Observation and Assimilation
After stopping the initial fight, Kanami stood back, letting Tanjiro console the children while Zenitsu wailed about the horrors he'd seen. Inosuke, meanwhile, was doing high-intensity push-ups, muttering about Kanami's strength.
Kanami focused his enhanced vision on the boar-headed savage, activating his system skill.
> SYSTEM (Analysis): Observing Inosuke Hashibira. Assimilating Beast Breathing (Level 1) acquired.
>
Kanami felt a surge of raw, kinetic energy—a wild, intuitive form of breathing designed for the sole purpose of attacking. He now theoretically possessed the ability to use Inosuke's own style.
Inosuke, feeling the intense scrutiny, ripped off his boar mask and pointed a serrated blade at Kanami. "You! Mask guy! You're going to fight me now! Your aura is the strongest, and I'm going to take your head!"
Kanami sighed, drawing his Heaven's Devour blade. "Fine. A quick demonstration."
The Duel of Copied Forms
The battle began in a chaotic rush. Inosuke launched himself with reckless abandon.
Inosuke: Beast Breathing, First Fang: Pierce!
The attack was a straight, violent thrust. Kanami countered immediately, mimicking the move with his own blade.
Kanami: Beast Breathing (Copied), First Fang: Pierce!
The clash was thunderous, sending sparks flying. Kanami's attack was faster and stronger due to his immense STR (25) and SPD (29) stats, forcing Inosuke to skid back.
Inosuke, enraged that his signature move had been countered perfectly, spiraled into a flurry of attacks. "What the!! How did he know my breathing technique? This Ugly masked-man..."
Inosuke: Beast Breathing, Second Fang: Slice! followed by Fifth Fang: Crazy Cutting!
Kanami responded in kind, his movements mirroring Inosuke's wild, dual-wielding style, but with his own devastating speed, using his Devouring blade like a pair of sabers. The dual was a whirlwind of serrated steel versus razor-sharp Nichirin, tearing up the mansion floor. Kanami struggled only because he was deliberately restraining his Devouring power, forcing him to rely on pure copied technique and raw stats.
The battle raged for several minutes. Kanami was clearly superior in power, but Inosuke's unpredictable nature and boundless stamina kept the fight dynamic. Kanami used the time to analyze the forms, improving his comprehension.
Just as Kanami prepared to disarm Inosuke, a familiar blur of red and black shot between them.
Tanjiro Kamado: "STOP IT, BOTH OF YOU!"
Before anyone could react, Tanjiro slammed his forehead into the side of Inosuke's head.
THUNK!
Inosuke collapsed instantly, the force of Tanjiro's legendary "forehead headbutt" rendering him unconscious.
Kanami immediately lowered his blade. He sheathed it with a faint, satisfied smile beneath his mask. "That was effective, Tanjiro. It's good that you have a big foreh... I mean, you have great thick skull."
Recovery and The Next Mission
The group spent the next few days recovering at a local wisteria crest house, where Zenitsu, Kanami, and Tanjiro finally had time to rest. Inosuke, still recovering from the headbutt, had grudgingly decided Kanami was a new rival/master and refused to leave his side.
Kanami took a moment of solitude to focus on his new reward.
> INVENTORY: Ancient Map Fragment (Unlocked).
> System: Host, this new weapon was purely created by the system, due to its origin, it can be considered as an otherworldly weapon. Make sure no one can discover that a weapon like this, holds an ability. Find the location on the map.
The map was vague, depicting a deep valley obscured by fog, with a strange symbol glowing at its center. Kanami mentally filed the location away. It was clear his Luck was guiding him to powerful equipment to compensate for the dangers of the altered timeline.
Soon after, their next mission arrived. The destination: Mount Natagumo.
"Mount Natagumo," Tanjiro read from the dispatch crow's note, his face grim. "A mission where the Demon Slayers who go in never come out."
Kanami knew this was the start of the biggest test yet the fight against the Spider Family, led by Rui, a Lower Rank Kizuki whose power was far greater than any Kanami had faced. And now, given the history of the changed plot, Kanami knew Rui's entire family would be enhanced.
