Swish.
A single slash, and blood sprayed everywhere!
Haku leaped back, dodging the splattering blood, then sheathed his blade. As he watched the demon dissolve into ashes amid its wails, his face was filled with confusion.
"This demon was way too weak…"
Haku glanced down at his Nichirin Blade.
Like Karin, he harbored an instinctual fear of bloodthirsty demons, especially since the ones that invaded the shinobi world were extraordinarily powerful. He had always viewed demons as humanity's mortal enemies.
But since counter-invading the Demon Slayer world, he found the demons he encountered to be pathetically weak.
Without a Nichirin Blade, they might have posed some challenge, but with one in hand, defeating them was almost effortless.
Especially when combining his Water Breathing with his secret technique, Rapid Strike, many demons didn't even have time to react before their heads were severed!
"Perhaps it's as the lord said—everything in the world has its counter," Haku mused to himself.
He understood that the demons seemed so weak because of the Nichirin Blade in his hand, which could bypass their unparalleled regenerative abilities and destroy them with a single decapitating strike.
Caw, caw!
At that moment, the Kasugai Crow perched above him squawked, "Four demons! Four demons!"
Haku smiled faintly, his figure blurring as he resumed his hunt for demons.
With his chakra, his stamina and speed far surpassed those of Demon Slayer swordsmen who relied solely on Breathing Styles. When he got serious, his demon-slaying pace was astonishingly fast.
"Seven demons!"
"Twelve demons!"
"Thirty-one demons!"
The Kasugai Crow diligently tallied the number of demons Haku vanquished, its incessant chatter reflecting the sheer volume of demons reduced to ashes under his Nichirin Blade.
Haku, who preferred to keep a low profile, typically avoided drawing attention. However, his purpose in attending the Hashira Meeting was to probe the Demon Slayer Corps and secure a position of power within it, so he had to claim one of the nine Hashira seats.
After repeatedly slaying demons, Haku soon encountered another Demon Slayer swordsman while pursuing a fleeing demon.
Mount Fujikasane was only so large, and with over a dozen swordsmen scattered across it, encounters were inevitable.
Moreover, these swordsmen were elite contenders for the Hashira positions, not mere trainees. The demons on the mountain were insufficient for so many elite swordsmen to slay, making competition unavoidable.
The Demon Slayer swordsman glanced at Haku and roared viciously, "Get lost! This one's mine!"
Haku recognized him as Genya Shinazugawa, whom Zenitsu had introduced earlier. He replied, "Whoever kills it claims it."
Genya glared at Haku. "You looking to die?"
Ignoring Genya's taunts, Haku darted forward with a whoosh, reaching the demon before it could react. In its terrified gaze, he swung his blade.
Swish.
With a flash of the blade, the demon's head soared into the air!
"Thirty-two demons! Thirty-two demons!" the Kasugai Crow promptly announced.
Genya's face darkened, but before he could say anything, Haku vanished with a flicker of movement.
"So fast!" Genya furrowed his brow, faintly sensing that Haku's speed surpassed even that of his brother, the former Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa.
Three days passed in a flash.
The relentless three-day purge left the demons on Mount Fujikasane nearly extinct, with every remaining demon fiercely contested by two or three swordsmen, sometimes sparking chaotic battles among seven or eight.
This was unavoidable.
With eighteen swordsmen vying for only nine Hashira seats, the competition inevitably escalated into clashes between swordsmen. Fortunately, aware of the Demon Slayer Corps' dire situation, they exercised restraint in their conflicts.
Clang, clang, clang.
In a clearing, a lone demon stood trembling in the center, utterly helpless.
Surrounding it were six swordsmen, paired off in combat, seemingly intent on determining a victor.
Haku was among them!
His opponent was none other than Inosuke, the boar-masked swordsman Zenitsu had introduced, who wore a boar's head all day.
"Yaaahhh!" Inosuke bellowed, launching a ferocious assault on Haku, his dual blades whirling impenetrably, striking like a torrential downpour.
Haku fought while retreating, his gaze occasionally scanning the surroundings.
Over the three days, he had single-handedly slain over fifty demons—a number limited only by the scarcity of demons in the later stages, or he could have killed more.
But whether fifty-plus demons were enough to secure a Hashira seat, he wasn't certain. So, he decided to use the current demon competition as an opportunity to eliminate some swordsmen, increasing his chances while establishing his dominance to gain leverage in controlling the Demon Slayer Corps later.
With his decision made, Haku's figure blurred, activating Rapid Strike. In an instant, he broke through Inosuke's swirling blade circle, closing the distance.
"Huh!?" Inosuke froze, caught off guard.
Before he could react, Haku struck with an elbow, hitting Inosuke's neck and knocking him out cold.
Then, with a push off the ground, Haku shot forward like an arrow, swiftly taking down the other four swordsmen in the two pairs fighting nearby.
The trembling demon in the center, already petrified, was now utterly horrified. "Y-Y-You—"
Swish.
Without a word, Haku passed the demon, striding into the forest.
Moments later, a bloodline appeared on the demon's neck, and its head slowly slid off, rolling across the ground.
Having started, Haku no longer limited himself to hunting demons. He dealt with any swordsmen he encountered along the way, instructing their Kasugai Crows to summon lower-ranking swordsmen to carry the unconscious elites down the mountain.
As a result of Haku's actions, Mount Fujikasane grew eerily quiet.
The remaining swordsmen, aware of Haku's habit of hunting his peers, either hid alone or banded together in twos and threes, plotting to take him down.
This change on the mountain quickly reached the judges at the base.
As one elite swordsman after another was carried down unconscious, the gathered trainers and swordsmiths exchanged stunned glances.
"How many is that now?"
"Eight, I think!"
"Ugh, that guy isn't planning to take down everyone, is he?"
"What kind of disciple did that old geezer Urokodaki take on?!"