Kanao nodded, not saying a word. She knew her master was angry. Kanao gently picked up Su Chen and ran toward the recovery rooms.
A moment later, Kocho Shinobu's chest rapidly expanded. The oxygen consumption for her Insect Breathing reached its absolute peak.
"Shinazugawa!" Shinobu yelled, her voice tight with suppressed anger.
But Shinazugawa was completely lost in the fight, his blood pumping. He didn't even hear her shout.
Shinobu said no more.
She emotionlessly raised her Nichirin blade. Its cold, thin glint made one feel a chill down their spine.
"Insect Breathing, Dance of the Centipede: Hundred-Legged Zigzag!"
The girl lightly tapped the ground with her toes. Instantly, it sounded as if a hundred footsteps echoed at once. A figure, suddenly faster than either the Wind Hashira or the Flame Hashira, rushed straight into the battlefield.
As the Insect Hashira, Shinobu's speed was one of the absolute fastest in the Demon Slayer Corps. In the blink of an eye, she was already inside Shinazugawa's close range.
Shinazugawa was slow to react. He only realized Shinobu was in front of him when she was already there. "Kocho, you're here—"
Before he could even finish his sentence, Shinobu's Nichirin blade had already pierced his kidney.
Shinazugawa: "???"
The wound wasn't deep, only about half an inch. But the numbness that followed made him suffer immensely. The poison's paralysis quickly spread, and the once-imposing Wind Hashira instantly lost all mobility. His limbs went stiff, and he fell from mid-air, landing face-first on the wooden floor.
Kyoujurou immediately stopped his stance and took two steps back. He met Shinobu's still-angry gaze.
Kyoujurou swore he had never seen such a 'terrifying' Kocho Shinobu. That expression of pure, cold anger... even for the fiery Kyoujurou, it sent a shiver down his spine. He couldn't understand it. Why was Shinobu, who was usually so gentle and lovely, acting so strange?
Kyoujurou stood rooted to the spot like a statue, not daring to move. Fortunately, Shinobu's target wasn't him. He noticed she silently glanced at him for just a second before looking away.
Shinazugawa, lying on the ground, tried to prop himself up with one arm. He stiffly raised his head, his face showing nothing but confusion and bewilderment. "Kocho, what are you doing...?"
Pfft!
Shinobu's small Nichirin blade lightly grazed the back of Shinazugawa's hand. Another wave of numbing poison struck. This time, Shinazugawa fell straight back to the ground, unable to even lift his head.
Shinobu bit her lip, suppressing her anger as she asked, "Shinazugawa. Who allowed you to fight in the Butterfly Mansion?"
Shinazugawa, paralyzed, didn't dare to utter a sound.
Shinobu raised her Nichirin blade again, her voice cold. "If anything happens to Su Chen, I will definitely ask Oyakata-sama to impeach you, Wind Hashira."
Kyoujurou quickly tried to de-escalate. "Hahaha, Kocho, Shinazugawa was just being impulsive..."
"Don't say anything, Rengoku-san!" Shinobu snapped, cutting him off. "This is a personal grudge between me and Shinazugawa now! Do you even know that the aftershocks of your fight just injured Mister Su Chen?! He got hurt protecting me! So no, I will absolutely not let Shinazugawa off!"
"What?" Kyoujurou's eyes widened. He pointed at the paralyzed Shinazugawa. "This guy actually hurt Mister Su Chen? That's unforgivable! How about I add two more slashes?"
Shinazugawa: "..."
Shinazugawa suddenly felt that this world was full of malice towards him. He was only holding a wooden sword! How could just the aftershocks injure Su Chen? Something wasn't right.
The more Shinazugawa thought about it, the more he felt something was off. Although he didn't like Su Chen, he had to admit the man had skills. Things shouldn't have turned out this way.
Could this be a cunning scheme by that Su Chen kid to mess with me?
Shinazugawa managed to move his head a bit, twisting his neck to look. He looked at Su Chen's original meditation spot and... he didn't see Su Chen.
Oh no! Was Su Chen really knocked down by me? Doesn't that mean I, Shinazugawa, have won?
But then he saw Shinobu's gaze, which looked like she genuinely wanted to stab him to death. Shinazugawa silently buried his head again. He decided he should say less, to at least keep his body intact later.
Shinobu's voice rang out again. "If anything happens to Mister Su Chen, Shinazugawa, you can prepare to lie in bed for two months!"
As the girl spoke, her eyes suddenly turned red. "Mister Su Chen wouldn't have been hurt! It's all because of you! I clearly said no fighting in the Butterfly Mansion! Shinazugawa, why did you still fight?! You also made the Butterfly Mansion so messy... this is the house my sister left me! Shinazugawa, I hate you to death!"
Shinobu's voice trembled slightly. Her nose was red, and her eyelashes were wet with glistening tears. Both of the things she loved most—Su Chen and her sister's home—had been desecrated by Shinazugawa. All of Shinobu's suppressed anger from the past few days erupted at once.
But just as quickly, Shinobu controlled her emotions. She fiercely wiped her tears with the haori her sister left her, then returned to her appearance as the Insect Hashira.
Shinobu could be sad for a while, but the Insect Hashira could not. Her sister was gone, and she was the owner of the Butterfly Mansion. Her sister had always said that those who cry cannot do anything well.
At this moment, Shinazugawa's face was almost buried in the ground. This time, he really was impulsive. He had violated the rules. He didn't dare to speak and could only let Shinobu vent her anger. But his kidney really hurt like hell. He grimaced, frowning, and seriously accepted Shinobu's criticism.
At this moment, Kyoujurou calmly said, "Kocho, since Su Chen is injured, you should go check on his condition first. Don't worry, I'm here. Shinazugawa won't be able to escape."
After hearing Rengoku's suggestion, Shinobu finally calmed down a bit. She took a deep breath, then slowly sheathed her Nichirin blade.
The girl forced a strong smile. "Then I'll trouble you, Rengoku-san. I'll go check on Su Chen first."
With that, Shinobu turned and walked towards the room Kanao had opened earlier.
Kyoujurou crossed his arms, watching her go. He said with a bit of a headache, "Shinazugawa... this time, you really need to apologize to Kocho properly."
Inside the Butterfly Mansion, in Su Chen's VIP ward.
After Kanao carried Su Chen in, Kanzaki Aoi hurried over. The two worked together, one checking Su Chen's injuries while the other assisted.
Creak—
The door to the ward opened from the outside.
As soon as Shinobu entered, she saw Kanzaki Aoi with a grave expression.
Aoi said nervously, "Lady Shinobu, I... I don't seem to understand Mister Su Chen's injuries."
Upon hearing this, Kanao's little face instantly turned pale. She asked worriedly, "Will anything happen to Mister Su Chen?"
"I don't know. Mister Su Chen's condition is very strange." Kanzaki Aoi's tense expression was mixed with confusion. "I just did a simple check, and... his body is no different from an ordinary person's. There's no injury. I don't understand why he's still unable to wake up."