Demon Slayer: Muzan, will you dance too?

"Haven't held a knife for three months, have your bones rusted?"

A cold voice drifted from afar. Obanai Iguro, standing on the rooftop, looked down at Izumi Kiyokawa, seemingly quite suspicious of his current state.

The wooden sword was suddenly thrown in front of him, and Kiyokawa Izumi caught it steadily without even looking up.

"This is?"

"If you haven't recovered, you should stay in bed for a while longer."

Mr. Kobanai, wearing a black and white striped haori, suddenly jumped down from the roof and appeared in front of Kiyokawa Izumi.

The white snake on her wrist raised its head high, its red, jewel-like pupils fixed on Kiyokawa Izumi, occasionally flicking its bright red tongue.

The crystal-clear scales seemed to gleam with a cold light like snow.

The little guy isn't scary at all; in fact, he's quite cute.

"It seems that Mr. Serpent Pillar is also quite interested in my strength... He wants to fight me here to test his own abilities?"

While you're at it, check if this rather irresponsible pillar of mine has fully recovered.

Although Obanai Iguro's words were somewhat sharp, they were undoubtedly much easier to understand than those of a certain unnamed Water Pillar.

To be fair, Kiyokawa Izumi is the only Pillar who has encountered an Upper Moon and escaped unscathed.

Whether it's the Serpent Pillar or any other Pillar, they are all quite willing to fight Kiyokawa Izumi—because they also want to use this opportunity to examine their own strength.

Is it stronger or weaker than Kiyokawa Izumi?

If they were to encounter an Upper Moon demon, would they have any chance of fighting back?

"Would Mr. Sound Pillar like to come along too?"

With a casual flick of her wrist, Kiyokawa Izumi turned her head slightly and chuckled as she spoke to the elegant man sitting in the tree.

Yes, Mr. Uzui Tengen is here too.

"I've heard about the battle with Upper Moon Five. It was truly magnificent, young man."

Mr. Uzui Tengen leaped down, patted Kiyokawa Izumi on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "Then, let us witness a power capable of defeating an Upper Moon!"

"I was here first, Sound Pillar!"

Obanai Iguro said rather bluntly.

The two actually have a pretty good relationship in private.

Although the Serpent Pillar speaks rudely, he still respects Uzui Tengen.

The latter also envied those gorgeous heterochromatic eyes.

"What does it matter? Let me go first. My three wives are waiting for me to come home for dinner!"

"Actually, it wouldn't be a problem if all of you came at me together!"

Qingchuan Quan said with a smile.

This is the warm-up training he wanted; after being bedridden for so long, his body was inevitably a bit sluggish.

Only such high-intensity training can awaken his body.

Therefore, he doesn't mind facing two Pillar-level swordsmen at the same time, or rather, he is looking forward to it.

Unlike his previous battles against the Wind and Water Pillars, he had never fought against these two before, nor had he ever observed their sword techniques, so he certainly wouldn't be able to unleash the Fourth Form immediately.

But wanting to fight both of them at the same time is not an exaggeration.

With these eyes, swordsmanship that is in no way inferior to theirs, and a breathing technique that has greatly improved after initial integration, he is no longer the same person he was three months ago, no longer the weak pillar who was at the bottom of the nine pillars and whose daily routine was to suffer setbacks.

It seemed that they could sense the undisguised fighting spirit emanating from him.

The wooden sword, twisting and turning like a snake, seemed to come alive suddenly, appearing before me at an incredible angle.

A crisp collision rang out, but Kiyokawa Izumi remained firmly in place, casually and easily receiving the sudden attack.

Blood-red pupils appeared in his eye sockets. The long-awaited battle seemed to awaken his dormant body, and his hand holding the wooden sword trembled slightly.

This was not out of fear of the two men.

Kiyokawa Izumi was very excited.

The recovery period was boring and tedious. I couldn't hold a knife, I couldn't use breathing techniques, and there were so many things I couldn't do.

Today I can finally have a proper fight.

"I've wanted to ask you this for a while now: why are you carrying two Nichirin Blades?"

Touching his chin, Uzui Tengen, who wasn't in a hurry to join the battle, suddenly asked a question.

The reason this person wasn't in a hurry to join wasn't because he was unwilling to team up with the Serpent Pillar, nor because he felt it would be unfair to Kiyokawa Izumi—he, being a ninja by training, was observing Kiyokawa Izumi's actions.

Simply put, Uzui Tengen has started memorizing moves.

His moves and Kiyokawa Izumi's Four Forms are not techniques that can be used at will.

With assistance, he can easily prepare the score – in a one-on-one battle, let alone the top three, even the top five would be difficult.

They're roughly in the top seven in terms of strength.

Kiyokawa Izumi did not underestimate this man. In the blink of an eye, he swung his sword more than ten times in a row. Suddenly, his figure flashed and the wooden sword in his hand was delivered silently.

They won't give you time to memorize the moves.

He thought to himself.

The not-so-sharp blade swirled through the air, tearing through the clothes on Uzui Tengen's front.

"Is this the strength to face an Upper Moon and escape unscathed?"

"Swordsmanship honed to perfection through countless trials and tribulations."

"Moreover, their senses are extremely sharp. During their battle with the Serpent Pillar, they could even detect my gaze. How magnificent, young man!"