Tanjiro's blade collided with Hantengu's neck. The demon screamed, producing a horrible sound. Goku covered his ears. (What a terrible sound... My ears hurts, even if I keep them covered!) he thoght. (I'll behead him, no matter what!) thought Tanjiro. Suddenly though, from behind, Tanjiro felt something. Fortunately, Goku's reflexes were quick enough to reach for Tanjiro and protect him from every attack this mysterious demon could inflict him. "I'll cover you! Just think about behead that thing!" exclaimed the one-eyed boy. "No, I can't slash any farther..." said Tanjiro. "I miscalculated..." he realized. Then, the demon materialized something similar to a horn and used it to sound one of the five drums he had on the back. The drum had the kanji of "hatred" on them. Then, a shockwave. Both Goku and Tanjiro were pushed away. Then, five wood dragons appeared out of nowhere. Both Goku and Tanjiro managed to grip onto them, and after a quick slashing and dodging, they reached the floor. Then, Goku turned and saw him: A sixth clone, and he looked even more powerful than the other five. "Who are you?" asked the boy. "That's none of your business. You're just a brutal fiend who torments the weak..." replied the demon. "From which pulpit does the sermon come to me!" said Goku. "Earlier, you were trying to behead a poor, defenseless demon. I call this tormenting the weak," said the demon. "Don't make me laugh! Only Allah knows how many people did you kill in your life!" exclaimed Goku. (He's not the sixth demon... He's the fusion of all the previous four demons...) realized Goku. Suddenly, the air grew misdeed. (I can't breathe...) thought Goku. "Do you have a problem with what I'm doing?" asked the demon. "Yes, I do!" exclaimed Goku. "You awful villains..." muttered the demon. "What... What makes us awful villains?" asked Tanjiro. "Don't play the victim! I'm gonna slice your head, even if it's the last thing I do in my life!" he then exclaimed. "Tanjiro-kun's right, you fucking demon!" exclaimed Goku. (How can they move or even talk in these conditions... I can't move a muscle...) thought Genya. Suddenly, the demon attacked again, his five wood dragons rushed towards Goku and Tanjiro. "Bring it on!" they said in unison.
While this is happening, Muichiro was still trapped in the water vase. "You know I enjoy seeing you die in there," said Gyokko. "But first, I want to take a look inside that house!" he added. Thus, Gyokko arrived in front of the house and opened the door. Inside the house, there was Haganezuka, who was reforging Yoriichi's old sword, the sword Goku gave him. "It's amazing... I've never seen such a sword!" said Haganezuka, talking to himself. "Who made it? Who forged it? It's no wonder this sword first belonged to the legenday swordsman who created the Breathing Styles..." he muttered. (He's so concentrated, he didn't even notice I'm here!) thought Gyokko. (I feel defeated as an artist! Kill him would be too easy, I want to make him distract from forging that sword!) he then thought. Then, Gyokko attacked Haganezuka with everything he had, but it was useless: Haganezuka just continued to forge the sword. Even his pink mask fell, showing his real face. Meanwhile, inside the water vase, Muichiro had a vision: Goku. "C'mon, you're a Hashira, you can't die in such a ridicoulous way, can you?" he said. (Why am I seeing Goku-kun in this moment?) wondered Muichiro. (My vision is getting distorted... I ran out of oxygen... I'm dying...) he realized. "You can't decide for yourself when it's over," said Goku's vision. (Goku never said this to me... But someone else did... But who...?) wondered Muichiro. "I promise you, it will be allright. Someone'll save you," said Goku's vision. (No one can save me... The only one as strong as me is Goku-kun, but he's fighting elsewhere... There's no one stronger than me in this village...) thought Muichiro. But then, as if for magic, Kotetsu arrived. "I won't let you die, Tokito-san!" he said, trying to slice the water with a knife. (If I didn't manage to cut through, how are you supposed to do it?) thought Muichiro. Suddenly, from behind, a fish-demon with claws appeared. (What are you doing? Behind you!) thought Muichiro, tapping on the water. But Kotetsu couldn't hear him. Then, the fish demon hit Kotetsu on the face. Then, the kid got stabbed in the stomach. (His solar plexus... He's going to die! What are you doing? Just run away!) thought Muichiro. But then, Kotetsu just walked up to the water vase and gave some air to Muichiro. In that moment, Muichiro thought again about Tanjiro's and Goku's words. "I may have become cold, but if there's one thing I have left, that's my heart of gold." But then, Muichiro remembered someone else: his father. "And humans are creatures who can who can summon unbelievable strength for the sake of someone other than themselves... Muichiro."
"Mist Breathing: Second Form -- Eight-Layered Mist!" and SLASH! Finally, Muichiro broke free from the water vase. And furthermore, on both of his cheeks, a red mark appeared. In that moment, Muichiro awakened his mark. Muichiro breathed heavily, wanting to regain air quickly. (I remember now, Tanjiro... My father had red eyes, just like you.) Then, Muichiro regained his memories, and remembered all of his past.
(That's right. My father was a woodcutter. And as his son, I would help him cut down trees. I... I liked helping my father work. However, my mother was really sick. One night, during a storm, my dad went outside to search for herbes for her. That day, I lost both my father and my mother. He fell from a mountain while trying to get herbs. She obviously died from her sickness. I remained alone at the age of ten. No, I'm wrong. I remained alone at the age of eleven. I had a twin brother. His name was Yuichiro. He was the exact opposite as me. He was rude and mean, even with me. My life with my brother was stifling. I was sure he despised me. The seasons changed. One day, I went to get some water, and there I met the householder's wife, and she'd traveled there just to see us. However, my brother was harsh with her as usual and drove Amane away. Though, she never stopped to visit us. One day, after one of her visit, me and my brother had a discussion. I wanted to become a swordsman, but my brother didn't agree with me. After that, we stopped talking to each other. With time, we even stopped arguing. However, one day, the tragedy happened. One night, a demon entered inside our house. The demon attacked me, and to protect me, my brother got in the way and lost his left arm. I tried to protect him, but I found myself cornered. In that moment, I don't even know what happened. An insane anger filled within my body, and a monstrous roar got outside my lungs. Then, I don't remember what happened. All I remember was me, in front of the demon, who'd been stabbed with trunks and his head was crushed by a boulder. When the sun showed up, the demon disappeared. But I didn' tcare. I tried to reach my house, but even if it was close, it took me a very long time to reach it. Miracoulously, my brother was still alive. His last words were preys to Buddha. He preyed to protect at least me, because according to my brother, I was worthy, unlike him. I always knew. The 'mu' in Muichiro... Stands for 'Infinity.')
Chapter 36 - End.