In the tunnel.
Following behind Shinji, Shion glanced here and touched there, her face brimming with curiosity.
Shinji, somewhat exasperated, cast a glance at Shion. "There might be a huge battle soon, and you're not even a little worried?"
Shion giggled. "Isn't that why you're here?"
Just earlier, while sweeping through the ghost domain, Shion had witnessed Shinji's dominance. His 'Amaterasu' black flames cleared the field in a wide range, and his 'Susanoo' delivered a decisive blow. The entire city of ghosts, along with that giant creature, couldn't withstand a single strike, easily dispatched by Shinji.
Shinji looked toward the pitch-black depths of the tunnel ahead, sighing. "The enemy isn't just a Ghost King, you know."
If it were merely a Ghost King, Shinji wouldn't bat an eye.
The energy level of the Demon Slayer world was far inferior to the shinobi world. Even a Ghost King who had achieved countless breakthroughs and pushed their physical power to its peak was nothing special.
What Shinji truly dreaded was the identity of the mysterious figure, the 'Lampbearer.'
The 'Lampbearer' meant the opponent could, at a certain cost, traverse other worlds, which implied infinite possibilities! Who knew what worlds this mysterious figure had visited or what cards they held in reserve?
Shion teased with interest, "True Leader, why do I feel like you're getting a bit nervous? Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark?"
Shinji shook his head, not saying much, only murmuring, "Thankfully, I shattered his lamp."
Successfully destroying the mysterious figure's 'lamp' was the source of Shinji's confidence in daring to invade the Demon Slayer world. After all, compared to the mysterious figure, his own tenure as a 'Lampbearer' was far too brief.
With the 'lamp' gone, the mysterious figure's threat was significantly diminished. At the very least, they could no longer escape to other worlds or temporarily gather trump cards from elsewhere.
So Shinji speculated that he was likely facing a 'Lampbearer' who had lost their 'lamp' and was in a weakened state. Even if they still held a few cards, their threat level should be greatly reduced.
Seeing Shinji still looking weighed down by concerns, Shion thought for a moment, then took off the bell artifact she carried and stuffed it into Shinji's hand.
"What's this!?"
Shinji froze, looking at Shion.
Shion smirked, patting the small bag slung over her shoulder. "Don't worry, I've already brought the 'Miko's Crown,' the heirloom of our Ghost Country shrine maidens. This little bell isn't much use to me anymore!"
Shinji rubbed the bell artifact in his hand.
Though the bell was damaged, in a critical moment, it could barely withstand a full-force strike from a demon on the level of 'Moryo.'
Smiling, Shinji tucked the bell artifact away and quickened his pace.
Shion gradually let the easy expression fade from her face and asked, "Shinji, what's up ahead?"
Shinji shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure, but this path is lined with blood-flesh conduits, so it's likely leading to some kind of hub—or maybe even the Ghost King's hideout."
As he spoke, he thought of the other three ghost domains.
If his guess was correct, the situation in the other three ghost domains should be similar to this one, meaning the other three teams were likely investigating similar tunnels at this moment.
However, the distance between them exceeded the sensory range of 'Jikibi,' so they couldn't connect for now.
As for this tunnel, Shinji had some theories.
Four perfectly fine cities had suddenly turned into ghost domains—an unmistakable work of the mysterious figure. After sweeping through one of the domains, Shinji was even more certain of this.
The ghosts scattered throughout the city were simply too weak.
Compared to the 'Twelve Kizuki' that had previously invaded the shinobi world, they were far inferior, even to the average ghosts outside.
Coupled with the blood-flesh conduit in the tunnel, leading to who-knows-where, even a fool could see that the city's ghosts were merely fodder for the mysterious figure. The essence of their blood-flesh power had likely been channeled through this conduit directly to the mysterious figure.
After cautiously exploring further into the tunnel, Shinji said, "There shouldn't be any ambushes in this tunnel. Let's pick up the pace!"
Whoosh.
With that, Shinji's figure flickered, and he dashed forward.
Shion hurriedly followed.
Without the Byakugan or Koryugan for now, Shinji had lost his long-range perception abilities. However, his ability to observe fine details had grown sharper due to mastering the Rinnegan. So, despite speeding through the tunnel, nothing in its depths escaped his notice.
After a long while, his figure suddenly halted at a cave entrance.
Shion, unable to stop in time, crashed into Shinji's back, rubbing her forehead as she asked, "What's wrong?"
Shinji's expression grew grave. "We're here!"
Shion peeked out from behind Shinji, looking forward, and gasped, "What—what is that?!"
At the tunnel's end was a massive underground cavern.
In the center of the cavern stood a colossal meat cocoon, towering a hundred meters high. Its surface pulsed with bulging veins and throbbing flesh, moving as if it were a beating heart.
Shinji was equally shocked.
He shifted his gaze from the cocoon to the blood-flesh conduits connected to it. Including the one from their tunnel, there were exactly four, each extending from distant, shadowy tunnels to converge here.
"Just as I thought," Shinji muttered to himself. He tried activating 'Jikibi' again but still couldn't contact the other teams. Turning to Shion, he said, "Stay here. I'm going to check it out."
Shion nodded obediently. "Be careful!"
After settling Shion in the tunnel, Shinji cautiously stepped into the central cavern.
The cavern's stone walls seemed rich with some kind of phosphorescent mineral, glowing with an eerie light that kept the space from being pitch black.
Shinji carefully approached the giant meat cocoon, his right hand instinctively reaching into the shinobi tool pouch at his waist, confirming that the Type-4 aging agent was still there.
As he drew closer to the cocoon, his 'killing intent perception' began to tingle faintly, like needles pricking his eyelids. He stopped at a distance of roughly twenty meters from the cocoon.
He knew that if he took even one step closer, the heart-like cocoon would likely react.
He didn't stop at this critical distance to observe the cocoon more closely. After standing still, he turned and signaled to Shion, who was hiding at the tunnel entrance, to prepare for battle. Then, turning back, he fixed his gaze on the massive cocoon, a slight smirk curling at the corner of his mouth.
In the next moment, a scarlet flash gleamed beneath his mask. A golden silhouette projected from his body, and within a few breaths, it transformed into a hundred-meter-tall, fully armored 'Susanoo.' Before the cocoon could react, its massive blade was already swinging down.