He barely steadied his gaze. Dull pain throbbed through his chest as he struggled to rise from Zongyan's arms, wanting to pick up his blade and keep fighting.
"Mr. Zongyan... give me my sword. I can still fight."
Tanjiro's breathing was unsteady, his voice strained and hoarse.
Zongyan gently pressed down on his shoulder to stop him from struggling, then bent down and settled him on the fallen leaves.
"Get some rest first. Leave this one to me." Zongyan's tone was calm, but left no room for discussion.
Tanjiro propped himself up on his elbows, trying to rise and say something, but Zongyan gave him no chance to continue. He was already walking toward the Hand Demon with Tanjiro's Nichirin Blade.
In the middle of the clearing, the Hand Demon's densely packed arms slowly stopped swaying. Its murky gaze locked onto the approaching Zongyan, and it let out a harsh, grating sneer.
"Another brat here to die?"
Before its words had faded, countless thick, knotted arms shot out together, howling through the air as they lunged at Zongyan from every direction.
"That's it?"
Facing an attack that could have torn an ordinary swordsman apart in an instant, Zongyan neither stopped nor dodged.
The Nichirin Blade in his hand rose lightly, scattering flashes of cold light in a continuous stream of clean, crisp movements.
Swish, swish, swish!
Slash after slash cut through the air, precisely severing every attacking demon arm in midair.
Black blood sprayed everywhere, and countless severed arms fell to the ground. The Hand Demon's relentless, ferocious assault crumbled like paper before Zongyan.
No matter how quickly it regenerated or how densely its attacks came, Zongyan's slashes were always a fraction faster.
It was complete domination from start to finish, without the slightest uncertainty.
As Zongyan swung his blade with ease, he murmured:
"That regeneration really is absurd. If becoming a demon didn't mean being under someone else's control, I'd almost want to try it myself."
Then he shook his head slightly, a note of criticism entering his voice:
"But its strength really is nothing special. An ordinary Genin at best. It's just cheating with endless regeneration."
At that thought, a flicker of interest crossed his eyes.
A regenerating monster like this was a rare find, perfect for testing its limits.
His casual movements gradually grew restrained. Zongyan abandoned his rapid attacks and began deliberately controlling the force and range of each slash.
Stroke after stroke, he precisely shaved away the Hand Demon's flesh and cut off his head.
"Perfect. Let's see how many times you can regenerate," Zongyan murmured to himself.
Thoroughly enraged by these toying attacks, the Hand Demon writhed its countless arms and counterattacked with all its strength. Yet every assault was easily cut apart, unable even to touch the hem of Zongyan's clothes.
Behind him, Tanjiro forced his aching body upright and stared blankly at the scene, his eyes filled with shock.
He had never seen anyone suppress a vicious demon so calmly and effortlessly, remaining so at ease throughout that it felt as though he were playing.
The Hand Demon's regeneration grew slower and slower. Its newly grown arms were as thin as dead branches, and their color had changed from purplish black to grayish white.
Zongyan stood before it holding Tanjiro's Nichirin Blade, its tip hanging slightly downward. His breathing was perfectly steady, and he had barely even sweated.
Looking at the Hand Demon sprawled in the middle of the clearing, utterly devoid of any will to resist, he considered whether to finish it off with another stroke.
After all, he now knew how tough a demon's body was.
"Kill me. Kill me..."
A weak voice squeezed out of the Hand Demon's body, as hoarse as sandpaper scraping wood.
"Please... kill me... I've had enough..."
Its arms dropped to the ground one after another, without even the strength to lift themselves.
Zongyan stopped with his blade halfway raised. "Weren't you acting pretty cocky a moment ago?"
"I was wrong... I really was wrong..." The Hand Demon's voice shook uncontrollably.
"Just kill me... I never... want to move again..." Its body began convulsing uncontrollably, its arms twitching wildly like puppets with their strings cut.
Zongyan watched it in silence for a few seconds, his brow tightening before relaxing again.
"So even demons have moments when they don't want to live."
With that, he gave his wrist a slight turn and sliced through the Hand Demon's neck.
