Demon Slayer: My breathing technique went awry after Nezuko pushed me down.

Inosuke: "I have no connection to this person, I didn't even register them!"

Tanjiro: "..."

Shirakawa Yu: "......" (Pffts and laughs)

Nezuko: "Hmm?" (She tilts her head curiously, looking at her brother, then at the strange pig-headed brother in the air.)

"Forget it, forget it..." Tanjiro gave up on reasoning with this boar whose brain was only filled with muscles and a desire to win, and turned to Shirakawa Yu.

"Senior brother, please put him down first. Inosuke is a comrade."

Shirakawa Yu shrugged, his eyes flickering slightly.

"Pfft!"

Inosuke fell hard to the ground, rolled twice, scrambled to his feet, and grabbed his two serrated knives.

With the blade pointed at Shirakawa Yu, he yelled, "Damn it! What kind of sorcery was that?! You're a dual-wielding swordsman too, aren't you? Let's fight again!!!"

"Inosuke!" Tanjiro quickly stepped in front of him, lowering his voice, "This is my senior brother, Shirakawa Yu! He's very strong! You can't beat him!"

"Huh!? I can't beat him!?" Inosuke was even more unconvinced, clashing his two swords together with a loud clang, sparks flying. "Let him try!!!"

Shirakawa Yu completely ignored the ruffled wild boar.

He turned to look at the few controlled swordsmen who were still swaying and stubbornly trying to rush over not far away, and frowned.

"Several of them were corpses?"

“Yes.” Tanjiro nodded immediately, his expression turning serious. “The demons in these mountains can control people with spider silk, like puppets. They can even control corpses.”

"Tsk~"

Shirakawa Yu didn't say anything, took two steps forward, and casually placed his right hand on the hilt of the mako sword at his waist.

"Breath of Color - Second Form -"

Pink vapors gushed from his mouth and nose, quickly enveloping his entire body.

"Fox Xing!"

The next second, Shirakawa Yu transformed into a pink arc, encircling the team members present.

"So fast!"

Inosuke's exclamation was accompanied by a series of soft hissing sounds.

The swordsmen froze instantly.

Their team uniforms were torn in countless tiny holes, and tiny white spiders, split in two, floated out from the cuts.

Before it even fully landed, it turned to ashes in the air.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

One by one, the swordsmen lost their footing and collapsed to the ground, where they were kicked into a pile by Shirakawa Yu.

Even those already hung on the tree were not spared by Shirakawa Yu; he went through the entire process.

The action was simple and brutal!

He was particularly gentle with one of the female team members, carrying her in his arms and placing her on a human cushion made of people.

He even touched her panicked little face, the pink scent soothing the girl's racing heartbeat.

"Don't worry, everything's fine now."

Hey! What are you doing?!

Ignoring his astonishment, Inosuke immediately jumped out, pointing his knife at Shirakawa Yu, "We finally managed to throw him... uh, rescue him from the tree! How dare you touch him like that!"

Tanjiro was so frightened that he rushed over and covered Inosuke's mouth, whispering urgently, "Shh! Don't talk nonsense! Don't be fooled by my senior brother's gentleness towards girls; he can be ruthless when it comes to boys!"

While trying to hold Inosuke back, Tanjiro reminded him, "Brother, this won't work. They'll get back up."

Bai Chuanyu sheathed his sword, and the pink mist around him turned into specks of light and dissipated. "Do you think I'm one of you? You only cut the threads without finding the source."

"If the little spiders on them aren't removed, the spider silk will keep reconnecting."

Inosuke: "..."

Tanjiro: "..."

They stared at the people on the ground for a long time, and sure enough, this time they didn't stand up.

Inosuke was clearly still unconvinced, standing to the side with his arms crossed, a muffled groan coming from under the boar head mask, "Fancy."

Shirakawa Yu glanced at him.

Inosuke immediately reacted as if his tail had been stepped on, and assumed a fighting stance again.

But Shirakawa Yu just smiled and ordered, "Don't be idle, bring over those who live far away too."

"Understood, Senior Brother!"

