"Forest Breathing: Ninth Form—Eternal Cycle!!"
With Shinichi light shout, his Nichirin Blade plunged into the earth in an instant—hum!!
An invisible resonance rapidly expanded outward from Shinichi as the center and endless emerald-green light and aura instantly spread!
Wakuraba widened his eyes in shock, staring dumbfounded at the young swordsman before it.
From this youth, he sensed an abnormally terrifying presence—such pressure, such oppressive force! Unprecedented! It was almost like... almost like... almost like...
Like facing that Lord himself!
Ninth Form—Eternal Cycle!!"
Just from the name, one could tell Shinichi aimed not merely listen to nature breath but to commune with nature itself, making his body a vessel to unleash boundless vitality.
This was an overwhelming surge of life force, countless times more potent than Second Form·Vital Willow.
To execute this technique, Shinichi physical condition had to reach an extraordinarily terrifying state—precisely why almost no Moriki Descendants could master the Ninth Form.
Wherever the emerald light passed, withered trees sprouted fresh buds anew and even dried leaves on the ground regained a verdant hue.
The Demon Slayers parasitized by Wakuraba felt an intensely warm sensation, as if returning to the embrace of Mother Nature herself.
Under the rustling forest gaze, all parasitic flesh of Wakuraba within the squad members was instantly crushed by the torrential life force!
Without warning, Wakuraba body shrank drastically reverting to his original scrawny form before turning to flee!
There was no helping it—the power radiating from Shinichi truly instilled fear in him.
"Shinichi!! That Lower Moon is getting away!" a squad member shouted urgently.
Shinichi, who had been leaning on his sword with both hands, suddenly raised his head.
This time, however, his originally peach-colored right eye had changed—replaced by a crimson blood-pupiled gaze.
Fangs grew uncontrollably as black claws slowly extended.
A horrifying demonic aura began coalescing around Shinichi, though none of the distant squad members noticed his transformation.
"Escape? Do you really think it can escape!?"
Crimson blood vessels surfaced across Shinichi skin as scorching heat distorted the air around him.
"Blood Demon Art·Raging Blood!"
BOOM!!
His deerskin boots stomped the ground violently, shattering the stone tiles beneath into fragments!
Shinichi body shot forth like a cannonball, charging straight toward the fleeing Wakuraba.
Meanwhile, Wakuraba thought to himself.
'I can make it! Damn it! To be scared off by some brat still wet behind the ears! What humiliation—this must never reach that Lord ears! Still, at least I took out the arm of one of the Demon Slayer Corps' Hashira. That should suffice for my report!'
Wakuraba had absolute confidence in his speed, even believing he could outpace that Lord himself.
Yet his arrogance was soon brutally shattered. A searing heat abruptly flared behind him.
Before Wakuraba could turn to see, five razor-sharp black claws pierced through his chest like skewering a kebab.
The violent impact pinned it firmly to the ground.
Struggling, Wakuraba tried to lift his head, but a deerskin boot stomped down with brutal force, crushing half of his skull instantly.
Any onlooker would have gasped at the sheer brutality of the scene before them!
A frenzied crimson-eyed Demon was savagely tearing apart another terrifying Demon!
Shinichi grabbed one of Wakuraba arms, let out a guttural roar, and—CRACK!!—his razor-sharp fangs glinted coldly as he ripped the limb clean off in a spray of blood and flesh.
His scarlet eyes brimmed with murderous rage as he glared at the nearly obliterated Wakuraba beneath his foot.
"Lower Rank Four... and this is all you've got?"
If possible, Shinichi would have preferred not to resort to his Demon powers. But with his chest shattered earlier, he needed something drastic to recover quickly.
Thanks to his formidable Demon physiology, his caved-in chest regenerated in an instant.
The lingering toxins in his body were instantly vaporized by the boiling surge of his rampaging blood.
Wakuraba mangled head twitched, attempting to regenerate.
From start to finish, he hadn't even had the chance to speak before his skull was crushed.
All he could vaguely sense was an overwhelmingly powerful Demon presence.
Had the Lord sent another, higher-ranking Lower Moon—or even an Upper Moon?
But why would it attack one of his own?
Wakuraba wanted to demand answers from this sudden "comrade," but before his head could fully reform...
A Nichirin Blade entwined with verdant vines sliced through his neck in one swift motion.
"Now we have a Lower Rank Four who died even more pathetically than Rokuro. Hope Wakuraba has a nice chat with him in hell" Shinichi mused darkly.
Blood Demon Art: Life Drain!
Wakuraba human past unfolded before Shinichi eyes.
To his surprise, Wakuraba had once been a shinobi—a colleague of Uzui Tengen, no less.
But this shinobi had been utterly devoid of morals, driven by insatiable greed.
Not only had he plundered his mission targets, but he had even slaughtered the very employer who hired him.
When his own shinobi clan captured him for judgment, Wakuraba struck first, poisoning every last one of them with his specially crafted Withered Blood toxin.
Later, this dishonorable rogue set his sights on a wealthy household—only to be defeated by a more powerful shinobi they had hired. His limbs were severed and a humiliating shuriken scar was carved into his face before he was dumped into a filthy gutter.
On the brink of death, he encountered a nobleman passing by—a nobleman with crimson eyes...
****
Nothing worth sympathizing with—just a despicable waste of flesh.
But the man who appeared at the end of Wakuraba memories made Shinichi teeth grind.
"MUZAAANNNN!!"
With a sickening squelch, Shinichi yanked his Nichirin Blade from Wakuraba skull.
He retrieved a handful of wisteria poison pellets from the silver mirror at his waist, chewing them vigorously.
His crimson right eye gradually softened back into a gentle peach hue, his fangs and claws receding to normal.
Hah!
A muscular figure appeared soundlessly behind Shinichi.
Clad in extravagant attire, two massive Nichirin cleavers hung from chains across his back.
The forehead protector adorned with dazzling gemstones, with two opulent pendants composed of dozens of gems hanging from either side—the sudden arrival was none other than the Sound Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, Uzui Tengen!
Without even turning his head, Shinichi casually remarked.
"Flashy-san, you're late. This demon seems to be in the same line of work as you."
Uzui Tengen, unaware that Shinichi "Flashy-san" was meant teasingly, took it as genuine praise for his flamboyance. With a dramatic sweep of his hair, he declared.
"I never expected you to be this outstanding, Shinichi. As expected of a comrade I've taken under my wing—slaying a Lower Moon demon. It seems our Hashira ranks are about to grow stronger."
"Hey! Flashy-san, don't change the subject. This is your jurisdiction, isn't it? You're late, you know."
(To address some confusion about the Lower Moon rankings: If you wondering why Rokuro and Wakuraba, originally Lower Moon Two and Three, are referred to as two Lower Moon Fours in the story.
Actually, as mentioned at the beginning, this story takes place before the main timeline. At this point, Lower Moon One Ubume and Lower Moon Two Hairo haven't yet been slain by Sanemi and Kyojuro. In fact, the Wind and Flame Hashiras' storylines haven't even begun, which is why Rokuro and Wakuraba rankings dropped!)
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