To read the next chapters of the book, please visit *patreon. com/casca02*
"Tanjiro…"
Outside Mt. Natagumo, Zenitsu called out to Tanjiro with a forlorn expression. Everyone else had gone into the mountain, leaving him alone, too scared to enter, guarding the rescued Demon Slayer Corps member.
"Am I disliked…? If we're comrades, why would they leave me by the roadside?" Zenitsu sat by the road, looking dejected. "Actually… actually, if two people had just persuaded me, I would have gone with them, no matter how scared I was."
"Chirp, chirp…" A small sparrow kept chirping something into Zenitsu's ear.
The sparrow was Zenitsu's partner. Most Demon Slayer Corps' Kasugai Crows were crows, but for some reason, his was a sparrow.
"Sigh, you say that so easily. You don't understand human matters at all, do you?"
The sparrow Chuntaro QAQ #: "…"
It flew up and pecked hard at Zenitsu's hand.
"Ah ah ah, ouch ouch ouch, you bastard, you're not cute at all! Nezuko is so cute, but you… Wait, Nezuko?!" Zenitsu suddenly stood up and ran quickly into the mountain, leaving the injured and unconscious Demon Slayer Corps member directly on the ground. "Ah ah ah, Nezuko went into the mountain!"
"Nezuko, wait for me!"
Uchiha Nagi and the other two had already entered the forest. Following his habit, he naturally sent out a Shadow Clone to scout ahead.
Inosuke was about to charge forward, but Uchiha Nagi held him back.
"Look, there are spider webs everywhere here. In the darkness, it's hard for ordinary eyes to see them. On the ground, in the grass, on the trees, there are spider webs everywhere," Uchiha Nagi pointed to the dark forest.
"No matter where we are, we always get a little bit of spider web on us. And there are small spiders like this everywhere in the forest, constantly moving around and adding more webs."
Uchiha Nagi casually picked up a small spider and then stomped on it forcefully.
"Hmph, just kill these spiders then." Inosuke picked up his nichirin blade and started stabbing at the spiders on the ground.
Tanjiro suddenly noticed something and pointed into the forest, "Hmm, there's still a person's scent over there!"
When they ran over to look, it turned out to be a Demon Slayer Corps survivor. Tanjiro patted the other person's shoulder, startling him.
"Don't be afraid, we are supporting Demon Slayer Corps members. I am Tanjiro Kamado, a Kanoe-ranked Demon Slayer."
The man flinched in fear, then turned his head, relieved to see it was a person. He then said disappointedly,
"Kanoe? Why is it Kanoe-ranked? If a Hashira doesn't come, it doesn't matter how many people of other ranks come, they'll all die."
After speaking, he buried his face in his hands in despair and squatted on the ground, crying. Smack!
"You bastard!" Inosuke punched him on the head without ceremony. "Quickly explain the situation to me, you coward!"
Immediately, the other party began to recount his experience. This man, named Yamada, was a member of the Demon Slayer Corps squad that came here. Unlike the others, he was incredibly lucky and managed to escape. When the others were controlled and forced to kill each other, he was simply overlooked.
[It's very similar to puppetry, but the difference is that this can control living people.]
Uchiha Nagi thought. Suddenly, he sensed a powerful aura appearing near him… "Hey, Tanjiro, Inosuke, you two go with this guy to find those controlled people. Maybe there's still time to save them." Uchiha Nagi said lightly, looking at the moon.
"What's wrong, Nagi-aniki (Nagi, older brother)?" Tanjiro asked.
"A big Boss has arrived. You two are not his opponents." Uchiha Nagi drew his nichirin blade, which belonged to the injured Demon Slayer Corps member outside Mt. Natagumo and Uchiha Nagi had casually taken to use, as demons that couldn't be killed were too troublesome.
"Huh?!"
Tanjiro and Inosuke looked up at the sky. Under the pure white moonlight, a white-haired boy floated in mid-air—no, not floating, but standing on spider webs.
And the aura from his opponent was completely different from any demon they had encountered before.
"No wonder I felt there was something here that attracted me. It turns out to be a rare blood…"
Gulp!
Unable to resist his nature, he swallowed. In his eyes, Uchiha Nagi was a rare delicacy, and even more fatally, he was the ultimate among rare bloods. If he ate him, he would definitely be promoted. "Go save them quickly! I can handle him alone!" Uchiha Nagi shouted at the three.
"Okay, okay, Inosuke, use your Beast Breathing to search."
"Alright!" Inosuke closed his eyes and murmured, "Beast Breathing, Seventh Form: Spatial Awareness."
"Found them! Over here—!"
He then stood up, pointed in a direction, and dashed wildly into the forest. "Ah ah ah, Pig Assault—!"
After the others left, Uchiha Nagi calmly looked at the boy standing in the air. This was one of the high-tier combatants of this world, a Twelve Kizuki.
"My name is Rui. You give me a very special feeling, but I can't quite say why."
Lower Rank Five, Rui—
Uchiha Nagi looked at the characters in the opponent's eyes. He didn't know why their leader liked to engrave characters in the eyes of his twelve strongest subordinates.
"If we're going to fight, let's start with a warm-up!" Uchiha Nagi smiled and immediately unleashed a powerful technique.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation—!"
Flames of extreme intensity directly engulfed the surrounding forest. As for whether it would cause a forest fire, Uchiha Nagi didn't care at all.
Because this was the opponent's territory. In the grass, in the bushes, on the big trees, there were small spiders and spider webs everywhere. One could easily get caught, and the opponent's Blood Demon Art could clearly control people through these webs.
If, in the middle of a fight, he was suddenly controlled by the opponent's hands and feet, even if he could break free, he might accidentally lose his life on the spot. So Uchiha Nagi directly used a powerful technique to clear the area.
Moreover, after activating his Mangekyo, his Chakra, which had not increased for a long time, began to surge. This was the unreasonable aspect of the Uchiha Clan; once their eyes awakened, their strength not only soared, but their Chakra also increased.
And compared to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, the Mangekyo's ocular power was even stronger, coming with powerful genjutsu. Even someone as experienced as Danzo could accidentally fall victim.
Plus—Uchiha Nagi's body also had white zetsu cells.
— — — —
"What is this?!" Inosuke, who was halfway running, saw the towering flames behind him and was immediately filled with fighting spirit, wanting to turn back and join the battle, but Tanjiro held him back.
"Inosuke, wait! Let's first rescue those captured Demon Slayer Corps members and deal with the other demons, then we'll go rescue Nagi-aniki (Nagi, older brother)."
"Bastard, who cares if those useless people live or die—!"
"Inosuke, don't you understand how strong Nagi-aniki (Nagi, older brother) is?!" Tanjiro shouted. "If it were you and Zenitsu who were captured, I would also choose to save you first."
For a moment, little Inosuke froze. "Then… then alright, let's save people first."
Inosuke scratched his head. What was this inexplicable, warm feeling?