Author's note: my deepest apologies for the long delay. I initially was unmotivated to work on this chapter on the day I usually work on the chapters and when I finally got around to it, I had been swarmed with tasks that took up my time. I apologize once more for keeping you guys waiting. I hope you guys have a blast with this chapter.

Opening: Polaris by BLUE ENCOUNT

It has come to this by Runblebee

Akaza slammed his foot triumphantly into the ground as he assumed his fighting stance, creating a humongous and mystical snowflake pattern that expanded from his position, covering the floor of the entire area he and Tanjiro stood upon. Akaza threatened before kicking into action, "Alright, kid, let's see what you got." Akaza abruptly vanished, causing Tanjiro to explode with rapid movements as he quickly countered Akaza who was already in front of him, throwing multiple punches and kicks towards Tanjiro. Tanjiro attempted to end the fight, quickly, with Xernex's argent axe and Yorichii's nichirin blade in-hand as bright blue wraith flames traced his movements but Akaza was able to effortlessly avoid every attack that came his way. The demon would elegantly weave past every strike as if he knew they were coming in-advance. Every time Tanjiro swung and missed, Akaza would snap his fists towards Tanjiro and strike him. Akaza kicked himself away from Tanjiro, performing a backwards flip while doing so. The Upper Moon stood back up before commenting, "Look at you, you're able to keep up now. Unfortunately, you're not quite fast enough."

Tanjiro furrowed his brows before leaping forward at incredible speeds, hacking and slashing at Akaza with his two weapons but the demon managed to avoid every attack, barely breaking a sweat. Despite Tanjiro being faster than Akaza, the demon's reflexes were swifter than Tanjiro's to an unreasonable degree. The demon was acting as if he could predict Tanjiro's attacks before they were made, how was that possible? What level of experience does it take for someone to reach a state like that? Just how long has Akaza been fighting?

Akaza found an opening in Tanjiro's attacks as he closed in and delivered a powerful uppercut that blasted Tanjiro towards the edge of a rock wall. The boy regained control of himself mid-air before springing off the rock wall and hurling his argent axe towards Akaza like a boomerang. Akaza ducked underneath the axe and smirked once he saw Tanjiro, already in front of him, preparing an attack as he stated its name, "Sun Breathing: Solar Heat Haze." Tanjiro's blade was suddenly coated in a burning blue haze that obscured the weapon as he prematurely swung it. However, Akaza wasn't fooled by the attack. He dangerously rolled forward to get out of the way. As he passed underneath Tanjiro, the ground where Akaza stood was sliced open as a result of Tanjiro's attack. The boy landed on the floor, whipping around to catch his axe which had boomeranged back to him, and preparing to bring his weapon down upon the demon behind him. Akaza performed a raising axe kick to stop Tanjiro's robotic left arm. As the demon held Tanjiro's left arm in place with his right foot, Tanjiro swung the nichirin blade in his other arm towards Akaza. In response, the demon raised his left arm defensively as the flimsy nichirin blade dung into Akaza's forearm but was unable to sever it.

Tanjiro raised his eyebrows in surprise because of Akaza's durable skin. He was sure he would be able to cut through Akaza but it appears he didn't give the demon enough credit for his durability. Akaza smirked once more as Tanjiro was in-position now as he quickly hooked his right foot around the boy's neck while kicking at his side with his left leg. With a simple scissor-cutting-motion of his legs, he made Tanjiro spiral into the ground and tumble away from the force. Akaza stood up, his entire body relaxed as he felt as though he was in no particular danger.

The boy sprung back onto his feet before charging towards Akaza once more and swinging with both of his weapons. Akaza nonchalantly hopped backwards before stating the name of his attack, "Destructive Death: Air Type." Akaza repeatedly punched the air in front of him, creating air bullets to instantly strike Tanjiro and tearing holes in the boy's haori.

The boy stepped back as he responded with his own attack, "Sun Breathing: Burning Bones, Summer Sun." before performing a large, circular slash that created a wall of bright blue fire that ate up some of the damage. While the boy was obscured, Tanjiro quickly sheathed his nichirin blade and drew the Super Shotgun in that same instant so he could pull himself away using the Meathook.

