"Tanjiro's cooking has improved again. It feels even tastier than when we were at Headquarters."
"It's probably because the fish here were just caught."
Muichiro Tokito was also tasting the grilled fish. While he wasn't particular about food, he could still tell the difference between good and bad.
"Muichiro, Tanjiro has also been practicing Sun Breathing recently. You two can spar more. You have a deeper understanding of Breathing Styles, while Tanjiro has a better grasp of the forms. You can complement each other well."
"I will."
"Mr. Suzuki, is my current strength really enough to spar with the Mist Hashira?"
Tanjiro Kamado was a bit reserved. Although he had promised Kotetsu he would defeat Muichiro Tokito in the future, he still held great respect for the Hashira.
"If it were before, then of course not. But now, in terms of Sun Breathing, you two are beginners on the same level."
Just as Suzuki Makoto was about to get another bowl of rice, his expression suddenly turned grim.
"What's wrong?"
"Demons are attacking—from all directions!"
A single sentence made Muichiro Tokito and Tanjiro Kamado instantly draw their blades and go on alert.
"Their target is the Swordsmith Village! Have your Kasugai Crows return to the village immediately and sound the alarm—Tanjiro, although there are many demons attacking the Swordsmith Village, their presence is identical. Use your sense of smell to find the main body! Muichiro, I need you to go with him and kill that main body demon as fast as possible!"
Suzuki Makoto's own Kasugai Crow had been busy maintaining contact with Kagaya Ubuyashiki at Headquarters, so it was usually not with him.
"Yes, sir!"*2
The two boys had just accepted their orders when Suzuki Makoto had already drawn his sword.
As the ceiling shattered, the head of a demon with a deformed tumor on it fell down, but this demon didn't die. Instead, it regenerated into two demons.
This couldn't help but make Muichiro Tokito slow his pace, as it seemed there wasn't just one demon after all.
"Go on."
The Mist Hashira then realized there was no need to worry about Suzuki Makoto; the situation at the Swordsmith Village was more critical.
The two immediately rushed to their respective fronts, while Suzuki Makoto simply watched the two demons before him with interest. He then struck again, beheading them once more before they could even speak.
The reason he didn't deliver a killing blow was that this attack was a valuable opportunity. The strongest presence was right in front of him, while the other demons' presences were very weak and still some distance from the Swordsmith Village. This gave him some spare time to see what was going on with this demon whose presence was so tangled and mixed.
"This isn't enough, is it? Your presence has more than four strands."
Suzuki Makoto struck again, beheading the four demons before they could react and kicking them away from the guesthouse.
But this time, the demon didn't split further. Instead, two strands of its presence shot into the distance, and the four manifested demons were quickly absorbed into the body of one of them, consolidating into a single, complete presence. A demon with a stern, grim face, resembling an ancient divine statue, appeared before Suzuki Makoto.
"Hatred?"
Suzuki Makoto pondered. The character on the tongue of the main demon that had absorbed the others was [Anger]. Could this current one, Hatred, be... hatred born from extreme anger?
Now that was a little interesting. The four emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure—didn't that mean the opponent had three more ultimate emotional forms? Three more cards to reveal?
Casually deflecting an attacking wooden dragon, Suzuki Makoto's blade rose and fell, shattering the Hatred demon before him.
"Hey, where are the other forms? Hurry up and use them."
But the opponent was just regenerating normally, not switching forms.
"What the hell?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm saying, aren't you the Hatred demon that evolved from the Anger demon? What about the other three? Shouldn't the four demons of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure each correspond to a different form?"
"Nonsense!"
A huge sonic roar rushed towards Suzuki Makoto, but his shadow was no longer there.
"So, you only have this one Hatred demon form?"
The voice sounded from behind him. Zohakuten's expression began to twist, and a monstrous rage echoed in his heart, his power surging once more. He turned and threw a punch, but his entire arm instantly disintegrated.
"I'm asking you, do you have any other forms?"
Zohakuten opened his mouth, preparing to roar again, only to find his entire neck had been minced.
Suzuki Makoto looked at the opponent's eyes. Upper Rank Four—tch, what a huge gap compared to that Upper Rank Two. It made him think this was the newly appointed Upper Rank Six.
But... why did it seem like someone else was watching him from within those eyes?
With a cold expression, Suzuki Makoto crushed those eyes, then dodged the attack of six wooden dragons and began to ponder the reality of the situation.
It didn't seem like another personality of the demon, but rather some kind of... essence rooted deep within it.
What is the essence of a demon?
Suzuki Makoto wasn't in a hurry to kill this Upper Rank Four, who had already lost his interest. Instead, he started searching for the source of this feeling of being watched while dodging the opponent's attacks.
Essence, essence—could it be Muzan Kibutsuji?
A flash of inspiration struck his mind, and Suzuki Makoto instantly felt his guess was highly probable.
He immediately ceased all aggressive movements and instead focused intently on sensing the source of this gaze.
Ever since discovering during the fight with Upper Rank Two that a demon's Blood Demon Art could be related to space, Suzuki Makoto had been worried about how to find Muzan. After all, Yoriichi Tsugikuni had defeated Muzan head-on back then, but the fact that Muzan was still alive and causing trouble today made it clear that Yoriichi Tsugikuni had probably never managed to catch him again after that.
If the enemy was constantly hiding in that Blood Demon Art space, he would be truly helpless. Unless his master was here to open a path for him, he wouldn't be able to invade that demon's space even if it was just on the other side of a wall.
This was likely his only chance, the only opportunity to get a feel for that space. Even if he couldn't find the entrance, he had to at least be able to perceive the space itself.
Suzuki Makoto's defense-only strategy filled Muzan Kibutsuji's eyes with suspicion.
He was already on edge when Hantengu's first target turned out to be this man. How could he have so precisely chosen him?
He had thought this Upper Rank Four of his would be kicked to death like a stray dog on the roadside, but unexpectedly, the opponent no longer displayed that kind of power. Although he had suppressed Zohakuten earlier, he now seemed to be lacking stamina. Facing the high-speed assault of the six wooden dragons, he could only defend with all his might, unable to launch an attack.
Could it be... that this guy was an assassin type? Capable of unleashing extremely high damage in an instant, but with very poor endurance?
Muzan Kibutsuji thought back to his unexpected encounter with Yoriichi Tsugikuni—the man had indeed inflicted massive damage on him in an instant, but afterward, he seemed to lack the strength to even give chase, merely staying where he was.
Could this be the drawback of Sun Breathing?!
____
🔥 Announcing new story updates! 🔥
New Story: COTE: Natsuki Subaru Returns to School, but as the Purge King
✅ Gain early access to 40 chapters for all stories.
✅ Enjoy exclusive content and special announcements.
We have set new community milestones:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for all readers
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 additional chapters for all series!
👻 P - Walnutchan