boom!
The meteor fell with a tremendous sound, and even the ground trembled slightly from the impact of the powerful force.
Kyojuro Rengoku quickly turned around, placed his hand on the hilt of his Nichirin Blade, and stared intently at the spot where the meteor had fallen.
There, billowing smoke covered a large area, completely obscuring the center.
"Hey! Can someone tell me what happened? Why did the train overturn on the ground? And what's going on over there? There's so much dust!" Zenitsu asked, sounding a little scared.
After waiting for a while, seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Zenitsu turned to look at Tanjiro.
"Hey Tanjiro, what are you doing...?"
Zenitsu stopped halfway through his sentence.
In his field of vision, Tanjiro was crouching slightly, one hand gripping the hilt of his Nichirin Blade tightly, in a posture ready for battle.
However, his body was trembling slightly, and large beads of sweat kept sliding down his forehead.
"Tan... Tanjiro..."
Zenitsu muttered softly, glancing at the others.
Inosuke Tanjiro Tanjiro, or even more violently.
The Flame Hashira also looked as if it were facing a formidable enemy.
Nezuko was the only one standing quietly in the room. When Zenitsu looked at her, she looked back at him.
Normally, Zenitsu and Nezuko would be extremely happy to look at each other.
But today, now, at this moment...
Zenitsu, however, had absolutely no interest in thinking about these things.
His head stiffened as he looked in the direction that the Flame Hashira, Tanjiro, and Inosuke were looking.
There, the smoke and dust were slowly dissipating.
A gentle breeze blew, and the smoke and dust dispersed even faster, gradually revealing a figure within.
The figure was crouching on the ground, its face obscured, but its general shape was still discernible.
He had short, scarlet hair, wore a short-sleeved shirt the same color as his hair, and white martial arts pants. What was most striking were the dark blue tattoos covering his body, as well as the tattoos on his wrists, ankles, and waist...
Iron... iron block?
Is this... carrying a load?
Is this ghost carrying a heavy load while cultivating?
Tanjiro's mind was racing; this was the first time he had ever seen a demon clearly exhibiting signs of training.
As the smoke and dust dissipated, the figure slowly stood up.
Kyojuro gripped the hilt of his Nichirin Blade tightly, ready for battle at any moment.
This oppressive feeling, it's definitely the Upper Rank!
And judging from its appearance, it's Upper Rank...
two?
As Akaza looked up, Kyojuro's pupils involuntarily contracted.
How is that possible?
According to the information provided by Kato, Upper Rank Two should have white hair.
Moreover, his characteristics do indeed match those of Upper Rank Three as described by Kato.
Akaza stood up, his gaze fixed on the five demon hunters in the distance... no, four!
What's wrong with this guy?
Akaza's gaze swept over Nezuko from head to toe.
Why does this ghost seem to be getting along so well with the Demon Slayer?
Were they not under Lord Muzan's control?
Tanjiro took a few deep breaths to ease his tension, then noticed Akaza's gaze and quickly took two steps toward Nezuko, shielding Nezuko behind him.
With his target blocked, Akaza turned his gaze to the Demon Slayer.
Well, he's a weakling, not worth paying attention to!
My gaze shifted; hmm, still a weakling.
My gaze shifted again, and... um? Boar's Head?
After careful observation, it turned out to be a person.
Akaza frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled, but then thought, "The weak aren't worth my time."
His gaze fell upon the last figure.
Hmm, not bad. Although it's far from my current self, it's already quite good on a human level!
It's stronger than many pillars I've seen before!
"Hey! You're Hashira, right?" Akaza called out.
"Yes, I am the Flame Hashira of the Ten Pillars, Kyojuro Rengoku!" Kyojuro replied, then asked, "Are you Akaza?"
Akaza's lips curled slightly when he heard Kyojuro's question.
"It seems that Teiichi has already shared my information with you? That's right, I am Akaza!"
"Weren't you Upper Rank Three? How did you become Upper Rank Two?" Kyojuro stared intently at Akaza, following the engraving of the character 'Two'.
"Well..." Akaza chuckled, "It's fine to tell you. There's a Rank Replacement Blood Battle among the Upper Rank. If you can defeat Upper Rank stronger than you, you can naturally take his place!"
"So, you defeated Doma?" Kyojuro asked.
Akaza nodded slightly. "Yes, it seems your Demon Slayer Corps has already gathered quite a bit of information about Upper Rank One, Two, and Three!"
Kyojuro didn't reply, but instead glanced at Tanjiro and the others beside him.
"If a fight breaks out later, you guys better find a way to run away first!"
Zenitsu was about to smile when Tanjiro interrupted him.
"No! Big Brother Rengoku, we can fight alongside you!"
Upon hearing this, Zenitsu placed his hands on Tanjiro's shoulders and began shaking him wildly.
"Hey! Are you kidding me?! We can't even beat the Lower Rank, and you want us to fight the Upper Rank?! Tanjiro! Do you have a death wish?"
Tanjiro was a little dizzy from Zenitsu shaking him, but he still insisted, "But we can't just let Big Brother Rengoku fight alone like this!"
"No!" A loud yet concise voice came from Kyojuro's mouth, " Zenitsu is right, you can't get involved in the battle against the Upper Rank. You belong to the future, not the present! So when the battle starts, you should..."
"If you try to run away first, I'll kill you first!" Akaza said with his arms crossed, seemingly quite interested.
"Eh? Eh? Eh!! Why did this happen?!" Zenitsu wailed.
This world is so unkind to him. He clearly didn't want to fight, so why can't he even run away now!
"No, don't worry about him. Just run away when a fight breaks out!" Kyojuro said seriously.
Before anyone could reply, Akaza slowly lowered his hands.
" Kyojuro! It seems you don't fully grasp the gap between us!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than they heard a loud bang, Akaza vanished from their sight in an instant.
When he reappeared, his fist was already pressed against the Nichirin Blade.
Time stood still for a moment, then an invisible wave of air suddenly erupted.
The wind blew Tanjiro and the others, who were standing next to Kyojuro, away.
Tanjiro quickly looked up after landing.
The clanging sounds echoed incessantly from the battlefield, yet Tanjiro could see no one fighting; only the flashes of swords and fists occasionally caused by their collisions.