An unprecedented, dazzling green light erupted from the Nichirin Blade.
The vast, untamed power of the Forest Breathing within him was unleashed without reservation.
With a deafening roar, the light condensed into two massive, intertwining dragons of pure vitality, their scales shimmering with life force.
They opened their maws and charged, a living torrent aimed squarely at the giant, poisonous butterfly phantom.
Tssssss!
A dense shower of venomous purple beams slammed into the dragons' bodies.
A terrifying, corrosive energy exploded on impact, staining their turquoise forms with deep violet charring.
The harsh, sizzling sound of life being eaten away by poison filled the air.
Shinichi's expression was grim, but his grip on his sword remained unwavering.
He pushed his breathing to its absolute limit, pouring more and more vitality into the attack.
The dragons, though wounded by the poison, became even more ferocious, their very existence a battle of life against death, vitality against venom.
In that brief, violent stalemate, their eyes met.
Through the chaotic storm of their clashing powers, Shinichi's gaze locked with the cold, dark purple vertical pupils at the center of the phantom.
And this time, something was different.
Perhaps it was the familiar, overwhelming surge of vitality from his full-power attack.
Perhaps it was his desperate calls finally piercing through the fog in her mind.
Whatever the reason, at that moment, Shinobu's inhuman eyes shrank violently.
"Uh…" Her body swayed, and the giant poison butterfly phantom flickered and distorted as her concentration wavered.
The relentless storm of venomous beams froze for a fraction of a second.
Shinichi's senses, honed to a razor's edge, caught the change instantly.
He saw the fleeting, agonizing flicker of confusion and pain in her eyes.
The dying embers of hope in his chest roared back to life.
"Shinobu, remember!" His voice cut through the hiss of the poison, carrying an unprecedented power.
"It's me, Shinichi! We trained together at the Butterfly Mansion! We fought Upper Ranks together! You said you would protect the Demon Slayer Corps, protect your sister, protect everyone! You also said… that we would protect each other until every last demon was gone!"
But the moment of clarity lasted only a heartbeat.
The flicker of emotion in her eyes was instantly swallowed by an even darker, more violent purple.
The cold, instinctive killing intent surged back, more intense than before, as if his words had touched a raw, forbidden nerve.
"You… shut up!" The hollow voice now carried a subtle, sharp edge of… anger.
The blade in Shinobu's hand began to glow, and with a flutter of her wings, the giant poison butterfly phantom nimbly dodged his wood dragons.
In a flash, she had circled around behind him, her cold gaze locked on his back.
Shinichi's heart sank.
'Damn it, that still didn't work?' His moment of hope had only provoked an even stronger counterattack.
He could feel the terrifying poison condensing on her blade, and the lingering numbness in his own body reminded him that he couldn't afford to hold back any longer.
This endless, defensive battle was pointless.
"There's no other way…" Shinichi's eyes turned sharp as knives.
All his worries, all his pity, were forcibly suppressed, leaving only the cold, hard determination to subdue her.
He took one last, deep breath, and the vast power of the forest within him truly, finally, exploded.
"If I can't wake you up with words, Shinobu, then I'll just have to beat you until you can't resist. I'm sure Lady Tamayo can help with your memory after I take you back!"
A rich, overwhelming vitality overflowed from every pore of his body.
For a moment, the abandoned factory itself seemed to respond.
Emerald green grass shoots, inspired by the life force, burst through the cracked concrete.
Withered weeds bloomed with impossible color.
All things began to revive, and wisps of life, so concentrated they were nearly solid, wrapped around Shinichi's blade.
He began to gather his power for the most profound technique he had ever mastered.
"Forest Breathing, Esotoric Art: Verdant World!"
Swish!!
In Shinobu's eyes, the man holding the sword vanished.
The world dissolved.
The abandoned factory was gone, replaced by an infinite, overwhelming expanse of green.
One, two, three… thousands, millions of densely packed green figures surrounded her, their forms shifting between trees, spirits and swordsmen.
She was no longer a predator in a factory; she was a single, fragile butterfly in a vast, primeval forest, feeling only her own insignificance.
And then, the boundless, overwhelming forest began to press in on her.
The shadow of the poison butterfly behind her seemed pitiful and frail against the green ocean of life.
Two completely opposite but equally terrifying forces—vitality and poison, life and death—collided in the center of the factory.
It was like the impact of two asteroids.
The shockwave ripped through the building, shattering the ground and twisting steel supports like twine.
But the stalemate lasted only a moment.
The boundless, infinite green simply swallowed the dangerous, deep purple.
Amidst the flashing chaos, Shinichi's turquoise blade suddenly appeared, striking her slender stinger with ferocious force.
A sharp, crystalline shattering sound rang out.
"I'm sorry, Shinobu! Time to go to sleep!" he muttered, clenching his free right fist.
It was already glowing with a tremendous, concentrated power, a green boxing glove of pure vitality aimed directly at the now-defenseless Shinobu.
Her blade shattered.
The poison butterfly phantom behind her shattered.
And along with them, the incoherent, jumbled memories in her mind shattered.
A floodgate broke.
Countless suppressed fragments belonging to the "Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho" surged forth.
'The scent of medicine in the Butterfly Mansion… her sister's gentle smile… the trusting eyes of Aoi and the girls… the burning sensation of mixing poisons… and… the figure who was always there, silently caring for her… his smile… his concerned eyes… his name…'
All the broken pieces slammed together, converging into a single, crystal-clear truth.
The cold, blank expression in her violet pupils completely shattered, replaced by a vast, unbelievable shock.
She stared at the figure before her, radiating a turquoise glow, the man she thought she had lost forever on the day her chest was pierced.
The man she thought she would never see again.
A soft, trembling voice, light and full of disbelief, called out.
"Shinichi…"
WHAM!!
An unstoppable green fist, already in motion and past the point of no return, slammed squarely into the pretty face that had just revealed its first flicker of astonished recognition.
CRACK!!! BOOM!!!
The sound of bone breaking and a body hitting the ground like a cannonball echoed through the ruined factory, kicking up a storm of dust and debris.
Shinichi stood there, his punching stance held firm, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"Wait…Did I just hear someone call my name?"