A blade once thrust out is like water once spilled, very hard to take back.
Even though Sanemi had already withdrawn his force, the Nichirin Blade could still easily pierce through Shinobu Kocho's body.
"ORA!"
Star Platinum suddenly pulled Shinobu Kocho aside; her body brushed past Sanemi's blade.
Then, Star Platinum countered with a punch. The fist, containing a slight amount of power, struck Sanemi's body.
In an instant, he felt a momentum like mountains collapsing and the sea overturning. His many years of combat experience made him instinctively focus his strength into his legs.
He was forcibly dragged across the ground over ten meters before he could finally stop with great difficulty.
Jotaro glanced at him, a little surprised. This young man with a vicious scar on his face and a flamboyant temperament is much stronger than the other Demon Slayer swordsmen, his strength is not to be underestimated.
The same force would've made other swordsmen unable to even stand, yet he had offset it purely with his legs.
The sudden power left Sanemi confused. His gaze swept quickly through the scene and finally fell on Jotaro.
With such a tall figure, it was difficult for others to ignore him. Add to that the fact he was currently holding Nezuko, that demon. Sanemi naturally became suspicious of him.
But compared to the mysterious identity of Jotaro, the one making him truly furious right now was Shinobu Kocho.
Why didn't Shinobu dodge earlier? He almost injured Kanae's younger sister.
He frowned, eyes wide, his sharp gaze falling on Shinobu's slim waist. 'Where is her sword?'
"Kocho! Not even carrying your blade, what kind of Demon Slayer swordsman are you?! What kind of Hashira are you?!" Sanemi questioned angrily.
Shinobu originally thought she would be pierced by Sanemi's sword, but at the last critical moment, a huge pulling force suddenly came from her arm and pulled her away.
'Star Platinum! The Stand that Jotaro-san had spoken of!'
This was her first time physically contacting a Stand. The sensation from Star Platinum's palm was exactly the same as that from Jotaro's palm.
At that moment, she even thought it was Jotaro himself who pulled her away.
'Invisible, yet able to touch other objects according to the user's will. What a terrifying ability.'
Shinobu suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. If someone with such power were evil-hearted and used it for bad deeds, the consequences would be simply unimaginable.
Her moist, bright eyes reflected Jotaro's figure. Shinobu relaxed. Fortunately, Jotaro-san wasn't that kind of person.
In her memory, even when facing someone as vile as Kaigaku, Jotaro never initially used his Stand to deal with him.
Such a gentle person could never possibly use a Stand for evil.
Seeing himself being ignored, Sanemi became annoyed and shouted, "Kocho! When did you become like that bastard Tomioka, not understanding human speech?!"
Hearing that, both Shinobu and Giyu's expressions froze, though the former quickly showed a look of disgust.
Shinobu said, "Shinazugawa-san, it's not that I didn't want to bring my sword, but that my sword was broken."
Sanemi's anger didn't diminish in the slightest.
"What difference does that make?! If you can't even protect your own blade, how can you protect the lives of others?!"
Shinobu sighed. It was indeed the truth, she had no intention of arguing.
The other party wasn't injured, so Sanemi didn't bother pursuing it further. The real issue now wasn't the sword, it was the demon.
"Step aside, Kocho! You and Tomioka breaking squad rules can be dealt with later. Right now, I'm going to kill that demon!" Sanemi said aggressively.
Shinobu replied, "Shinazugawa-san, Giyu and I did indeed break squad rules, but this matter is of great importance. I've already reported—"
"Man, the Butterfly Mansion is really lively today!"
A sudden voice caught everyone's attention. A silver-haired man wielding twin blades, as tall as Jotaro, slowly walked over.
His wide blades were covered in blood, with drops still dripping down.
Uzui Tengen.
Shinobu's delicate brows furrowed. She couldn't help but feel worried.
Uzui Tengen might not have a deep hatred for demons, but he came from a ninja clan. Even if he had long broken away from his family, certain things were etched into a ninja's bones.
People who don't follow rules are trash. As a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, naturally, he would do his utmost to exterminate demons.
If he discovered Nezuko, the combined force of the Wind Hashira and the Sound Hashira would be unstoppable. She and Giyu simply couldn't hold them off. These two were just too powerful.
"To think three Hashira would gather, how flamboyant!" Uzui Tengen exclaimed with admiration.
Before anyone could reply, he continued, "Looks like the Butterfly Mansion's location has been exposed. I just killed a demon outside."
"That big iron box, is that something your Butterfly Mansion bought? That cunning demon was hiding in there. My hearing is sharp. I noticed her movements."
Shinobu was shocked and looked at Jotaro.
Although she also disliked that demon, Jotaro seemed to be keeping her for some special reason.
Sure enough, Jotaro's expression darkened. It hadn't been easy to find a clue about Muzan, and now it was ruined here.
"That idiot!"
No exaggeration, he really wanted to beat the guy up right now.
"Mm…"
Nezuko had been asleep this whole time, but now let out a soft hum, her delicate brows twitching slightly.
"Nezuko!" Tanjiro was a bit surprised. Was his sister about to wake up?
"What's going on? Why is there still a demon here?!"
Uzui Tengen asked in confusion. "What are you three Hashira doing?"
With three Hashira present, even an Upper Moon could be killed. Yet a demon was still alive? Isn't that ridiculous?
Sanemi snorted coldly, "That bastard Tomioka, and Kocho, they've both betrayed us. You've come just in time. I'll go kill the demon, hold those two off!"
"Huh?" Uzui Tengen was stunned, but seeing Sanemi charging with his blade and being blocked by Giyu, the two entangled in combat, his expression turned cold.
Hearing is unreliable, seeing is believing.
Though it was hard to believe that the Insect and Water Hashira had betrayed the Corps, seeing Giyu stop Sanemi from killing a demon, how could he not believe it?
"That bastard Tomioka always has that funeral-attending look. Gloomy and annoying, but betraying the Demon Slayer Corps? That's a shock."
He grabbed his twin blades and immediately joined the fight.
Faced with both Uzui Tengen and Sanemi, Giyu was beaten back step by step.
Neither of the two liked Giyu much, and held nothing back. Giyu was already bleeding from his mouth.
Shinobu looked left and right, then casually picked up a sword from the ground. Although her strength wasn't close to theirs, she could still help relieve some pressure off Giyu.
Seeing her act, Tanjiro also picked up a sword, preparing to help. After all, Giyu and Shinobu were fighting their comrades for the sake of his sister. Leaving them behind, he'd feel too guilty.
But just as he was about to enter the battle, Jotaro suddenly grabbed him.
Nezuko had awakened and was now tightly hugging Jotaro. Her small figure had shrunk even more, as if only by doing so could she fully nestle into Jotaro's arms.
Her pink eyes carried traces of demon traits, but the bright and innocent look was exactly the same as in memory.
"Jotaro-san, I must help them. Mr. Tomioka and Miss Kocho can't beat them."
"Yare yare... This girl..."
Nezuko's little hand was about to reach his hat. Though the girl had awakened and broken free of Muzan's control, her intelligence seemed impaired. Her big eyes were full of... brilliance.
Jotaro placed Nezuko on the ground, stood up, and looked at the charging Sanemi, speaking calmly, "It's time to quiet them down."
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