Kael took his nichirin blade from Shinobu Kocho and began explaining to the group of three.
"These siblings are Upper Rank Six of the Twelve Kizuki. However, the sister's strength hasn't reached Upper Rank level, so she's easier to deal with. You must be careful of the brother; the blood scythe in his hands is highly toxic."
"Leave the difficult one to me. I won't hold it against you that you made off with the Master!"
Sanemi Shinazugawa glared with his fierce eyes, his tone sounding very rude. However, this guy always spoke like this, and Kael was already used to it.
"How do you want to hold it against me? A duel?"
Kael narrowed his eyes and asked in return.
Being used to it was one thing, but a beating was still necessary. This guy was just asking for it; he wouldn't feel right without being put in his place.
"Do you think I'm afraid of you?"
Sanemi Shinazugawa rolled up his sleeves, showing no sign of backing down.
At worst, he'd be beaten half to death. In the end, Kael would have to save him anyway, so he certainly wouldn't die.
Sanemi Shinazugawa still trusted Kael on this point. He had nearly crossed the gates of hell several times before, only for Kael to reach out and pull him back.
"Could I trouble you two to find another time and place for your quarrel?"
A smile appeared on Shinobu Kocho's face, and her tone sounded extremely gentle, but the chill and danger hidden within made one's hair stand on end.
One could offend anyone but a doctor, and Shinobu Kocho was responsible for most of the medical work within the Corps.
"Tch."
Sanemi Shinazugawa turned his head away and curled his lip.
"Mr. Sakuragi, the Master has given you full authority over the command of this operation. Please issue your orders as soon as possible."
Uzui Tengen said in a respectful voice.
The Hashira generally held great respect for Kael. Even Sanemi Shinazugawa was willing to defer to Kael and follow his lead when it came to official business.
No matter how eccentric Kael usually was, the positive changes he brought to the Demon Slayer Corps were very real.
If he would just stop taking Ubuyashiki Kagaya out for wheelchair racing, his reputation within the Corps would surely be even better.
"What I want isn't to kill the Upper Rank, but to capture them alive. Until I finish preparing the specific Inhibitor, I'll trouble you two to keep them occupied for now."
Kael spoke, his orders brief and direct.
If it were truly just to kill the Daki siblings, it would be simple.
Even if all the Twelve Kizuki were added together, they wouldn't be enough for Kael to fight, but he had his own considerations and goals.
As for the previous exchange, it was merely to collect data to facilitate the preparation of the Inhibitor.
After all, Upper Rank demons were almost a different species compared to other demons.
The data from the latter had little reference value. To avoid the dosage being too strong and accidentally killing the two siblings, Kael naturally needed to get a feel for them personally.
Judging from the feedback of the touch, they were indeed quite sturdy.
Kael wasn't referring to Daki, of course; her 'feel' was more of the plump and full variety.
"Understood! Leave it to us."
"Tch."
Uzui Tengen and Sanemi Shinazugawa responded together.
Neither of them questioned the decision to capture an Upper Rank alive, a result of the prestige Kael had accumulated in the past.
"Don't hold back. These two siblings share a symbiotic existence; they cannot be killed unless their heads are severed simultaneously."
Kael reminded them once more, then opened the medical box Shinobu Kocho had brought along and began the preparation work.
Shinobu Kocho assisted Kael from the side.
The steps for preparing an Inhibitor specifically for the Upper Rank Kizuki were very tedious and complex. With her help, it would naturally be much faster.
Opposite them, the Daki siblings' bodies had already fully recovered, but they had different assessments of the current situation.
Although Gyutaro was the more violent and cruel of the two, he had more brains than Daki.
Kael alone had already beaten them out of human shape, and now three more Hashira had arrived as reinforcements. If they didn't run now, were they supposed to stay and wait for death?
Daki, however, couldn't quite recognize the gap in strength.
After all, for the past few decades, even the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps were nothing more than food to her. It was difficult to shift her concept of strength in an instant.
Thus, the siblings began to argue over whether to fight or retreat, leaving Uzui Tengen and Sanemi Shinazugawa a bit bewildered.
Was this some kind of internal strife?
"I'll take the male demon!"
Sanemi Shinazugawa was impatient. He lunged forward, swinging his blade directly at Gyutaro, the pale green jagged blade slashing out a powerful shockwave.
(Wind Breathing, First Form: Dust Whirlwind Cutter)
However, the moment Sanemi Shinazugawa launched his attack, the Daki siblings immediately presented a united front, deploying their countermeasures with perfect coordination.
