Clang!
The sickle clashed with the nichirin blade, and Tengen's recent fierce assault had no effect. Gyuutarou's speed and strength were no less than his, and coupled with his ability to transform his blood into blood blades from his entire body, Tengen simply couldn't land a hit on him.
What was even worse was that Gyuutarou's poison had already taken effect. His physical condition was becoming increasingly dire; his head began to feel groggy, and poison spots had already appeared on his face.
Gyuutarou naturally noticed this and pointed at Tengen, mockingly saying, "Hehehehe! It seems the poison is indeed taking effect gradually. You said poison wouldn't affect you. Aren't you ashamed of such a bluff?
Even if that brat has discovered our situation, it's useless now. The strongest among you is already poisoned and will die soon. At that time, all of them will also die."
Upon hearing Gyuutarou's words, Tengen picked up his twin blades and loudly declared, "No! It had no effect at all..."
Boom!
Before Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui could finish his sentence, soaring red flames suddenly ignited from his body, engulfing him entirely.
!!!
What's going on? I don't feel any killing intent. Who is it?
Tengen was greatly alarmed as he looked at the flames surrounding him. He quickly glanced around and discovered that the one who set the fire was Nezuko.
"Mm!"
Nezuko even smiled at Tengen after she noticed him looking at her.
After realizing that the flames caused him no harm, Tengen calmed down. Immediately after, he discovered that the poison on his body had been eliminated.
"Hahahahaha! What a flamboyant Blood Demon Art! We, the Demon Slayer Corps... will definitely win!"
With the poison completely removed and the poison spots on his face gone, Tengen felt surprisingly good. His impression of Tanjirou and Nezuko skyrocketed.
"Let's have a flamboyant fight with me!"
Tengen rushed towards Gyuutarou with his twin blades, and Tanjirou and Nezuko followed him.
Gyuutarou, standing opposite, was stunned. He had just finished speaking and was immediately proven wrong.
"Even without the poison, do you think you can defeat me? Don't be naive. Let me show you reality."
Although the poison's ineffectiveness greatly annoyed Gyuutarou, he was not intimidated even without it. He directly held two blood sickles and charged towards Tengen, Tanjirou, and Nezuko.
Countless blood blades flew. Gyuutarou first targeted Nezuko. After all, his poison was an extremely powerful ability of his own. As long as an attack grazed an opponent, it could significantly weaken their state, and it wouldn't take long to directly kill them.
Now that he knew Nezuko could neutralize his poison, he naturally wanted to eliminate her first, or at least incapacitate her from participating in the battle for a short period.
Gyuutarou appeared directly in front of Nezuko, his blood sickle in hand, slashing at her neck. Neither Tanjirou nor Nezuko had time to react.
Clang!
A broad, crimson nichirin blade blocked the blood sickle, protecting Nezuko.
"With me here, you won't succeed!"
Tengen naturally understood Gyuutarou's intention. In this battle, Nezuko's role was also crucial; as long as she was present, Gyuutarou's poison would never take effect.
Tanjirou looked at Tengen's strong back, as if seeing Kyoujurou, who had protected them during the Infinity Train incident.
This is not the time to be distracted. I've undergone so much training. I've become stronger. This time, I must help!
Tanjirou snapped back to reality, gripping his broken nichirin blade, and charged towards Gyuutarou.
"Sun Breathing First Form: Dance!"
Flames appeared, coiling around the broken blade, as a horizontal slash went straight for Gyuutarou's neck.
Tengen's appearance allowed Tanjirou to rest for a bit; now he could barely use his Breathing Technique.
At the same time, the Sound Pillar's other blade also slashed towards Gyuutarou's neck.
Seeing the current seemingly desperate situation, blood once again seeped from his body.
"Blood Demon Art: Rampant Mayhem!"
Countless blood blades formed a spherical shape around Gyuutarou, spreading outwards. Tanjirou's and Tengen's attacks landed on the blood blades and were entirely deflected, and both their bodies were sent flying.
Even with his Crimson Blade, Tengen couldn't cut through the overlapping blood blades.
Immediately after, Gyuutarou attacked Nezuko again. He had now made up his mind to incapacitate Nezuko first so she couldn't detoxify the other two.
He could sense that this demon in front of him hadn't eaten many humans; her strength was incredibly weak, and her regenerative ability must not be strong. As long as she was severely wounded, she would be unable to recover for a very long time.
"Nezuko!"
Tanjirou's heart was anxious at the sight, and he immediately rushed towards Nezuko, wanting to protect her. On the other side, Tengen, who had been flung further away, threw several explosive pellets at Gyuutarou, then shouted to Tanjirou, "Tanjirou!"
Upon hearing Tengen's voice, Tanjirou understood. His broken blade sliced through the explosive pellets Tengen had thrown, and an explosion rang out, the smoke obscuring Gyuutarou's form.
"You, Nezuko, step back a bit and protect yourself!" Tengen loudly shouted at Nezuko, then charged into the cloud of smoke himself.
In the smoke, Gyuutarou, who had failed to attack Nezuko, was furious and took out his anger on Tanjirou.
"Then you shall die in her place!"
The tip of the sickle plunged towards Tanjirou's head. The exhausted Tanjirou was completely unable to dodge this attack, and the blade tip had already pierced the skin on his face.
Clang!
A massive blade grazed Tanjirou's face, striking Gyuutarou's blood sickle and repelling him.
How could he be so fast?
Gyuutarou felt somewhat incredulous. He already knew Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui's speed; logically, he shouldn't have arrived so quickly.
However, as soon as he looked up, he understood. Tengen himself hadn't reached this spot yet.
But because his twin blades were connected by a chain, he had just held the tip of one of the blades, extending the blade's attack range by more than double, thus achieving the effect just now.
He can hold just the tip of the blade? His grip strength is too immense!
After realizing this, Gyuutarou was incredibly surprised by Tengen's immense grip strength.
"Go let your sister detoxify you!"
Tengen said, then simply threw Tanjirou with one hand, landing him right beside Nezuko.
Nezuko, seeing this, quickly used her Blood Demon Art to remove the poison from Tanjirou.
After throwing Tanjirou, Tengen re-gripped both nichirin blades with both hands and powerfully swung them at Gyuutarou.
Sound Breathing First Form: Roar!
Watching Nezuko remove the poison from Tanjirou, Gyuutarou was unable to free his hands under Tengen's attack, his blood sickles blocking Tengen's two nichirin blades.
Subsequently, a huge explosion occurred between the weapons, and Gyuutarou was pushed back a certain distance.
And at this moment, Tanjirou, whose poison had been removed by Nezuko, returned to the battlefield.