Chapter 4: Passing the Final Selection at Mount Fujikasane
The Hand Demon's wild laughter came to a screeching halt, sounding like a duck being strangled by the throat.
It widened its bloodshot eyes, staring fixedly at Ryuji in disbelief, only to see him accurately stepping on its arm that was hidden underground, ready for a surprise attack!
That attack, which had been poised to strike, was pinned down so firmly it couldn't move an inch!
Immediately after, Ryuji used the force to leap, soaring into the air as if stepping on a spring; the blade in his hand tore through the air, turning into a straight cold light that pierced directly toward its throat!
"How is this possible?! This... this is impossible..."
The bloodshot veins in the Hand Demon's eyes almost burst. The extreme panic caused countless arms to instantly surge out from its body, wrapping frantically around its neck.
In the blink of an eye, its bloated neck thickened by two more layers, turning into a twisted shield composed of flesh and blood arms.
Crack!
A crisp and piercing sound of shattering exploded.
The nichirin blade held tightly in Ryuji's right hand actually let out a strange hum from within just a moment before striking the Hand Demon, and then it snapped into several pieces!
His pupils shrank suddenly. What was going on?
Could it be because of Stone Breathing?
That was it. This heavy power could indeed greatly enhance offense and defense, but it also placed extremely high demands on the weapon itself.
An ordinary nichirin blade probably couldn't withstand the combined load of this brute force and the Breathing Technique for long.
That's why the Stone Hashira's weapons are a spiked flail and a giant axe!
Damn it... of all times, it had to be now!
"Hahahaha!!! Brat, even the heavens are helping me!!"
Witnessing the broken blade fragments scattering in the air, the Hand Demon's mood instantly shot from Hell to Heaven, and it let out a shrill, wild laugh that almost overturned the forest.
That laughter was filled with the madness of surviving a desperate situation and a regained sense of overwhelming superiority.
At the same time, countless arms on its body lunged out like wildly dancing poisonous pythons, grabbing together toward the only remaining nichirin blade in Ryuji's left hand. As long as it seized this last blade, the swordsman before it would be like meat on a chopping block, left to its mercy!
Ryuji stared at the approaching forest of arms, his thoughts racing.
Retreat? No, his speed was already inferior to the opponent's. Once the distance opened up, this cunning demon would likely take the opportunity to flee.
He wasn't as familiar with the terrain as it was; he absolutely could not retreat!
At this thought, a ruthless determination rose in his heart.
Without hesitation, he released the remaining hilt in his right hand, clenched his five fingers into a fist, and poured all the strength of his body into his right arm along the torrent of Stone Breathing.
Without dodging or evading, he forced his way through the Hand Demon's incoming arms and smashed his fist ruthlessly into the Hand Demon's twisted, ugly face!
The moment he threw the punch, he felt a layer of power attached to his right hand, as if he had put an invisible suit of armor on his fist!
Boom!!!
Where the fist landed, more than half of the Hand Demon's head exploded. Flesh, bone shards, and a look of shock splattered in all directions!
"Uwaaaaah!!!"
The Hand Demon let out a shrill, distorted scream, while Ryuji was also sent flying back like a ragdoll by the immense recoil, slamming heavily into a tree trunk behind him.
A sharp pain from a cracked bone came from his left ribs; the Hand Demon's deathbed counterattack had struck heavily there.
However, in just half a second, Ryuji gritted his teeth and leapt up, supported by the tenacious vitality and combat instincts brought by his One piece Physique.
He quickly switched the nichirin blade to his right hand, his figure like a wounded but even more ferocious rock leopard, charging toward the Hand Demon whose head had not yet regenerated!
True fear finally appeared in the Hand Demon's remaining eyes. It wanted to flee, but the intense pain and sluggishness from regeneration made it half a beat too slow.
Now!
"Go... to Hell completely! You demon!!"
Ryuji roared, swinging his nichirin blade. In this instant, Ryuji once again felt that invisible force that had just been attached to his right hand spontaneously wrap around the nichirin blade.
Hum.
The blade let out a wail of being overburdened!
Ryuji had no time for deep thought; he simply raised the blade and struck, slashing toward the Hand Demon's multiply reinforced neck.
There was no expected resistance like cutting into tough leather; instead, it was as smooth as a hot knife through butter!
Swish.
