Disclaimer: Demon Slayer is not mine. This fanfic is a translation.
Enjoy Reading!
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Tengen, who was kneeling beside Sanemi, turned his head in surprise at him.
His face showed credulity, but then a thought occurred to him, and he smiled.
He gave Sanemi a thumbs up. His headdress gem swayed with his movements.
"What a flamboyant challenge~"
"I have high hopes for you." Tengen nodded with a serious look.
"Huh?"
Sanemi glanced at him suspiciously but didn't pay much attention.
Since he was put in charge of a remote area and had a bad temper, he had tentative relationships with the ordinary swordsmen under his command.
Which ultimately led to him being behind some gossip around the Corps.
And recently, Sanemi had found out from his crow about what happened.
There was news about the appearance of Upper Moon One in Tokyo.
Then there was the latest event of the Swordsmith village being attacked by demons, but there were no reports of casualties.
He didn't know the details that two Upper Moons launched the attack.
Kagaya was prepared to formally announce their victory at this meeting.
Well, after he watched the duel since Tanjuro agreed with Sanemi's request.
---
The other Hashiras stepped aside and sat together with Kagaya. The two swordsmen were standing in the middle of the courtyard.
Since Shinjuro was still the acting Flame Hashira, he fulfilled the request by Oyakata-sama to come to this meeting.
The other Hashiras felt relieved seeing that Shinjuro had regained his spirit, although they do not know how it happened.
"We are all sincerely happy to see you back, Shinjuro-dono." Kagaya said warmly.
'Everyone's been getting quite flamboyant!'
Tengen glanced at Shinjuro; his hand rested on his chin with his colorful polished nails reflecting light. He nodded with satisfaction.
'Of course, the most flamboyant one is me!'
But his eyes settled on Giyu, who was staring at his face intently. Tengen raised his eyebrow.
"Tomioka-kun? Why are you staring at me so strongly?" He touched his forehead in confusion.
The gems on his headdress sparkled in the sunlight as he moved.
'Could it be that—I'M TOO FLASHY TODAY??'
Tengen turned his face aside while rubbing his head sheepishly.
Giyu just stared at Tengen's face. His expression was shocked, though most people couldn't tell; after Tengen noticed his staring, he moved his gaze away and focused on the two men in the courtyard.
He was still thinking about the figure he had seen last night.
---
"Take this!"
Sanemi threw one of the wooden swords to Tanjuro. He held his own wooden sword in front of him with both hands.
Tanjuro reached out and caught the thrown sword and held it tightly.
His eyes took in Sanemi's wild appearance.
'If I don't beat him dominatingly, he might not listen when I guide him to the Transparent World...' Tanjuro felt his mouth twitching at such a headache.
He slid into his own stance, steadying his own grip on his sword.
Tanjuro and Sanemi stared at each other, as if waiting for a signal to start.
Sreak...
Bam!
Sanemi twisted his foot, tensing his whole body, and quickly raised his arms. He burst forth like a ball firing from a cannon.
In an instant, spiraling blades of wind rotated and wrapped around him. Generating power beyond normal human means.
Remembering his last encounter, Sanemi decided to abandon the sneak attack and charge head-on!
He chose to execute an attack that was almost impossible to defend against.
—Rapid Thrust!
Sanemi lowered his center of gravity as the light green figure swept across the courtyard. His smiles looked extremely ferocious combined with his scarred face.
However, despite the speed with which Sanemi executed his attack, a foot stretched out from his side and stepped on the blade spine.
Sanemi's pupils contracted slightly as he followed the foot up—
It's Tanjuro!
The man has seen through the intent of Sanemi's thrusting attack by Transparent World.
He was confused for a second...
...because it reminded him of an old friend who kept jumping on the Tenshu Pavilion.
As if moving from muscle memory, again, Tanjuro took a step to the side and forward toward the attack.
Right before Sanemi's attack landed, Tanjuro raised his foot and stomped down hard on his sword!
)—Ninpou!—(
)—Mikiri Kaunta!—(
(tr. Mikiri Counter)
Bang!
With the sudden force pressing down on the blade, even Sanemi could not help but be thrown off his balance.
He staggered.
Sanemi felt a sense of foreboding.
His center of gravity has shifted again. Just like last time.
His pupils shrank as adrenaline kicked in. Blood flooded his eyes and spread wildly in the whites of his eyes. His hands tighten their grip on his blade.
He hasn't had his revenge yet!
He would not let it end this way!
"Hiss—"
A wisp of steam suddenly filled Sanemi's vision, knocking him out of his rage.
He had no time to think anymore.
Thump! x3
With three whooshing sounds of wooden swords cutting through the air.
Sanemi's legs were struck hard by Tanjuro, causing Sanemi to completely lose his ability to maintain his balance.
Then he felt his vision spin.
With a bam, Sanemi's whole body slammed into the ground!
"...Guh!!"
His gaze just registered the blue sky in disbelief. Confusion filled his very being. His mind was working overtime to process whatever happened to him in that clash.
His head was buzzing loudly.
It was the same ending as last time.
It's that feeling again.
Sanemi stared blankly at the sky. His hold on his sword never loosened.
In both of his encounters with Tanjuro,
Even before the battle began, he felt that his moves and intention had already been seen through in advance.
Why is this happening?
How is this happening?
Sanemi didn't know.
"Wha...?" Tengen looked at Tanjuro with a suspicious expression.
He narrowed his eyes as he sat up straight as he replayed the duel in his mind.
He had expected Sanemi to lose. After all, Tanjuro looked much healthier than the last time they met.
What surprised Tengen wasn't that.
If his eyes weren't tricking him, he saw... a trace of 'Ninpou' in Tanjuro's technique.
"Beside the Uzui family... are there still ninja clans around?" He murmured to himself.
The other Hashira looked at the duel with various expressions.
Shinjuro crossed his arms as he felt his mouth twitch slightly. This duel was much more ruthless than when he was challenging him.
Obanai looked back and forth between Sanemi and Tanjuro in surprise. This is the first time he actually sees Tanjuro fight.
"Amane-dear."
Kagaya turned his head to Amane, who sat beside him.
"Yes." Amane nodded as she watched Tanjuro helping Sanemi up. "The Wind Hashira has lost." She confirmed.
"I see."
Kagaya didn't sound surprised by the result.
"Don't be discouraged, Sanemi-kun," Kagaya comforts his subordinate.
"Being able to realize your weakness is already good enough."
Sanemi just knelt down on the ground and lowered his head in shame.