Anime/Manga: Bankai Starting with Demon Slayer

Chapter 33 The Hated Bird

Over the next few days, Asuka quietly received treatment under the arrangement of the Hidden Force members and underwent a series of rehabilitation training sessions that he felt were unnecessary.

The patient's condition is much better than expected, and he has regained consciousness.

However, the ghostly figure's claw injured his internal organs, and he may develop some hidden respiratory problems in the future.

In this respect, Shinobu Kocho greatly admired Asuka.

According to the information she had gathered, this boy, who was two years younger than her, had suffered a penetrating injury to an organ before, but each time he had recovered as if nothing had happened.

"Perhaps, like Mitsuri, he is a child with a special constitution," she thought.

In addition, she also noticed during the treatment that Asuka maintained full concentration in his breathing even when he was sleeping, which greatly helped his physical recovery.

It should be said that Mr. Arashizaki truly deserves to be called the most rigorous instructor. His teaching is very solid, and he has unconsciously mastered the "Complete Collection - Normal Level".

Orders from the Demon Slayer Corps arrived quickly.

The raven brought the lord's approval and reward:

As a Class G member, Asuka's ability to fight Lower Moon Two alone and force him to retreat is almost an unbelievable achievement.

Even Shinazugawa Saneya, who was reporting his mission to his lord at the Ubuyashiki Otaku at the time, found the news somewhat unbelievable.

It's important to know that in the Demon Slayer Corps, killing fifty demons or defeating one of the Twelve Demon Moons qualifies one as a Pillar-level swordsman.

Although Asuka didn't kill the Lower Moon demon this time, he has proven that he possesses abilities far exceeding those of ordinary team members.

So the lord raised Asuka's rank to [Geng], which means that if Asuka encounters Demon Slayer Corps members below Geng rank in the wild, she can get them to cooperate with her and temporarily form a demon-slaying team.

In addition, the Lord heard that Asuka's clothes were tattered during the battle with the Lower Moon, so he specially ordered a brand new Demon Slayer uniform.

Compared to the previous standard uniform, this set has an extra gray-white feather quilt.

He had already heard from Steelzuka that Asuka's sword was a very special colorless sword, so he also prepared a colorless feather for Asuka, hoping that he could find his own color.

As for other monetary rewards, Asuka didn't care and entrusted them all to the members of the Hidden Division to pass on to the Hayama Breeding Center.

"Seventy-eight Flying Birds, you did a great job. Rest assured and recover from your injuries. Await further orders!"

After explaining everything, the indifferent raven flew away without saying another word to the bird.

"It seems Mr. Asuka is disgusted by his jaguar."

After listening to the instructions, Shinobu Kocho smiled and looked at Asuka's equally cold profile: "You should get along well with the Kasugai, they are important guides and partners in battle."

"...I wasn't disliked." Asuka genuinely felt that way, and to some extent, he was quite satisfied with his raven's attitude.

No need for nonsense, just deliver the instructions and leave, isn't that better?

"Haha, is that so?" She laughed lightly, full of doubt.

Meanwhile, south of Sendai, in the Fukushima region, it was midnight.

After several days of desperate escape, Lu Lu finally escaped the aura of death behind him and fled to a rural town around Fukushima.

After he escaped from the shrine, the shadow puppet left behind immediately sensed the aura of a pillar-level swordsman, which made him somewhat glad that he hadn't stayed behind to get entangled with that brat.

If we delay any longer, we might really not be able to leave.

"That damn mad dog! I'll never do it again..."

After thinking for a moment, Lulu didn't say anything harsh. She just angrily pounded the tatami mat and stuffed another mouthful of the owner's flesh and blood into her mouth.

"Hehe, isn't this Senior Lu Lu? What are you doing having a picnic here all by yourself?"

Lu Lu's body stiffened abruptly, her chewing motion halting as she looked warily toward the source of the sound.

Under the moonlight, a petite figure leaned against the doorframe of the thatched hut, smiling at Lu Lu.

