"Come on... you scum..."
"Round two, begin now!!"
Sanemi leaned against the rough rock wall, his bloodshot eyes revealing a ruthless intent to devour the demon alive.
Although his words were full of domineering confidence, his current physical condition was like a candle flickering in the wind.
He had cut his wrists too hard to bleed properly, which caused him to see double and feel a buzzing in his head. He felt like he might have a stroke and collapse at any moment.
Fortunately, the four guys opposite him were even more abnormal than him.
In the narrow, dead-end path, four Upper Rank- level clones were currently staging a gruesome and chaotic dance of demons.
Seeing this ridiculous scene that made him want to burst out laughing, Sanemi suppressed the urge to cough up his lungs and forced a wild smile up his face.
"A bunch of lowly trash who only deserve to eat shit..."
"You really think my blood is so delicious?"
Sanemi gritted his teeth and forced down the metallic taste in his throat.
He knew that although his Marechi had incredible effects, making ghosts as disoriented as if they had drunk fake alcohol, this state could not be maintained for long!
We must strike while the iron is hot and finish them off!
Sanemi took a deep breath.
A massive influx of oxygen rushed into his riddled alveoli, causing his lungs to emit a screeching, strained sound as if they were about to burst under the strain.
"Total Concentration!!"
"Wind Breathing - First Form - Dust Whirlwind - Slash!!"
Sanemi, who could barely stand before, suddenly unleashed a terrifying force from beneath his feet, stomping a large crater in the ground!
A violent, bluish-green wind blade coiled around the Nichirin Blade, and he transformed into a blur almost invisible to the naked eye, charging straight toward the most threatening of the four demons— Sekido!
To catch the thief, first catch the king!
Although we don't know which of these four schizophrenic guys is the real one, it's always right to cut down the one with the staff that unleashes lightning!
"Die, you scum!"
Sanemi's roar echoed back and forth between the narrow rock walls.
He was still pacing around in Sekido when he suddenly heard a noise and turned around groggily.
What awaited him was a dazzling, yet deadly, crescent-shaped cyan blade of light!
"Pfft--!"
There were no obstacles.
The sound of the blade slicing through flesh and bone was crisp, like cutting open a ripe watermelon.
The Sekido head of the creature instantly detached from its neck, spinning through the air before rolling two meters away, accompanied by gushing black blood.
"Thump."
After swinging his sword, Sanemi could no longer muster any strength. His knees buckled, and he collapsed to his knees on the muddy, blood-soaked ground.
He was panting heavily, sweat mixed with blood blurring his vision.
But he smiled.
He laughed with unbridled joy.
"Get one sorted out..."
Sanemi, panting, was making plans in his mind.
Once Masachika Jin wakes up, I have to make him treat me to ten, no, twenty meals of top-quality hagi-mochi, otherwise it would be a waste of the blood I shed today.
But.
Just as he was about to catch his breath before dealing with the remaining three drunkards...
Something happened that shattered his worldview and sent chills down his spine!
Not far away.
The headless corpse, which should have turned to ash, actually stood up on its own!
"What the hell?"
Sanemi's smile froze instantly, his eyes widening in disbelief.
But the most outrageous things are yet to come.
The head that rolled to the ground actually opened its bloodshot eyes and uttered a string of overly affectionate greetings.
"You bastard! You lowly insect! How dare you cut off my noble neck!"
I'm going to chop you into mincemeat! I'm going to skin you and use your skin as foot pads!
In the impotent rage of the Sekido head, the headless corpse walked steadily to the head, bent down, and casually scooped up its own head with its claw-covered hands.
Then.
It was like putting a plug back in after unplugging it, and then pressing it back onto a neck that was still bleeding!
The muscles and blood vessels at the wound site were like sentient insects, instantly intertwining and tangling together, leaving not even a scar!
Sanemi was stunned.
I was completely dumbfounded.
What the hell is this thing?!
He survived being beheaded?
Is this still a ghost?
This is a million times more absurd than an earthworm that can still be jumping around even after being cut into dozens of pieces!!
"You white-haired trash, you've completely enraged me!"
The Sekido of putting his head back on, and the drunkenness in his eyes, subsided considerably after this fatal attack.
Instead, there was a raw, chilling rage!
He slammed the tin staff in his hand onto the ground with a loud bang.
"Die!!"
The raging blue-white lightning transformed into a menacing lightning serpent, carrying devastating heat, and struck straight at Sanemi's face!
That's incredibly fast!
There's no way to avoid it!
Sanemi tried to raise his sword to block, but his severely exhausted body was like a rusty machine; he couldn't even move a finger.
"It's over..."
Sanemi a bitter laugh and closed his eyes in despair.
The last image that flashed through my mind was Masachika Jin's talkative face, and the piece of hagi mochi I hadn't yet eaten.
