Wind Breathing · First Form · Dust Whirlwind · Cutter!
Accompanied by fierce wind blades, Shinazugawa Sanemi instantly rushed before Mitsuba, then leaped up from his position, forcefully throwing out a spinning massive wind blade toward her!
Wind Breathing · Fifth Form · Cold Mountain Wind!
Flame Breathing · Second Form · Rising Scorching Sun!
Standing still in place, Mitsuba raised her hand and swung her sword, directly using the scorching slash of Flame Breathing to forcibly cancel out the wind blade Shinazugawa Sanemi had swung!
[Flame Breathing? She's using Flame Breathing?]
Wind Breathing · Third Form · Clear Storm Wind Tree!
Wind Breathing · Second Form · Claw-Claw Wind!
With himself as the center, first releasing three wind blades in all directions to seal Mitsuba's escape routes, the instant he landed, Shinazugawa Sanemi immediately followed up by swinging four deadly claw-shaped wind blades at Mitsuba!
[Watch me tear you apart with this move... what?!]
Water Breathing · Tenth Form · Constant Flux!
The blade curling with water currents, at the same instant Shinazugawa Sanemi landed, Mitsuba immediately swung her sword and rushed forward, not only shattering the wind blades he had swung, but also instantly rushing to his face in one breath!
[Damn it! Isn't this a Water Breathing move? How can she...]
While shocked, Shinazugawa Sanemi hurriedly retreated, swinging his sword to defend.
Sparks flew. The two had only exchanged a few moves, yet Shinazugawa Sanemi already felt the massive pressure blowing toward his face.
[No good! This demon's speed is too fast! Can't let her get close!]
The tiger's mouths of both hands had already split open. Just as Shinazugawa Sanemi desperately swung out two wind blades to slightly force Mitsuba back, wanting to take the chance to create distance from her—
He saw Mitsuba, who was retreating, once again change her breathing rhythm, raising the Nichirin sword in her hand and reverse-throwing a black lightning bolt toward him!
Thunder Breathing · Fifth Form · Heat Lightning!
[Thunder Breathing?!]
The black thunder instantly struck the shocked Shinazugawa Sanemi. Caught off guard, his body completely numbed by electricity, he directly knelt down sitting.
At this moment, he finally confirmed one thing.
Tsugikuni Mitsuba—she didn't just master one Breathing Style?!
"It's over."
Black electric light jumping around her body, Mitsuba stood in place, slowly assuming a sword-drawing posture.
Such a classic attack stance—of course Shinazugawa Sanemi recognized it.
Thunder Breathing's First Form was both the core technique of Thunder Breathing and simultaneously the fastest sword move among all Breathing Styles.
This demon was about to unleash her killing move!
Shinazugawa Sanemi instinctively wanted to get up and evade, however, the numbing sensation from being struck by thunder just now still lingered in his body.
Forget getting up—right now he couldn't even move a finger!
[Damn it! Could it be that I can only go this far...]
"Amitabha Buddha!"
Just as Mitsuba was about to draw her sword, directly above her, a massive spiked iron ball came crashing down, pulled by its chain!
"..."
"Excellent! Mr. Himejima has made it!"
"This way, we should be able to delay Tsugikuni Mitsuba for a while longer!"
At the same time, outside the Infinity Castle, at the Rengoku family ancestral estate.
Kiriya, who had been sent here early by Kagaya Ubuyashiki, was together with his two other sisters, using Yushiro's Blood Demon Art to guide the Hashira to various battlefields through the Kasugai Crows.
"Currently, the only demons successfully slain are Upper Rank Five and Four, both defeated by Mr. Tanjuro... Where is the senior? Where is he now?"
"Unclear! After defeating Upper Rank Four, Mr. Tanjuro walked through a door and disappeared! The Kasugai Crows are still searching for him!"
"We must hurry!"
Using the talisman on his forehead, remotely observing the battlefield where Tsugikuni Mitsuba was located through a Kasugai Crow, Kiriya was burning with anxiety.
He had watched the entire process of Mitsuba's battle with Muichiro and Shinazugawa Sanemi.
This demon's strength was far greater than they had imagined!
Impossible to win!
Ordinary Demon Slayers simply couldn't win against her. Only...
"Have you found Senior Kanae yet?!"
Constantly switching the Kasugai Crows' perspectives, observing every corner of the Infinity Castle, Kiriya couldn't help but ask again.
Perhaps only Kanae could possibly delay, or even slay, Tsugikuni Mitsuba!
But the problem was—they simply couldn't find Kanae right now!
After entering the Infinity Castle, the Kasugai Crows had been searching everywhere.
They had even found the place where Muzan was cocooning himself to detoxify, yet they still couldn't find Kanae's figure!
"Not yet! The Kasugai Crows are still searching!"
Where did Kanae go? Could it be that she never actually entered the Infinity Castle?
"We must hurry! I'm worried... I'm afraid even Mr. Himejima won't be able to delay her for long..."
So, where exactly was Kanae at this moment?
In the mountain forest several hundred meters away from the Rengoku family ancestral estate, Kanae was rapidly hurrying toward this direction.
For thousands of years, in the demons' mission to destroy the Demon Slayer Corps, they had always faced a difficult problem.
That was: how exactly could they completely sever the bloodline of the core Ubuyashiki family of the Demon Slayer Corps?
Over the past thousand years, whenever the Demon Slayer Corps faced annihilation, there would always be bloodline of the Ubuyashiki family that could luckily escape, allowing the Demon Slayer Corps to rise from the ashes.
Mitsuba's two previous destructions of the Demon Slayer Corps were like this.
And this time, what method would the Ubuyashiki use to allow his bloodline to continue after using himself as bait to blow himself up?
Kanae had thought about this question seriously for a long time.
First, there must be a trustworthy person to entrust with the task.
Second, this candidate couldn't be a current Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, nor other Demon Slayers active on the front lines.
The reason was simple—frontline Demon Slayers all had to participate in tonight's battle. It was impossible to spare extra manpower to protect the Ubuyashiki's son.
Someone completely trusted by the Ubuyashiki, not on the front lines, yet possessing certain strength...
Combining the above points, there was only one answer—
Former Flame Hashira · Rengoku Shinjuro.
Only this person matched all the above characteristics.
Therefore, tonight, that youngest son secretly sent away early by the Ubuyashiki must be hidden by Rengoku Shinjuro's side!
Walking out of the mountain forest, looking into the distance, the Rengoku family ancestral estate at the foot of the mountain had faint lights shining.
Lowering her head to gaze at it, a smile gradually rose on Kanae's face.
"Finally arrived."