Upon hearing these words, Kocho Shinobu fell silent for a moment. Thinking of Keiko's weeping figure, she nodded blankly.
"You're right, we can't let Ryoichi die in vain!"
As she spoke, Shinobu secretly thought to herself, 'I didn't expect Ren to have such a gentle side.'
Ren, meanwhile, patted the thick back of the fish and laughed, "This fish is so big, it should sell for quite a bit of money, right? Maybe there will be enough extra cash to improve Keiko's meals? If it's not enough, I'll jump back in and catch two more."
Talking as they went, the two rowed the boat to the shore. Ren continued to chatter endlessly like a talkbox.
"Miss Shinobu, you have no idea. There are so many fish in Black Water Lake. Large fish like this, weighing eight or nine catties, are countless in the lake. If we used a fishing net, we could treat the whole village to a feast..."
As he spoke, the two made their way back toward Black Water Village. But just then, Ren suddenly stopped talking. Warning bells rang loudly in his heart. He hurriedly looked up and saw a black figure tearing through the sky like a meteor, crashing heavily toward them.
"Miss Shinobu, dodge!"
As he shouted, Ren grabbed Shinobu's slender, soft waist and retreated explosively backward, simultaneously kicking the large carp in his hand up into the sky.
"Ouch! What are you doing..."
Suddenly being held from behind, Shinobu was startled at first, then her pretty face flushed red.
Her stature was too short, so when Ren held her, he seemed to have touched her chest, though Ren didn't seem to notice this at all.
Bang!
Suddenly, a loud noise erupted from the sky. The one-meter-long carp was instantly blasted apart by a punch, sending blood raining down.
"What happened?"
Shinobu exclaimed in shock, her right hand instantly gripping the Nichirin Sword at her waist. No matter how slow she might be, she realized at this moment that an enemy had arrived!
"Nice reaction! It seems you have some strength; no wonder that person sent me to deal with you!"
Hearing this cheerful and bright voice, Ren instantly guessed the enemy's identity.
Sure enough, as soon as he looked up, he saw a head of bright red hair, a body covered in tattoos, and the characters "Upper Rank" and "Three" written in his pupils.
It was arguably Upper Rank Three: Akaza!
"Upper Rank Three... why would he appear here?"
Seeing the text in Akaza's eyes, Shinobu's expression changed drastically, and she stammered for a moment.
She had seen records regarding the Upper Ranks in the Demon Slayer Corps archives. It could be said that in the hundreds of years since the Corps was established, there had never been a record of killing an Upper Rank demon.
Let alone Upper Rank Three, a being ranked near the top even among the Upper Ranks. His strength needed no explanation.
"Miss Shinobu, you go first. Leave this to me."
Ren released Shinobu's waist and simultaneously drew his heavy Nichirin Sword, preparing for battle.
Hearing Akaza's words just now, he understood that Akaza was sent by Muzan to obliterate him. This battle was inevitable!
That was why he told Shinobu to get far away. With her strength, she would only be a burden here.
"What are you saying? This guy is Upper Rank Three, a direct subordinate of Muzan! I should have told you, right? The Demon Slayer Corps has no record of killing an Upper Rank! So..."
Speaking to this point, Shinobu's eyes instantly became resolute. She abruptly drew her Nichirin Sword and shouted.
"So, if anyone is leaving, it should be you! I am the Insect Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps. How can I retreat and let a layman die in my place?"
"Heh, Miss Shinobu, do you have so little confidence in me?" Ren laughed. "Don't forget, my strength is greater than yours!"
"He's right, woman. This guy is much stronger than you!"
Akaza suddenly spoke, saying coldly, "So you should honestly listen to your man, hide to the side, and don't interfere in our battle!"
"M-Man?"
Shinobu's pretty face turned red, and she scolded coyly, "Bastard! What nonsense are you spouting? H-He and I aren't in that kind of relationship..."
Ren, hearing this, quietly gave a thumbs-up to Akaza.
Eh, he can talk. Since you're good at talking, say a bit more.
I unilaterally declare that Akaza, following his career as a Gold Medal Salesman, is also a Gold Medal Matchmaker.
Akaza said impatiently, "In short, I don't kill women. Go cool off somewhere else."
"Miss Shinobu, step aside!"
Ren gently pushed Shinobu away and walked head-on toward Akaza.
"Muzan sent you, didn't he?"
"That's right! That person told me to take your head at all costs."
As he spoke, Akaza's face overflowed with an excited, fanatical smile. He clenched his fists and said, "To be able to wield such a heavy weapon, you are indeed no ordinary human. I can tell at a glance that your body is filled with tenacious vitality!"
"I have only felt such tyrannical vitality from that person. It seems this battle will be very interesting!"
"Technique Deployment: Destructive Death - Compass Needle!"
As he spoke, Akaza had already made his move. As he unleashed his Blood Demon Art, a snowflake-shaped totem appeared beneath his feet, and his entire body burst with an extremely strong aura that rushed straight into the sky.
"This move isn't easy to deal with..."
Ren knew that Destructive Death: Compass Needle was a technique capable of sensing the opponent's fighting spirit. It could perceive the opponent's position, movement, and attack targets in advance, allowing him to make the correct response. It was a very formidable Blood Demon Art.
With this ability, Akaza could anticipate the enemy and seize the advantage.
The only way to counter this move was to activate the "Transparent World" so as not to be detected by him, but currently, Ren could not yet unlock the "Transparent World," so he could only bite the bullet and charge.
"Come on!"
Ren exerted force in his legs, instantly transforming into an arrow leaving the string, violently rushing in front of Akaza. He swung his sword in a horizontal sweep, slashing toward Akaza's throat.
"Very fast speed, but it's useless!"
Bang!
Saying this, Akaza punched quickly, raising his hand to easily block Ren's sword-wielding arm. In this way, the heavy Nichirin Sword could not hit him.
"All of your moves will be broken by me!"
"Heh, is that so?"
Ren smiled, then immediately swung his other fist to smash toward Akaza's face. This punch was heavy and powerful, fast and fierce.
If it hit, Akaza's head would definitely be beaten into meat paste, just like Doma's jaw and skull in the anime.
"Hehe..."
Akaza chuckled lightly, retreating unhurriedly and easily dodging this punch.
But Ren followed up with a rider kick, attacking his waist.
Then came sword swings, punches, roundhouse kicks, and rocket headbutts. He began a relentless assault, and his speed got faster and faster, so fast that Akaza was about to be unable to keep up with Ren's speed.
And this was the method he came up with. Since any move he made would be perceived in advance, he would fight speed with speed.
As long as his speed was fast enough that Akaza couldn't react, his Destructive Death: Compass Needle would defeat itself!
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]