--The Sabito that was tricked!
Night fell, as dark as ink spilled over Yokohama Port.
This is the eastern gateway to the empire. During the day, massive ships carrying tens of thousands of tons sound their horns here, and countless goods and wealth converge and circulate here.
The air was always filled with the smell of engine oil, sea salt, and money—the smell of prosperity.
But now, the hustle and bustle has faded, and the daytime noise has been replaced by the deathly silence of the night.
Only the cold sea wind remained, weaving and howling through the labyrinthine layers of containers, emitting a mournful wail like that of a ghost.
A lithe figure, without making a sound, leaped and traversed swiftly atop these steel behemoths.
His every move was precise and elegant, devoid of any hint of worldliness.
His peach-colored, medium-length hair danced wildly in the sea breeze, and the hideous scar on his forehead, far from ruining his handsome face, instead gave him a tough, masculine air.
It was Sabito, the newly appointed "Water Hashira" of the Demon Slayer Corps.
"Cut."
The Sabito stopped and squatted on a container with the words "S&J PHARMACEUTICALS" printed on it, sniffing the air hard.
A rich aroma, a blend of several precious herbs, wafted out from a crack in one of the containers below.
According to the Oyakata-sama's intelligence, several of the Demon Slayer Corps' contact points near the port have been attacked by unknown forces in the past month.
Several team members mysteriously disappeared, and at the same time, a large quantity of rare medicinal materials imported from the West for research purposes also vanished without a trace.
All the clues point to the same conclusion.
Muzan Kibutsuji, the ancestor of all demons, seems to be searching for something at any cost.
This thing is most likely related to medicinal herbs.
"What a cowardly coward."
Sabito pursed his lips; he hated missions that required thinking, like stealth tracking.
In his view, the most efficient way to slay a demon is to find it and then, with one swift and decisive stroke, cut off its head.
Simple, direct, and efficient!!
He jumped off the container and landed without making a sound, like a cat.
Then, like a seasoned hunter, he followed the increasingly strong scent of medicine, step by step, deeper into the maze.
Finally, in the middle of an open space surrounded by shipping containers, resembling a small square, he spotted the "thief" he had been chasing all night.
That was a man.
He was dressed in a spotless white lab coat, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and possessed a refined and handsome demeanor. He looked more like a young professor popular with female students at a university than a bloodthirsty demon.
Right now, he was squatting in front of a container that had been forcibly pried open, holding a delicate little tweezer in his hand. He carefully picked up a small piece from a pile of expensive "ambergris," sniffed it lightly, and then threw it aside with a look of disgust.
"No, no, none of those are..."
He muttered to himself in a low voice, his tone full of frustration.
"A bunch of useless trash!! They can't even do the most basic medicinal herb classification! It's Muzan!!"
Upon hearing the words "Muzan," Sabito's eyes instantly turned as cold as ice.
Found it.
He stopped hiding, gripped the hilt of his knife, and strode out of the shadows.
"Hello."
His voice was like a newly drawn sword, cold and sharp.
"I've caught the thieving rat."
The man's body stiffened slightly.
He slowly stood up and turned his head.
When he saw the Nichirin Blade engraved with "Destroyer of Demons" on Sabito's waist, he showed no sign of panic whatsoever.
Instead, a morbid ecstasy flashed in his eyes behind the lenses, as if he had discovered a rare experimental subject.
"Oh? Isn't this a kid from the Demon Slayer Corps?"
He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and, with the superior gaze of a doctor observing a patient, scrutinized the Sabito from head to toe.
"Hmm... well-built, extremely dense muscles, steady and strong breathing, heart rate... a little fast, seems a bit nervous."
He nodded seriously, a wicked smile playing on his lips.
"And this scar... that's interesting. Was it from a bear scratch when you were a kid? Or from some large feline?"
"Shut your stinking mouth!!"
Sabito's brows furrowed deeply.
What he hates most are these glib, pretentious guys.
He didn't bother with any more words, and with a sudden push of his foot, he shot out like a cannonball!
"Water Breathing - First Form: Water Surface Slash!"
A flash of light, and the blade was gone!
Fast! Accurate! Ruthless!
A sharp, horizontal slash, accompanied by the sound of wind being cut, aimed straight for his neck!
However, the guy didn't even blink when faced with a strike that could split steel in two.
