Jigoro discovered a rather terrible fact: both of the demon clones that appeared had kanji characters in their eyes.
What characters?
Upper Rank Four.
When he saw these characters in their eyes, Jigoro's heart sank to rock bottom.
An Upper Rank, and not even one of the lower-numbered ones.
Even in his younger, prime days, he wouldn't have had sufficient confidence against such a demon, let alone now, in his old age.
It seemed today might truly be his downfall!
Jigoro stood before Sekido and Karaku, holding his Nichirin Blade, his aura sharp, his face stern.
Behind him, in the house, Zenitsu saw this scene and was completely dumbfounded.
Although he had heard that some powerful demons possessed miraculous Blood Demon Arts, seeing it firsthand and merely hearing rumors were two completely different concepts, weren't they?
This cloning scene was a huge shock to Zenitsu, who was almost scared to faint.
However, Jigoro's next words made Zenitsu even more uneasy.
Jigoro confronted the two demon clones, speaking to Zenitsu without turning his head. "Zenitsu, take that spare Nichirin Blade of mine and quickly flee down the mountain! Run as far as you can! After you get down the mountain, try every way you can to find the Demon Slayer Corps, and try every way you can to contact Horitake!"
"Wh-What!?" Zenitsu was greatly alarmed. "Then what about you, Grandpa?"
"I will hold off the enemy for you!"
Zenitsu was not a fool. How could he not understand Jigoro's meaning? He had already heard the resolute tone in Jigoro's voice.
Zenitsu was terrified, even somewhat desperate. He stammered, "G-Grandpa, c-can't you beat him?"
Jigoro forced a bitter smile. "Yes, this fellow is Upper Rank Four of the Twelve Kizuki. I don't have much confidence. But I've lived long enough! I've lived a full life! To be able to fight such a strong demon before I die, I have no regrets in this life! Zenitsu, you are still young. You have a great future ahead of you. You cannot be buried here. Hurry down the mountain and find your senior disciple! Only Horitake can protect you! Go now!"
The two demon clones opposite them. Karaku watched this scene of parting with great interest, as if watching a continuous drama.
Sekido, however, had no interest at all. He said impatiently, "Old man, we're not very interested in this disciple of yours; one more or one less makes no difference. It's mainly about you. To avoid suffering, why don't you simply surrender? That would make things easier for me!"
Jigoro had lived long enough that calling him "old and withered" wouldn't be quite right, but he was indeed quite astute.
He asked guardedly, "A dignified Upper Rank Four comes here to find me, yet doesn't plan to kill me, but rather to capture me? How strange. Why would you look for an old cultivator like me, who has little strength or threat? Unless... your goal is Horitake!? You want to use me to threaten my disciple!?"
Jigoro quickly realized.
He suddenly understood that Hantengu's earlier questions about Horitake were not accidental. His goal from the beginning was his senior disciple; he wanted to capture him alive to threaten Horitake!
Karaku pointed a finger at Jigoro, laughing mockingly. "That's right, it's just as you think. I'm going to capture you, old man, to threaten your senior disciple, Horitake, into coming out. That way, we'll have enough means to deal with him and eliminate this major concern!"
Hearing that Hantengu actually had such an idea, Jigoro laughed heartily. "Hahaha... I never imagined that I, who have been brave my whole life, would still have such value at my end! But it's impossible. I will not be a burden to my senior disciple! Your plans will not succeed! Here, there will only be those who die in battle! No one will survive!"
At this moment, Jigoro was filled with a resolve to die!
"Thunder Breathing, Second Form: Rice Spirit!"
Jigoro unleashed Thunder Breathing, blue lightning flashing around him. In an instant, he unleashed five continuous lightning-infused slashes at the two demon clones! Two slashes at Karaku's neck! Three slashes at Sekido's neck!
From this move, it was clear that even an old tiger retained its might.
Although Jigoro was old, once he fought with his life on the line, he was still quite dangerous!
The two demon clones, with their different emotions, dodged Jigoro's attack. Afterward, they began to cooperate, fighting Jigoro together!
Sekido brandished the shakujō he carried with him. At the same time, this shakujō emitted lightning, incredibly lethal, and struck at Jigoro!
Karaku, on the other side, carried a large fan. With a cheerful wave towards Jigoro, he unleashed a furious gale!
This was another unique feature of Hantengu's Blood Demon Art.
Each of his clones possessed special weapons and abilities. Sekido could fight with lightning, and Karaku could fight by unleashing strong winds. The combination of wind and lightning made them irresistible!
Jigoro looked at the incoming, lightning-flashing shakujō, and his heart immediately startled!
This guy could also use lightning!
A thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately used Thunder Breathing, his Nichirin Blade flashing with lightning, blocking the shakujō. At the same time, he used lightning to neutralize the opponent's lightning, successfully defending himself.
However, Jigoro could not defend against the roaring strong winds.
Jigoro was directly blown away by the gale, unable to gain purchase in the air or maintain his balance.
Seeing an opportunity, Sekido immediately rushed forward, striking Jigoro with his lightning-flashing shakujō, aiming for his head!
How rich was Jigoro's combat experience? He quickly came up with a countermeasure.
"Thunder Breathing, Third Form: Thunder Swarm!"
It was this technique again.
As Jigoro spun rapidly and moved at extreme speed in the air, the blue lightning he released through Thunder Breathing also coiled and condensed around him for defense!
Defense alone was not enough; an attack was also needed.
At a critical moment, Jigoro slashed at the shakujō Sekido was bringing down!
He defended against this attack!
Not only did he defend, but Jigoro also used the recoil to quickly retreat, escaping the range of the strong winds. He landed on the ground, stabilizing his stance.
He immediately went from defense to offense.
"Thunder Breathing, Fourth Form: Distant Thunder!"
Jigoro's body emitted lightning. The old man launched a lightning-fast assault, swiftly passing Sekido, rushing to Karaku's front in an instant, and raising his Nichirin Blade to unleash high-speed slashes on Karaku!
He did this because Jigoro had realized something.
This laughing demon clone, who could unleash strong winds with his fan, was a master of crowd control. His interference was too great; not dealing with him first would be very troublesome!
Karaku still maintained his cheerful demeanor, like a demon who cared about nothing.
When he saw Jigoro charging at him, and seeing Jigoro's fierce offensive, he was delighted rather than surprised.
Karaku picked up his fan, waved it at his feet, and the strong winds generated by the recoil sent Karaku directly into the air! He floated erratically in mid-air, laughing heartily.
Jigoro's attack only sliced through a mass of wind, hitting nothing.
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