Chapter 308

Luo En casually thrust forward a single sword stroke.

"!"

Seeing the trajectory of his sword swing, Shinobu Kocho's eyes sharply contracted; she immediately halted her impending knife strike and retreated backward.

Kanao, watching from the side, suddenly frowned in confusion.

"Sister Shinobu, why aren't you attacking?"

In her eyes, Shinobu Kocho could have continued her assault—Luo En's sword stroke seemed to pose no real threat to her.

But Shinobu Kocho understood just how dangerous that single stroke had been.

That strike had preemptively blocked her attack route before she even moved; had she pressed forward, Luo En's Nichirin Blade would have traced a perfect arc, slicing through the gap in her attack and severing her neck before she could react!

Thinking of this, Shinobu Kocho stared at Luo En, standing casually nearby with his blade in hand, his entire posture seeming riddled with openings, and a bead of cold sweat rolled down her forehead.

Since becoming a Pill, she had never felt such a chill run down her spine.

It felt as though every thought, every intention, lay bare before this man.

He had seen through her completely!

"You noticed, didn't you?"

Luo En smiled at her.

Shinobu Kocho nodded.

"That was the Transparent World just now?"

"Correct. How? Do you have a general sense of the Transparent World now?"

"A little."

Nearby, Kanao heard their words but remained puzzled, unable to grasp their meaning.

Luo En raised his Nichirin Blade and spoke to Shinobu Kocho: "Then let's continue."

………………

While Luo En was guiding Shinobu Kocho.

Tanjiro, whose strength had improved significantly, carried his sister Nezuko's box and encountered Isumi Zenitsu, the heir of Lei Zhi Breathing, on the road; the two traveled together, then later met Muichiro Tokito of the Beast Breathing at the Drum Mansion.

The main group was preliminarily formed.

…………

The secret headquarters of the Demon Slayer Corps, surrounded by beautiful scenery and planted with wisteria trees.

Inside a room.

"My lord, forgive my boldness, but I still don't understand why we're inviting an outsider to the headquarters?"

Shinobu's superior, Fushiguro Jigoro, knelt before Ubuyashiki Kagaya and said: "To prevent Kokushibo from discovering our location, outsiders should be barred from entering the headquarters!"

"Jigoro, Master Luo En possesses considerable intelligence regarding Kokushibo and the Breathing Styles—this is vital to us, and…"

Ubuyashiki Kagaya, facing away from the kneeling Jigoro, spoke in a gentle voice: "He has saved the lives of several of our Demon Slayer comrades; Shinobu has also judged him not to be an enemy of the Corps, but an ally."

Jigoro remained uneasy: "But this man's origins are unknown. Relying solely on his word, how do we know if he's telling the truth? Perhaps saving our comrades was merely a ploy to gain our trust and uncover the headquarters…"

Ubuyashiki Kagaya rose to his feet and turned to him: "Jigoro, say no more. I trust my judgment, I trust Shinobu's perception, and I trust your strength."

…………

Watching Jigoro walk out the door.

Inosuke Hashibira looked at him and asked: "Well?"

Jigoro shook his head: "No. The lord still insists on letting the outsider enter the headquarters."

"If it's the lord's decision, then it's fine."

Kyojuro Rengoku grinned confidently: "If that man has ulterior motives, I'll deal with him."

Gyomei Himejima clasped his hands together, his expression sorrowful.

Giyu Tomioka stood expressionless, solemn and silent.

Muichiro Tokito yawned, face blank: "Can I go back to sleep now?"

Mitsuri Kanroji glanced at him, her cheeks flushed as she thought: "No-ichi-kun looks so handsome today."

Jigoro, with his white spiky hair and three long facial scars, clad in a white haori bearing the character "Kill," growled fiercely: "If that man truly has the power to kill an Ability Demon with a single strike, then why hasn't he joined the Demon Slayer Corps? I refuse to believe he's truly one of us."

Akaza, arms crossed, asked him:

"Then what do you plan to do? Defy the lord's order?"

