"Sizzle--!"
Without any warning!
A blinding golden arc of electricity leaped out of thin air around Zenitsu's lying body, instantly turning a withered yellow leaf on the ground into charcoal!
"Um?!"
Sanemi Shinazugawa's left foot, which had just stepped out, suddenly stopped!
As a top-tier swordsman who had spent thousands of days and nights fighting amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, every pore on his body stood on end uncontrollably at that moment!
Sanemi suddenly turned around!
Zenitsu Agatsuma's eyes remained closed, and he was in a coma.
But his breathing pattern changed!
"Breathe--!"
Violent golden lightning surged forth from every pore and every strand of hair on his body!
"Crackling and popping--!"
The gravitational field within a ten-meter radius was completely disrupted by this lightning. Countless tiny pebbles and fallen leaves broke free from the ground and floated in mid-air, only to be shattered into dust by the golden arc of lightning!
Zenitsu's right hand rested on the Nichirin Blade at his waist.
Gently push the tsuba (sword guard) with your thumb!
"Click--"
As the half-inch golden blade was drawn from its sheath, a sharp, thunderous roar suddenly echoed through the heavens and earth!
"Total Concentration: Thunder Breathing-- "
Syllables, like the whisper of Thor, echoed in a flash:
" --First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!!"
Rumble--!
Heaven and earth have lost their color!
The entire pitch-black Mount Fujikasane forest was instantly illuminated by a powerful golden aurora!
Fast! It's incredibly fast!
One second ago, Zenitsu was still in the mud, poised to draw his sword;
The next second, Zenitsu transformed into a golden zigzag line that tore through space, traversing a distance of twenty meters, and flashed to the front of Sanemi Shinazugawa's throat!
"Stop right there!!"
"Wind Breathing - Second Form-- "
Sanemi roared, and in a very short distance, his blue Nichirin Blade unleashed four violent, intersecting wind blades, forming a rotating wall of blade wind in front of his throat!
"--Claw Claw · Ke Hu Feng!!"
"Clang--!"
Golden lightning and raging blue wind blades gnawed and tore through the air!
"Snap!"
The ground beneath Sanemi's feet shattered under the terrifying force!
They were forced to retreat!
Sanemi Shinazugawa, the Wind Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, was forced to retreat several steps in a direct confrontation by a newly recruited member who was still unconscious!
"Waaaaah! That golden chick is amazing! Leave me a bite to eat!!"
Seeing this, Inosuke's fighting spirit soared once more!
In the worldview of beasts, whoever is the strongest is the boss!
Seeing Zenitsu unleash such miraculous swordsmanship, Inosuke's wild instincts were instantly ignited!
"Beast Breathing - Fang of the Fourth Strike - Shattering Slash!!"
The two serrated blades transformed into interlocking shark jaws, biting towards Sanemi's left rib!
Meanwhile, Zenitsu, who was sleeping directly in front of him, missed his first attack. His ankle exploded in mid-air with a burst of lightning, and his body was forced back by a hair's breadth. His blade, like a golden lightning bolt, once again slashed diagonally upwards at Sanemi's face!
One in front and one behind!
One thunderbolt and one beast!
The two newcomers, who had previously shown no coordination, somehow managed to form a near-perfect pincer attack based on their instinctive animal instincts!
However--
"Ha ha ha ha!!"
Sanemi laughed heartily, looking up at the sky!
"Great! Excellent!"
"You can break through my defenses... I take back what I just said! The master who taught you this move isn't an idiot, he's a tough guy!!"
"But—you two little brats, you think you can make a name for yourselves by stepping on my head? You're still a long way off!!"
"Today, I'll show you what a real 'pillar' is!"
"Wind Breathing -Fifth Form-- "
Sanemi gripped the swords with both hands, his entire body spinning in mid-air as if in the eye of a raging storm!
The azure gale transformed into a tangible storm armor, completely enveloping his entire body!
--Cold Mountain Wind!
"Boom--!"
Countless sword energies of wind poured out from every angle, leaving no blind spots!
"Clang clang!"
Just as Inosuke touched the edge of the storm, the two serrated blades let out a mournful cry of being unable to bear the weight, and his tiger's mouth was instantly drenched in blood!
Immediately afterwards, Sanemi's blade flashed, mercilessly slicing four half-foot-long blood grooves on Inosuke's outer thigh and back!
"Wow!"
Inosuke was torn apart by the strong wind and sent flying backwards, but he still laughed and rolled on the ground!
Zenitsu, who darted through the air like a golden lightning bolt, forcefully broke through the surrounding wind pressure with his extreme speed, and the tip of his blade was less than three inches away from Sanemi's brow!
"Quick! But still too inexperienced!!"
Sanemi bared his ferocious fangs.
His left hand shot out like lightning, its five fingers like steel eagle claws, and actually managed to grab Zenitsu's right wrist, which was holding the sword!
"Snap!"
The sound of a dislocation was crisp and piercing!
Zenitsu immediately changed his move, attempting to use his finger as a knife to stab Sanemi's eye!
"Good lad! He's so fierce even when he's asleep!"
Sanemi exclaimed in praise, then swung his Nichirin Blade horizontally in his right hand, striking Zenitsu's shoulder!
"Bang!!"
The golden lightning completely dissipated under this heavy blow!
Zenitsu's body crashed heavily to the ground like a shooting star. After rolling more than a dozen times, the violent aura of lightning finally receded like a tide, and he fell into a coma.
Sanemi used the momentum to land, took a step forward with his right foot, and the gust of wind once again trampled Inosuke, sword and all, under his foot!
"Are you convinced?!"
Sanemi stepped on Inosuke's back, the tip of his knife pointed at his boar nose.
"No... I won't accept this... I'll... chop you up again tomorrow..."
Inosuke spat out mud and blood foam from his mouth, his limbs still twitching and struggling, but his eyelids finally closed heavily, and he completely lost consciousness.
A cold wind howled past.
Sanemi Shinazugawa stood with his sword drawn.
The dark green haori fluttered in the night wind.
Looking at the unconscious wild boar at his feet and the blond-haired man with snot bubbles coming out of his nostrils again, the irritable Wind Hashira slowly grinned into a smile.
"Ha... haha! Haha!"
Sanemi flicked his wrist and plunged the blue Nichirin Blade back into the scorched earth beside him.
"What a bunch of freaks... It seems the future of the Demon Slayer Corps won't be too boring."