Chapter 171 — Dancing Like a Dragon!
Kyojuro had just taken his position.
But Ren stopped him.
"Big Brother Rengoku, I'll deal with this demon. You protect everyone else."
Kyojuro exchanged a glance with Ren.
A moment later, he nodded firmly.
They were both Hashira.
Sometimes, a single glance was enough for them to understand each other's intentions.
Although Kyojuro had awakened his Demon Slayer Mark, protecting himself was not a problem.
The real difficulty was Tanjiro.
Tanjiro could become a weak point at any moment.
So Ren simply decided to fight Akaza one-on-one.
Ren had the confidence to do so.
Fortunately, his clone had already evacuated the passengers from the train. Otherwise, things would have become even more troublesome.
The next moment—
The train's distinctive mournful roar suddenly echoed through the surroundings.
Within everyone's field of vision, the train behind Ren—
Had actually come back down the tracks!
That's right.
It had come back!
And it was even moving backward!
Ren's expression instantly darkened.
He remembered that his clone was supposed to stop the train.
So who was driving it now?
Before Ren could figure it out—
The train had already stopped directly in front of them.
Ren: "..."
Before Ren could understand what was happening, a rough, unmistakably male voice suddenly came from inside the train.
"Hehehehehe! Lord Ren, I've come to save you!"
"Inosuke!"
Seeing the boar-headed figure sticking his head out of the carriage, Tanjiro was stunned.
Inosuke knows how to drive a train?
Everyone present was frozen.
Especially Akaza.
His mouth was practically stretched into a grin from how hard he was laughing.
They had actually delivered a whole storehouse of food right to his doorstep.
Tonight, Akaza was going to have a proper battle.
Seeing everyone's eyes focused on him, Inosuke proudly declared,
"Isn't it just riding something?! I've ridden wild boars in the mountains before! This little difficulty can't possibly stop Lord Inosuke!"
Ren instantly developed an urge to kill someone.
Driving a train and riding a boar are the same thing?
Somehow, Inosuke had unintentionally managed to turn the train around and bring it back.
Perhaps this was simply fate.
"Mm—mm!"
The train doors slowly opened.
Nezuko was the first one to rush out.
She had originally come looking for Ren.
But when she reached the front of the train, she happened to witness the moment Ren's clone disappeared.
Nezuko was terrified.
She thought Ren had died.
But when Inosuke turned the train around, Nezuko gradually sensed Ren's presence again.
And her brother's as well.
So once the train came to a complete stop, Nezuko was the first to rush out!
Straight toward Ren.
At the same time, lightning tore across the night sky.
A straight streak of lightning appeared between Nezuko and Ren.
Yellow hair fluttered wildly.
His eyes were tightly shut, and snores were even coming from his nose.
It was the sleeping Zenitsu.
"No one is allowed to hurt Nezuko! Nezuko will be protected by me!"
Ren sighed.
Everyone had finally arrived.
"Everyone, fall back."
Ren didn't say anything else.
He merely glanced at Kyojuro.
Kyojuro naturally understood what Ren meant.
He immediately organized the Demon Slayer swordsmen into a retreat, ensuring that the passengers on the train remained protected.
"Oh? Ren, you look pretty confident."
Akaza instinctively clenched his fists.
But this wasn't a bad thing.
He had wanted to have a one-on-one duel with Ren anyway.
That way, his techniques would continue to improve.
It was worth pointing out that none of the three strongest Upper Ranks took Muzan's orders particularly seriously.
One wanted to become friends with Ren.
Another wanted to fight Ren.
Yet neither of them had asked where the Blue Spider Lily was.
If Muzan were here, he would probably be furious enough to die all over again because of these two!
"Destructive Death: Leg Type — Flying Planet Thousand Wheels!"
Akaza's body spun as he unleashed several vicious kicks at the same point with a single leg, each strike exploding outward like a burst of light.
This was the second stage of Akaza's Destructive Death martial arts—Leg Type.
He gathered the strength of his entire body into his leg before violently kicking forward.
The power of this attack was far greater than an ordinary punch!
It was also the first time Akaza had used his Leg Type Destructive Death in front of a Demon Slayer.
A moment later—
Several shockwaves, even more powerful than Destructive Death: Air Type, came rushing toward Ren.
"Transparent World activated!"
"A Transparent World has appeared before your eyes!"
"Regression State activated!"
"Your reaction speed has increased!"
"Your detailed analytical abilities have increased!"
"Your battlefield observation ability has increased!"
The scenery in Ren's eyes gradually blurred.
Yet the shockwaves vibrating at supersonic speed began to take shape within his vision.
Ren's dynamic vision perfectly captured the trajectories of those blue energy blasts.
"What is this?"
Akaza suddenly showed a puzzled expression.
Within the detection range of his Compass Needle, Ren's presence had suddenly disappeared.
That vast killing intent, which had been as immense as the sea, had vanished without a trace.
For a moment, Akaza didn't know what to make of it.
Within the Transparent World, Ren clearly saw the confusion on Akaza's face.
Just as expected.
Akaza's Compass Needle relied on sensing an opponent's killing intent and fighting spirit.
But someone who entered the Transparent World had already reached the highest realm.
Akaza couldn't see through them.
And therefore, his Compass Needle would also become useless.
Once Akaza lost his Compass Needle, it was like a tiger having its fangs pulled.
As long as Ren was fast enough, he could instantly sever Akaza's head!
Beneath the star-filled night sky—
The Nichirin sword in the young man's hand suddenly moved.
The blade vibrated.
A dazzling flame flashed across the darkness!
"Dragon Breathing, Second Form — Scorching Breath!"
Whoosh—
Blazing flames swept across the sky.
Ren neutralized the majority of Akaza's shockwaves.
His body flashed forward instantly, completely ignoring the residual shockwaves.
Those remaining shockwaves shot straight toward the group!
At this moment, Tanjiro and the others began playing their respective roles.
First, the Flame Hashira intervened and severed the shockwaves once again.
Then the three young men and Nezuko took care of the remnants.
As a result, no one on the train was injured.
Kyojuro unconsciously tightened his grip around his Nichirin sword.
He had actually already been injured during his earlier exchange with Akaza.
Otherwise, why would he not understand that their chances of winning together with Ren were greater?
He had retreated to the rear partly because he trusted Ren, and partly because he was silently waiting for an opportunity.
Waiting for Akaza to expose a fatal weakness.
Then Kyojuro could unleash his ultimate technique—
Flame Breathing: Rengoku!
At this moment, Kyojuro couldn't help feeling a trace of regret.
Everything came down to his insufficient talent.
He had failed to master the ultimate form of Flame Breathing.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so passive when fighting Akaza earlier.
Ren's talent truly was the Demon Slayer Corps' most precious asset.
Kyojuro firmly believed this.
Without realizing it, his gaze fell upon Ren.
And there—
The young man had somehow appeared behind Akaza!