Once the flames died down, Akaza lowered his arms in order to find Tanjiro in the midst of the battlefield. The Upper Moon looked around at the various demons around him getting slaughtered by the Night Sentinels and their allies. Everyone was focused on their own battles for the most part. Akaza tilted his head forward to avoid a stray shot that was coming towards him. After Akaza raised his head back up, his senses alerted him to an incoming threat as he saw Tanjiro descending upon him while swinging with both weapons. The demon quickly grabbed both Tanjiro's axe and sword and maneuvered the boy in front of him for a powerful shove kick that would blow the boy away and disarm him. As Tanjiro was blasted away by Akaza's kick, the boy's weapons were yanked from his hands as he wasn't strong enough to hold onto them.

Akaza inspected both weapons, not impressed by either of them as he mocked Tanjiro, "You're better than I expected, I'll give you that. I'm not going to say, 'I'm not having fun.' because I am. However, you're still an amateur. I haven't the slightest clue how you got this strong so quickly. Maybe it's that suit of armor but that still doesn't cover up your apparent lack of skill when compared to me. I've lived for centuries, accumulating combat experience to become strong while you're some teenager that was given an ungodly amount of power. You still have a long way to go if you want to keep up with me." As Tanjiro picked himself up, Akaza threw the nichirin blade back towards Tanjiro. The boy quickly looked down at the sword before returning his attention towards the axe that Akaza was still holding onto. "You can keep the sword, I'm fine with that dinky little thing. However, this…" Akaza prepared to chuck the axe as far away as he could, "...can go straight to Hell!" before throwing the axe like a baseball in a random direction.

Tanjiro shouted, "NO!" As he pointed his Super Shotgun towards the rocks so he can chase after the axe with his meathook. As he fired it, Akaza punched the air between him and the meathook, creating a shockwave that bent the chain and redirected the meat hook into the ground. Akaza pressed his foot down on the meathook while Tanjiro tried to retract it, preventing it from returning.

"You really want to keep using that axe? It's such a buzzkill of entertainment. It's no fun for me, personally."

Tanjiro gave up on retrieving the axe, he understood Akaza was not going to let him take it back any time soon so he decided to shift his attention to the current situation as he stated with a distorted voice because of the mask, "You make no sense to me. You keep going on and on and on about the weak and how much you despise them. Then all of a sudden, you view the strong as a source of entertainment! What are you even after? I-is that why you hate the weak? Because they can't entertain you? Is life just some fucking game to you?!"

Akaza's nonchalant expression quickly dissipated as he stated, "The strong entertain me for a different reason. I'm entertained by their strength, fascinated by their ability to take control of their lives and bend it to their will. They don't need much, they stay true to their resolve and will not crack under pressure. The weak are entitled pests that do nothing but beg for more than they're entitled to. They cannot accept honor in defeat, they cannot learn from their own mistakes, the weak are just rodents who get in the way of other people's lives! They- they even have the audacity to poison a sick little girl and her father because they lost a fight, fair and square!"

Tanjiro was shocked by the last statement, he didn't take Akaza for the sympathetic type. This made the boy question, "What happened to you? What caused this unfettered hatred for the weak?"

Akaza took offense to Tanjiro's statement as he exclaimed, "What's it matter to you?! Don't tell me you're about to start lecturing me about right or wrong, boy!"

Tanjiro paused as he realized that was exactly what he was going to do. He bit his lip underneath his mask as a result, calculating his next response before speaking up, "I want to understand you. Maybe there's no need for us to fight."

Akaza let out a cough which evolved into laughter. The demon covered his face with his hand while pointing at Tanjiro with the other. The boy simply waited for Akaza to finish as the demon mocked, "Look at you, the little boy scout thinks he can have a counseling session with his enemy on the battlefield. Look around you! People are dying, your own allies are getting slaughtered and you want to sit down and have a chat during the midst of it? This is a fight to the death, boy, I'm not here to chit chat. So by all means, keep entertaining me."

