Kokushibo raised his head slightly, and anger appeared in his six eyes.
"That Akaza, he clearly said he wanted to challenge me, but he was killed by humans!"
Opposite Kokushibo, Gyomei Himejima, Muichiro Tokito, and Tanjiro all had serious expressions, not daring to relax their vigilance in the slightest.
They all had many small wounds on their bodies, left by Kokushibo's swordsmanship.
They had finally witnessed the strength of Upper Rank One, the strongest demon under Muzan.
Turning his own bones and flesh into indestructible blades, this was Kokushibo's Blood Demon Art. It was simple and direct, but combined with his Moon Breathing, it possessed powerful destructive force.
Kokushibo expressed his grief over Akaza's death, and then turned his head to look at the three.
The cloud and mist patterns on Muichiro Tokito's face, the rock patterns on Gyomei Himejima's wrist, and the flame patterns on Tanjiro's forehead.
"So there are mark swordsmen in this era as well? What a pathetic group of people!
But this feeling... all three of you can see that transparent world. It seems that the Demon Slayer Corps has really obtained a lot of excellent talents this time. No wonder they dare to challenge Muzan-sama."
Gyomei Himejima picked up his flail, and the chain collided, making a clanging sound.
"Our ambition to kill Muzan has nothing to do with strength! It's precisely because you can't understand this that you lost your human heart and became a demon!"
Kokushibo held up that strange katana covered in flesh and eyeballs, and said slowly, "The human heart is nothing more than something without any meaning."
Tanjiro showed a dissatisfied expression, and just as he was about to speak, Muichiro Tokito suddenly spoke.
"Well, it's normal that you don't understand. The moon and the sun are ultimately different. The moon can only reflect the light of the sun, and can never shine on its own like the sun."
Muichiro Tokito had some kind of talent. This often dazed child seemed to be particularly good at poking at someone's sore spot.
Kokushibo had abandoned the name Tsugikuni Yoriichi and the status of a samurai family, abandoned everything human, and abandoned his entire life to become a demon.
But the only thing he couldn't let go of was his obsession with his younger brother, who was as dazzling as the sun.
Even though they were brothers who were conceived by the same mother and born into this world at the same time, Kokushibo couldn't even understand his younger brother.
Just like the breathing techniques that the two brothers had mastered, Moon Breathing, no matter how strong, was only created by imitating Sun Breathing, and couldn't be compared to the latter at all.
Just like Muichiro Tokito said, the light didn't belong to the moon. The moon was just reflecting one or two rays of light from the sun.
Although his expression didn't change, the three immediately sensed the change in Kokushibo's aura.
"Moon Breathing: First Form: Dark Moon, Evening Palace!"
Kokushibo approached his descendant, who had a venomous mouth, in the blink of an eye, and slashed over with his sword.
In the area where the blade slashed, countless crescent-shaped slashes followed closely, which was the special thing about Kokushibo's Moon Breathing, a bizarre swordsmanship that made it impossible for the opponent to defend.
"Mist Breathing: Third Form: Scattering Mist Splash!"
Muichiro Tokito's blade dragged a mist, meeting Kokushibo's attack.
The crescent slashes flew into the mist, stirring up bursts of ripples, but finally disappeared without a trace. However, several wounds still appeared on Muichiro Tokito's arm and shoulder, and even a shallow sword mark appeared on his face.
Kokushibo's six eyes widened slightly, and he praised, "As expected of a descendant of my clan. Even though the bloodline has long been diluted, you are still so excellent. A flowing yet powerful fighting technique, worthy of praise!"
Muichiro Tokito said in a cold voice, "I have nothing to do with you, who has become a demon!"
"Mist Breathing: Second Form: Eight-Layered Mist!"
While speaking, Muichiro Tokito's blade continued to spread a hazy mist, and several slashes fell towards Kokushibo together.
Kokushibo's praise for Muichiro Tokito was indeed sincere. It was truly admirable that he could master such a skilled swordsmanship at this age.
But that didn't mean he could compete with him, who had been studying swordsmanship for hundreds of years.
Just as Kokushibo was about to swing his sword to counterattack, a fierce wind rang out in his ears, and a huge flail smashed over fiercely.
In the state of the Transparent World, Gyomei Himejima had seized the best opportunity, but facing the two-sided attack, Kokushibo didn't panic at all.
"Moon Breathing: Fifth Form: Moon Spirit Calamitous Eddy!"
Without even seeing Kokushibo swing his sword, a circle of slashes spread out.
Muichiro Tokito's slashes were bounced back, and even Gyomei Himejima's flail was knocked away.
Crack... crack!
Kokushibo looked at the sword in his hand, and saw that the cracks on the blade had directly spread out, and the blade had shattered into pieces.
Gyomei Himejima's weapon was a hand axe and a flail connected by a long chain. Including the chain, they were all made of refined sunlight iron.
The sword made of Kokushibo's own flesh and blood naturally couldn't withstand that heavy blow.
Just then, Tanjiro descended from the sky, slashing down with his sword.
"Hinokami Kagura: Beneficent Radiance!"
In an instant, Kokushibo's sword regenerated to its original state, and he raised his sword to block Tanjiro's blade entwined with flames.
But at the moment when the blades intersected, the pupils of Kokushibo's six eyes shrank at the same time.
Because the blade in Tanjiro's hand was actually slowly turning red from its obsidian-like color.
And as the red color spread across the blade, the blade also began to sink into his own blade.
"Crimson Blade?!"
Kokushibo only uttered one word, and Tanjiro cut off his sword, slashing at his chest.
Kokushibo took a few steps back, staring intently at Tanjiro's blade, which looked like it had just been taken out of a furnace.
Four hundred years had passed, and he had finally seen someone use the Crimson Blade again.
On the other side, Gyomei Himejima rubbed his hand axe on a stone hanging on his waist, and then the axe blade also began to turn red.
Muichiro Tokito also rubbed his katana against a stone, and also turned his sword into a Crimson Blade.
Apart from Tanjiro, even Kyojuro Rengoku, who used Flame Breathing, could only use the Crimson Blade sporadically.
So Drake had created these Crimson Stones for them. As long as they rubbed the blade, they could activate the natural energy in the sword, reaching a temporary Crimson Blade state.
Although the effect couldn't compare to the Crimson Blade that Yoriichi Tsugikuni formed on his own, it was enough for use in battle.
And because of the special nature of Sun Breathing, Tanjiro was the only one who could stably form a Crimson Blade.
Kokushibo didn't look at Muichiro Tokito, who had angered him, but instead looked at Tanjiro.
Kokushibo's memories suddenly awakened. Four hundred years ago, he had complained to Tsugikuni Yoriichi that there were no swordsmen in the Demon Slayer Corps who could reach the realm of the two brothers, and he was afraid that their swordsmanship would be lost.
But Yoriichi Tsugikuni, who usually didn't have any expression, had smiled at that time.
"Brother, you think too highly of you and me! You and I are just two passersby in the long history of mankind. Infants with talents far surpassing you and me may be being born somewhere in this world.
Presumably, they will also reach the same realm as you and me. No need to worry, you and I just need to let nature take its course and quietly await the end of our lives! Don't you think this is a very pleasant thing, brother!"
The veins on Kokushibo's face bulged. After four hundred years, Yoriichi's words had still come true. The boy who had inherited everything from him was standing in front of him, while he had become a demon, leaving nothing behind.
Kokushibo tore open his damaged shirt, revealing his strong body. And the sword that had been cut off by Tanjiro regenerated again, turning into a distorted sword with branches.
"Come on! Let me put an end to this disgusting everything!"
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