Turns into a Ball at the Drop of a Hat

At that critical moment, red firelight tore through the night sky, sending Iron Prison flying. Then Shinobu Kocho heard a familiar voice.

"Yo! Cute miss, I'm afraid I'm late!"

The death she had imagined never came. Instead, the boy who shone like the sun arrived.

Tsugikuni Kuuga was truly worried sick. His body was covered in green juice, leaves tangled in his hair. He couldn't understand why a perfectly good inn had been built in the middle of the woods. The owner definitely had a screw loose.

Tsugikuni Kuuga placed his hand directly over Shinobu Kocho's wound. As the Tai Chi Light Orb appeared, the wound grew warm, followed by an itchy sensation—the kind that usually only came when a wound was healing.

"You just used that ability. Is your body really all right? This kind of injury is nothing to a Demon Slayer Corps member!" Shinobu Kocho pushed Tsugikuni Kuuga's hand away.

Then Tsugikuni Kuuga firmly pressed Shinobu Kocho down and continued treating her. He was incredibly strong, and Shinobu Kocho could not break free at all. She could only obediently accept the treatment.

At that moment, Iron Prison, who had been knocked down, got back to his feet. That slash had nearly stunned him senseless, especially that strange sword technique. Even now, his wound still felt like it was burning.

"Another one here to die. A guy who doesn't even have a Corps uniform!" Iron Prison sneered.

After healing Shinobu Kocho, Tsugikuni Kuuga turned around, and his face instantly went cold. He would show no mercy to anyone who hurt Shinobu.

Perhaps Suzuko's illness had been too severe, because Tsugikuni Kuuga had fallen asleep after treating her. But Shinobu Kocho had only suffered superficial wounds, so Tsugikuni Kuuga felt nothing after healing her.

Tsugikuni Kuuga tightened his grip on his sword and stared fixedly at the demon before him. The murderous look of someone who wanted to cut down a demon could not be hidden.

Tsugikuni Kuuga kicked off the ground with his right foot and charged straight at him. Iron Prison clenched his fist and smashed it toward Tsugikuni Kuuga.

Tsugikuni Kuuga first used Sun-Breathing First Form: Round Dance to block the punch, then slid beneath Iron Prison. Immediately after, Sun-Breathing Second Form: Azure Sky followed, a circular Flame Slash rising from below and cutting directly into the demon's skin.

Iron Prison's body of steel truly was tough. Tsugikuni Kuuga had only cut halfway in. Iron Prison let out a pained roar and swung his left hand at Tsugikuni Kuuga. Tsugikuni Kuuga tried to pull out his blade, only to find that it would not budge. The demon had actually endured the agony and clamped down on Tsugikuni Kuuga's Nichirin Blade.

"Damn human, die!" Iron Prison roared.

His fist was already closing in on Tsugikuni Kuuga's head. With no other choice, Tsugikuni Kuuga dodged aside. At the same time, the Nichirin Blade snapped, leaving only half a blade in his hand.

Iron Prison grabbed the other half of the blade and threw it away. Then he suddenly burst into wild laughter, like a madman.

Suddenly, his entire body began to twist. His limbs folded inward as if they had been bent, continuously drawing toward the center of his body. His head shrank into his chest as well, and then his entire body contracted into a ball.

"Holy crap! You turn into a ball over nothing? That's impressive!" Tsugikuni Kuuga said, raising a thumb in mild surprise.

"Kid, taste my Blood Demon Art: Iron Ball Annihilation. You're lucky, because everyone who has seen this move has died!" Iron Prison said with a confident grin.

"Huh? I think you've got some serious issues!" Tsugikuni Kuuga shot back.

"You'll know once you've been crushed to death!" Iron Prison said viciously.

Then Iron Prison charged at Tsugikuni Kuuga. Under the moonlight, one man ran while a ball chased after him.

Facing the charging ball, Tsugikuni Kuuga leaped into the air and performed a backflip to evade Iron Prison's impact. Then came Sun-Breathing Fifth Form: Train, leaving a vertical blade mark across the surface of the ball Iron Prison had formed.

The instant Tsugikuni Kuuga landed, he used Sun-Breathing Third Form: Setting Sun Transformation. After a horizontal slash, a cross-shaped pattern formed.

"Tch! That's it? You're not so great after all. You can't even break through my defense. Trash!" Iron Prison mocked.

Since the ball Iron Prison had turned into looked the same all over, Tsugikuni Kuuga relied on his memory to make a mark. That spot was where the neck should have been. Otherwise, he really would not have known how to kill him—unless he dragged things out until morning.

"I won't kill you. I'll cripple your limbs, then eat your woman right in front of you. Hahaha, just thinking about it is wonderful!" Iron Prison let out a lecherous laugh.

"Oh, right. I remember I'm some kind of Rare Blood. I should be the tasty kind. Mister Demon, why not consider eating me first?" Tsugikuni Kuuga reminded him.

"What!" Iron Prison was utterly shocked.

Shinobu Kocho helplessly pressed a hand to her forehead. Why did this guy just blurt it out? Everyone else avoided mentioning it whenever possible.

"I know talk is cheap. I'll cut myself and let you have a sniff!"

As he spoke, Tsugikuni Kuuga cut a small wound on his hand, but it quickly healed. Iron Prison immediately cried out in excitement.

"If I eat you, I can return to the Lower Rank once more! Hahaha!" Iron Prison laughed maniacally.

"Tch! I thought you really were a Lower Rank. Turns out Muzan kicked you out. How boring. You should've said so earlier. I'm reporting you for fraud!" Tsugikuni Kuuga said with utter disdain.

"You—"

"You what? Shut your mouth. You deceived the consumer!" Tsugikuni Kuuga retorted.

Iron Prison said nothing more and charged straight at him. He was already exploding with rage. He would not rest until he had pounded Tsugikuni Kuuga into pulp.

Tsugikuni Kuuga sheathed the broken blade and closed his eyes. Then Tai Chi Sense activated, and a Tai Chi Bagua emerged beneath his feet. Perhaps no one else could see it, but Tsugikuni Kuuga sensed everything clearly.

Tsugikuni Kuuga could sense that Iron Prison was coming from the Kun trigram direction. He turned slightly to the side and avoided the attack, as though nothing had passed by at all.

Iron Prison was baffled. Why couldn't he hit him? He had clearly been just a hair away from crushing that damned human to death. He launched several more attacks in succession, unaware that he had become Tsugikuni Kuuga's practice dummy. After all, Tsugikuni Kuuga had never used Tai Chi Sense in actual combat before.

After testing it a few times, Tsugikuni Kuuga felt that Tai Chi Sense seemed capable of giving him a slight premonition of his opponent's next attack. As for what kind of opponents it worked on, he did not know yet.

After all, the guy in front of him was only a High-ranking Demon at best, still far from the Twelve Kizuki. And those Upper Moons were all genuine monsters, not to mention their cowardly boss.

Feeling that he had tested enough, Tsugikuni Kuuga dodged Iron Prison's attack one last time, then aimed at the intersection of the cross and used Sun-Breathing Seventh Form: Sun Blossom Thrust. The broken blade, wreathed in ring-shaped flames, pierced into Iron Prison's neck.

At the same time, fear surged from Iron Prison's heart. He knew that if he did not dodge, he would die. He had never imagined that someone who was not even part of the Demon Slayer Corps could be this strong.