"Infinity Castle, Tanjiro's Strength" "Hinokami Kagura: Train!" Within the Infinity Castle, Tanjiro Kamado, Giyu Tomioka, and Kyōjurō Rengok
"Infinity Castle, Tanjiro's Strength"
"Hinokami Kagura: Train!"
Within the Infinity Castle, Tanjiro Kamado, Giyu Tomioka, and Kyōjurō Rengoku were simultaneously battling Akaza. The battle had been raging for some time, with Tanjiro and his allies holding the advantage.
Any opening Akaza presented would be seized, leading to his decapitation.
Tanjiro, having skillfully evaded Akaza's punch, appeared behind him. Seizing the opportunity, he swung his Nichirin Blade towards Akaza's neck.
Akaza's shoulders tensed, muscles bulging as he deflected the blow.
Forced to change tactics, Tanjiro severed Akaza's arm.
As he prepared to strike again, Akaza's other fist was already upon him.
"Hinokami Kagura: Fake Rainbow!"
Tanjiro spun rapidly, delivering a blow while narrowly evading Akaza's punch.
This display shocked not only Akaza but also Giyu Tomioka and Kyōjurō Rengoku.
Giyu Tomioka, in particular, recalled his first encounter with Tanjiro, a boy who couldn't even hold a sword properly. In less than three years, he had become strong enough to face an Upper Moon head-on.
"Tanjiro… his techniques are far more refined than before. To fight an Upper Moon Three to this extent… his skill is already at the Hashira level," Giyu Tomioka thought, recalling their first meeting.
"That boy, who once knelt in the snow, tears streaming down his face, begging me to spare his sister… he has become so strong, fighting to protect life and dignity from demons."
"Tomioka! Unbelievable! Just months ago, on the Mugen Train, Tanjiro wasn't even qualified to fight Akaza! Now, he's facing him directly! What incredible growth! Don't you agree?!" Kyōjurō Rengoku boomed.
"Yes," Giyu Tomioka nodded in agreement.
Then, the three of them renewed their assault on Akaza.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Infinity Castle, Mitsuri Kanroji, fighting alongside Obanai Iguro, spotted a kneeling woman on a platform.
"Ah! I found her, Iguro-san!" Mitsuri Kanroji exclaimed. "It's Upper Moon Four!"
That woman was Nakime, effectively the master of the Infinity Castle and Muzan Kibutsuji's attendant. After the Swordsmith Village arc, she had replaced Hantengu as Upper Moon Four.
Obanai Iguro noticed Nakime and frowned. "Upper Moon Four? Wasn't she killed by Aoki in Swordsmith Village? How is she here? Did someone replace her so quickly?"
Before he could finish, Mitsuri Kanroji swung her whip-like Nichirin Blade at Nakime.
"Clang!"
As the blade neared Nakime, she plucked her biwa.
The building in front of Mitsuri Kanroji suddenly lunged towards her. Unable to stop her momentum, Mitsuri Kanroji crashed into it.
She began to fall.
Obanai Iguro caught her just before she hit the ground.
"Before understanding her abilities, we should remain calm, observe carefully, and think," Obanai Iguro said, his back to Mitsuri Kanroji.
"Yes," Mitsuri Kanroji replied, her back also to Obanai Iguro. He didn't notice her face had turned crimson.
"Hinokami Kagura: Burning Bones, Summer Sun!"
"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Whirlpool!"
"Flame Breathing, Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation!"
Meanwhile, the battle between Tanjiro and the others and Akaza continued. Giyu Tomioka, having awakened his Demon Slayer Mark, was significantly stronger. However, the seemingly one-sided battle had taken a turn.
Akaza was different from other demons; he used battle ki, an energy present in everyone. Akaza used his Blood Demon Art to sense his opponents' battle ki, predicting their attacks. His strategy was to exhaust Tanjiro and the others, then finish them off.
This was a major challenge for Tanjiro. Demons don't typically need to worry about stamina, and any one of them could exhaust Akaza significantly. The longer the battle dragged on, the more disadvantageous it became.
Akaza's defense was almost impenetrable, which was unusual.
Tanjiro began to think of a way to break through Akaza's near-perfect defense.
He recalled a conversation with Inosuke Hashibira. "I remember, Inosuke said he could sense things invisible to the naked eye, like killing intent, through his sensitive skin. What did we talk about after that?"
"He said he struggled to sense people without killing intent or malice, which caused him problems. Our casual conversation might have given me the key.
The will to fight? The amount of training? Something similar to sensing movement through scent?"
"Is there a way to disrupt Akaza's 'battle compass'?"
"Battle ki, magnets, compasses, perception, killing intent… impossible… the highest realm? I know! It's that!"
Tanjiro recalled a memory with his father, Tanjuro Kamado.
"Father was like a plant, calm and emotionally stable, even until his death. When I think of him, I see his gentle smile and hear his calm, steady voice."
"Hinokami Kagura, a dance passed down in our family, performed every New Year's Day. It's performed from sunset to sunrise, a grueling dance requiring the performance of twelve forms hundreds of times before dawn."
"Ten days before Father's death, a family over a mountain away was attacked by a bear. To prevent bear attacks, we lit bonfires around the house and strung bells between trees."
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