Thud!
Despite being kicked to the ground, Zenitsu refused to give up, desperately clutching Kaigaku's ankle.
"Let go!" Kaigaku roared furiously, simultaneously delivering several brutal kicks to Zenitsu, each one merciless.
One kick even left Zenitsu's face covered in blood.
As he kicked, Kaigaku vented his pent-up rage, "Let me tell you! I never considered you my junior! You're just a useless waste who only knows the First Form! Why do you get that old man's favor? Why?!"
Gasping for breath, his face twisted with madness, Kaigaku continued.
"I'm the genius here! I master everything in an instant! So why can't I learn the simplest First Form? It has to be that old man's fault!
He's biased!
He just wants to save the best for a waste like you!
All he ever made me do was practice basics! Drills!
Spouting nonsense about how a weak foundation leads to failure—bullshit! It's all bullshit! Do you know what I hate the most?"
Kaigaku leaned down, glaring viciously at Zenitsu, who lay on the ground.
"I hate that stupid, cowardly look of yours! Did you think calling me 'senior' a few times would make me see you as a junior? Disgusting! It makes me sick, you understand?! The Demon Slayer Corps? Justice? Killing demons?"
Before Zenitsu, Kaigaku had completely torn off his hypocritical mask, spewing contempt for everything about the Demon Slayer Corps.
"Don't make me laugh! The only thing that matters in this world is staying alive! So what if I become a demon? So what if I betray my comrades? What do I care about those who died?! Zenitsu, you're an idiot! If you want to die, go ahead and cling to those ridiculous beliefs! I'm not sticking around!"
With that, he raised his foot again, aiming a fierce kick at Zenitsu's face!
But this time, his foot met empty air.
Because this time, Zenitsu had let go—not because he was kicked away, but because he released his grip on his own.
Slowly, he rose from the ground, his face bloodied and covered in wounds, but his eyes burned with an unprecedented intensity.
"Are you done?" Zenitsu's voice was soft, carrying a calmness he had never shown before.
Kaigaku froze.
He had never seen such an expression on Zenitsu's face—it was utterly different from his usual cowardly demeanor.
Zenitsu lifted his head, looking at the senior brother he had once admired.
Tears streamed silently down his cheeks, but the corners of his mouth curled upward into a smile of utter disdain.
"Kaigaku... I always thought you were just short-tempered, just a bit arrogant," Zenitsu said quietly.
"But I was wrong. You're not just ill-tempered—you're... heartless."
"Master... was never biased." Zenitsu's voice began to tremble slightly. "He taught both of us the most orthodox Thunder Breathing. In fact, you learned all the sword forms because Master wanted you to go further. And Master only taught me the First Form because he knew... that was the only one I could master. He poured everything he could into teaching us, but you... you..."
Clenching his fists, Zenitsu stared fixedly at Kaigaku.
In the past, he had always feared this senpai of his, but now, his gaze was resolute.
He shouted loudly, "You don't deserve to be Master's disciple! You don't deserve it!"
The deafening words twisted Kaigaku's face into a complete grimace.
"You're asking for death!!!"
In a fit of rage, Kaigaku abruptly drew his Nichirin Blade, pale golden lightning frantically dancing along the blade!
The sword he hadn't dared to wield against demons was now slashing without hesitation toward his own junior.
"Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Rice Spirit!"
The moment he activated Thunder Breathing, Kaigaku unleashed five lightning-shaped consecutive strikes, truly swinging his blade toward the defenseless Zenitsu!
"Zenitsu!!!" Tanjiro, who witnessed the scene, cried out in alarm.
He wanted to rush over, but the distance was too far!
"You despicable brat! Shameless! Have the guts to come at me instead!" Inosuke roared with equal fury, but he too was too late to assist Zenitsu.
Zenitsu stood in place, watching the pale golden lightning arc toward him. He never imagined that Kaigaku would sink so low as to attack his own junior.
Yet, though surprised, Zenitsu couldn't claim to be shocked—Kaigaku's earlier cowardice and explosive outburst had long revealed him as a dishonorable villain.
At this moment, Zenitsu felt more disappointment and guilt than anything else.
'Master... I'm sorry... We, your disciples, have shamed you.'
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Zenitsu actually closed his eyes.
Thud!
The sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed!
Yet, the expected searing pain never came.
Zenitsu's eyes snapped open to a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life!
A short figure had appeared before him at some unknown moment.
The pale golden Nichirin Blade originally meant for Zenitsu was now impaled through another's chest, with dark purple lightning crackling across this figure's body.
It was the demonized Jigoro!
He had somehow broken free from Shinichi's entanglement and with his extreme speed, positioned himself as a shield in front of Zenitsu.
The pale golden blade had entered through his back and protruded from his chest, blood dripping along the steel to pool on the floor before Zenitsu.
Kaigaku stared wide-eyed, disbelief etched across his face as he gripped the hilt, his body frozen like stone.
"M...aster?" Zenitsu stammered, staring in shock at the demonized Jigoro.
The demonized Jigoro slowly lifted his head, his gaze settling on Zenitsu.
From that face covered in eerie patterns, two trails of crimson tears streamed from turbid, scarlet eyes.
"Zen...itsu..." His voice was hoarse and fractured, yet the emotion it carried starkly contradicted the chilling demonic aura surrounding him.
"This old man's... life... has been... truly... laughable."
The demonized Jigoro lowered his head, staring at the blade piercing his chest, then turned to look at the other end of the sword—where his once highly favored, now utterly disgraceful eldest disciple stood.
A bitterly pained smile twisted his ferocious features.
"To have taught... such a disciple... this old man... is guilty! But... at least there is still you, Zenitsu!"
His gaze returned to Zenitsu, and for a fleeting moment, clarity seemed to return to those clouded eyes.
The demonized Jigoro raised a trembling hand, gently caressing Zenitsu's blood-stained cheek.
"My last... and most sincere child, Zenitsu... live on... live well! Thunder Breathing... will endure through you, even if... it's just one technique."
As his words faded—
Swish!
Demonized Jigoro, with his Nichirin Blade wreathed in dark purple lightning, abruptly retracted the sword!
Squelch!
"Ahhh!!!"
The lightning-wrapped blade slashed across Kaigaku's chest, sending a spray of blood mist into the air.
Kaigaku screamed as he was sent flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground, blood gushing wildly from his chest.
"Young man, will you see this old man off?"
After delivering that strike to his treacherous disciple, the demonized Jigoro dropped his Nichirin Blade and turned his gaze toward the silent Shinichi.
"The Demon Slayer Corps will never forget your contributions, Kuwajima-senpai!"
A brilliant green light erupted violently!
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Will be releasing all the chapter once the novel end, probably 5 more chapter.