After Kakashi came back to his senses, he was no longer in the Hokage's office.
Instead, he found himself standing in a dark forest.
And beside him were four strangely dressed men.
Zoro: "What are you staring at? Need directions?"
Hibari: "Too many people. I should bite them to death."
Gintoki: "Haaah… huh… Wasn't this supposed to be food delivery?"
Bruce: "Why… is it a bunch of kids?"
Kakashi: "Hey! Don't drag me into that. I'm not a kid. And what exactly are you wearing?"
Gintoki: "Oh! I know this one, I know this one. You're cosplaying that Bat-man guy, right?"
Just as the five of them were meeting people from other worlds for the first time, five figures holding swords emerged side by side from the forest opposite them.
"More people?"
Hibari Kyoya impatiently raised his tonfa, killing intent already showing on his face as he looked toward the newcomers.
But once everyone saw who they were, they all froze for a moment.
Among the five on the other side was the very protagonist from the video they had just watched—Kamado Tanjiro.
The remaining four were three boys and one girl.
A wild boy wearing a boar's head mask, a blond-haired boy with his eyes shut and a snot bubble hanging from his nose, an expressionless man, and a petite purple-haired girl.
[The instance is about to begin.]
[Five]
[Four]
[Three]
[Two]
[One]
[Crush them!]
A hollow voice suddenly rang out in the air.
The instant it ended, the five on the opposite side drew their blades and charged at Kakashi's group.
"Clang!"
In an instant, ten figures clashed in the forest.
From time to time, flashes of fire and thunder lit up the trees.
Inside another instance—
Nami, Sanemi Shinazugawa, Xia Dou, Steve Rogers, and Guanyin Dashi, who was holding a cup of Starbucks coffee.
Standing opposite them was the Spider Family of Mount Natagumo.
But in the face of the charging Spider Family, only Sanemi and Steve had the strength to fight.
As for Xia Dou and Nami, they simply huddled together and trembled.
"So scary! If I'd known, I wouldn't have clicked it so casually!" ×2
"What a fascinating space. Only this mountain exists, yet it has no root and no source. And around it are other identical spaces."
"Interesting…"
Dashi paid no attention to Spider Father lunging toward him.
He simply closed his eyes and quietly sensed everything within this strange space.
"Watch out! That big guy is charging at you!"
Seeing this handsome man just standing there with his eyes closed, seemingly waiting to die, Nami and Xia Dou hurriedly shouted a warning.
"Yes, thank you for the reminder. You're both good children."
Dashi opened his eyes and smiled at them.
For a moment, Nami and Xia Dou felt like the dark forest had suddenly become much brighter.
"No, this isn't the time to be lovestruck! Watch out for that big guy!"
Nami pointed at Spider Father, who was already rushing at Dashi.
But Dashi remained utterly calm.
When Spider Father pounced, he simply shifted slightly to the side and dodged the attack.
Then he pulled the straw out of his coffee cup and gave it a light flick.
"There's a disgusting stench clinging to your body. This should really be Jizo's work… but I don't mind stealing his job for once."
In that instant, a blinding golden light tore through the night sky, illuminating the entirety of Mount Natagumo.
Spider Father, along with Spider Sister, Spider Mother, Spider Brother, and even Rui of the Twelve Kizuki—who had been fighting Sanemi and Steve—were all instantly reduced to ash beneath that beam of golden light.
Nami, Xia Dou, Sanemi, and Steve stared in shock first at the Spider Family, now reduced to dust, then at Dashi, who still looked as casual as ever.
For a moment, none of them could process what had just happened.
They had all been mentally preparing themselves for a bitter battle.
Who would have thought that this handsome man with a giant disc on his head would casually flick a straw once—and every last demon would turn to ash?
[Battle Complete]
[Rewards Issued]
[Departure Countdown]
[60]
[59]
...
That hollow voice rang out again.
A beam of light shone down on each of them.
A simple ancient bronze box appeared in everyone's hands.
Nami: "That looks super valuable!!!"
Xia Dou curiously pressed the switch on her box.
Click!
The mechanism opened, revealing a book lying inside.
"Total Concentration — Water Breathing?"
Xia Dou read the title out loud, one word at a time.
Click!
Click!
Click!
Click!
Four more mechanisms opened in succession as the others also opened their bronze boxes.
"What the heck… why is mine just a rock…"
Nami complained from beside Xia Dou.
"Mine too…"
Steve took out the stone from his own box and showed it. It was exactly the same as Nami's.
"That's no ordinary stone…"
Sanemi's voice suddenly sounded behind them.
"Eek!!!"
Startled by Sanemi's sudden voice, Nami and Xia Dou jumped three feet into the air and instantly hid behind Dashi, the person who seemed safest in the group, only daring to peek out with two little heads at the scar-covered face of Shinazugawa Sanemi.
"If it's not an ordinary stone, then what is it?"
Steve, dressed in his unusual clothes and with his shield slung behind his back, held the stone in both hands and studied it carefully.
"This is the main ore we of the Demon Slayer Corps use to forge Nichirin Blades—the special weapons made to kill demons. It's called Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand."
Sanemi unsheathed his pale green Nichirin Blade, the words Destroy Demons engraved on it, and showed it to everyone.
"A blade forged from it is also called a Color-Changing Sword."
"It changes color depending on its owner."
"Then your sword being this green…"
Xia Dou's gaze involuntarily drifted toward the top of Sanemi's head.
But she instantly realized that was a very bad idea, so she quickly looked away and apologized:
"Sorry, I didn't realize your life was… that colorful."
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about?"
Sanemi didn't catch the deeper meaning of Xia Dou's words and simply continued:
"Although I don't know why this place gave you Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand, let me warn you about something. Weapons forged from it usually aren't that different from ordinary iron weapons."
"They only show special effects when used against demons. Of course, if you want to bring out their greatest power, you need to pair them with a Breathing Technique."
He pointed at Xia Dou.
"Like the book in that idiot woman's hand."
"Huh? So does that mean I can become as cool as Tanjiro—cutting out a water dragon with one slash?"
Xia Dou asked with a blank, innocent look.
Just as Sanemi was explaining Breathing Techniques and Nichirin Blades to them, that hollow voice rang out once more.
[Congratulations to player Guanyin Dashi for obtaining the legendary Demon Slayer instance item: Blue Spider Lily ×1]