An eye opened in the middle of Daki's forehead; it belonged to Gyutaro.
This was another of Daki's combat forms.
It was also a sign of the brother's favoritism and care for his sister.
Gyutaro bestowed half of his sensory perception upon her, which greatly enhanced his sister's combat ability and even allowed him to take over the 'account' to fight for her if necessary.
In this state, although Daki still hadn't reached the strength level of an Upper Rank Kizuki, she was already far above the Lower Rank Kizuki.
Feeling her power grow, Daki began to get arrogant again and initiated the attack.
(Blood Demon Art: Eight-Layered Obi Slash!)
Sashes as sharp as blades were released from behind Daki, weaving into a predatory spiderweb. The density and intensity of this attack were clearly a massive step up from before.
However, for this generation of Hashira, it was still far from enough.
The densely crisscrossing sashes were easily torn apart by the pale green shockwaves, barely serving as a minor hindrance and failing to slow Sanemi Shinazugawa's pace in the slightest.
Even without Kael's appearance, Ubuyashiki Kagaya's generation of Hashira far exceeded the average level, with combat power very close to that of the first-generation swordsmen.
One must know that in the past, the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps were usually only on par with the Lower Rank Kizuki. Even Daki, an 'inflated' Upper Rank, had killed several Hashira.
As for the Hashira who died at the hands of other Upper Rank Kizuki, they were countless over the centuries.
According to the internal promotion rules of the Demon Slayer Corps, one could become a Hashira by slaying a Lower Rank Kizuki.
From this, it was clear that among the successive Masters, Ubuyashiki Kagaya was considered outstanding, possessing a great talent for recognizing potential in people.
In the end, it was Gyutaro swinging his blood scythe that finally broke Sanemi Shinazugawa's shockwave, blocking him in his tracks.
"You nuisances, I'll kill you first!"
Gyutaro shouted angrily as giant blood scythes tens of meters long erupted from all over his body, as mesmerizing and shocking as a blooming lotus. The entire Yoshiwara was within its range of effect.
Under the reflection of the moonlight, the entire sky seemed to be dyed blood-red.
He intended to finish off the two Hashira in one go.
However, he still underestimated the strength of Sanemi and his companion.
Facing Gyutaro's outburst, the two coordinated perfectly, back to back, their nichirin blades swinging into a sky full of afterimages, directly annihilating the continuous onslaught of blood scythes.
This was also thanks to Kael's high-pressure training in the past, which had caused the Hashira to develop a habit of seamless coordination.
The explosive strike failed to achieve any results, and instead left Gyutaro slightly exhausted.
One must know that while a demon's recovery ability was almost limitless, their stamina had a limit. If too much power was outputted at once, it would take some time to recover.
This gave Sanemi Shinazugawa and Uzui Tengen an excellent opportunity to counterattack. Without needing words, just a single exchange of glances, the two already understood each other's thoughts.
It was still Sanemi Shinazugawa who moved first; his Wind Breathing was very suitable for aggressive attacks.
Furthermore, Sanemi Shinazugawa's mastery of Wind Breathing was extremely high, even allowing him to wrap the Wind Blades generated by the Breathing Style around his body, which greatly increased his movement speed.
In the past, during training matches between the Hashira and Kael, it was always Sanemi Shinazugawa and the Stone Hashira who served as the primary front-line attackers.
(Wind Breathing, Fifth Form: Cold Autumn Mountain Wind)
Sanemi Shinazugawa held his blade in a reverse grip, swinging out a massive Wind Blade that rotated around himself, shredding all of Daki's incoming sashes while also enveloping Gyutaro within the attack range.
Facing the Wind Hashira's assault, Gyutaro did not back down, meeting it with the blood scythe in his hand.
In an instant, the shattered shockwaves scattered into hundreds of Wind Blades, carving wounds all over Gyutaro's body.
Such minor injuries would heal in the blink of an eye.
However, the opponent Gyutaro had to face was not just the Wind Hashira. Uzui Tengen followed close behind, leaping forward with a great stride and slashing toward the target's head.
(Sound Breathing, First Form: Roar)
Seeing this, Gyutaro could only exert himself to force Sanemi Shinazugawa back and retreat to dodge.
Uzui Tengen's slash produced a powerful explosion, leaving a deep crater directly in the ground.
Yet this was only the prelude to the attack.
Sanemi Shinazugawa leaped past Uzui Tengen again, launching an attack at Gyutaro, not intending to give the opponent a single moment to breathe.
For a time, Gyutaro could only be beaten into a steady retreat.
