The courtyard was deathly silent.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa, a man renowned in the Demon Slayer Corps for his ferocity and strength, had his profusely bleeding arm-enough to drive lesser demons mad-locked in another hand's grip.
That hand was not thick or muscular. It could even be called slender.
Yet the strength it held was like a mountain: heavy and immovable.
The muscles in Sanemi Shinazugawa's face twitched wildly.
Shock, humiliation, and uncontrollable fury exploded in his chest.
He tried to break free.
He marshaled every muscle in his body, veins bulging along his arm like coiling dragons, and even unleashed the explosive power of his Breathing Style.
But it was useless.
That hand was like an iron clamp welded to his wrist, not budging an inch.
He could even hear his wrist bones groaning beneath that terrifying grip, unable to bear the strain.
How was this possible?
This brat...
"I already told you."
Sasuke's voice remained cold, without the slightest ripple.
He did not even glance at Sanemi Shinazugawa, whom he held fast.
His gaze, all his attention, remained fixed on the wooden box from which faint scratching sounds kept coming.
In his scarlet right eye, two black tomoe slowly revolved, as though he intended to see through everything inside the box.
"She won't eat humans."
"This farce of yours can end now."
Those words brought every Hashira present out of their shock.
"Hey, hey, are you kidding me?!"
Serpent Hashira Obanai Iguro leaned out from the tree and spoke sharply in his raspy voice.
"You say she won't eat humans, and that makes it true? What makes you so certain?"
"Exactly!" Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku's voice rang out like a bell. "Young man! Although I don't know how you managed to