In the woodshed behind Kyogoku House, Uzui Tengen kicked open the half-closed wooden door.
A cloud of dust rose, and through it, he immediately spotted Kamado Tanjiro curled up in the corner.
The boy's body was covered in grime, a deep gash split across his forehead, blood running down his cheek to his neck. He was unconscious—his chest barely rising and falling, the only sign he was still alive.
"Tch… they didn't hold back."
Uzui strode forward quickly, pressing two fingers to Tanjiro's neck. The pulse was faint but steady. No mortal danger—just severe bruising and a blow to the head that had knocked him out cold.
He bent down, ready to lift Tanjiro, when hurried footsteps echoed from behind him.
"Tanjiro!"
Tō rushed in, panting. The moment he saw Tanjiro's condition, his eyes went red.
"How is he, Uzui-san? Was it that demon? I'll go help sensei right now—I'll make them pay for what they did to Tanjiro!"
He turned to run out, but Uzui caught his arm firmly. "You're staying here."
"Why?!"
Tō stomped his foot in frustration. "Sensei's fighting an Upper Moon alone—he needs help! I can fight!"
"Staying here is helping."
Uzui's tone was uncharacteristically sharp.
"Tanjiro needs someone to look after him. He's unconscious. If no one watches him and something else happens, what then? Besides…" Uzui narrowed his eyes. "The brother of Upper Moon Six, Gyutaro, will show up soon. His scythes are coated in deadly poison. You can't handle that."
He pulled a flare from his robe and fired it into the sky—a streak of red light burst above the Entertainment District. It was the signal for Kocho Kanae to regroup.
"I'll go back up Tomioka. Kanae will arrive soon. You move Tanjiro somewhere safe and stay there. When we finish off those two demons, we'll come find you."
Tō looked down at the unconscious Tanjiro, then up at the red flare still glowing in the night sky. His clenched fists slowly loosened.
He knew Uzui was right. Tanjiro needed him more than the battlefield did. If he ran off recklessly and left Tanjiro unprotected, that would be the real mistake.
"Alright. I got it. Be careful out there!"
Uzui patted his shoulder and, without another word, dashed out of the shed. The hem of his silver-purple robe swept behind him as he vanished into the night, heading straight for Ume Branch Street.
…
Inside one of the brothel rooms at Ume Branch Street, the air was thick with splintered wood and dust.
The once-elegant furniture lay in ruins, walls marred with deep gashes.
Daki crouched against the corner, her black hair tangled across her face. Her left arm had been sliced clean off by Tomioka Giyu, black blood dripping from the wound; her right leg was slashed open, leaking more of that same dark fluid.
She stared up at him, eyes wide with terror, all the arrogance and cruelty from before completely gone.
Giyu gripped his Nichirin Sword tightly, the blade still faintly glowing with golden traces of Hinokami Kagura.
In just a few minutes, he hadn't given her a single chance to counterattack.
First, he struck with Flame Breathing, Third Form: Blazing Universe, severing her arm—the heated blade infused with Sun Breathing left her wounds unable to regenerate.
Then, he followed with Water Breathing, Twelfth Form: Raging Surge, forcing her back with crushing waves that made her insides churn.
Next came Wind Breathing, First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter, slicing her leg and crippling her movement.
Finally, Sun Breathing, First Form: Dance overwhelmed her Blood Demon Art completely.
"Stop! Please, stop! It hurts!"
Daki broke down, clutching her wounds and crying hysterically, her voice sharp and grating.
"Brother! Brother, save me! Please, come out and save me!"
Giyu's eyes narrowed, his stance shifting back a few steps, blade ready. He had been waiting for this exact moment.
In the records from his past life, it was written clearly: Daki and Gyutaro shared a single life. Only by severing both their heads at the same time could they truly be killed.
He hadn't aimed for her neck earlier—he'd been baiting out her brother, waiting for Uzui and Kanae to arrive so they could finish this in one strike.
"So noisy."
A gravelly voice rasped out from within Daki's body.
