Thousand Feet Hundred Hands

Tsugikuni Kuuga followed the marks from yesterday to the cave. A chill, damp air rushed over him, and scattered Centipedes could still be seen at the entrance.

Tsugikuni Kuuga lit an incense stick and entered. The entrance was broad at first, but after half an incense stick's time, the passage began to narrow, leaving just enough room for one person to pass through.

At the same time, more and more Centipedes appeared. However, wary of Tsugikuni Kuuga's scent, they deliberately avoided him. Soon, another half an incense stick had burned away, and the narrow passage came to an end.

Tsugikuni Kuuga quickly lit another incense stick. Before him lay only a broad passage around two meters long, and at its end was a massive opening. Firelight flickered faintly within.

Tsugikuni Kuuga lay flat at the entrance and looked inside. It was a vast cavern, its stone walls lined with torches. At the very end stood a stone throne, upon which Lower Rank Six sat, looking every bit like an emperor.

Tsugikuni Kuuga lit the remaining three incense sticks and carefully planted them at the entrance. Then, he crept inside on silent feet.

Tsugikuni Kuuga hid behind a large boulder and stared intently at Lower Rank Six.

Suddenly, Kamuna opened his tightly shut eyes. The words "Lower Rank Six" were engraved in his left eye, a symbol of his status.

Kamuna lightly wrinkled his nose. A smell that disgusted demons spread through the cave. With extreme distaste, Kamuna descended from the Stone Seat, heading straight for the entrance.

When he reached the entrance, he found three incense sticks burning. As he destroyed them, he even sliced off both of his own hands. Though they grew back at once, it showed just how much Kamuna despised the incense.

Suddenly, Kamuna turned around and said with a disgusted expression, "Come out. I know you're here, you damned Demon Slayer!"

Of course, the incense had been burning right at the entrance. Even an idiot would know someone had come in. Clearly, Kamuna was no idiot, or he would never have become a Lower Rank.

Tsugikuni Kuuga drew his Nichirin Blade and stepped out from behind the boulder, his face full of regret.

"Ah! What a pity! Such a pity!"

"Brat, what nonsense are you spouting over there?"

"And I admire your courage for daring to charge in here alone, so I've decided to give you a quick death!" Kamuna licked his lips and stared hard at Tsugikuni Kuuga.

"The pity is that I'm not the one dying. In my hometown, three incense sticks are burned for the dead!"

"Though you hardly deserve it, I'm a kind man, so I burned them for you anyway. Well? Aren't I good to you?"

"Courting death!" Kamuna grew angry.

He had been sleeping peacefully when someone suddenly came in, filled the place with a nauseating smell, and wouldn't stop talking. He really wanted to slaughter him.

Kamuna crouched halfway down, gathering strength in his legs. Then he shot toward Tsugikuni Kuuga like a cannonball.

Tsugikuni Kuuga swung his blade at the same time. Sparks flew in an instant, and Kamuna was sent flying back in shock. This person felt very strong.

"Yo! You're pretty weak, aren't you? If those words weren't carved into your eye, I wouldn't even know you were that turtle bastard Muzan's lackey!" Tsugikuni Kuuga mocked.

"What did you say?!" Kamuna roared.

He had clearly been truly enraged. Tsugikuni Kuuga had not only insulted him, but also insulted Lord Muzan.

"And why do you know that lord's name?" Kamuna asked in confusion.

"That's none of your business, because you're about to die!"

Tsugikuni Kuuga directly used Sun-Breathing: Fourth Form - Mirage Sun Rainbow to increase his speed. A technique meant for evasion had been turned into a speed-boosting skill by him.

A layer of black armor instantly covered Kamuna's hands. More accurately, it resembled the Exoskeleton Armor of an arthropod.

The two then collided. The sound of metal striking metal echoed continuously through the cave. In just a few minutes, Tsugikuni Kuuga had unleashed all Twelve Forms of Sun-Breathing.

Combined with the predictions of Tai Chi Sense, Kamuna quickly fell into a disadvantage. Now, Kamuna could be certain that the guy before him was definitely a Hashira. How had he exposed himself before a Hashira? It made no sense!

Tsugikuni Kuuga guessed what Kamuna was thinking and immediately mocked, "Let me tell you a secret. This is my first mission, so of course I'm not a Hashira!"

"Tch!"

Kamuna's mouth suddenly bulged, and then he sprayed something black at Tsugikuni Kuuga.

Tsugikuni Kuuga bent backward to dodge Kamuna's projectile. Upon closer inspection, it was Centipedes. Tsugikuni Kuuga nearly vomited, because Kamuna had spat them out of his mouth.

Tsugikuni Kuuga planted both hands on the ground and used them as a pivot, launching himself into the air. His foot struck Kamuna squarely beneath the chin, and Tsugikuni Kuuga landed on his feet after a backflip.

Though Kamuna was kicked away, he still spat out a mouthful of Centipedes. Tsugikuni Kuuga directly tossed a paper packet from his sleeve, then used Sun-Breathing Third Form: Setting Sun Transformation.

The flaming horizontal slash instantly burst the packet apart, scattering the incense powder inside. The instant the powder touched the flames, it ignited, and the oncoming Centipedes were immediately burned to ashes.

White smoke also rose between Tsugikuni Kuuga and Kamuna. Faced with the smoke, Kamuna retreated several steps at once, because the nauseating incense scent was far too strong and made him sick just from smelling it.

"What a disgusting smell. You humans truly deserve to die!" Kamuna cursed.

"It smells great. Much better than the bloody stench in this place!" Tsugikuni Kuuga retorted.

"I'm done playing with you. Die!"

"Blood Demon Art: Thousand Feet Hundred Hands!"

Black armor soon covered Kamuna's entire body, and a scorpion's tail grew from him. Even stranger, countless Centipedes surged toward Kamuna and fused with him the instant they touched him.

Tsugikuni Kuuga continuously used sword techniques to cut down the Centipedes around him. Although the incense scent could drive them away, there were simply too many of them.

Tsugikuni Kuuga threw out another packet of incense powder and ignited it. A large swath of Centipedes around him died instantly. By the time Tsugikuni Kuuga finished dealing with the Centipedes, Kamuna had completed his transformation.

A five-meter-long monster appeared before Tsugikuni Kuuga. It had the body of a Centipede, the pincers and tail of a scorpion, but Kamuna's head.

"To make me use this form, your death has been worthwhile!" Kamuna laughed wildly.

"I thought it would be something amazing. You just turned into a big bug!" Tsugikuni Kuuga mocked.

At the same time, Tsugikuni Kuuga charged at Kamuna with his blade raised. Kamuna truly had many legs now, just like his Blood Demon Art suggested.

Kamuna raised a pincer and smashed it down at Tsugikuni Kuuga, but he easily dodged it. It seemed that while Kamuna had grown larger, he had also become much slower. However, the pincer left a huge crater where it struck, clearly showing that its power had increased.

As Kamuna's left pincer smashed toward Tsugikuni Kuuga, his right pincer snapped toward Tsugikuni Kuuga's head. Tsugikuni Kuuga instantly leaped over the left pincer and used Sun-Breathing: Tenth Form - Brilliant Grace Light to slash at the right one.

With both pincers restrained, Kamuna's scorpion tail suddenly stabbed toward Tsugikuni Kuuga.