The train was traveling at high speed, though of course, it wasn't that fast; eighty kilometers per hour was probably its maximum.
Looking at the scenery constantly receding outside the window, Uchiha Nagi felt a bit dazed, as if he had returned to the era of his previous life, squeezed onto a green-skinned train with others.
By the time he grew up, something more advanced than trains, high-speed rail, had already appeared, yet he still took these slow trains when traveling to some very distant places.
Due to the recent news of the Ripper, many people dared not choose to travel by train, so the carriage was empty, with only Murata and Uchiha Nagi.
Uchiha Nagi was eating a bento he had bought before boarding, as was Murata.
"Flame Pillar Kyojuro Rengoku set off ahead of us to investigate the missing people, those mysteriously disappeared Demon Slayer Corps members, all of whom went missing on that 'Infinity' train," Murata said.
"According to the message from the crow, Flame Pillar Kyojuro Rengoku has already headed towards the 'Infinity' train. After that train had an incident, many people felt there was a problem, and it was sent back to the repair factory for overhaul..." Murata hadn't finished speaking when Uchiha Nagi interrupted him—
"Murata, look over there..."
"Hmm?"
Murata glanced outside and immediately froze, the items in his hands falling completely.
"This is...?"
Outside in the pitch-black night, two figures were moving rapidly, several times faster than the train.
One dark blue figure flashed past along the railway, barely visible in the dark night, like lightning.
The other figure was much more showy; the air around his body directly ignited, like a fireball, chasing closely behind the first figure.
"Is that—Flame Pillar Kyojuro Rengoku-sama?" Murata asked, astonished.
"Murata, you don't need to follow; I'll go," Uchiha Nagi flung open the window and jumped out.
"Ah... wait, Uchiha-sama~"
However, Uchiha Nagi had already vanished—
In the pitch-black night, the Flame Pillar's flamboyant flames were too obvious, making it effortless for Uchiha Nagi to track him.
Still, the crow on his shoulder dutifully flew in the sky, guiding the way.
"This way, southeast—"
"This way, southeast—"
Running at full speed, Uchiha Nagi could catch up, but the Ninja principle dictates not expending all stamina in unknown situations.
So Uchiha Nagi still pursued the Flame Pillar from behind at the safest speed. Although slow, it ensured he would have enough stamina and strength to engage in battle upon arriving at the scene.
But he wasn't slow; a Jonin's speed approached eighty kilometers per hour, roughly the same as the train... it was just much slower compared to the Flame Pillar's showy, high-speed rail-like velocity.
Flame Pillar Kyojuro Rengoku seemed to have noticed someone following him, but he was in a hurry to chase and deal with the opponent ahead, so he didn't stop.
By the time Uchiha Nagi arrived, the battle seemed to have mostly concluded, with a demon whose leg was broken, limping and holding an old woman hostage.
The Flame Pillar was holding a little girl, standing opposite it in a standoff.
"Come on, let's make a bet. Let's see if you can cut off my head first, or if I kill this old woman first..." The opponent probably knew that a Pillar had arrived and he couldn't escape, so he was a bit deranged.
"Hmm? It's you, that newly promoted Pillar, what was your name again?" Kyojuro Rengoku said with a smile.
"My name is Uchiha Nagi..." Uchiha Nagi was a bit speechless, because when the other party spoke, his eyes were completely looking forward... "Oh, right, you're very strong. I heard them say you've learned several Breathing Techniques and are a genius even more formidable than Muichiro. Let's deal with this fellow first, then we can catch up."
"Deal with me? You must be crazy; I've already killed the old woman~" The demon holding the old woman hostage said with a ferocious expression.
Because while the two of them were talking, he had already killed the old woman, and his leg had also successfully healed. The nichirin blade of the Flame Pillar opposite seemed to have a flame enhancement for damage, making the cut wounds very difficult to recover from. "Huh? What's wrong with you? You clearly let the person go yourself, so why do you say you killed her?" Flame Pillar Kyojuro Rengoku chuckled.
"I let the old woman go?" The dark blue-skinned demon looked down, only to find his hands empty.
"This...? When?"
Looking closely, the old woman had already scrambled quite a distance away. Looking at the two people in front, he only noticed a pair of red eyes.
"The moment you saw my eyes, you were already dead..." Uchiha Nagi said lightly.
The moment he saw Uchiha Nagi's Sharingan, he had already fallen into a genjutsu. The instant his hand moved, his neck had been severed by a flash of flame.
Everything he thought had happened was merely an illusion.
"What a special technique, faster than my blade," Flame Pillar Kyojuro Rengoku praised.
"You flatter me. Genjutsu is merely a minor art; your blade is faster. I still wish to learn about Flame Breathing from you," Uchiha Nagi said with a smile.
"No problem, hahahaha." Kyojuro Rengoku laughed heartily, "And your nichirin blade is also fire-attributed. If it weren't for our similar ages, I would have wanted to take you as my Tsuguko, hahahaha..."
"Damn it... damn it..." With a faint, unwilling cry, this demon with supercar speed slowly turned to ash.
It was the only one whose luck was so explosively good that it encountered two strong individuals before even being a Lower Rank—
The rescued old woman, tearfully, murmured to Flame Pillar Kyojuro Rengoku, "Twenty years ago, was it you who saved me and my daughter? The same hair, the same face..."
Kyojuro Rengoku coolly sheathed his blade, "Oh, you're probably talking about my father. Twenty years ago, he was also a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, but he's retired now."
"Grandma~" A little girl with glasses cried as she ran over and hugged her grandmother, "I'm sorry, Grandma, I shouldn't have said there are no demons in the world."
"No, that's good. For ordinary people, not encountering demons, not knowing about them, and living a full life is the best," Kyojuro Rengoku said with a smile.
The next day—
The morning sunlight shone on the train station; everything from last night, like a dream, had vanished, including that dark blue supercar demon.
"Here, these are for you all~"
The little girl and the old grandmother smiled as they handed things to Kyojuro Rengoku and Uchiha Nagi.
"Thank you for saving us last night."
"Ah, wonderful! I didn't eat anything yesterday and I'm still hungry. I'll buy everything then," Kyojuro Rengoku said happily.
"No, no, this is our thanks for saving us, no money needed," the old grandmother quickly said.
Watching the two sides, one wanting to give, the other wanting to pay, Uchiha Nagi rolled his eyes, unable to watch any longer, and directly said: "No need to be polite, we have money, a lot of money..."