With a mere touch of the ground with his toes, he floated back several meters like a ghost, gracefully dodging the fatal blow with a hair's breadth of movement.
"Sigh, what an impatient person."
He stood at a distance, shook his head, and on his face was that kind of superior smile that made Sabito furious.
"Young man, don't get so worked up. We can sit down and have a friendly, academic exchange."
"For example, your companion who uses Water Breathing, that guy named... Giyu Tomioka, right? He's... much more worthy of research than you."
Upon hearing the name "Giyu Tomioka," Sabito's breath caught in his throat.
How could he know about Giyu?!
"It seems you talk a lot."
Sabito's eyes grew increasingly dangerous; he gripped his sword with both hands and lowered his body slightly.
"Perfect timing! What I'm best at is cutting out the tongues of talkative people!"
"Water Breathing - Third Form - Flowing Dance!"
The figure of the Sabito instantly transformed into a winding torrent, like a swimming dragon, using a strange and agile trajectory to attack the ghostly figure once again!
This time, he blocked all of that guy's possible escape routes!!
However, the man's face remained completely calm.
"Oh dear, there's just no way around it."
He sighed, feigning helplessness, and then gently snapped his fingers.
The instant he snapped his fingers, a pink mist carrying a sweet, cloying fragrance seemed to come alive and quickly spread out from beneath his feet.
"Since you're so eager for 'intimate contact' with me, then I'll have no choice but to prescribe a strong dose."
He smiled as he watched the agile figure, barely visible in the pink mist, his eyes behind his glasses gleaming with a sinister light that sent chills down one's spine.
"Come on, let me see how many surprising statistics your body can bring me."
The Sabito, seeing the fog, immediately sensed something was wrong.
The fog not only obscured his vision, but the cloyingly sweet fragrance, after a while, actually made him a little... dizzy.
But he didn't have time to think about it in detail.
He has located the other party's position!
Now!
"Water Breathing - Sixth Form: Twisting Whirlpool!"
His body twisted violently in mid-air, causing his Nichirin Blade to spin rapidly and create a deadly vortex, which slashed fiercely at the figure that was still standing motionless in place!
"Pfft--!"
The feel is coming!
An arm was severed by him in one fell swoop!
It worked!
However, before he could even feel happy, an unprecedented, indescribable, and bizarre pain, like a flood bursting its banks, erupted from every cell in his body!
"Uh... ah..."!
With a painful groan, the Sabito's body fell uncontrollably from mid-air.
He felt as if his body had been thrown into a high-speed spinning washing machine.
The bones are groaning, the muscles are melting, and the blood is flowing backward!
A primal, radical change, originating from the very structure of life, is taking place wildly within his body!
"What... what's going on?!"
He knelt on one knee, using his Nichirin Blade to support his swaying body, panting heavily.
His power is rapidly dissipating at an alarming rate.
His once-proud, rock-hard muscles were now soft and weak.
"Heh... it seems the medicine is starting to take effect."
That elegant voice that sent chills down his spine rang out again.
With difficulty, the Sabito raised its head.
The man was standing not far away, and his severed arm was visibly regrowing.
He was slowly and meticulously wiping his flawless hand with a white handkerchief, his face displaying the rapturous expression of someone admiring a perfect work of art.
"It's... so wonderful..."
He walked up to Sabito, squatted down, extended a finger, and gently lifted Sabito's chin, forcing him to look him in the eye.
"You see, I only conducted a tiny, harmless experiment on your body."
"From now on, you'll learn to fight in a completely new, more 'gentle' way."
"What... what did you... do to me?!"
With his last ounce of strength, the Sabito gritted his teeth and asked.
"I?"
A smile, both incredibly radiant and incredibly cruel, appeared on the man's face.
"I'm just a passing-by, enthusiastic 'doctor'."
He stood up, looking down at this once-powerful figure who was now completely powerless to resist, as if admiring his most prized masterpiece.
Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself.
You can call me... Yaoshi!
"The Yaoshi of Upper Rank Seven..."
"Enjoy your new body, my dear...'Experiment Number One'."
After saying that, he hummed some tune, turned around, and gracefully disappeared into the shadows of the steel jungle, which were deeper than the night.
Only the Sabito remained, its consciousness gradually sinking into the deepest darkness amidst endless pain and humiliation.