The swordsman who raised his blade looked at his deeply sunken shoulder, extremely dazed. The next second, under a massive force, he curled up and was sent flying.
"Ahhhhh!!!"
From the air came his terrified cry.
Thunk! Thunk!
He fell to the ground. The swordsman struggled to get up, feeling the immense force.
Thud! Thud!
He touched his shoulder, it was actually completely unharmed.
Kanroji Mitsuri's clear, rippling eyes stared dazedly at Jotaro, with a feeling of being in the clouds and fog.
"What is this? When did he go over there?"
Jotaro's sudden appearance greatly shocked the gathered Demon Slayer swordsmen.
"What's going on! How did someone appear out of thin air?"
"Who saw him just now?"
In response to this kind of questioning, all the swordsmen had blank looks and shook their heads.
The swordsman asking rubbed his eyes and muttered, "Did I just see a ghost or something?"
For a moment, all the swordsmen who were planning to advance began hesitating.
Unlike these terrified Demon Slayer swordsmen, Tanjiro clearly saw who had arrived and was overjoyed. His heart, which had previously been surging like stormy waves, instantly became calm and peaceful.
He slowly exhaled a breath of relief. 'If Jotaro had arrived just a moment later, Nezuko's neck would have been cut off by that swordsman.'
Jotaro had already protected them at countless crucial moments. In his pure eyes flowed a deep yearning, just like a maiden longing for love, but the boy now longed for a hero's dream.
"Thank goodness, Nezuko is safe and sound."
The light body of Shinobu Kocho, carrying glimmers of starlight, slowly landed beside Kanroji Mitsuri. Her gaze fell upon Nezuko's unharmed, delicate body, and she finally felt at ease.
However, she quickly furrowed her dark brows, and her shimmering autumn-like eyes looked back and forth at Jotaro.
Though her strength was weak, her speed and agility ranked among the top in the entire Demon Slayer Corps.
If not for that, mere mastery of poison techniques would not be enough to support her becoming a Hashira.
As soon as she got off the carriage, she sensed intense fighting inside the Butterfly Mansion.
That pale-blue blade wind, she was familiar with that move. The one who came was the Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa.
How could she not know Sanemi's character? He hated demons immensely. Compared to her, he was even more extreme.
Even a moment's delay, and Nezuko might have met misfortune.
Immediately, she activated her breathing technique with full force and pushed her speed to the limit. However, she was still half a moment too late.
But what she hadn't expected was that Jotaro had already arrived at the scene, standing like an unshakable boulder among the Demon Slayer swordsmen, firmly protecting Nezuko.
Why was Jotaro's speed even faster than hers?
As far as she knew, Jotaro hadn't learned any breathing techniques.
There are many kinds of breathing styles. Even if Jotaro wanted to learn, he wouldn't specialize in techniques focused on movement speed and agility.
With a tall build, explosive muscles, and unparalleled physicality, specializing in power and attack speed was the proper path.
She blinked her lively eyes, slightly stunned.
Honestly, she hadn't even seen Jotaro on the way. It felt like in the blink of an eye, Jotaro was already here.
'Teleportation, or… Could this also be a Stand ability?'
"Ah? Everyone was knocked away! So strange." Kanroji Mitsuri cried out in surprise, snapping Shinobu out of her thoughts.
After a moment of shock and doubt, the Demon Slayer swordsmen calmed down and decided to carry out the mission assigned by the Wind Hashira.
But just as these people surrounded Jotaro, they were immediately knocked flying.
They saw a swordsman flying backward, and Kanroji quickly reached out to support him.
Shinobu swiftly examined the swordsman's injuries and felt a sense of relief. Jotaro hadn't used lethal force.
She had already seen the destructive power of Star Platinum. If he had been serious, even if they didn't die, they would've been crippled.
Her violet, misty eyes softened, like a girl who discovered someone's secret, her lips showing a faint, mischievous smile.
But soon, she straightened her face and sternly stopped the Demon Slayer Corps members from attacking Jotaro.
Hearing her words, the swordsmen looked at each other in dismay. The Wind Hashira ordered them to kill the demon, but the Insect Hashira told them to stop. So… who were they supposed to listen to?
Shinobu said, "I'll explain this matter in a moment. For now, please stop."
If they kept fighting, it would only add unnecessary casualties. The Butterfly Mansion didn't have that many beds, after all.
Besides, the Insect Hashira was the master of the Butterfly Mansion. The hesitant swordsmen ultimately decided to follow her command.
Just as the swordsmen retreated, and Shinobu was about to sigh in relief, suddenly, a pale-blue and white figure appeared in her gaze.
"Watch out!"
They saw Sanemi, filled with murderous intent, his whole body like a raging wind, charging straight toward Nezuko.
A silver light surrounded by blue currents, incredibly sharp, even if one's body didn't touch the blade, they would still be injured by the blade's aura.
With the wind's assistance, his speed was extremely fast. Just as Shinobu's voice sounded, he had already arrived at Jotaro's side.
The blade stabbed toward Jotaro's arms, its target, Nezuko.
Jotaro glanced sideways at the swordsman who had suddenly appeared by his side, his face showing not the slightest ripple.
With Star Platinum's speed and precision, even without using time stop, everything around him moved incomparably slowly.
"Star Platinum!"
Even wind-like blade aura has gaps. In an instant, Star Platinum found the weak spot where the blade aura was gathered.
With force concentrated at two fingers, it struck and dispersed Sanemi's blade wind in a single blow.
His move was broken that easily?
The power transmitted through the blade almost caused Sanemi's Nichirin sword to fly from his hand.
He opened his eyes wide. The Nichirin sword trembled uncontrollably in his hand. If he relaxed even slightly, the sword would immediately fly away.
'This power! What on earth is it!?'
"Shinazugawa-san, please stop!"
Taking advantage of Sanemi's brief moment of reaction, Shinobu quickly stepped forward, her petite body standing in front of Nezuko.
"Huh?"
Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Sanemi glanced coldly at Giyu Tomioka, who was rushing over, and asked with displeasure, "Kocho, I want to ask you, Giyu is hiding a demon in the Butterfly Mansion. Are you aware of this?"
Shinobu nodded slightly, her expression stern as she said, "That was also my idea."
The scars covering Sanemi's face now looked even more ferocious.
"Are the two of you crazy? As Demon Slayers, you're protecting a demon? What kind of joke is this!"
"Have you forgotten your mission? You're Hashiras!"
Shinobu said, "Shinazugawa-san, please calm down. I'll explain this to you in detail later."
How could Sanemi possibly listen? His hatred for demons, plus the betrayal of two comrades, had already set his heart ablaze with anger.
Now he had only one thought, to kill Nezuko, and then let Giyu and Shinobu receive the punishment they deserved.
Before Shinobu could finish speaking, his sword had already stabbed toward her back.
The sudden strike made Shinobu instinctively try to block, but the moment she reached for her sword, she abruptly remembered, her blade had long been broken.
Sanemi's strike was swift and well-prepared. If Shinobu dodged, he could kill the demon without obstruction. If she blocked, he would knock her away, then borrow the momentum to cut off the demon's neck.
It was a good plan, but Shinobu's reaction was unexpected.
In battles between experts, victory or defeat is often decided in an instant.
Shinobu had wanted to block with her blade, but it had long been broken. Now if she tried to dodge, it was already too late.
Seeing Shinobu standing there dumbfounded, about to be pierced by him, Sanemi widened his eyes and shouted urgently, "Kocho! What are you doing! Get out of the way!"
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