The room began to rotate rapidly, a full three hundred and sixty degrees. Even an astronaut would likely be spun into nauseous vomiting, let alone dealing with invisible, sharp claw attacks while the room was spinning. Those deep, gouging claws—a single hit meant being torn into three pieces. The deadliest part was that this was the Blood Demon Art of the Drum Demon, Kyogai: formless, shapeless, and completely invisible to the naked eye. It could only be avoided by instinct.
[No, that boar-head can sense them too.] Tanjiro glanced at the boar-headed person. He seemed to possess animal-like instincts, always managing to narrowly avoid Kyogai's attacks at every critical moment.
"This is bad~" Tanjiro suddenly panicked. Kyogai had attacked a little girl. The two siblings they had met outside the house had followed them in. They had come looking for their older brother, the one with the rare blood who had been captured. Tanjiro had told them to wait outside, but the sounds Nezuko made from inside the box had frightened them, and they had followed. Now, the little girl had suddenly appeared at the doorway of the room, completely disrupting Tanjiro's rhythm. For her safety, Tanjiro had no choice but to jump over and shield her, which in turn increased the strain of using his Breathing Style.
"Die, insect—" Kyogai didn't let this golden opportunity slip. He sent Tanjiro spinning three hundred and sixty degrees, making him dizzy and disoriented. Then, several blasts of his Blood Demon Art were about to make Tanjiro meet his bitter end right there. As for the boar-headed person nearby, his Breathing Style wasn't as fluid as Water Breathing, unable to adapt to different environments. He was forced onto the defensive, unable to even think about counterattacking. Once I deal with this kid, I'll slaughter that boar-head.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall—" At the critical moment, a voice called out, and a water-based ninjutsu materialized out of thin air within the room, helping Tanjiro block the killing blow. Although the demon's Blood Demon Art still broke through the ninjutsu, the momentary obstruction provided by the Water Formation Wall was enough. Tanjiro executed a Water Breathing technique. "Sixth Form: Twisting Whirlpool - Flowing!" He directly guided the demon's invisible claws into his own twisting whirlpool, then with a spin, redirected them elsewhere. This was the strength of the versatile Water Breathing.
After the attack ended, Kyogai's attention was no longer on Tanjiro. It shifted to the person who had just entered. "Rare blood! Ah~ The finest quality of rare blood! Hahaha, fate is on my side! I'm destined to ascend to the Twelve Kizuki! Let me eat you!" Kyogai looked at Uchiha Nagi, his face ecstatic, the earlier unpleasantness completely forgotten.
Uchiha Nagi dropped two heads that were still cursing at him. These were two "experiments" he had encountered in the house. He had "killed" their bodies several times until they stopped moving, leaving only the heads. He eventually discovered that after severing them multiple times, the heads would no longer regenerate. It seemed to be related to the energy within their bodies; the heads stored less energy than the bodies, so once separated, a few more "kills" were sufficient. What remained were heads that would occasionally try to escape, sprouting tentacles or legs if he wasn't careful. So, Uchiha Nagi had been carrying them around, periodically slicing off bits of flesh—a rather gruesome scene.
"Tanjiro, just protect the child. Leave this drum fellow to me," Uchiha Nagi said, assessing the demon. This one didn't seem particularly capable.
Dong! Dong!Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Kyogai began to beat the small drums on his body excitedly, intending to kill his opponent the instant they lost their balance from the rotation. However, after several rotations, he found that his opponent stood as steadily as he did, rooted to the ground, completely ignoring gravity. Kyogai was dumbfounded. "You... Why can you ignore my Blood Demon Art?"
Uchiha Nagi glanced at him. "If this is all you've got, then you're going to die here today." Kyogai roared in anger, "With just you? And that short sword that isn't even a Nichirin Blade?" Dong! Dong! Kyogai struck his drums again, this time unleashing his invisible claw Blood Demon Art. Faced with these extremely sharp, invisible blades, Uchiha Nagi frowned and had to jump to dodge.
This was the moment Kyogai was waiting for. He rapidly beat the drums to rotate the room. Uchiha Nagi, airborne and unable to dodge due to gravity before his feet could find purchase, was the target. Kyogai unleashed his invisible claws, intending to kill him.
"Hmph, you underestimate me," Uchiha Nagi's lips curved upwards. Never mind a ninja's basic three techniques, which included using a substitution log to evade. He also had his ultimate defense, Susanoo, as a backup. What was there to fear about being airborne? Uchiha Nagi said in a low voice, "Sixth Form: Twisting Whirlpool - Flowing—" He used his short sword to execute Water Breathing. Water is both yielding and unyielding; it does not contend with the myriad things, yet there is nothing it cannot overcome. It acts without acting, yet achieves all. Uchiha Nagi used the Sixth Form to guide the demon's claw-like Blood Demon Art into a whirlpool, then accelerated towards him, whispering~ "Ninth Form: Splashing Water Flow..." Splashing Water Flow minimized landing time and surface area during movement, enabling versatile maneuverability. It was suitable for combat in places with poor footing.
Watching Uchiha Nagi rapidly approach, Kyogai frantically beat his drums in a panic. However, the three-tomoe Sharingan had already seen through all his movements. A flash of white light from a blade, and Kyogai's head tumbled to the floor. Uchiha Nagi stood firm, sheathing his sword.
"Hahahaha, human, you're really not bad, managing to cut off my head. A pity your blade isn't a Nichirin Blade, otherwise, you would have succeeded." Seeing the Drum Demon pick up its own head, intending to reattach it, Uchiha Nagi turned and called out to the boar-headed man in the corner. "Hey, Boar-boy, lend me one of your swords."
"Boar-boy?" The boar-headed man looked around, then pointed at himself. "Are you talking to me, bastard? I'm not lending you anything! I'm going to cut off his head myself!" "Pig Assault—" The boar-headed man rushed forward quickly before the demon could use its room-rotating Blood Demon Art again. "Beast Breathing, First Fang: Pierce!" After a flash of white light, the head Kyogai had just placed back on his neck fell to the ground again. It wasn't that he didn't want to dodge; this beast-like man was simply too fast.
"Hahahaha! Pig Assault! Pig Assault! Did you see that? I killed him!" The boar-headed man looked at Uchiha Nagi, his eyes blazing with excitement. "Hey, it's your turn! Let's duel!" With that, he raised his swords and charged at Uchiha Nagi.
Clang— A screech of metal on metal, sparks flying. Tanjiro blocked him, glaring. "You bastard! Aren't you a member of the Demon Slayer Corps? How can you attack your own ally? There are still many demons in this house!"
Uchiha Nagi looked at the boar-headed man, wondering how such a brainless creature had managed to survive for so long...