Chapter 42: Upper Moon One: Clearly so strong, yet so cautious

Ever since the confession that day and establishing a relationship with Kochō Kanae, Zero felt that his state of mind had also undergone many changes.

As for what changes, he couldn't say.

It seemed that his emotional aspect had gained some color or something...

And now, he was squatting beside a pond, holding a large gold brick engraved with the character "De" (Virtue), staring at the pond, as if waiting for something...

This matter had to start from a few hours ago.

When Zero returned to the area under his jurisdiction and was about to start his inspection tour, he received a notification from the Kasugai Crow, Xue.

It said that there had been several cases of missing people in the nearby villages.

Many people had already lost their tracks.

Realizing that the matter was somewhat serious, Zero rushed to the village mentioned by the Kasugai Crow, Xue, without a second thought.

After several hours of investigation, he learned that these missing people had all been to a pond a few miles away to fish.

Thus, after finding this pond, he took the large gold brick from the 【Nano Space】 and had been guarding the edge of the pond ever since.

One minute...

Five minutes...

Ten minutes...

After waiting for more than half an hour, there was finally some movement at the bottom of the pond.

Splash!

An evil demon jumped out from the bottom of the pond.

The evil demon surfaced and quickly stretched out his hands to attack Zero.

But he didn't expect Zero to be faster than him. He stretched out his mechanical left hand and strangled the evil demon's neck tightly, and then the large gold brick in his hand struck his head three times fiercely.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The evil demon was knocked dizzy by the large gold brick, his consciousness became blurred, and three red bumps bleeding on his head also swelled up.

But it wasn't over yet.

Zero lifted him out of the pond and gave him a black eye with "Duang, Duang" on his eyes, directly making the evil demon faint.

Then he took out a rope, tied him up tightly, and dragged him away by one leg...

This evil demon could also be considered an unlucky ghost.

He was originally in the area under Shinazugawa Sanemi's jurisdiction.

As a result, because Shinazugawa Sanemi and Zero were competing, clearing out evil demons crazily, his area also experienced a brief period of tranquility.

The evil demon was so frightened by this action that he didn't dare to come out for several nights in a row. Finally, he was so hungry that he had no choice but to flee desperately and come to another area.

Unfortunately, he escaped the tiger's den only to enter the dragon's pool.

In the area under Zero's jurisdiction, he found a relatively remote village and hid in a pond.

Every day, one or two people would come here to fish, which became his source of food.

After getting a taste of the sweetness, he decided to "settle down" here.

At first, the villagers in the village didn't realize the seriousness of the matter.

It lasted for about three or four days, and the disappearance of several people finally made them realize that something was wrong.

The Kasugai Crow, Xue, reported the situation to Zero after investigating, which was why the scene just now happened...

After dealing with this matter and checking around here, he left the village directly.

As for the subsequent matters, it was fine to leave them to the "Kakushi" to handle.

What followed was Zero's solo inspection tour.

But after several days of inspection, he didn't find any traces of other evil demons.

Even the most hidden bear cave had been searched several times, but there was nothing.

This made him a bit depressed.

Why were these evil demons always so slack?!

Did they still respect his profession as a demon hunter?

He just wanted them to feel the warmth of the sun, was it necessary to be so afraid?

He sighed slightly, put the large gold brick back into the 【Nano Space】, and left the bear cave.

Seeing that this terrifying human had finally left, the black bear's shivering body finally relaxed.

Sometimes when this human came, it could only shrink in a corner, not even daring to breathe.

For fear of being beaten up for no reason again.

Just as it was thinking, Zero ran back again, scaring it into shrinking back into the corner.

He glanced at the black bear and said: "There isn't even a mother bear here, it seems you are a single bear."

After speaking, he turned and left directly.

Pfft!

The black bear seemed to understand what he said, and felt a burst of critical damage in its heart.

Roar!

The unwilling roar filled the entire bear cave.

The sun rises and sets, the moon rises and sets.

After several days of continuous inspection, there were no evil demon injury incidents, which made Zero feel whether he should ask Ubuyashiki Kagaya for a few days off.

In the area under his jurisdiction, let alone evil demon incidents, he couldn't even find the shadow of an evil demon.

Even the areas under the jurisdiction of other Pillars seemed to have fallen into a brief period of tranquility.