Daki tried to pin down Uzui Tengen, but it had no effect.
Her attacks simply couldn't keep up with the combat rhythm of Upper Rank-level battles. The gap in speed and reaction between the two sides was too large; she could barely manage to be a nuisance.
If they were only facing one Hashira, Daki could have helped Gyutaro secure victory faster, but they were facing the joint efforts of two Hashira.
Uzui Tengen simply threw a few explosives during a gap in Daki's attacks and blew her over.
"Damn it!!"
Gyutaro looked at the "broken" Daki, rage rising in his heart.
But in the next second, one of his arms was sliced off by Uzui Tengen.
"My score is almost complete!"
Uzui Tengen was gradually deciphering Gyutaro's attack rhythm; this was his unique combat formula.
By studying and judging the rhythm of the enemy's attack movements and converting them into a melody, he could understand the opponent's attack habits and blind spots.
It was like adding chords to a song; as long as he attacked during the gaps in the melody, he could hit the enemy.
In other words, as long as Uzui Tengen was given enough time and data, he could defeat any enemy.
Well, Uzui Tengen used to think so, until he met Kael.
When he tried to convert Kael's attack rhythm into a score, his brain nearly crashed on the spot.
The combat formula he'd relied on simply couldn't be applied.
On the other side, the "broken" Daki tried to piece her body back together, but she only then discovered that her healing ability had been drastically weakened.
The explosive pellets Uzui Tengen had thrown earlier contained a little something specifically designed for demons.
This was something he had specifically asked Kael for.
Speaking of the Hashira, Uzui Tengen's private relationship with Kael was quite good.
Mainly because the former had favors to ask of the latter.
Dealing with three wives—and ninja wives at that—was a severe test even for Uzui Tengen's physique. Sometimes he had to resort to a little outside help.
Kael could even heal the Master, so prescribing some potent medicine was naturally a piece of cake.
As it turned out, Kael indeed did not let Uzui Tengen down.
"Wisteria?"
Daki caught a whiff of a familiar, loathsome scent for demons from the explosive powder staining her body.
"Warabihime, you look a bit unsightly right now."
A familiar voice came. Daki looked up and saw that Kael had arrived by her side at some point.
"Don't look at me! Get away!"
These words undoubtedly stung Daki's somewhat sensitive soul; she cared deeply about her appearance.
"Go to sleep. You'll be fine when you wake up."
As Kael spoke, he spun the nichirin blade in his hand, performing a beautiful flourish. This wasn't to show off his skills, but merely to shake the inhibitory drugs inside evenly.
It was easier to understand if one thought of the blade as a syringe.
He had learned this technique from Shinobu Kocho.
The use and preservation of wisteria poison in its primitive stage was a very troublesome matter. Shinobu Kocho had also spent a lot of energy to apply it to the nichirin blade.
"Wait..."
Daki was still trying to struggle, but Kael's nichirin blade had already pierced her heart. The Inhibitor began to spread rapidly throughout her body, and Daki could feel her blood quickly congealing.
Demon blood was the source of a demon's power. By inhibiting the activity of the demon blood, the demon's power was naturally frozen.
"I'll have the Kakushi come and handle it later."
Kael said to Shinobu Kocho behind him.
"Sister!!"
Gyutaro sensed Daki's condition immediately. Completely disregarding himself, he unleashed his Blood Demon Art once more.
(Blood Demon Art: Rampant Arcs of Blood - Flying blood scythes)
Blood gushed out, forming a spiral shape, transforming into blood blades wrapped around his hands as they poured out.
This desperate outburst of power successfully forced Uzui Tengen and the other back.
Watching Gyutaro rushing toward him, Kael calmly spun his blade, shaking the Inhibitor evenly for him.
"Die!!"
Gyutaro roared, solid blood blades swinging from his arms like blood-colored crescents.
This move was intended to force Kael back so he could rescue the incapacitated Daki.
However, Kael remained unmoved.
Before the blood scythes could even get close to his body, they were worn down to nothing by an invisible force ten meters away.
(Water Breathing, Eleventh Form: Dead Calm)
Before Gyutaro could even realize the reason behind this, he heard a "buzz" in his ear.
It was like the drone of a mosquito, followed by a cold sensation in his heart.
Glancing down, a nichirin blade had already pierced through his heart.
In an instant, with the speed of a thunderclap, Kael had arrived behind Gyutaro.
This was a fusion of Water Breathing and Thunder Breathing, which could also be called Yin Thunder Breathing Style.
Currently, only Kael could withstand the backlash of switching Breathing Styles during combat and perfectly integrate them.