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Zenitsu stumbled backwards because of Kaigaku and his relentless onslaught of demonic thunder breathing attacks. The yellow-haired boy was covered in deep cuts as his haori had been torn to shreds. The two of them had found themselves inside of a cave where the ceiling had been blown open by the war happening above them, allowing light to enter the cave. Kaigaku stepped forward, unscathed by Zenitsu as he expressed himself, "I'm disappointed, Zenitsu. I thought you had grown a pair when you decided to face me. I thought you would bring some ground-shattering resolve to the table, but this? I'm kind of hurt. Protecting people? That's it? That's the best you can come up with? Do you know how cliched that is?! You're honestly pathetic, Zenitsu, I'm more-so angry at myself for placing unreasonably high expectations on you just like the old man did."

Zenitsu grit his teeth in frustration upon hearing the mention of their late master as he barked, "Don't you dare speak of gramps so casually to me, bastard! You were the one who was always preaching to me about treating him with respect! What the hell happened?! Why'd you turn on him?!"

"Because I could. Don't get me wrong, I hold no resentment towards the old man, I'm grateful to him for teaching me thunder breathing. However, once I became a demon, I wanted to test the limits of my new power so I went up against the old man, expecting to die. What I got was possibly the most underwhelming fight of my life! It was easier than I possibly could have imagined! He barely put up a fight, what a joke! I don't blame him, with how strong I am, now, I'd be hard to beat as well."

"You became a demon just so you can kill gramps?!"

"You're not listening, Zenitsu. I didn't become a demon to kill the old man, I became a demon because I could. Everyone looks down on demons, always treating them like parasites and you get outlawed by society. You know what I say to that? Fuck 'em. I will exercise my freedom to do whatever the fuck I want. After becoming a demon, I just think the government is only really down upon demons because they're afraid of losing their power. There's nothing inherently wrong with demons, they're just doing what they have to for their own survival. We see large bears and other animals slaughtering each other out there and we don't bat an eye but when we see something that comes to threaten our power, then it becomes a problem. However, that's another spiel for a different time."

"Demons are out there killing people and ruining lives and you're trying to justify it?! You're no better than them!"

Kaigaku chuckled because of that statement as he continued, "It's funny you say that because now I am a demon. Unlike the others who eat to fill their stomachs, I kill with purpose. I kill the freeloaders, the ones who aren't doing anything better with their lives, that's who I'm after. I'm cool with people who have their minds set on what they want to do, even if it comes at the cost of my death because that means their resolve is stronger than mine and I can respect that. But people that spend their entire lives doing… what? Nothing? Wasting the resources and time of other people who could use it? Those are the people I have a problem with."

Zenitsu hung his head low for a period. Although he could understand Kaigaku's ideology, he despised it. He retorted, "You're heartless… you're inconsiderate…! Do you even take into account the struggles people have to go through?! The psychological abuse they put up with to make them believe they have no worth?! The environments they grow up in which gives them no room for a resolve?! Do you take into account ANY of that?! I might have it easy compared to everyone else but my friend, Tanjiro, taught me it's okay to not have a resolve. We will all find one, eventually, but that doesn't mean you can just snuff someone's life before they have a chance to find theirs!"

"Then explain to me, Zenitsu, is your resolve MORE than saving others or is that it?"

"Right now… that's all I've got. I have someone very important to me that I have to look out for. It's not just her, though, I have friends and family I don't want to lose like I lost grandpa. I let you live last time and that cost me. I don't intend to make that same mistake twice."

Kaigaku made a sour expression, deciding to cross his arms out of disappointment before quickly changing his mind and dropping them, "I suppose that's better. Mmm, I don't know if I can get with it but you know what? I'll give you a chance, Zenitsu, let's see if you're willing to follow through on your sacrifice. Are you really prepared to get yourself killed in the service of others?"

"I don't intend to die nor will I let anyone else get hurt!"

Kaigaku leaned his head back, groaning, before complaining, "See, that's the problem with the hero archetype. You can't have your cake and eat it too. If you're unwilling to make that sacrifice for others, then you won't be able to save them because you'll be too focused on saving yourself, first."

Zenitsu assumed a fighting stance as he stated, "I'll make it work."