Now even his own Kasugai Crow, Xue, had started its own slacking life...

This made him suspect something.

Kibutsuji Muzan, is he...

Anemic?

"Sigh... forget it, let's inspect it again tonight. If it's still the same, I'll set off tomorrow to return to the Demon Slayer Corps and ask the Master for a few days off."

He even calculated that if he took a vacation, he would take Kochō Kanae, Xiao Yue, and Kamado Kie's family out for a stroll.

It wasn't necessarily a good thing to always bury one's head in work.

It was also a good choice to relax occasionally.

However, at this moment, a samurai wearing a purple kimono with a sword at his waist appeared not far from him and was slowly approaching Zero.

Although he was far away, he had already appeared on the only way to Zero in just a few seconds.

Seeing the samurai in front of him, Zero even felt a trace of danger, just like when he met Kibutsuji Muzan a few years ago.

He hurriedly turned on the 【Analysis Glasses】 to scan.

【Analyzing... Analysis successful】

【Name: Kokushibo—Samurai Demon】

【Human Period: Tsugikuni Michikatsu】

【Identity: Twelve Kizuki, Upper Moon One】

【...】

"What?! This guy is Upper Moon One?!" Zero exclaimed in his heart, but quickly calmed down.

Seeing these three pieces of data information in front, he didn't expect that his former guess was actually correct!

Tsugikuni Michikatsu had indeed turned into an evil demon, and was still Upper Moon One!

Secondly, Zero's combat instinct told him that this guy was not that simple.

Swordsmen of the Warring States period, Demon Slayer Marks, Transparent World, Breathing Techniques, etc., these things Tsugikuni Michikatsu... no, now it was Kokushibo, whose strength had probably already reached a terrifying realm after hundreds of years of precipitation.

Of course, that was for this world.

He took out the Nichirin Scythe and prepared for battle.

When Kokushibo came to within a few meters of Zero, he finally saw his appearance clearly.

A black high ponytail, six eyes on his face, and deep red flame-like marks on his left forehead and right chin to his neck.

In the pair of eyes in the middle, "Upper Moon" was engraved on the left eye, and "One" was engraved on the right eye.

Moreover, the Nichirin sword tucked at his waist looked as if it had been eroded by time, somewhat rusty.

But in Zero's eyes, that sword was also not simple. The hilt and the guard were covered with rows of eyes.

Kokushibo was also a bit surprised to see Zero.

He was just having nothing to do, so he was walking around casually on this night.

By the way, he wanted to see if there were any usable talents to turn into demons for Kibutsuji Muzan to use.

Coincidentally, he met the human with many strange weapons that Kibutsuji Muzan had mentioned.

Kokushibo stroked his chin and thought. He could feel the murderous aura from Zero, which was the result of experiencing many killings and life-and-death hesitations, as well as... that composure.

This was not a state that a human could possess!

At night, under the moonlight, the atmosphere around the human and the demon was terrifyingly quiet.

"You..."

Whoosh!

Just as Kokushibo opened his mouth to speak, Zero's figure disappeared from where he was and appeared behind Kokushibo.

Taking the initiative, he swung the Nichirin Scythe and struck Kokushibo's neck directly from behind.

Kokushibo never expected that this guy would take action without waiting for him to finish his words, and directly launched a combat technique to counterattack.

Moon Breathing, Fifth Form: Moon Spirit Calamitous Eddy!

Kokushibo just stood there without any sword-drawing action, and released several blade auras from his body, simultaneously producing a huge vortex-shaped blade wind, repelling Zero who had rushed behind him.

Not only that, these blade auras were also attached with countless small crescent moon blades on the trajectory of the slash.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Zero immediately retracted the Nichirin Scythe to block in front of him and was repelled a meter or two away.

It was just a probe just now, he didn't expect this guy's strength to be quite strong.

According to the subordinates of the Void Insect Mother among the stars, it could be said to be of a superior level.

He raised the Nichirin Scythe again and rushed over, grabbed the end of the grip to lengthen the attack distance, and swept across when he approached Kokushibo.

Moon Breathing, Second Form: Pearl-Flowers Moongazing!

Kokushibo turned around, drew his sword, and unleashed two blade winds, and the same blade winds also carried many small crescent moon blades.

