The gravely wounded Muichiro Tokito had been carried back to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters by Tengen Uzui for treatment.
It had already been seven days since Gyokko's death.
Meanwhile, on Mount Natagumo, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke were undergoing a grueling battle.
Lower Rank Five, Rui, had created a "family" of demons. The "older brother" had already been slain by Zenitsu, but Zenitsu himself had been badly injured and lost the ability to fight.
The "mother," out of fear of Rui, had willingly allowed Tanjiro to take her life.
The "father" was engaged in a fierce struggle against Inosuke.
The "older sister" had been sent by Rui to deal with the other Demon Slayer members.
And Rui himself was fighting against Tanjiro and Nezuko.
At this moment, Tanjiro's Nichirin Blade had already been severed by Rui's threads, and Nezuko was being shielded in his arms.
As a demon, Nezuko struggled desperately to protect Tanjiro, which stirred within Rui the desire to make Nezuko his "younger sister."
Rui put forth his demand:
"Little boy, if you hand over your sister to me, I'll spare your lives. That's the only way you can avoid this unwinnable fight."
Tanjiro roared back in fury:
"How could I ever agree to something like that?! Nezuko isn't some object—she has her own will and her own heart! I will never hand Nezuko over to you!"
With his broken Nichirin Blade raised, Tanjiro placed himself firmly in front of Nezuko, unwavering in his resolve.
Denied the answer he wanted, Rui launched his threads toward Tanjiro. As long as he killed Tanjiro, Nezuko would still become his.
Exhausted from the prolonged fight, Tanjiro's reactions were dulled. By the time he realized what had happened, Nezuko had already vanished from behind him.
As Tanjiro frantically searched for her, blood began dripping onto the blade of his sword from above.
Looking up in horror, Tanjiro saw Nezuko suspended in the air, her entire body bound in threads. The sharp, unyielding strands were slicing into her flesh, blood steadily dripping from the wounds.
"Nezuko!" Tanjiro cried out, his voice tearing through the mountain air.
Rui's expression remained icy:
"Shut up. This much won't kill her—she's a demon, after all. I'll just let her bleed for a while. If she still refuses to obey me, I'll expose her to the sun until she learns."
From the blood loss, Nezuko briefly lost consciousness.
Suppressing the storm of emotions threatening to overwhelm him, Tanjiro forced himself to stay calm and think clearly.
Closing his eyes, he steadied his breathing. When they opened again—
"Total Concentration. Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux!"
"It's useless," Rui sneered, unleashing a torrent of threads to disrupt Tanjiro's technique.
But Tanjiro's sword form, swirling like a dragon, only grew stronger with each rotation. One by one, Rui's white threads were severed.
Rui's eyes narrowed, finally recognizing the nature of Tanjiro's attack. His own fingers dripped blood as he crossed his arms.
"You think that's the limit of my threads' strength? Blood Demon Art—Cutting Thread Cage!"
Crimson threads spun into a deadly web around Tanjiro, closing in rapidly.
Sensing the difference in their "scent," Tanjiro realized these threads were far too strong for his blade to cut. His chest filled with bitter frustration.
As death loomed over him, Tanjiro's mind drifted back to memories of his childhood.
He saw his father again—fragile in body, yet dancing the entire Kagura ritual beneath a heavy snowfall.
Then, lying in bed, his father's hand gently stroking his hair, whispering:
"Breathing has a way. If done right, no matter how much you move, you won't grow weary."
He had urged Tanjiro to inherit both the Kagura dance and the family's earrings without fail.
Later, when Tanjiro met Yōsuke, he was told that the Hinokami Kagura was in truth a form of Breathing.
Back on the battlefield, Tanjiro's breathing changed. The azure form of Water Breathing transformed into blazing flames, like the rising sun.
"Hinokami Kagura: Dance!"
He swung his broken blade, flames trailing in a fiery arc that cut through Rui's cage of threads in an instant.
Relentlessly, Tanjiro charged toward Rui. He told himself he must not stop—if he faltered, the backlash from switching breathing styles would render him powerless.
For the first time, Rui's expression grew tense. He sent wave after wave of threads at Tanjiro, but none could withstand the flaming strikes. One after another, they were severed.
Rui staggered back, trying to avoid the attacks. In that moment of retreat, Tanjiro's eyes locked onto a thread—an opening thread—at Rui's neck.
"I see it! The Opening Thread! If I can cut it here, I can finish him—even if it costs me my life!"
Ignoring his injuries, Tanjiro pressed forward with unyielding determination, eyes fixed only on Rui's neck.
Rui layered his blood-soaked threads in front of himself. If Tanjiro pushed forward recklessly, his body would be torn apart before cutting through them all.
In her unconscious state, Nezuko seemed to hear her mother's voice:
"Wake up, Nezuko. Help your brother. You can do it now. Please… if you don't, your brother will die too."
Her eyes snapped open. Clenching her fingers tightly, she summoned her Blood Demon Art—
Exploding Blood!
The blood-soaked threads ignited in bursts of flame, burning with intense heat.
The barrier before Tanjiro vanished in fire. His broken Nichirin Blade struck true, slicing across Rui's neck.
"Our bond—Nezuko's and mine—is unbreakable!"
With Tanjiro's roar, his blade carved a blazing arc. Rui's head flew free.
Both combatants collapsed to the ground.
Tanjiro's body refused to move. The strain of forcibly switching breathing techniques left him reeling, ears ringing, every breath tearing at his lungs.
Through blurred vision, he saw Nezuko fall from the air. He tried to crawl toward her, but his consciousness wavered, his will fraying.
He forced himself to stay awake—Inosuke was still fighting. The battle wasn't over yet.
But just as he dragged himself toward Nezuko, the scent of blood thickened behind him.
The headless body of Rui stood upright.
Tanjiro's eyes widened in disbelief.
"I—I severed his neck!"
Rui pulled on his threads, his head returning to his body.
"You thought you had won? How pitiful. To indulge in such foolish delusions—how fortunate you are. I severed my own neck with my threads before your blade could cut it."
Crawling toward Nezuko, Tanjiro's heart pounded in rage and desperation.
"You've truly angered me this time. I'll tear you both to pieces without mercy." Rui reattached his head and advanced step by step, crimson threads unfurling from his hands.
"Blood Demon Art—Cutting Thread Cage!"
Threads swirled around Tanjiro, weaving an inescapable cage. No matter how he forced his body, strength refused to return.
At his side, something slipped from his clothes—a vial. The memory of his farewell with Yōsuke surfaced in his mind:
"If you ever face an enemy you cannot defeat, inject this vial of blood into Nezuko. She will temporarily gain a portion of my power."
"Nezuko!"
With the last of his strength, Tanjiro hurled the vial toward her.
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