounter Doma; he only knew it was the year she turned seventeen.
So, throughout that year, whenever the possibility arose, he would have to drag Sanemi to rescue Kanae.
There would certainly be several fruitless attempts, but there was no other way; if he wanted to save Kanae, he had to do it this way!
Fortunately, if Tomioka Giyu remembered correctly, Shinazugawa Sanemi seemed to have some affection for Kanae.
Presumably, making him run a few extra trips wouldn't elicit any complaints~
And as Tomioka Giyu knelt on one knee, his thoughts drifting, Shinazugawa Sanemi stood ramrod straight, a smirk on his lips, staring at Ubuyashiki Kagaya.
"Quite the attitude, aren't we!"
"Hey, you, Ubuyashiki-sama!"
Hearing such arrogant words, Himejima Gyomei's veins visibly bulged on his face, his brows furrowed, and he suppressed his anger, saying,
"Shinazugawa... it seems you don't quite understand how to speak to people!"
The heavy voice was like a sledgehammer striking Shinazugawa Sanemi's heart, instantly making his arrogant smile recede.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya's smile never changed, and he softly said, "It's alright, Gyomei, let him speak. I don't mind."
"But... Master..." Kocho Kanae still felt Shinazugawa Sanemi's behavior was inappropriate.
But Ubuyashiki Kagaya clearly didn't care, "It's alright, Kanae."
Although suppressed by Himejima Gyomei's aura for a moment, the rage still broke through, and Shinazugawa Sanemi laughed wildly, saying,
"It's obvious! This annoying, exaggerated acting!"
"You clearly treat your members like disposable pawns!"
"You've never studied martial arts or anything like that, it's plain to see!"
"How can someone like you be the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps? It's disgusting, don't joke around!!"
At this moment, the Sound Hashira's expression was self-explanatory; he utterly detested Shinazugawa Sanemi.
The Stone Hashira was even more terrifying; the veins on his arms were also bulging. Tomioka Giyu had no doubt that if Shinazugawa Sanemi continued speaking, the Stone Hashira would definitely take action.
Kanae was also clearly unhappy, but it hadn't escalated to the point of hatred, let alone taking action.
Tomioka Giyu, however, didn't have too many emotions. Shinazugawa Sanemi's behavior was actually normal.
If anyone else had gone through what Shinazugawa Sanemi had, they might not have handled it any better than him.
His beautiful family was shattered overnight, and the cause of it all was his mother, who had turned into a demon.
After personally killing his mother, he embarked on the path of slaying demons, and along the way, he met someone as gentle and kind as Tanjiro, Kuwajima Jigoro.
But he encountered Lower Rank One. Although they defeated him together, only he became a Hashira in the end.
This pain, upon seeing Ubuyashiki Kagaya, a master with no combat ability, completely erupted.
Tomioka Giyu sighed inwardly. In a sense, Shinazugawa Sanemi's experiences were very similar to his own, and their thoughts were somewhat alike.
"I'm sorry..."
Ubuyashiki Kagaya's sincere and gentle voice stunned the agitated Shinazugawa Sanemi.
"I also tried to wield a blade, but my pulse quickly became erratic, and I couldn't even swing it ten times."
"If it were possible, I would also want to be a powerful swordsman like you, protecting the lives of others with my own strength."
"However, I couldn't do it no matter what. I'm truly sorry for constantly burdening you with painful work."
Shinazugawa Sanemi's expression was blank, and he remained silent for a long time.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya's words continued, his gentle voice echoing in everyone's ears.
"If I treat you as pawns, then I am also a pawn."
"At most, I am a chess piece that drives the Demon Slayer Corps. Even if I die, nothing will change; my replacement already exists!"
Ubuyashiki Kagaya paused, seemingly having spoken too much, needing a few seconds to rest.
"Sanemi, this is your first Hashira Meeting, so I think you might have some misunderstandings."
"I am not a person of high status. Everyone treats me this way only out of kindness."
"If you don't wish to, you don't have to be like them."
"Rather than dwelling on this, please, Sanemi, protect others well as a Hashira. That is all I wish for."
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