Chapter 174 — Blocked
He unleashed a series of interlocking kicks, creating turbulent currents of air whose unpredictable trajectories resembled wandering meteors.
Destructive Death — Crush Style — Thousand-Leaf Flash Willow.
A powerful downward punch that sent shockwaves through the ground, shattering it into fragments that formed leaf-like patterns.
Destructive Death — Annihilation Style.
A devastating strike that triggered a violent explosion.
He had previously used this technique to neutralize Kyojuro Rengoku's Flame Breathing, Ninth Form — Rengoku.
Destructive Death — Eight-Layered Core.
Eight consecutive powerful strikes converged on a single point from all directions.
Destructive Death — Final Style — Blue Silver Chaotic Afterglow.
Akaza's ultimate technique.
He summoned the Compass Needle and, with himself at the center, instantly fired hundreds of projectiles in every direction.
Excluding the Compass Needle, there were a total of eight styles.
Akaza had demonstrated almost all of these techniques just now.
And for Ren, this was an unexpected bonus.
The Copy Master, Ren, directly copied Akaza's skills—
and made them his own!
"Thank you, Akaza. You're a good person. I hope that the next time we meet, you'll think things through a little more carefully."
Ren murmured these words toward Akaza's corpse.
His behavior looked extremely strange to the onlookers, but no one present dared to step forward and stop him.
Think about it carefully, Akaza.
After saying that, Ren left.
He headed toward the train and boarded it together with the members of the Demon Slayer Corps.
The Flame Hashira immediately checked Ren's condition.
"Ren, are you all right? That demon was extremely powerful. Let me see if you were injured."
"No, Big Brother Rengoku, you're the one who was injured. Let me treat your wounds first."
"How could I possibly—"
Kyojuro firmly refused.
He hadn't exerted himself at all, yet Ren wanted to treat him.
Just thinking about it felt a little strange!
"It's fine. I'm a doctor. Saving people is my duty. Let me take a look!"
Ren quickly examined Kyojuro's condition.
He discovered that Kyojuro had already used Total Concentration Breathing — Constant to stop the bleeding from his wounds.
There was no doubt that he truly lived up to the title of Flame Hashira. His mastery of Breathing techniques was already superb.
In this regard, Ren didn't actually need to worry.
Kyojuro would make a complete recovery after only a few days.
At that moment, Tanjiro, Inosuke, and the others also crowded over.
"Lord Ren, it's wonderful that you're all right! You're incredible!"
Tanjiro was extremely excited.
"Hee-yah-yah-yah-yah! Master did a great job! As expected of my master!"
Inosuke crossed his arms over his chest and shouted proudly.
After briefly treating their injuries, Ren headed straight toward the front of the train.
Nezuko stopped him again.
"Mmm! Mmm!"
(Ren, you're amazing!)
Ren's eyebrow twitched.
Had he actually understood what Nezuko was saying?
Was it just his imagination?
No.
With Ren's extraordinarily sharp powers of observation, how could he possibly have misheard her?
He had completely understood what Nezuko meant.
Ren didn't pay much attention to it. He simply exchanged a few words with Nezuko before continuing toward the front of the train.
At that moment—
The passengers inside the train immediately surrounded him, chattering excitedly.
"Excuse me, sir! I'm a reporter from the Yaya News Agency. Do you have time for an interview?"
"Are you really a member of the legendary Demon Slayer Corps? Is that your sword? Can I touch it?"
"You were amazing! I saw everything just now! Would you be interested in joining our martial arts club?"
"Big brother, what's your name?"
"Big brother, can I have your autograph? If I get your autograph, the demons won't bother me anymore, right?"
Ren was instantly surrounded.
His performance moments ago had completely touched their hearts.
Now that Ren had entered the train, how could they possibly sit still?
One after another, they stepped forward and grabbed at Ren, doing everything they could to get close to him.
There was nothing they could do about it.
After witnessing the terror of a demon with their own eyes, these people had begun thinking about their own futures.
And Ren's performance was still fresh in everyone's minds.
Anyone who wasn't a fool naturally wanted to recruit Ren by whatever means necessary.
Some offered money.
Others resorted to moral pressure.
Some even tried using force.
A few bold, open-minded young women simply extended their fair, slender hands.
Taking advantage of the distracted crowd, they tried to secretly reach out and touch Ren.
"My God!"
Ren was stunned.
He had just finished a battle and was still somewhat exhausted. He had never expected someone to sneak up and touch him!
"What happened?"
At that moment, Zenitsu, who had previously been lying unconscious on the floor, finally woke up.
The instant he opened his eyes, he saw several beautiful young women trying to touch Ren.
Zenitsu froze.
He had just had a dream.
In his dream, he had protected Nezuko, and because of his heroic actions, many of the young women aboard the train had looked at him with admiration.
It had made Zenitsu incredibly happy.
But the moment he opened his eyes, he realized that his dream had come true.
However—
The protagonist wasn't him.
It was Ren.
Ren rarely showed signs of panic, but this time he turned toward Kyojuro and the others.
"Everyone, help me!"
Ren could have simply used Thunder Breathing to force his way through the crowd.
The problem was that there were simply too many people around him.
And most of them were women!
If he recklessly used his Breathing technique, all these girls would collapse, leaving them sprawled on the floor and unable to get out of bed for several days.
"All right, everyone! We understand your gratitude, but please don't make things difficult for our comrade."
Kyojuro was the first to step forward and speak on Ren's behalf.
But the moment he appeared, the young women collectively rolled their eyes at him.
"Who are you? We're not here to thank you!"
Kyojuro:
"..."
He didn't know whether it was merely his imagination.
Kyojuro felt as though one of his wounds had split open again...
Beside him, Inosuke burst into laughter.
Then he was immediately subjected to another round of criticism from the girls.
"That voice is awful. Why is that boar-headed guy wearing a mask? The young man who saved us is much better-looking."
Inosuke flew into a rage.
"What did you say?! I had plenty of girls who liked me back on the mountain, okay?! Who do you think you are?!"
"All right, Inosuke. Everyone, stop arguing."
In the end, Tanjiro stepped forward to mediate, and everyone's anger gradually subsided.
However, Ren's situation remained extremely difficult.
Seeing that Ren remained completely unmoved, some clever people gradually shifted their attention toward Kyojuro and the others.
As long as they could establish a connection with the Demon Slayer Corps, they would at least be safer in the future.
And so, only the girls remained around Ren...
"Please let me through, ladies."
Ren spoke helplessly.
"I have to go drive the train. Otherwise, no one is getting home today."
"Drive?"
One of the girls laughed.
"Can that young man really drive? Can you take me with you?"
Ren was speechless.
He meant driving the train.
What exactly did she mean by driving?
Ren realized that he seemed incapable of having a normal conversation with these people.
They all appeared to have been captivated by his abilities and appearance.
"There's no other way."