STR LR Team Turles theme from Dragonball Z: Dokkan Battle

Kaigaku did the same before exclaiming, "We'll see about that!" and leaping towards Zenitsu and swinging his sword. Zenitsu concentrated on his breathing so he could zip away from Kaigaku. The boy was moving fast enough to leave an afterimage of himself that lagged behind him. "Thunder Breathing: Sixth Form, Rumble and Flash." The demon unleashed black lightning towards Zenitsu's location and various other parts of the cave to close off Zenitsu's escape routes. However, the blonde managed to keep dashing around the room, barely doding the electricity which would cut through his clothing and pierce his skin. "Don't tell me you plan on running the entire time! Show me the true power of the first form that I can't use!"

Zenitsu kept hopping around the room before he finally found an opening and stated the name of his attack, "Thunder Breathing: First Form, Thunderclap and Flash." before zooming forward at incredible speeds towards Kaigaku.

"Thunder Breathing: Fourth Form, Distant Thunder." Kaigaku was engulfed in electricity that began shooting out tendrils that followed after Zenitsu. However, it was useless as the tendrils missed and Zenitsu swung his blade towards Kaigaku. The demon's reflexes allowed him to block the attack effortlessly as his demonically enhanced nichirin blade clashed with Zenitsu's blade. Kaigaku shook his head before commenting, "tch tch tch, you're not fast enough, Zenitsu!" Kaigaku redirected Zenitsu's blade away before going in for another attack. The blonde-haired boy zoomed backwards using the same breathing technique to create some distance between him and Kaigaku. Zenitsu knew this was not going to be an easy fight for him.

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STR Buu (Kid) theme from Dragonball Z: Dokkan Battle

Upper Moon Two, Doma, had caught the attention of a good chunk of the army as they began laying down their firepower upon the demon's ice. Unfortunately, his ice was far too thick as it simply reflected all of their blasts. Doma quickly ran across the terrain while all of the Sentinels and ARC personnel fired their weapons at the creature. Many of the troops were either stuck or on full retreat due to the gigantic walls of ice blocking their paths. As a result, not many of the troops of the opposing army managed to get to Doma. A Sentinel Dragon swooped down low as it spewed out bright blue flames that incinerated the ground beneath it. Doma whipped around and raised his hand, creating a large chunk of ice that reached up to the Dragon, trapping it in ice.

In that moment, Doma's hand was blasted off by a Sentinel sniper from far away. Doma laughed in response, knowing his limbs would regenerate instantaneously. The Sniper took several more shots at the demon who kept side-stepping the blasts. However, as he looked at his hand, he furrowed his brows out of concern once he saw it was slowly regenerating at an agonizing rate. Why was his hand regenerating so slowly now? Did it have something to do with the blue energy that the majority of those armored men are using? It's best that he avoids taking any more hits or else he'll leave himself wide open.

Doma spun around while waving his fans and creating a wall of icy mist that obscured him from his opponents. Soon after, several dozen ice replicas of himself emerged from the mist as they began their assault on the Night Sentinels and their allies. Doma, by then, had finally regenerated his hand and shook off the numbness. He dodged another sniper shot that whizzed past him. He then looked to find the sniper and pinpointed their position, nonchalantly swinging his fan at full force to create an icicle that shot towards the sniper and impaled him with ease. Doma said to himself, out loud, "Huh, I wonder where that Kanao girl went? I wasn't quite done with her." As if on cue, Kanao leapt over Doma's wall of ice and began racing towards him with her blade drawn back. Doma called out to her as she ran towards him, "Oh, there you are! I was beginning to wonder if you got killed by one of those other lame demons." Kanao tapped into her breathing forms, stating the name of her attacks one she was close enough to Doma:

"Flower Breathing: Fifth Form, Peonies of Futility." The girl swung her blade several times towards the demon in one, continuous motion. Unfortunately, none of her attacks managed to hit due to Doma being significantly faster than her. The demon simply weaved around her attacks while maintaining his nonchalant expression. Doma was toying with her as he had multiple opportunities to kill her but decided to savor the fight, instead, as he was in no particular hurry to devour his food. Kanao shouted as he swung her blade once more but as she did so, Doma sliced her thigh open with his fan, causing the girl to collapse to the floor on her knees. The demon knelt down, holding her chin to raise her head towards him so they could make eye contact. That's when the demon mocked:

"See? That's what you get for being just as reckless as your two sisters. You know, if the lot of you had just approached me peacefully, I would've been more than willing to make you my servants. I wouldn't have to kill you girls but you just keep wanting to die. What's so appetizing about food that wants to be eaten? It's not as fun in my opinion. So do me a favor and make this a bit more enjoyable and try not to get yourself killed, Kanao."

