The red fields of Kanezuka Village smelled like rust and death.
The corpses were long gone, but the stains remained—dark lines across soil and stone, twisted into sigils and spirals. Something had happened here. Something evil.
Sasuke walked alongside Sanemi Shinazugawa, the Wind Hashira, whose narrowed eyes scanned the treeline.
"Quiet," Sanemi muttered. "Too quiet. Watch the wind."
A white-masked girl approached them from a broken shrine up ahead. She wore the light armor of the Kasugai Crow Division and moved with practiced steps.
"I'm Kasuri. Recon unit. Three survivors confirmed. All hiding. One is lured into the shrine. It's bait."
Sasuke's hand shifted to the hilt of his sword.
Sanemi cracked his neck. "Let's split. You take the shrine. I'll sweep the houses."
"Understood."
The shrine felt wrong.
Not cursed—designed.
Its walls were covered in strange handprints, claw marks, and dried blood. Sasuke found the child within minutes, bound to a broken altar. Alive. Breathing.
He stepped forward to cut the ropes—
And the floor exploded.
Stone erupted. Wood shattered.
A massive shape burst from below the shrine—a demon with a skeletal frame, long horns, and eyes that glowed like twin lotus blossoms. Its skin pulsed with a pale pink aura, and its limbs were too many.
"Another one already?" the demon hissed, serpentine voice stretching. "You're early. Good. I was getting bored."
Sasuke's blade was already drawn.
They clashed instantly.
Shadow Moon Breathing: Second Form – Eclipse Waltz.
Sasuke's strikes wove through the demon's limbs, nicking flesh, disrupting its charge. But the demon didn't slow. It adapted, regrew, and smiled wider.
"You're no ordinary Slayer," it hissed. "That mark on your face—it pulses with something deep. Old."
Sasuke didn't respond. He moved again, faster, striking low—then stepping aside as a barbed tail nearly impaled him.
The shrine crumbled around them.
Still, he pressed forward.
Outside, Sanemi faced a pair of blood clones—weaker duplicates of the main demon, but still strong enough to draw blood.
He sliced through them with wind-laced strikes.
"Gale Slash!"
"Crimson Cyclone!"
When the last fell, he looked toward the shrine—and saw a pulse of violet light shoot from its roof.
"…Tch. What's that brat doing?"
Inside, Sasuke's blade gleamed.
His footwork shifted—stance lowering, breathing sharp.
Shadow Moon Breathing: Third Form – Hollow Reflection.
He vanished—reappearing behind the demon and plunging his blade deep into its spine. The demon shrieked, but spun wildly, tail slicing the air. Sasuke narrowly ducked and was flung across the shrine, crashing through a wooden beam.
Blood dripped from his temple. But he stood again.
Breathing steady.
Eyes focused.
The demon laughed.
"You don't scream. You don't panic. You're just… cold."
Sasuke stepped forward.
"No. I'm clear."
His blade glowed faintly in the moonlight—its edge darkened by his evolving style.
Shadow Moon Breathing: Fourth Form – Piercing Eclipse.
With one step, he drove his sword into the demon's chest—past bone, through its core.
The creature howled, limbs spasming, eyes rolling back.
Then came the black flame.
It wasn't fire in the traditional sense—more like shadow devouring light. The demon's form twisted, turned to ash.
And then… silence.
Sanemi arrived seconds later, surveying the scene.
The boy was unharmed. The demon—gone.
Sasuke stood quietly, his chest rising with calm breaths.
Sanemi raised an eyebrow. "Didn't think you had that in you."
"I had to," Sasuke said simply.
Kasuri approached, bowing. "Mission complete. Three survivors rescued. Upper Rank threat neutralized."
Sanemi let out a low whistle. "Kagaya's gonna want to hear about this."
Sasuke turned toward the village.
The mark on his face still pulsed gently.
But he didn't feel the same.
Not quite.