Ash poured from the cut, and the huge body crumbled into grayish-white powder beneath the moonlight. Soon, not even its outline remained.
"I should note this down. A demon's regenerative ability is limited. It most likely depends on the energy stored in its body. Once that runs short, it can't keep regenerating."
"And does the energy sustaining that regeneration come from eating humans?"
He raised his eyebrows slightly as he watched the ashes swirl before him.
Tanjiro sat down where he was, took off his outer garment, and gave his bruises some basic treatment, the sight of the Hand Demon's breakdown still replaying in his mind.
He closed his eyes and pressed his palms together, silently praying for the Hand Demon, and for Sabito, Makomo, and Urokodaki's thirteen disciples who had died horribly at its hands.
When he finished praying, he opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the jet-black blade in Zongyan's hand.
"Mr. Zongyan, that sword... is my Nichirin Blade."
At that, Zongyan turned his wrist and offered the Nichirin Blade to Tanjiro, hilt first.
Tanjiro quickly reached out to take back his sword, his fingertips brushing lightly over its cold black blade.
"You're not even a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, yet you're so strong. What do you plan to do next? Stay on Mount Fujikasane?" Tanjiro looked up and asked, his eyes still holding curiosity about the mysterious visitor before him.
Moonlight filtered through the layers of leaves into the forest. As Zongyan gazed at the rolling wooded mountains in the distance, scenes of the Uchiha Clan Compound in Konoha suddenly flashed through his mind.
His crossing into this Demon Slayer world had only been an unexpected, temporary visit. His family knew nothing about it.
Back in Konoha, undercurrents stirred beneath the surface, and Danzo had been watching him like a hawk. If he stayed out of contact for too long, his family might already be worrying about him.
"I'm getting ready to leave. I didn't tell my family when I came out, so I need to hurry back and let them know I'm safe."
Tanjiro froze slightly, caught off guard. "You're leaving so soon? There are still so many demons on Mount Fujikasane, and other people taking the selection are still in danger..."
"I don't have such lofty aspirations as saving everyone." Zongyan shook his head. "You still have your selection to finish. You'll have to walk the rest of the way yourself!"
"Take care, Tanjiro."
With that, he lingered no longer, turning and striding off in another direction through the dense forest.
Tanjiro stood where he was, watching Zongyan's retreating figure quickly disappear among the shadows of the trees. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he only said softly, "Please take care of yourself too, Mr. Zongyan."
Zongyan moved through the dense forest, swiftly putting distance between himself and the clearing where they had fought.
As he went, distant roars, screams, and the sounds of breaking trees reached his ears one after another. The foul stench unique to demons was everywhere along the way.
Demons roamed everywhere on his route out. Looking at these sights, Zongyan couldn't help having a thought.
"I still can't find the Infinity Castle where Muzan is, and Mount Fujikasane is crawling with demons. Why don't I catch one and bring it back to the Shinobi World for my clansmen to try studying?"
Once that idea arose, he couldn't hold himself back.
Zongyan immediately slowed his steps and headed toward a scream.
"Found you."
Zongyan pushed off the ground, his figure shooting like a phantom toward the source of the scream.
When he reached the scene, the demon was pouncing on a boy taking the selection.
Giving the demon no chance to react, Zongyan abruptly burst into the fray. With swift strikes from the back of Murasame's blade, he cleanly sheared off the demon's limbs.
The demon tried to regenerate its lost limbs quickly, but Zongyan gave him no chance, continuing to cut until his regeneration could no longer support another regrowth.
Then Zongyan took a tough, specially made rope from his ninja tool pouch and deftly bound the demon into a ball, completely restricting its movements.
Once that was done, he hoisted the bound demon onto his shoulder and continued deeper into a more secluded part of the mountain forest.
He ran a long way without stopping, only halting when he could no longer detect any movement from humans or demons.
Zongyan set the demon he had carried on the ground and silently called in his mind: [Multiverse Portal.]
An inky glow shimmered before his eyes, and a wooden doorway as tall as a person slowly materialized in front of him.
Zongyan picked up the bound demon and stepped straight through the portal.
Before you continue