This time, there would be no going in alone. Tanjiro, Kanami, Zenitsu, and Inosuke departed together.
Mount Natagumo: The Spider's Web
The moment they reached the base of Mount Natagumo, the air felt thick, unnatural, and suffocatingly ominous, filled with the sticky scent of silk and potent demon blood.
The First Encounter: The Enhanced Spider
They found a terrified Demon Slayer running toward them. Before the slayer could speak, he was abruptly pulled back into the woods, his limbs manipulated like a puppet.
The Mother Spider Demon appeared, her strings thicker and her expression colder than Kanami remembered.
"She's stronger than the original!" Kanami realized, drawing his sword and activating his Golden Dragon Mask power. "Her strings are already fortified!"
Kanami: "Zenitsu, stay back! Inosuke, Tanjiro, do not touch her threads!"
Kanami shot forward, using his godly Speed (29). The plan was to decapitate the Mother before the strings could snare them.
The battle was immediately longer and more difficult. The strings were dense, forcing Kanami to use continuous high-powered strikes. He was not just cutting silk; he was cutting through steel-hard thread.
Kanami: Heavenly Demonic Devouring Breathing, Form 3: Soul Cleansing Veil!
He moved in swirling, evasive patterns, letting the strings fly harmlessly past him. He needed an opening, but the Mother was faster at creating nets than he anticipated.
Tanjiro was forced to assist, using Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance, to slice the threads. Inosuke, meanwhile, rushed headlong, trying to find the demon's neck.
Kanami saw his chance when Inosuke briefly distracted her. He charged with maximum force.
Kanami: Heavenly Demonic Devouring Breathing, Form 1: Devouring Gale - First Fang!
The strike, fueled by his immense Strength (25),"Now!! Tanjiro! As Tanjiro is coming from above the mother spider panic, then it changed, it's accepting it's death, Tanjiro's compassion finally severed the Mother's head. Using Water Breathing, Fifth Form: Blessed Rain After the Drought. The mother spider was cut with a peaceful expression, and whisper "This is...It feels like I'm being showered by a gentle rain..It doesn't hurt at all, it's not agonizing..I never dreamed that my end would be this tranquil.. and now.. I'll be released..."
Tanjiro look at her with a sad looked.
The Separation and the Second Battle
They did not have time to recover. The Mother Demon's death only scattered them further.
Tanjiro and Kanami were forced deeper into the forest, encountering the enormous, muscular Father Spider Demon.
"He's massive! Much bigger than he was supposed to be!" Kanami cursed.
The Father Demon was too strong to be cut by ordinary Nichirin steel. Kanami knew this was a mistake.
Kanami: "We need a massive strike, Tanjiro! Don't let him touch you!"
The battle against the Father Demon was a brutal struggle. His skin was like rock, deflecting even Kanami's strongest slashes. Kanami's sword only managed shallow cuts that barely bled before the demon's hide closed up. Kanami was forced to use his new Illusion Conjuration skill (Cooldown: 15 min), making the Father Demon see two attackers.
While the demon was confused, Tanjiro used Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux, the ultimate offensive form.
Kanami joined him, using his highest offensive technique.
Kanami: Heavenly Demonic Devouring Breathing, Form 1: Devouring Gale - First Fang (MAX FORCE)!
The two combined strikes, hitting the same spot, finally managed to peel back the Father Demon's thick armor, and Tanjiro, fueled by desperate resolve, decapitated him.
The Back-Up Arrives
As they collapsed, hearing the wails of a terrified Zenitsu somewhere deep in the woods, Kanami felt a new energy approaching.
It wasn't a demon. It was a Demon Slayer of immense power.
Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira, arrived with a flash of effortless speed, moving through the woods like water. He looked at the chaos, the shredded trees, and the two exhausted slayers.
Kanami had expected the backup to arrive later. The chaos of his timeline shifts had accelerated the arrival of the Hashira.
"What are two swordsmen doing fighting an Upper-Rank class threat on their own?" Giyu's voice was calm, but his presence was overwhelming. He looked specifically at Kanami, his eyes pausing on the Golden Dragon Mask and the scent of overwhelming, yet controlled, demon power.
The fight for Mount Natagumo was far from over.