Seeing this, Zero exerted force with his legs and jumped up, rotating himself in mid-air with the Nichirin Scythe to dodge these two attacks, but a large piece of cloth from his cloak hood was cut off.

After landing, he turned to look at Kokushibo, and casually untied his damaged cloak hood and threw it on the ground. Kokushibo also turned around again to look at Zero.

Kokushibo: "Nothing more than that..."

Zero: "Heh, is that so?"

Pfft!

A large gash suddenly split open on Kokushibo's face from his forehead to his cheek, including two of his eyes.

A large amount of blood spurted out, flowing all the way to his chin and dripping onto the ground.

He stretched out his hand to touch the wound on his face, which healed quickly in an instant, his eyes full of disbelief.

It turned out that just now Zero dodged Kokushibo's attack and took advantage of his inattention in mid-air to slash his face directly with the blade of the Nichirin Scythe.

The aggressiveness was not high, but for Kokushibo, this was a humiliation!

The humiliation of a samurai.

Turning on the Transparent World, Zero's body instantly became transparent, and his bones, blood vessels, and blood flow, etc., were all seen clearly.

But seeing Zero's left hand, he was stunned...

It was full of strange structures, and even he couldn't see what it was when it was running!

He simply didn't think about it anymore, raised the sword covered with eyeballs in his hand, turned passive into active, and began to counterattack.

Moon Breathing, Third Form: Loathsome Moon, Chains!

Many crescent moon blades were produced at the blade of Kokushibo's sword, slashing rapidly, releasing two blade auras covered with crescent moon blades of different sizes to attack Zero.

Zero rotated the Nichirin Scythe at high speed and collided with the crescent moon blade aura. After the blade aura dissipated, he raised the Nichirin Scythe again and rushed towards Kokushibo.

Moon Breathing, First Form: Dark Moon, Evening Palace!

Seeming to anticipate Zero's next move, he put the sword into the scabbard and quickly drew it out again, unleashing a sword-drawing slash whose trajectory couldn't even be seen and was attached with many crescent moon blades.

Seeing this, Zero changed from a sprint state to a slide to dodge this attack.

Sliding under Kokushibo's feet, his mechanical left hand supported his body on the ground and jumped up, his legs clamped Kokushibo's neck, and then he mobilized his whole body's strength to twist for a week!

Crack!

It seemed to be the sound of Kokushibo's neck bones breaking. Taking this opportunity, he swung the Nichirin Scythe and slashed at Kokushibo's neck.

Unexpectedly, Kokushibo was well prepared, and the weapon in his hand slashed over again at this instant.

Zero also seemed to anticipate that such a thing would happen and blocked directly with the Nichirin Scythe.

After blocking this attack, the Nichirin Scythe used its power to retreat to one side quickly.

And Kokushibo had already completed rapid regeneration, and the neck that had been clamped and broken had also recovered as before.

But at this moment, he didn't rush to take action, but stared at Zero tightly. He had already felt that Zero's combat experience and skills were very rich.

Secondly, he also felt that Zero didn't seem to have used his full strength, as if he were just probing him.

"You... clearly so strong, yet so cautious... why is that?" Kokushibo asked.

"Sometimes, being overly cautious is not necessarily a bad thing! At least... it can give me more chances to survive!"

Although he said so, Zero still held the Nichirin Scythe and made a combat posture, without any relaxation of vigilance!

Moreover, the 【Analysis Glasses】 also displayed the latest data status.

【Data collection successful!】

This made Zero reveal a smile that was difficult to detect.

"Is that so... since that's the case..." Before Kokushibo finished speaking, he received a message from Kibutsuji Muzan in his mind: "Kokushibo, come to the Infinity Castle."

"Muzan-sama... I am... fighting... with the demon hunter you mentioned..."

"What?!"

Inside the Infinity Castle, Kibutsuji Muzan's tone seemed a bit shocked, and he hurriedly checked the situation through Kokushibo's vision.

It turned out to be true!

"Hahaha! Finally found this guy again! As long as he is turned into a demon, it will be easy to find the Blue Spider Lily! Even those annoying guys from the Demon Slayer Corps will all be easily wiped out!"

He hurriedly conveyed an order to Kokushibo in his mind: "Kokushibo, bring him into the Infinity Castle, and then leave him with one breath. This time, I must turn this guy into a demon!"

