Holding the Line

"Stop!"

A sudden shout came from behind Tengen Uzui.

Zenitsu rushed over like lightning and stood in front of Aoi Kanzaki.

"If you have any problems, come at me. Don't hurt these beautiful girls!"

Behind him, Aoi Kanzaki's lips twitched involuntarily.

Even though Zenitsu was protecting himself, those words...

She felt it would have been Zenitsu hadn't come at all!

Looking at the person who had appeared before him, Tengen Uzui asked:

"Hey, you blondie, who are you?"

"Me?" Zenitsu sneered, "My name is Zenitsu Agatsuma!"

Tengen Uzui looked Zenitsu over.

That kid is really arrogant!

"Judging by your attire, you must be a team member, right? Do you know who I am?"

Zenitsu snorted coldly, "I don't care about you..."

Tanjiro rushed over and grabbed Zenitsu by the neck.

Zenitsu doesn't recognize Tengen Uzui, but he does.

After all, they had met once before at the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters.

Although he hadn't been a member of the Demon Slayer Corps for very long.

However, he was now well aware that Zhu was not someone to be trifled with!

Tanjiro whispered in Zenitsu's ear:

"That's Zhu! I've seen him at headquarters before!"

Zenitsu froze upon hearing this.

He has only seen Teiichi move when he is sober.

The other party is Zhu.

In other words, is it possible that the opponent's strength is the same as Mr. Kato's?

Thinking of the miserable life he had endured during this period, Zenitsu trembled all over.

Zenitsu turned to look at Aoi Kanzaki and the others behind him, and gritted his teeth.

No!

Heads may be severed, blood may flow!

Although we still don't know what happened to them.

But since Aoi and the others have entrusted their safety to me, I must protect them!

Zenitsu looked up at Tengen Uzui, his voice trembling as he said:

"So what if... you are a Pillar? I... I'm not afraid of you!"

"..."

Glancing at the outwardly fierce but inwardly cowardly Zenitsu Agatsuma before him, Tengen Uzui was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Hey, Usui, what brings you here?"

The familiar voice made Tengen Uzui turn around.

Bang!

"Hey! Tanjiro, he's attacked! He's attacked!"

Zenitsu screamed in terror.

I was both curious why I wasn't the one who got hit, and relieved that I wasn't the one who got hit.

Tanjiro saw it too, and was about to rush forward to argue when he was stopped by a single sentence from Tengen Uzui.

"Hey! Inosuke, you should call me master!" Tengen Uzui said angrily to Inosuke.

Huh?

Is this Inosuke's master?

Tanjiro blinked.

Having just finished training, Inosuke was hit on the head again, and he swayed for a couple of moments before regaining his balance.

Ignoring Tengen Uzui's words, Inosuke asked:

"Hey, Usui, do you have any more gunpowder? Give me some more!"

"What, have you run out of gunpowder?" Tengen Uzui frowned.

Inosuke replied, "There are still some!"

"We'll talk about it after you've used it! But you, have you been training diligently at the Butterfly Mansion lately?"

Upon hearing this, Inosuke immediately burst into laughter.

"Hahaha... This grandpa..."

Bang!

Tengen Uzui punched Inosuke on the head again.

"What do you mean, 'I'm the boss'? Show me some respect when you talk to me!"

Inosuke shook his head; normally he would have stubbornly stuck to his guns.

However, having just finished training, he was so exhausted that he didn't have much energy to argue.

"I've improved a lot lately, you just wait, it won't be long before I beat you!"

Hearing this, Tengen Uzui was finally somewhat satisfied, but he still said:

"It's still too slow! Kato's disciple became a pillar in just two months!"

As he spoke, Tengen Uzui glanced at the team members who were entering the room one after another.

After the last person entered, Teiichi was still nowhere to be seen. Tengen Uzui asked:

Where's Kato?

Tanjiro replied, "Mr. Kato is still training there and won't be back for a while!"

On the way back to the Butterfly Mansion.

Teiichi maintained his upright posture and walked steadily toward the Butterfly Mansion.

Kanon, who was standing next to him, was helpless and tried to brace herself on the ground with her wooden sword.

"Brother Teiichi, when do you think I'll be able to become a Pillar?" Kanon asked.

Teiichi comforted him, "Don't worry, your current strength has definitely reached the standard of a Pillar."

Kanon sighed, "But I'm not a pillar yet."

Teiichi glanced slightly at Kanon, "Is the position of the pillar important?"

"Of course it's important. What, Brother Teiichi, do you think the position of the pillar isn't important?" Kanon asked, slightly surprised. She turned to look at Teiichi.

Teiichi, then shook his head.

Before I became a pillar, I really wanted to be one.

However, I didn't really feel much about becoming a pillar afterward.

Moreover, since I left the team, these feelings have faded even more.

Ultimately, it's just an identity.

As long as you have the ability and know how to make good use of it, that's enough!

Whether it's a pillar or not doesn't matter!

After Kanon, Hanon lowered her head and pondered for a while before nodding as if she understood.

"That sounds like a lot of sense!"

And it seems that you really don't care about this identity, Teiichi- gege.

Otherwise, given your current situation, no one would object if you said you wanted to be on equal footing with the Master, right?

However, I still kind of want to become a pillar!

The two chatted all the way back to the Butterfly Mansion.

As soon as I entered the Butterfly Mansion Teiichi, my raised foot paused slightly.

Tengen Uzui was sitting on the platform under the eaves.

Has it come to this...?

With Teiichi thought, he put down his foot and continued walking forward.

Tengen Uzui naturally saw the two of them as well, stood up, and waved.

"Hey, Kato, you were right!"

When I see you again, it really will be time for me to wind Upper Rank!

Teiichi walked straight to Tengen Uzui's side and asked,

"How's the situation?"

Seeing that Teiichi got straight to the point, Tengen Uzui also became serious.

"This mission is in the Entertainment District of Tokyo."

I did try to investigate first, but I couldn't find any clues.

Then, Hinatsuru and the others were sent to investigate.

I never expected that they would disappear after only a few days!

They all disappeared on the same day!

You have to understand that Hinatsuru and the others were all excellent ninjas before; even if they couldn't beat Lower Rank, they could always run away.

This time, however, not even a message could get out.

So it's very likely that it's Upper Rank!

My purpose in coming to the Butterfly Mansion was to find a few female team members to continue gathering intelligence.

This time I'll be keeping a close eye on things from the sidelines.

I'd also like to ask you to come and keep things in order!

Teiichi vaguely remembered what Tengen Uzui had said earlier, but he hadn't expected the last Teiichi.

Teiichi his gaze on Tengen Uzui.

"You want me to go and keep watch?"