While Sasuke and Haku battled the colossal creature emerging from the depths in Kyoto, Karin and Yakumo were forging their way toward the heart of Osaka.
Without the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, Karin had lost the ability to wield Amaterasu or Susanoo, so she couldn't clear a path as Sasuke did. Their progress was slower than Sasuke and Haku's.
However, their team had its own methods.
Ah! Ah! Ah!
At that moment, Ido, in her spiritual form, darted through the air, unleashing a series of soul-shaking shrieks.
With each piercing cry, the demons crowding the streets exploded like firecrackers, bursting into pools of blood.
Undoubtedly, this was Ido's dojutsu, activated through her Koryugan.
The Koryugan, a fusion of the Blood Dragon Eye and Hogan, possessed both Hogan's clairvoyance and the Blood Dragon Eye's blood manipulation.
Now, Ido was using the Koryugan's blood manipulation, channeling soundwaves to detonate the blood within the demons blocking their path.
Against high-tier demons like the Upper Ranks, such wide-ranging blood detonation would be ineffective, but the demons facing Karin and Yakumo were the lowest tier. What was once a grueling exploration became Ido's playground.
Karin glanced at Ido, flitting through the air, her eyes tinged with solemnity.
Having gone on several missions with Ido, she was familiar with her spiritual form. She had always assumed Ido was "D." But seeing Yakumo now, she realized "D" wasn't a single entity—or rather, Ido was only part of "D."
A spiritual entity like Ido, capable of maintaining that form consistently, was already formidable. Even Kage-level shinobi, without specific preparations, would struggle against her.
Now, knowing Ido was merely a part of "D," Karin's wariness of Yakumo spiked.
Meanwhile, Yakumo was equally tense.
"B"'s strength had been proven in multiple battles. Yakumo, having faced "B" as her true self in the past, knew exactly what kind of opponent her partner was.
"Damn it. If I use Wood Release later, she'll definitely guess my identity! But without Wood Release, Ido alone might not handle the Demon King…" Yakumo calculated silently.
Her concern stemmed from Wood Release's distinctiveness. To her knowledge, only two shinobi in the shinobi world could wield it, and she, Yakumo Kurama, was the most famous Wood Release user.
If she revealed Wood Release in battle, her identity would be exposed instantly.
In the distance, Nezuko and Kanao, tasked with guarding Osaka's outskirts, couldn't resist their curiosity. Like Genya and Zenitsu trailing Sasuke and Haku, they followed Karin and Yakumo into the city.
When they saw Ido, like a witch from a ghost story, reaping demons en masse with her shrieks, their shock was beyond words.
Kanao stammered, "Who… who are they!?"
"I don't know!" Nezuko was no less shaken, her hand trembling slightly on her blade's hilt.
It wasn't cowardice. As Demon Slayer swordsmen, they'd faced plenty of horrors and wouldn't be easily rattled. But this scene was too shocking to believe.
After a while, Karin and Yakumo reached the city's center.
At its heart stood an ancient stone tower, exuding an old-world charm.
Yakumo halted.
Karin glanced at her. "Notice something?"
Yakumo's expression grew serious. "Something's beneath us."
Boom, boom, boom.
As if confirming her words, the ground trembled, cracks splintering across the surface.
Amid violent quakes, the ancient tower swayed twice before collapsing.
As the cracks spread and the tower fell, a massive shadow clawed its way from the depths, revealing a grotesque visage.
Karin and Yakumo frowned in unison.
The monster emerging from the ground was not only enormous but reeked of an unbearable stench.
A closer look revealed it wasn't a single entity but a grotesque amalgamation of deformed bodies forcibly stitched together.
Karin muttered, "Disgusting."
Yakumo nodded, then said, "Not sure if it's the Demon King we're looking for."
Karin pondered briefly before replying, "Whether it is or not, let's strike first!"
Whoosh.
Ido floated before them. "I just tried—my dojutsu can't detonate this thing's blood. It…"
Yakumo quickly asked, "What's wrong with it?"
Ido shook her head. "I can't quite explain, but it feels completely different from regular demons. This fight won't be as easy as before."
Yakumo's face darkened.
If Ido's dojutsu was ineffective, her own abilities would likely fare no better. In that case, her only viable option was Wood Release.
But the thought of "B" beside her made her hesitate.
Unlike Sasuke, who operated alone, Yakumo belonged to the Kurama clan. Though diminished, her clan and parents still resided in the Hidden Leaf Village, and she was Tsunade's student. If her identity were exposed, she feared not only her own expulsion from the village but also repercussions for her clan.
While Yakumo wavered, Karin had no such reservations.
Seeing the colossal creature's size, she abandoned other tactics, clapped her hands together, and shouted, "Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees!"
Whoosh.
Amid another earth-shaking tremor, countless vines erupted from the ground, rapidly growing into thick branches. The branches intertwined, forming a sea of trees that surged toward the behemoth with overwhelming force!
Witnessing this earth-shattering Wood Release, both Yakumo on the ground and Ido in the air were utterly stunned.