"Yes... Muzan-sama..."

Afterwards, he gave an order to Nakime: "Nakime, summon all the Upper Moons Two, Three, Four, and Six to the Infinity Castle!"

"Yes, Muzan-sama!"

After receiving Kibutsuji Muzan's instruction, Kokushibo launched an attack again!

Moon Breathing, Sixth Form: Perpetual Night, Lonely Moon-Incessant

The blade aura unleashed by rapid consecutive slashes seemed to be intertwined, but in fact, they were all concentrated together, and similarly, each blade aura was accompanied by many crescent moon blades attacking Zero!

Facing so many blade auras, Zero rotated the Nichirin Scythe rapidly, dispersing each blade aura.

His mechanical left hand strength began to strengthen, he gripped the Nichirin Scythe grip tightly, and turned on the Bright Red Blade to rush over!

Seeing the strange Nichirin sword in Zero's hand turn red, a strange memory emerged in his mind!

His body couldn't stop trembling. He knew who that person was!

"Yoriichi..."

Thinking of this person, Kokushibo was suddenly filled with anger, as if he had lost his mind, and rushed towards Zero with his sword.

Ping! Clang!

The two weapons collided and produced sparks. Kokushibo swung his sword and unleashed a blade aura. Zero bent his body backward to dodge this attack.

Afterwards, the Nichirin Scythe supported his body on the ground as a fulcrum, and he kicked Kokushibo in the chest with one foot. The power was extremely powerful!

Kokushibo, who was kicked, was about to fight back, but Zero's attack swept over again.

His body moved slightly to the side, he held the weapon with both hands and hit the Nichirin Scythe, sliding along the Nichirin Scythe grip.

Zero let go of both hands, his mechanical left hand punched over, punched through Kokushibo's shoulder, and forced him back again.

Immediately after, Zero kicked the Nichirin Scythe grip.

The Nichirin Scythe also took advantage of the situation and rotated to fly into mid-air. Zero jumped up and caught the sword in mid-air, his movements were smooth and coherent, and he used gravity to exert his full strength to slash down!

Seeing that the situation was not good, Kokushibo, who had completed the regeneration of his shoulder, gripped his weapon and held it over his head.

Clang!

The moment Kokushibo's sword touched the Nichirin Scythe, it faintly showed signs of breaking, and combined with the extremely powerful power of this blow, the blade of the Nichirin Scythe slashed his shoulder again, and also slashed a large gash on his back, with blood flowing!

Combined with the Bright Red Blade, the broken part was restricted and could not regenerate quickly.

Moreover, there was a burning sensation on his shoulder and back, causing him pain.

"Kokushibo... no, you should be called Tsugikuni Michikatsu, you are really pitiful!"

"How pathetic, elder brother!"

Zero's words evoked Kokushibo's past memories, and the anger in his heart became even more intense.

"Shut... up!"

Bang!

Zero took out the gun hanging on his leg and shot Kokushibo directly in the head, releasing a burst of electricity.

Kokushibo was hit by this electric current, only feeling his head go numb, and immediately retreated backward.

Taking this opportunity, Zero swung the Nichirin Scythe again to attack.

However, at this moment, a sound of a biwa was heard, and an open wooden door appeared under Kokushibo's feet and Zero's feet respectively.

The moment his body fell into the wooden door, Zero placed the Nichirin Scythe across the door, held the Nichirin Scythe grip with both hands, and prevented himself from falling down.

But he didn't expect that two wooden walls appeared on the left and right sides inside the wooden door and crashed over.

If Zero didn't let go, he would be crushed to death by these two wooden walls.

If Zero let go, he would fall into the Infinity Castle.

His brain accelerated its thinking and made a decision!

In the end, Zero still let go.

Boom!

The moment Zero let go and fell into the Infinity Castle, there was a loud noise, the two wooden walls crashed together, and the wooden door also closed at this moment.

On the ground, Zero's Nichirin Scythe and the tattered cloak hood were left behind, as well as... a pool of Kokushibo's blood.

And traces of battle.

"Finally met again, white-haired demon hunter! This time, let's see where you can escape to?!"

"Yeah, long time no see, Kibutsuji Muzan! It seems you still haven't learned your lesson!" ===== CHAPTER 43 =====