Under the dim night sky, the colossal creature and the sea of trees clashed in the city, waging a battle straight out of myth!
Roaring explosions and bellows echoed through the sky, the ground trembling as if the end of the world had arrived.
In the distance, Nezuko and Kanao stared toward the battlefield, utterly dazed.
The scene surpassed their wildest imaginations, evoking rumors of an impending apocalypse.
After a long moment, Nezuko murmured, "With demons running rampant, is the world really facing its end?"
Kanao shook her head. "No matter what, we have to report what's happening here so the Demon Slayer Corps can prepare!"
"Agreed," Nezuko nodded.
Four cities had abruptly become demonic lairs—nobody would believe there wasn't a conspiracy behind it.
And the only one capable of such a feat was the Demon King. There was no doubt that this grotesque behemoth, forged from warped flesh, was the Demon King's doing.
Thus, whoever was fighting this creature was a natural ally of the Demon Slayer Corps!
...
On the Battlefield.
Even after clashing with the behemoth for a while, Yakumo couldn't hide her shock.
In her eyes, "B" was clearly a Mangekyo Uchiha, with no apparent connection to Wood Release. She couldn't fathom how "B" could wield such a formidable Wood Release, rivaling her own.
Whoosh.
With a deafening crash, the behemoth tore through a series of vines, snapping a swath of tree trunks.
Perched on a rising branch, Karin shouted to Yakumo, "D, what are you standing around for?"
Yakumo snapped to attention, realizing now wasn't the time for such thoughts. Casting aside her doubts, she unleashed her Wood Release while calling to Ido, who was spectating in the air, "Hurry and find its weakness!"
"Heh," Ido chuckled, glancing at the bottomless chasm from which the behemoth had emerged.
As Yakumo's malice, Ido shared her Koryugan's clairvoyance. With one look, she sensed something amiss in the depths. Her body sank, transforming into a crimson streak, diving into the chasm.
On the surface, with Yakumo's Wood Release, the sea of trees grew even more formidable. In moments, the entire central district was engulfed, and though the behemoth seemed powerful, it struggled against Karin and Yakumo's combined Wood Release, gradually losing ground.
Seeing the creature suppressed, Karin turned her attention to Yakumo.
She had thought "D"'s ability was limited to controlling that spiritual entity. She never expected "D" to wield such potent Wood Release.
The familiar scene made her think of someone. "So Yakumo is 'D.' But what's with that spiritual entity? Yakumo has that ability too? She never showed it at the Ninja Academy!"
Karin couldn't help but marvel. "No wonder the lord recruited her in secret!"
The Ninja Academy was full of prodigies, but Yakumo stood out. Not only had she awakened the unprecedented Koryugan Bloodline Limit, but she'd also gained the long-lost Wood Release through surgery.
Add to that the Kurama clan's genjutsu, rivaling the Uchiha's Sharingan. With dojutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu, Yakumo excelled in all. Even Karin, with her Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan at the time, couldn't help comparing herself to Yakumo, the academy's top genius.
Now, discovering that the already versatile Yakumo also wielded a secret technique to control a spiritual entity was astonishing!
As the behemoth was suppressed, Yakumo, relieved, studied Karin.
"'B' isn't an Uchiha? Did she undergo First Hokage cell transplantation to gain Wood Release? This…" Yakumo felt a twinge of unease.
When "B" only used Mangekyo dojutsu, she was already a threat to the village. If the village learned "B" also wielded Wood Release, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Is this the lord's method?" Yakumo grew both awed and wary of their leader's tactics.
Roar.
The behemoth, suppressed by Wood Release, let out a bellow, showing signs of breaking free.
The roar snapped Karin and Yakumo out of their mutual suspicions.
They exchanged a glance, a spark of rivalry igniting.
Karin thought, "My codename is 'B'—the lord clearly favors and trusts me more! I can't let him down!"
Yakumo thought, "The lord gave me the Koryugan and helped me survive the cell transplant. With such faith in me, I can't let 'B' outshine me!"
With the desire to compete, they could no longer hold back.
Their gazes turned to the behemoth nearby.
"Quit yelling!" Karin barked, unleashing Wood Release again. Countless vines shot forth, piercing the creature's throat!
Yakumo held nothing back, channeling all her chakra into the sea of trees.
Stimulated by her chakra, the trees surged, forming four waves that rushed toward the behemoth's limbs, yanking them fiercely!
Ah!
With a wail, the creature's limbs were torn off.
Karin paused, frowning, then urged her Wood Release further, piercing the behemoth's torso and head, the vines growing larger and thicker until they burst the creature apart.
The battlefield was awash with foul blood, a scene of utter carnage!
Standing on two branches stretching into the sky, Karin and Yakumo, cloaked in red-cloud robes and masked, gazed indifferently at the behemoth, now torn apart by Wood Release. In that moment, they seemed like deities!
In the distance, Nezuko and Kanao were speechless with shock.
When they saw Karin and Yakumo boldly enter the demonic lair, they feared the two would die. Now they realized that compared to the lair, Karin and Yakumo were the true terrors.
Whoosh.
A piercing whistle cut through the air as a crimson streak shot out of the chasm!
Undoubtedly, it was Ido, sent by Yakumo to find the creature's weakness. Floating in the air, she shouted excitedly, "I've found a way to deal with that monster!"