The Hand Demon's expression of fear, resentment, and malice froze on its flying head.
The demon that had ravaged Mount Fujikasane for decades and devoured thirty-eight swordsmen—the Hand Demon—was defeated!
The slayer: the newly joined swordsman, Ryuji.
"Damn... it...! Damn it! Damn it all!!"
The Hand Demon's remaining head twitched violently as it crumbled. It stared fixedly at Ryuji, its voice hoarse and broken from extreme hatred and resentment.
"My body is breaking down, I can't stop it... To think that in the end, the person before my eyes is just a brat who just entered the Demon Slayer Corps! How hateful..."
Its low growl seemed like a curse squeezed from the depths of Hell. Every word was soaked in twisted malice, yet it couldn't hide the despair of reaching its end.
Ryuji clutched his left abdomen where the Hand Demon's heavy punch had landed. A dull pain and a sticky sensation came from between his fingers. The nichirin blade in his right hand followed in the footsteps of the first one; the blade was covered in cracks and shattered completely.
He dropped the hilt and gazed at the demon gradually turning into ash and dissipating, slowly exhaling a breath of turbid air mixed with the scent of blood and dust.
His emotions were somewhat complicated, but they were soon replaced by determination.
He knew that the Hand Demon's past might have been full of tragedy, knew that it was once human and perhaps suffered torture beyond common imagination.
But he was not Tanjiro.
He understood the Karma of falling into darkness, but he would never choose to forgive because of it.
A demon is a demon.
A being that devours the innocent, spreads fear, and tramples on life should be cut down, eliminated, and completely expelled from the human world.
Regardless of the past, regardless of the reason.
Simply because... he is human, and he naturally stands on the side of humanity.
[Ding! Successfully defeated a vicious pirate. Reward gained: 50 military merit points. Saved a Marine soldier. Extra reward gained: marine recruit training manual (Authored by Zephyr).]
As the System's cold mechanical voice echoed in his mind,
Ryuji was a bit stunned. The first fifty military merit points were fine; after all, this Hand Demon was much stronger than the demons he had casually smashed with his fists.
The more important thing was the reward that followed!
The marine recruit training manual authored by Zephyr.
This thing was no ordinary item; it was even more useful than some Devil Fruits!
Zephyr, that was Zephyr. From Admirals down to Captains in the Navy, more than half of them were taught by him.
He was a man second only to the strongest mentor in the world of the One Piece, Kaido!
He was a super teacher!
Moreover, he was a powerhouse of physical techniques, an Admiral who did not rely on a Devil Fruit.
The recruit manual he wrote would absolutely be the most suitable for a recruit's training!
For Ryuji, this was a reward like water for a fire. In the short term, it would be difficult to exchange military merit points for powerful rewards like Devil Fruits.
Therefore, physical techniques became his only choice in the early stages!
Coincidentally, what Zephyr excelled at most was physical techniques!
This wasn't some simple exercise manual; this was the key to becoming a powerhouse!
Thinking of this, Ryuji opened the manual in his mind. Just browsing the table of contents made his spirit tremble.
It didn't just contain how to temper the physical foundation; it even systematically explained how to scientifically stimulate and control Haki, and even... included the cultivation principles and introductory guidance for the Six Powers!
"As expected of the Marine Chief Instructor! Truly amazing!"
Ryuji murmured. At this moment, the burning, searing pain in his left ribs pulled him back to reality. He subconsciously took a deep breath, activating his Stone Breathing.
Immediately, he clearly perceived that, supported by the surging vitality of his One piece Physique, a tingling sensation came from the struck ribs. The bruising was quickly dispersing, and the torn muscle fibers were squirming as they began to reconnect.
Although it was far from instantaneous healing, this clearly perceptible recovery speed was already far beyond that of ordinary people, even exceeding that of average swordsmen who used Breathing Techniques for treatment.
This was the terrifying aspect of a Physique from the world of the One Piece!
As long as nutrition and rest kept up, one could recover as quickly as a monster. If one cultivated for some time and mastered Life Return... one could be lying there half-dead yesterday, eat a meal, and be able to fight with full stamina the next day!
"Cough, cough..."
A suppressed sound of coughing came from not far away.
Ryuji turned his head and saw Sabito struggling to prop up his upper body with his unbroken right arm. Under that broken fox mask, a pair of eyes were staring blankly at him.