"I'm so unwilling to accept this..."
Just as the lightning was about to turn Sanemi into a lump of charcoal...
"Clang-!"
A sharp, piercing metallic clang exploded in Sanemi's ears!
The excruciating pain of being struck by lightning that I had imagined did not come.
Sanemi opened his eyes in astonishment.
A ghostly figure in black and white suddenly appeared, firmly blocking his way.
It was a strangely shaped, wavy curved sword.
The blade reflected a cold, icy light under the moonlight, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, precisely wedged at the bottom of the staff at an utterly unreasonable and tricky angle.
With a sudden upward thrust!
The deadly lightning bolt was deliberately deflected by this clever force, grazing Sanemi's scalp as it flew into the air, blasting a boulder above it to pieces.
The pebbles fell to the ground with a crackling sound, hitting Sanemi and stinging a little, but he felt a damn good feeling about it.
"Lying on the ground pretending to be dead?"
A cold, arrogant voice, tinged with arrogance and mockery, drifted over from the front.
Obanai Iguro turned her head slightly.
In those heterochromatic eyes, one gold and one blue, was undisguised disdain.
"Your brain is no different from that of an unevolved wild boar. Using bloodletting as bait? Such an incredibly stupid tactic, how could you even think of it?"
"Is your blood free tap water?"
Hearing that familiar yet irritating tone, Sanemi, who had just been flirting with being moved, instantly snapped.
"You bandaged, weirdo brat! Who the hell gave you permission to meddle in other people's business?!"
Sanemi yelled back at the top of his lungs, but due to lack of blood, his voice sounded somewhat like a bluff.
"I can handle this myself! I don't need you to come here pretending to be a good guy!"
"Solve?"
Obanai sneered, skillfully twirling her scimitar in her hand before flicking away the remaining sparks.
"Are you going to take his lightning strike head-on with your skull? Or are you going to squeeze out a couple more drops of blood from your withered veins to feed them?"
"Shut up, you idiot."
Obanai showed absolutely no politeness towards Sanemi, firing off a barrage of words.
"Lie still and watch how I clean up the mess you left behind. You owe me a life; when you get out of here, remember to kneel down and kowtow to thank me."
"You—! Cough cough cough..."
Sanemi angry he almost spat out a mouthful of blood, but before he could finish his rant, he started coughing violently.
Ignoring the irritable white-haired man behind him, Obanai turned around and faced the four demons who were gradually regaining consciousness.
On the surface, he is sharp-tongued, cold-blooded, and never one to mince words.
But in reality, when he rushed in and saw Sanemi's wrist, which he had cut so deeply that the bone was visible and was still bleeding, his heart skipped a beat.
That wound was too deep.
It's unimaginable how much determination this grumpy, stone-headed man made when he slashed down that spot.
Would you risk your life to save your comrades?
Obanai's breathing became somewhat rapid.
The image of the warmth of Shinjuro's hand, wrapped in thick bandages, gently patting his shoulder on the Flame Hashira ship on Hachijōjima flashed uncontrollably into his mind.
You chose a different path!
[Remember this choice, and keep it in mind every time you swing your sword!!]
He also recalled the clear yet cold eyes of the Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka, and the seemingly light yet weightier words, "You're not suitable."
Am I not suitable...?
Obanai herself.
Back in the Iguro Family, he was a sacrifice who didn't even dare to resist, only able to hide in a wooden cage and wait to die. After being rescued by the Flame Hashira, he became a trembling burden hiding behind others. Was he destined to be a weakling forever, abandoned, rejected, and pitied?!
"No!!"
Obanai's gaze instantly sharpened like a knife, her heterochromatic pupils glowing frighteningly bright in the darkness.
He gripped the Nichirin Blade tightly, the patterns on the hilt digging painfully into his palm, but the pain only made his mind unusually clear.
I'll prove him wrong!
I'll prove it to everyone!
"I, Obanai Iguro, am definitely not a piece of trash who can only cower in the mud!"
"I will protect those who deserve protection, even if it costs me my life!!"
[Total Concentration: Serpent Breathing!]
A strange, sharp breathing sound, like the hiss of a venomous snake, emanated continuously from Obanai's nostrils.
The air temperature seemed to drop a few degrees because of this Breathing Style.
The man opposite had completely lost his patience due to his Sekido. He brandished his staff, and Urogi, Karaku, and Aizetsu behind him also drew their weapons, forming an encirclement.
"Another reckless bug has appeared..."
A cruel, sneer appeared on his Sekido face.
"Since you're all in such a hurry to die, then I'll take pity on you and send you on your way together!"
Obanai didn't say anything.
His body was as limp as a boneless snake, pressed tightly against the ground, his center of gravity low.
The wavy Nichirin Blade beside him emitted a faint hum.