Her body convulsed violently as black mist gushed from her neck, coalescing into a tall, thin figure.
The newcomer's torso was bare, ribs jutting sharply beneath pale skin. His scarred face twisted into a grotesque grin, eyes as dark as bottomless pits.
In his hands, he held a pair of rust-stained sickles glistening with oily, black venom—the stench of poison and blood filled the room.
Upper Moon Six, Gyutaro, had arrived.
The moment he stabilized his form, his gaze locked onto Giyu. His expression changed—first surprise, then a sneer—as he took in Giyu's clean-cut face and upright posture.
Jealous fury flashed in Gyutaro's eyes. "You pretty boy—got a nice face, huh? Bet the girls all swoon over you."
Giyu frowned slightly and answered honestly, "No. I only know a few women."
To Gyutaro, the words sounded like a deliberate provocation.
His grip on the sickle tightened until his knuckles went white. "Don't act all pure! You think being handsome makes you special? I hate guys like you—pretty faces who think they're better than everyone else. I'll tear that face off and eat you alive!"
In the next instant, Gyutaro lunged.
His speed was easily twice that of Daki's, his twin sickles slicing through the air with a sharp whistle. The toxin coating the blades shimmered green under the lamplight, deadly and vile.
Giyu's pupils contracted. He didn't try to block; his body flowed aside like water, turning with perfect precision as his blade flashed forward.
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
A pale-blue arc of steel twisted toward Gyutaro's wrist—but Gyutaro snapped his arm and flung the blow aside.
The strength behind it shocked Giyu. The clash sent a jolt up his arm, numbing his fingers with pain.
"That all you got? You call yourself a Hashira?"
Gyutaro sneered, shifting his stance. His sickle reversed direction in a blink, hooking upward toward Giyu's waist.
Giyu leapt back, the blade skimming his haori and leaving behind a streak of black. The fabric sizzled as the poison burned a hole clean through.
He barely landed before Gyutaro rushed again—both sickles cutting down like a torrential storm, each strike aimed to kill.
Giyu was forced to defend, stepping lightly, parrying each swing that blurred before his eyes.
"Sun Breathing, Second Form: Clear Blue Sky!"
Golden light burst from his Nichirin Sword, and with a sudden pivot, he caught Gyutaro's opening. The blade slashed downward, radiating heat like the sun itself, striking the demon's shoulder.
Caught off guard by the sudden shift in breathing forms, Gyutaro tried to block—but not fast enough. The blade cut through his flesh, sending black blood spraying onto the floor, where it hissed and corroded the wood.
"What… what the hell is that?!"
Gyutaro's face twisted between shock and fury. He clutched the wound, stumbling back, his eyes wide.
His fingers trembled uncontrollably. Fear—not his own, but something deeper.
It was Kibutsuji Muzan's cells inside him. They were trembling in terror.
Giyu didn't answer. His breathing slowed, steady and deep, the golden glow along his blade flaring even brighter.
He could tell—Gyutaro was far stronger than Daki. His speed, power, and durability all exceeded those of an ordinary Upper Moon.
If it came to a one-on-one fight, Giyu could win, but he'd be gravely injured. Still, Uzui should be arriving any moment now. He just needed to hold out a bit longer.
"Don't think some weird breathing style makes you special!"
Gyutaro snarled, and dark mist began to swirl around his left hand.
"I'll show you our sibling's Blood Demon Art!"
The mist solidified into a short, jagged black blade. Now he held one sickle and one knife, his movements faster and sharper than before. His killing intent filled the room like a choking fog.
Giyu inhaled deeply, centering himself. Inside his body, four breathing styles intertwined—Water, Wind, Flame, and Sun—merging into one seamless rhythm. The Nichirin Sword gleamed with overlapping hues of blue, green, orange, and gold.
Just then, a familiar voice rang out from outside the shattered window.
"Tomioka! I've got your back!"
Uzui Tengen burst through the window, dual blades flashing as he dove straight for Gyutaro's back.