"Splash--"
The deafening aftershocks have subsided at the former site of the Ubuyashiki Estate!
But the massive local flooding caused by Giyu Tomioka continues to flow merrily across the devastated ruins.
The Demon Slayer Corps' headquarters, once a scenic spot with pavilions and towers scattered throughout, exuding a profound sense of history,
At this moment, it has been completely transformed into a Rengoku flames and water vapor intertwine.
"Pah! Pah! Pah!"
In an absolutely safe zone, a full kilometer away from the inferno,
[Wind Hashira] Sanemi Shinazugawa spat out a large mouthful of dirty water mixed with mud, sand, and grass roots.
It felt as if one's entire soul had been swept away by the tsunami at that moment.
"What the hell... what the hell just happened?!"
He clearly remembered that just three hours earlier, he had chopped off that red-haired brat's head with a single stroke!
"He survived even after having his head chopped off, and he could still explode on the spot to wipe out the enemy..."
Sanemi's face was contorted into a deep, blank expression.
"How the hell are we supposed to kill them?! Are we supposed to kill them with our heads?!"
"Even if you had ten lives, it wouldn't be enough for this monster to blow you up so easily!"
Beside,
"It's... too gorgeous..."
Tengen was panting heavily, looking utterly miserable, as if he had been brutally assaulted by life.
Not far from Tengen, on a crooked tree that had been swept away by the water, [Serpent Hashira] Obanai Iguro was clinging tightly to the trunk, completely soaked.
The white snake, Kaburamaru, around his neck had long since slithered into the collar of his haori, and both man and snake were trembling.
Obanai gritted her teeth, staring at the sea of fire. Although she didn't say anything out of pride, she had already silently crossed the thought of "killing Tanjiro" out of her mind.
They're not to be trifled with, really not to be trifled with!
Let whoever wants to kill, kill them. Obanai Iguro, for one, will absolutely never touch that time bomb again!
At the back of the crowd,
Kagaya Ubuyashiki and Lady Amane also stood on a high ground, gazing at the flat land below that was billowing with thick smoke.
At this moment, although the man was still managing to maintain a gentle smile, his brow twitched twice, which was quite unusual.
His magnificent ancestral home, passed down through generations and with a history spanning hundreds of years... has now been blown up, its foundation completely destroyed.
His heart was bleeding!!
"Giyu -kun..."
Kagaya let out a bitter laugh filled with helplessness.
"I'm asking you to cooperate with me in staging a play at the Hashira Meeting, to push that child into a corner, so that everyone can witness his strength and thus break down prejudice..."
"But I didn't ask you to completely flatten my house!"
"That's way too ruthless! The cost of this scene is way too high..."
Kagaya sighed deeply in his heart, but he also knew that even he, a wise man, had not expected things to develop to such a devastating extent.
If that kid named Tanjiro were to go berserk, his power would be utterly devastating.
"My Master, are you alright?"
Lady Amane gently supported his arm, a hint of heartache flashing in her usually cold eyes.
"How about I have someone calculate the cost of rebuilding the mansion first, and then deduct it from Mr. Tomioka's salary?"
"... Never mind, Amane. As long as Giyu and that child can come out safe and sound, it doesn't matter if the house is destroyed."
Kagaya smiled and shook his head.
Kagaya had barely finished speaking.
"Look! There's movement in the fire!"
The Stone Hashira, Gyomei Himejima, suddenly sensed something.
Everyone's heart leaped into their throats, and they all turned their gazes toward the twisted edge of the fire!
"Tap... tap... tap..."
Accompanied by a series of steady and powerful footsteps,
The surrounding crimson Heat Haze, burning fiercely, mysteriously parted to the sides, creating a wide passage!
Immediately afterwards, amidst a hazy cloud of smoke and white steam.
A tall, slender figure slowly stepped out of the sea of fire!
At this moment, Giyu's perfectly flawless upper body was naked.
His abdominal muscles were sculpted like they were carved with a knife, and glistened faintly in the sunlight.
Although his chest and shoulders were still covered in black soot, there wasn't a single wound, not even a millimeter long, on his body!
And on his right shoulder.
Just like steadily carrying a red-haired boy, Kamado Tanjiro, whose body was charred black, whose clothes were torn to shreds, and who had fallen into a deep coma!
"Giyu!!"
"Mr. Giyu!!"
The moment they saw the two of them safely emerge from the inferno, Sabito (Water Hashira) and Kanae Kocho (Flower Hashira) cried out in surprise almost simultaneously!
The Sabito was so excited that its eyes turned red.
He rushed forward abruptly, looked at his junior brother's arrogant demeanor, and breathed a huge sigh of relief, even giving Giyu Yong's muscular chest a playful punch:
"You bastard! I thought you two were going to die together in there!"
"I'm all set to go back and write a letter of condolence to Master Urokodaki!"
Kanae Kocho was even more unrestrained.
She lifted her mud-covered skirt, waded through puddles, and rushed straight to Giyu.
"Mr. Giyu! Are you injured? Let me check you quickly!"
Kanae's bright pink eyes filled with tears of heartache. She stretched out her fair and soft hands and touched Giyu's well-defined abdominal and pectoral muscles up and down and left and right.
Although it appears on the surface to be a medical palpation,
But the warm touch that brushed against her skin inch by inch, and the undisguised infatuation and shyness in Kanae's eyes... it was practically blatantly taking advantage of Water Hashira -sama!
"I'm fine, Kanae. Step back a bit, you're still covered in mud, don't get my pants dirty."
He shamelessly groped the beautiful woman.
This man, considered the pinnacle of human combat power, frowned slightly.
"Pfft--!"
Kanae smiled, feeling a huge weight lifted from her shoulders.
She knew this man too well; the fact that he could still utter such scathing remarks meant he was truly unharmed.
"That's great... Tanjiro is still alive too, they're all alright!"
Mitsuri Kanroji covered her flushed cheeks, jumping up and down while crying and laughing.
At this moment.
Sanemi, Tengen, Kyojuro, and other Pillars of the killing faction also slowly walked over, limping.
They watched as Giyu tossed Tanjiro onto the grass like a dead dog.
This kid looks absolutely pathetic right now.
His body's energy had clearly been completely drained by the epic battle just now; he didn't even have the strength to open his eyelids.
But!
Even after being beaten to such a state that even his own mother wouldn't recognize him, the kid's chest was still rising and falling slightly!
His twisted, demonic cells automatically repaired those mere, fatal wounds!
"..."
Sanemi stood beside Tanjiro's "charred corpse," looking down at him for a full half minute.
Then--,
This Wind Hashira, who was always short-tempered and regarded slaying demons as his life's work and only faith, suddenly let out a long sigh.
He raised his hand and, with great frustration and helplessness, scratched his head of gray hair.
Then... he forcefully shoved the blue Nichirin Blade back into its sheath.
"Garlic bird!"
"You can cut off your head and it'll grow back like leeks!"
"Even after being exposed to sunlight, not a single red spot appears!"
"If pushed too far, they might even drag the entire mountain down with them in a self-destruction stunt!"
"..."
Sanemi grew angrier and angrier, then sat down on the ground, adopting a "who cares" attitude.
"I'm done! I can't kill them! Do whatever you want! Let's get started!!"