After the train came to a complete stop, led by Takeru, everyone quickly jumped off towards a nearby open area.
Soon, a man appeared before them. He had pinkish short hair, golden pupils, pale skin covered in deep blue tattoos, blood-red nails, wore a purple-red short-sleeved shirt, and had prayer beads around his ankles.
'This pressure and intense demonic aura... Is this an Upper Moon?' Rengoku thought to himself once Akaza's figure appeared.
"How interesting. It seems you all knew I was coming," Akaza said, looking at Takeru and the others who were poised for battle with a look of interest.
As for fear, since becoming a demon, Akaza had only felt it in the presence of Muzan. He hadn't felt it from anyone else.
As Akaza spoke, Tanjiro and Inosuke felt an immense pressure. Even Yukino and Sylphin felt as if they were seeing a scene of human suffering, sensing the aura of countless corpses emanating from him.
Then, Akaza looked curiously at Takeru and the others. Unlike Rengoku, Tanjiro, and the rest, he couldn't sense the unique energy of this world from Takeru's group.
Thinking this, he immediately concluded Takeru and his companions were weak. And weak humans were exactly the kind he disliked. With that thought, he explosively charged straight at Takeru.
By the time Tanjiro, Yukino, and the others reacted, his fist was already less than a meter away from Takeru.
"Too slow," Takeru said lightly, simultaneously throwing a punch of his own.
Boom!
With the sound of the collision, a figure was sent flying backward at an incredible speed. The one flying back was Akaza.
This left Rengoku, who had been about to move to assist, frozen in place.
This result was completely unexpected for him. Moments ago, he had been inwardly criticizing Takeru for being reckless, but now it seemed he was the one ignorant of the true power involved.
As for Yukino, Tanjiro, and the others, they were still in a daze, unable to fully comprehend what had just happened in that instant.
Akaza, after being sent flying over ten meters, quickly used his feet to skid to a halt, gouging two-meter-long trenches in the ground before finally stabilizing himself.
"That was truly interesting. Are you really human?" After stopping, Akaza gave a slight twist, and his broken arm instantly healed. He looked at Takeru with a flicker of excitement.
"Of course," Takeru replied with a light laugh.
"I am Akaza. I have a wonderful proposal for you. How about becoming a demon? You are strong. But as a human, you will never reach the pinnacle. You will be bound by a limited lifespan. You will age. You will die. So... become a demon!"
"That way, you could train for a hundred years, two hundred years as you wish. You could become even stronger!" Akaza extended his hand towards Takeru.
"Haha! You want me to become a pitiful rat hiding underground like you all? And from what I see, all those long years haven't made you seem particularly strong!" Hearing Akaza's words, Takeru couldn't help but cover his forehead and laugh mockingly.
It was true that Takeru currently hadn't overcome the limits of lifespan. By his own estimation, he could probably live around 150 years.
However, having entered the Reincarnation Space and being far ahead of others, future visits to special worlds or the acquisition of unique powers would make breaking the lifespan barrier effortless.
Rengoku, hearing that Takeru wasn't tempted by Akaza's offer of longevity, let out a sigh of relief.
"Takeru, leave the rest to me. I appreciate your earlier assistance," Rengoku said seriously to Takeru.
"No, Rengoku. I hope you won't intervene in the upcoming fight. Of course, that's unless I can't hold on. But as long as I'm not in any real trouble, I'd prefer you not to step in. Is that okay?" Hearing Rengoku, Takeru shook his head and stated firmly.
"Are you sure you'll be alright, Takeru?" Rengoku asked hesitantly.
"Absolutely. Also, Yukino, Sylphin, focus on protecting yourselves. And you, Tanjiro." Nodding at Rengoku, Takeru looked back at Yukino and Sylphin, before finally fixing his gaze on Tanjiro, who was wrestling with his thoughts.
"Understood," Yukino and Sylphin replied without further ado, simultaneously taking a few steps back.
Hearing Takeru's words, Tanjiro glanced at Nezuko beside him. After a moment's hesitation, he nodded, pulling Nezuko and Inosuke back to stand near Yukino and the others.
From Akaza, Tanjiro sensed a concentration of malevolence greater than any demon he had encountered before. And Akaza's explosive charge earlier made it clear that he was also the strongest demon Tanjiro had ever faced.
Takeru paid no mind to Tanjiro's internal conflict. Seeing everyone obediently retreat, he nodded in satisfaction, then looked back at Akaza.
Upper Moon Three, Akaza, was undoubtedly the perfect training partner (punching bag) for him.
"Come on then. Let me see the strength you've honed over all those years." Takeru beckoned lightly, a clear provocation.
"Is that so? Then I'll show you!" Faced with Takeru's provocation, Akaza was angered but didn't lose his composure. Instead, he quickly assumed a fighting stance.
"Technique Development: Destructive Death: Compass Needle!" As Akaza took his stance, a twelve-pointed snowflake pattern manifested on the ground beneath him, centered on his position.
This formation reacted more strongly and accurately the greater the opponent's fighting spirit. However, it couldn't detect opponents with no fighting spirit or those who concealed it (Transparent World).
Yet, even with his technique deployed, Akaza couldn't sense a trace of fighting spirit from Takeru, causing him to frown.
Nevertheless, confident in his own power and the monstrous regenerative abilities of a demon, he showed no sign of worry.
He then charged at Takeru again, closing the distance in an instant. Two fists slammed into Takeru's body.
Wanting to test his opponent's offensive power, Takeru didn't even bother to defend, allowing the two punches to strike his face. The tremendous force pushed Takeru back several steps. Seizing the opportunity, Akaza followed up with two kicks, sending Takeru flying back about two meters.
"Takeru-san!" Seeing this, Tanjiro cried out in worry, his hand tightening on his sword hilt. Beside him, Nezuko's nails unconsciously lengthened, ready to attack.
Yukino and Sylphin also had magical power swirling around them, prepared to unleash spells for support at any moment.
"Why isn't Takeru fighting back?" Only Rengoku frowned deeply. Although Akaza's movements were fast, they were similar in speed to his initial surprise attack.
Logically, if Takeru could react once, he should be able to do so again. So why wasn't he attacking?
"Hmm? What's wrong? Was that first hit just luck?" Seeing Takeru get kicked away so easily, Akaza paused, looking at him mockingly.
"No. I'm just feeling a bit disappointed, that's all," Takeru replied calmly, brushing dust off his clothes.
"What do you mean?" Akaza's brow furrowed.
"Nothing much. It's just that you can't even break my defense. You're a bit too... worthless," Takeru stated with clear disdain.
Hearing Takeru's words, Akaza's expression instantly darkened. With another explosive burst of speed, he charged at Takeru once more.
However, having roughly gauged his opponent's offensive power, Takeru wasn't planning to let himself get beaten around too much this time. He moved forward to meet Akaza's assault head-on.