She had a youthful appearance with very smooth, short white hair. If it weren't for the blood-red whites of her eyes and pale purple pupils... as well as the striking horns on her forehead, one would really think she was a young girl.

She rolled her eyes, revealing the numbers inside.

[Part 4]

Lu Lu breathed a sigh of relief and continued to swallow his food:

"Oh, it's you. Zero cents... It's nothing, just something to change things up once in a while."

"Is that so?" Lingyu tilted her head, her small nose twitching slightly, as if she could smell the guilt and pretense in Lu Lu's words. She laughed like a little girl: "Senior, you don't look like you're enjoying wild game. You look a bit disheveled..."

She lightly hopped forward, getting closer to Lulu's body, her large eyes openly scrutinizing Lulu's tattered, dark-patterned kimono.

"I heard you've been cooperating with humans to ensure a stable meal service. How did you get injured? Did those humans betray you?"

Tsk...that's why I say, kids are the most annoying...

The way the loose change bounced around annoyed Lu Lu, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Ghosts cannot kill each other; it's pointless to fight back.

Add to that Lingyuzi, who's a bit of a simpleton; perhaps what she sees as pure curiosity and concern is just that—pure.

Lu Lu reluctantly put down the piece of meat and looked at Ling Yuzi with a serious expression:

"Hmph...you guessed it. I was indeed a bit embarrassed, but not because of my partner's betrayal!"

He pointed to Sendai to the north and said seriously, "I was careless... I didn't expect there to be a pillar hidden there! If I hadn't been strong enough to fight that person for a few rounds and then escape, I'm afraid I would have had to give up my position!"

As an adult skilled at bluffing, Lu Lu naturally wouldn't tell Ling Yu Zi that he was being chased and beaten by a kid, so he exaggerated his experience.

However, to Lingyuzi, this was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

"Pillar! It really is Pillar!" Zero exclaimed, covering her mouth with both hands, her big eyes instantly filled with real fear.

Just hearing that word made her body involuntarily shrink back:

"No wonder, no wonder! Senior, you are really amazing! You were able to fight against a Pillar!"

Ling Yuzi looked at Lu Lu with a hint of admiration and understanding, even a touch of closeness: "I understand, I understand! Of course you have to run when you encounter a Pillar! Run as far away as possible! Survival is the most important thing... After all, those guys are all too terrifying!"

As he spoke, Lingyu nodded repeatedly, as if he had found a kindred spirit.

Two cowards unexpectedly grew closer through an embarrassing escape.

Lu Lu sighed. He had kept the matter of Asuka a secret because he was afraid of losing face in front of his juniors. Luckily, the kid was easy to fool...

He looked at the remaining few coins and asked curiously, "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Hokkaido?"

Lingyu tidied her crimson kimono with black tufts, regaining her slightly innocent joy, seemingly having already left her earlier fear behind:

"I'm planning to head south! I heard from merchants that Osaka is in a lot of chaos lately! Lots of refugees and restless fellows, it seems like there will be plenty of opportunities to have a good meal!"

She licked her lips and looked at Lu Lu. "Senior, would you like to come with me? It must be so lively over there!"

"I'm not going."

Lu Lu refused almost without even thinking.

Not to mention that he is in very bad shape right now and has no desire to get involved in those chaotic vortexes.

Besides, he's already being targeted by that annoying brat, and who knows what other methods he might use to track him? It's best to hide for a while...

Seeing Lingyuzi's somewhat disappointed face, out of a subtle, brotherly bond, Luru decided to give this coward a heads-up, as a small act of help:

“Ryoko, since you’re heading south, after passing through Fukushima and continuing south, you might pass a mountain called Natagumo-san.”

"Mount Natagumo? What special delicacies are there?"

"Delicious? No, you'd better stay away from there!"

Lu Lu let out a cold snort that was hard to decipher, and his tone became more serious:

"That's the territory of Lower Moon Five, Rui. That kid... is a bit strange."

