"There's a monster in the mountains! A wild boar monster! It can even speak the human tongue!"
The young Team Member explained in a panic. His nichirin blade had long been lost, and fearing severe criticism, he insisted he had encountered a monster.
"Don't be in such a hurry. Let me ask you something first... Were you in the same Selection as Giyuu-san?"
Kiyokawa Izumi suddenly asked. Perhaps to him, this was the most lethal question.
If he were from the batch that was carried through, then there wasn't much more to say.
"I passed the Selection two years ago..."
The young Team Member shook his head and whispered.
Facing a Hashira whose personality he didn't know, he was naturally incredibly nervous.
'Then you can't even beat Piggy? You're an official member, after all, aren't you?'
Kiyokawa Izumi hesitated, left speechless.
"I'm going into the mountains to check the situation. Want to come along?"
"Let's move together!"
Kochou Shinobu naturally didn't believe the talk about monsters either.
Of course, she didn't think it was a Demon either.
If it were a Demon, this Team Member certainly wouldn't have escaped.
How could such loathsome creatures let an unarmed human go?
Therefore, what he encountered must have been a human as well.
Although she had already made this judgment, since they were already here, they still had to go into the mountains to check.
Having received a response, Kiyokawa Izumi didn't say anything more.
The two entered the mountains side by side.
The poor Team Member, after a slight hesitation, gritted his teeth and followed behind them, looking extremely alert... "It's right here!"
Passing through a lush Bamboo Forest, the Team Member following behind suddenly spoke up.
No one replied to him.
Kiyokawa Izumi closed his eyes slightly and listened carefully to the sounds around him—the sound of hard objects clashing came from nearby, very close.
"Is... anyone... there?"
Kiyokawa Izumi suddenly shouted, his voice spreading far and wide, seemingly echoing through the Bamboo Forest.
The rhythmic tapping sound disappeared at that moment.
"Hey! Who are you people? This is my territory!"
A figure charging headlong appeared from deep within the Bamboo Forest. Many emerald bamboos as thick as arms were snapped, and a muffled low growl, similar to a wild boar's, could be heard faintly.
He kept his center of gravity extremely low, appearing just like a beast.
Wearing a boar head mask with tusks, his exposed upper body was burly and robust, with visible bulging arm muscles.
A deerskin was draped around his waist for cover, and he wore crude boots made of bear fur on his feet.
He jumped suddenly, appearing before the three of them. The bamboo leaves on the muddy ground were blown away, leaving deep footprints.
With a wary and unfriendly gaze, he slapped his pectoral muscles with both hands.
"It's this wild boar monster! A talking monster... Ahhh! My nichirin blade!"
The unlucky Team Member cried out in alarm, his face filled with immense heartache.
His nichirin blade had been smashed out of shape, with multiple chips appearing on the smooth blade.
It's worth mentioning that Piggy only had one nichirin blade right now.
"It's a human, right?"
Kochou Shinobu said with a smile.
A normal human wearing a mask... the quality of the Team Members has really dropped significantly.
"You look like you're strong! Charge Headlong! Come and fight me to the death!"
A wild laugh followed. Piggy instantly sensed the unusual aura emanating from Kiyokawa Izumi.
It was very faint.
As if it didn't exist at all.
That's why he said he seemed strong.
His beast-like intuition allowed him to sense the uniqueness of the person before him.
Then, he charged straight at him.
Why were these people here? He didn't care, didn't mind.
He only knew that if he could defeat this guy, he would definitely become stronger!
"What an unreasonably sharp perception!"
Kiyokawa Izumi rubbed his temples with a bit of a headache.
Knowing that a certain black-hearted woman was not to be trifled with, he came to bully him instead.
Maintaining his Total Concentration Breathing, he had intentionally hidden his aura.
He hadn't expected that it wouldn't work in front of Piggy!
Piggy's current strength was decent.
At least, ordinary Team Members would definitely be no match for him.
'His physical constitution is excellent. Even without having encountered a Breathing Technique, he's groped his way through instinct and has now taken shape... Though a bit crude, he has clearly entered the door.'
Kiyokawa Izumi felt a bit tempted at this moment.
Compared to those good-for-nothing Team Members, the one before him was undoubtedly a good prospect.
In the original timeline, although his strength was okay, he didn't have any one-on-one highlight moments.
'Good chance!'
Piggy, jumping high, noticed that Kiyokawa Izumi was clearly distracted.
Naturally, he wouldn't let this opportunity slip by, swinging his nichirin blade down with both hands.
There was no technique to speak of; it was all based on instinct, like a beast hunting.
Kiyokawa Izumi's Sharingan quietly emerged. Full of mischief, he shifted his body slightly, easily dodging Piggy's full-force strike.
With a forceful hook of his right foot, just as he landed, the off-balance Piggy instantly tumbled backward.
An unexpected scene occurred.
Piggy, whose physical flexibility far exceeded that of an ordinary person, supported himself with one hand, used the momentum to roll, and stood back up.
"Red-Eyed One, you really are strong!"
Piggy said while snorting.
_________
Hurry up, time is running out and there's not much time left for the extra chapter