Jigoro raised his right hand; his fingers cracked loudly.

"How can we not test the credentials of someone whose origins are unclear?! I'm not as easily fooled as the Bug Pill!"

………………

One day later.

Shinobu Kocho returned to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters with Kanao and Luo En.

"So this is the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters… There are indeed many auras similar to yours—Pills, right?"

Luo En walked beside Shinobu Kocho along a secluded path lined with blooming wisteria, heading toward the lord's residence, while Kanao had gone ahead to the Butterfly House.

Various members of the Demon Slayer Corps and the covert support unit "Kiri" who passed by bowed respectfully to Shinobu Kocho, addressing her as "Lady Shinobu Kocho" or "Bug Pill," while casting curious and suspicious glances at the unfamiliar man beside her, who wore no Demon Slayer uniform.

"One, two, three… seven. Are all the Pill members of the Demon Slayer Corps this idle?"

Shinobu Kocho was about to respond.

A claw-shaped gust of azure wind slashed toward Luo En from afar.

Shinobu Kocho narrowed her eyes and moved to draw her blade and block it.

Luo En had already thrown a punch.

Boom!

The claw-shaped gust of wind was instantly shattered.

A figure shot backward like a cannonball.

18? Such an attack—why bother dodging?

When the wind-slicing slash was ripped apart like rotten straw, and the fist's force surged toward his face, Fuyutsuki Jigoro had not yet reacted.

By the time he realized what had happened, he was already flying backward.

Watching Fuyutsuki Jigoro crash through several trees and slam into a clump of shrubbery, Kanao Tsuyuri blinked, her face blank:

"Huh… Huh?!"

Several figures appeared beside her.

The giant monk, with an extremely long scar across his forehead and blind eyes, Stone Pillar Higurashi Gyomei clasped his hands together, tears streaming down his face: "What a terrifying fist force."

Flame Pillar Rengoku Kokushibo, with long hair of yellow and red, wearing a haori patterned with flames, stared intensely at the black-clad youth beside Kanao Tsuyuri: "You knocked Fuyutsuki Jigoro flying with just one punch— are you even human?!"

Snake Pillar Ibushi Koyanagi, with a right gold and left green iris, his face wrapped in bandages, black mid-length hair like seaweed, and a striped haori, crossed his arms and watched the guest coldly: "Fuyutsuki was only testing you— isn't your response a bit too harsh?"

Sound Pillar Uzui Tengen, a bulky man with a headband studded with diamonds and pearls, looked at Luo En and reached for one of the two swords on his back.

"Why waste words with him? Let's start with a brilliant fight first."

Kanao Tsuyuri frowned at the group ahead: "Mr. Luo En is a guest invited by my lord. What are you doing?"

"Nothing much— we're just all suspicious of his origins."

Flame Pillar Rengoku Kokushibo spoke frankly: "The headquarters is of vital importance. No one outside the Demon Slayer Corps is allowed entry— especially someone whose background is still unknown. We must be extra cautious!"

Ibushi Koyanagi nodded: "That's true."

Mist Pillar Shinobu Kocho sat on a stone in the courtyard, gazing up at the clouds, expressionless and lost in thought.

Along with the flung-back Wind Pillar Fuyutsuki Jigoro, all nine Sword Pillars—the highest-ranking Demon Slayers—were now gathered here, except for Water Pillar Tomioka Giyu.

Around them, members of the Demon Slayer Corps and the Hidden also turned their gazes toward this spot.

"What was that sound just now?"

"Something flew past— must've been an illusion."

"The man beside Butterfly ninja is so unfamiliar—who is he?"

"Never seen him before. He's not wearing the Demon Slayer uniform, and he doesn't carry a Nichirin Blade… who is he?"

"What are the Pillars doing?"

"No idea."

"Are they having an internal fight?!"

"Idiot, with my lord present, how could that happen?!"

"Even so, the current situation seems off— the atmosphere is strange."