"Whether human or ghost, he won't get anywhere good. Besides, that person is very fond of him... Believe me, if you provoke him, you won't fare much better than if you provoked the Pillar."

"tired..."

Lingyu kept repeating the name; she didn't know much about this mysterious Lower Moon who didn't interact with people.

But since Lu Lu kindly reminded us, perhaps we should be more careful to avoid getting involved...

"I understand, thank you for reminding me! I will avoid Natagumo Mountain, I will avoid it as far away as possible!" She patted her forehead, as if she wanted to knock this troublesome place name out of her mind.

"It's better to go to Osaka, where I can be free and eat whatever I want! Since my senior needs to recover, well... I'll keep going! I wish my senior a speedy recovery!"

She waved to the wheelchair and disappeared into the moonlight, as if they had just talked about where to go for a trip.

But once she had run far away, walking alone under the moonlight, her mischievous eyes darted around again:

"What?! There must be something good there! This uncle is definitely trying to sneak some good stuff behind my back!"

"La la la, I have to go check it out~ What's wrong with Xia Si's territory? I'm Xia Si!"

Chapter 34 The Changing Python C Command

"Well then, farewell, Mr. Asuka."

Outside the spa, Shinobu smiled and said goodbye to Asuka; after all, as a Pillar, she had many tasks to attend to.

She handed the bird a gourd-shaped water pouch, still speaking in that gentle voice:

"Here's some pain-relieving medicine. I hope it will help you, but it's better not to push yourself too hard in the future."

"Thank you for your concern, I will be careful... Lord Zhu, have a safe journey."

"Oh, no need to be so polite. Just call me Senior Ren. Well then, goodbye."

After saying that, she disappeared outside like a butterfly carried by a gentle breeze.

After Butterfly Shinobu left, Asuka quickly checked the location of Shiba 5 and then prepared to leave as well.

All things considered, his mission, which took him more than half a month from south to north, was about time for him to return.

Unlike other ghost hunters, he will naturally do the missions when assigned, and he won't patrol around like Shinsuke when there are no missions. It's better for him to obediently return to Hayama.

"Mr. Asuka! Your knife!"

"Uh-huh?"

Asuka, who was packing her bags and putting on her new team uniform, took the long sword from Yuka's hand with a puzzled look.

"Why is there only one?"

"Huh? This...this was the only long sword that was delivered! Could it have been left behind?!" Yuka stammered nervously, anxiously searching the room.

Although she didn't understand the details of slaying demons, she knew that these knives were very important to demon hunters, and losing them would be a big deal!

Asuka hefted the knife in his hand with a puzzled look, feeling a familiar yet strange sensation that greatly confused him.

The scabbard and the hilt's binding rope were stolen by a tanuki... but this swirling hilt... isn't that my Nichirin Blade...?

He drew his blade, his gaze sharpening.

The colorless blade gleamed, undoubtedly a Nichirin Blade, but it rippled with a wave of energy that resonated with the soul of a bird.

"Taken by the raccoon?"

He drew the entire knife, the blade still humming as if in response to his whisper.

"You...devoured the Nichirin Blade?"

Although the idea is exaggerated, it is the bird's first instinct.

He gently stroked the blade and discovered that both the aura and the unique spiritual pressure it contained were definitely those of his own Qingying sword.

Who would have thought that this thing would actually become one with the Nichirin Blade?

Is this a good thing? Will the Nichirin Blade's properties still be effective? Will it absorb other swords in the future...?

"I'm sorry... Mr. Asuka... I really..."

"It's alright, Yuka, it was my mistake."

Interrupting Yuuka's busy work, and under her puzzled gaze, Asuka silently sheathed her Nichirin Blade.

"Thank you for your help, I'm off now."

"Huh? So suddenly? Aren't you going to keep looking... Mr. Asuka, won't you rest for a few more days?"

The bird said nothing more, its new gray-white feathers fluttering gently in the wind.

Just like his hasty arrival in Sendai, he left just as quickly.

I traveled alone along the old road heading south, and several more days passed.