Although Inosuke was still muttering "Why should I listen to you?" and "I'm not doing this kind of work," he saw Tanjiro had already started moving things, glared at him, and finally reluctantly followed along.

Before long, together with the previous "twisted arm" swordsman, a total of five or six unconscious or dead swordsmen were piled up into a small human mountain and leaned against a thick ancient tree.

Looking at the female team member who was still relatively unharmed, Bai Chuanyu smiled and said, "Please keep an eye on them. As long as the new little spiders don't get close, everything will be fine."

The female swordsman's face was flushed, a mixture of shock and shyness at being rescued by a hero.

"Don't worry! I can do it!"

"Thank you for your help~"

"No! It's no trouble at all!"

Seeing the female swordsman's excited and thrilled expression, Tanjiro silently covered his face.

My senior hasn't changed at all; wherever he goes, he never forgets... important business...

"Alright, the 'logistics' are all done." He patted imaginary dust off his hands and turned to look at Tanjiro and Inosuke.

"Now, let's go find the ghost that's the source."

Actually, whether these people live or die has little to do with Shirakawa Yu.

He wasn't some compassionate saint who wanted to save everyone he met.

But what he needs to do next... the more surviving team members there are, the less resistance there will be...

"Hurry up," Bai Chuanyu added, his tone relaxed, but his eyes grew even brighter.

"I'm in a hurry, I need to go get my... little maid."

Chapter 56 Loli-like Housewife, White-haired Mom~

After saying this with a smile, Shirakawa Yu turned and walked deeper into the woods.

"Wait, senior brother! What little maid?" Tanjiro was taken aback and quickly chased after him.

Who exactly is in these mountains?

Seeing this, Inosuke followed along with his head down.

The two chased after Shirakawa Yu's retreating figure, finally catching up with him. Tanjiro hurriedly asked what his senior had meant earlier.

"Senior brother, weren't you here to do a mission? You said it was small—"

Before Tanjiro could finish speaking, Shirakawa Yu suddenly reached out and placed his hand on Tanjiro's shoulder, forcefully pushing him forward.

"Don't rush," Shirakawa Yu said with a smile, "Let's deal with this one first."

Tanjiro staggered two steps to regain his balance, and when he looked up, he froze.

From the woods ahead, a... a huge 'figure' is slowly emerging.

It was the body of a headless giant, with dark brown skin covered in twisted veins.

A faint brown scab was visible at the severed neck, while two golden hooks replaced the forearm, each step causing the ground to tremble slightly.

It has no eyes, yet it can "see" in the direction where the three people are.

"Uh..." Inosuke's boar head mask tilted to one side. "This guy... how can he still move when he doesn't have a head?"

Shirakawa Yu shrugged. "It's simple. Other ghosts cut off its head and hide it, leaving only the body as a puppet. That way, it won't die, and it won't have the weakness of a neck."

"You can do that?!" Inosuke exclaimed in surprise.

“That’s right!” Tanjiro sniffed, his expression grave. “Very fine threads extend from its back, all the way into the depths of the forest… It’s that demon controlling it remotely!”

Before he finished speaking, the headless giant suddenly took a step forward and raised his two hooks high!

"Watch out!" Tanjiro immediately assumed a defensive stance.

Shocked, Inosuke let out an excited roar, "Haha! No matter what, this big guy looks tough! I'm coming—"

However, there was one person who was faster than both of them.

Before the two little ones could even make contact with the headless ghost, the figure had already flashed past it.

but.......

He did not draw his sword!

"I'll go scout ahead!"

Shirakawa Yu's voice drifted over from afar, "You three, take care of this guy!"

Three!?

Tanjiro was stunned for a moment, then turned around to look.

Shirakawa Yu, who should have been at the back, had already disappeared.

Only his adorable little sister Nezuko remained, tilting her head and standing there all alone, blinking her eyes in confusion.

Instantly, veins bulged on Tanjiro's forehead.

The roar was louder than the sound of Inosuke clashing with the headless giant blade.

"Senior brother!!! Have you been seeing other women again?!"

Yes! That must be it!