The anger inside Shinazugawa flared up.
He was being completely underestimated.
They had just picked some short little girl whose legs weren't even as thick as his arms to fight him?
Weren't they afraid he would hurt her...?
Hajimi wasn't entirely oblivious to his own limits.
He had never imagined he could beat Xia Xi, whom even the old man and Kuang Jin praised so highly.
He just wanted to experience firsthand how strong Xia Xi really was.
This was his instinctive way of continuing to run his underlying code.
It was the rule of survival Shinazugawa had learned on the streets.
As long as he was fierce and aggressive enough, no one would dare bully him.
But that didn't mean he was a bastard who would go out of his way to bully others, let alone prey on the weak.
Shinazugawa said, "Hey, don't underestimate me. How could this little girl possibly fight me?"
Xia Xi looked at Makomo in surprise.
After mastering the New Breathing Style, this girl had become exceptionally good at concealing her presence.
The sharp [aura] characteristic of Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen had almost completely vanished.
Someone with a less discerning eye really might mistake her for an ordinary girl, just as Shinazugawa had.
Kazami spoke up. "Shinazugawa, don't underestimate her."
"Even you, old man...?"
Kuang Jin, standing nearby, also stepped closer.
He said earnestly, "Sanemi, Makomo is stronger than I am."
The two people he trusted most had both said the same thing.
Sanemi Shinazugawa finally put aside his contempt and took a proper look at the girl in the Fox Mask standing some distance away.
Was she really... that strong?
She looked a few years younger than him, with sweet features and a gentle demeanor.
And her arms and legs were so slender.