Kanao began trembling, not just from the chilling ice or how freezing cold doma's hand was, but from the fear that was beginning to consume her. Doma was simply far too strong for her, she had no problem understanding how her sisters fell to the hands of such a monster. None of them stood a chance! If neither of her sisters could do it, how could she? Doma's only been toying with her thus far, he hasn't put in an ounce of effort into this fight yet. Kanao instinctively swung her blade towards Doma but the demon ripped it out of her hand while she was swinging it. He took a look at the weapon, briefly, and found nothing peculiar about it so he tossed it away.

Before Doma could continue, he was cut off by the sound of rapid footsteps approaching him from behind. The demon stood up and quickly turned around to see Inosuke charging towards him while exclaiming, "You better back off, bozzo! Lord Inosuke's gonna take you down!" before leaping into the air and diving towards Doma.

Doma couldn't help but notice that everyone was just recklessly charging towards him today. It was no fun having opponents who willingly charge towards their deaths. The demon nonchalantly swung his fan towards Inosuke, generating a small blizzard that slammed into Inosuke. The wind was sharp enough to cut through Inosuke's skin but the boar boy pressed on as he passed through the blizzard and continued diving towards the demon. However, his body temperature dropped considerably, his movements becoming stiffer as a result. Doma twirled around Inosuke and slammed the boy into the floor with enough force to break a rib or two. The Upper Moon knelt down once more as he pointed towards Inosuke while looking at Kanao, "Say, is this one of your friends, Kanao? He sure looks funny. I wonder if that head is actually his head. Let's find out."

Kanao blinked and Inosuke's boar head was in Doma's hands. Kanao and Doma were surprised to see the boy's face underneath the mask. Inosuke's real face was unusually pretty and feminine-like with pale-green eyes and shoulder-length black hair that fades to blue at the tips. Doma pointed out while inspecting the mask, "That's wild, I've seen people wear animal pelts but never have I seen anyone actually wear an animal's corpse. You're one messed up child. Say, have we met before?"

Inosuke barked while lashing out at the demon, "GIVE THAT BACK, YOU ASSHOLE!" Doma moved quickly and before Inosuke could process it, he was pierced by several icicles that pinned him to the floor. Inosuke attempted to free himself but any attempt he made only hurt himself. He was slowly losing feelings as the freezing cold icicles numbed his body. Doma leaned in closer to Inosuke, getting a good look at his face which made the boy attempt to reach out to bite Doma.

"Aha! I remember you! Well, not you, per se, more like someone else from a couple years back. Wait, wait, no, I have met you. You were with her when she died."

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, I'LL KILL YOU!"

"Hey, this is a once-in-a-lifetime-miracle and you're getting upset? Who knew I would have the honor of meeting the relatives of two different people I've killed, at the same time!"

"WHAT ARE YOU ON ABOUT?!"

"Your mother came to me a while ago. Yes, considering how old you are now and how young she was then, you have to be the same child. Your mother… I think her name was Kotoha? Yes! That was it, silly me. Kotoha was taken into my cult because she came from a very abusive family but she did her best to protect you. She was really nice but a bit on the slow side so I decided to keep her around. I don't eat everyone you know, I have my favorites and she was certainly one of them! Until she discovered that I was actually eating my worshippers, so she went ballistic and ran away! I did what I had to do and share the same mercy I shared with all of my other worshippers. It was either that or let her keep getting abused back home so I made a tough choice and did what was necessary. Right before she did that, she dumped you off a cliff in an attempt to protect you. I guess you survived cuz I was more than certain you died from that fall!" An awkward silence developed between them, so Doma turned to Kanao and explained, "Well, do you see what I mean, now, Kanao? I'll still give you the chance if you submit. I'll make sure you're nice and comfy! How does that sound?"

Inosuke trembled from his evergrowing rage as he muttered under his breath, "You bastard… you took my mom from me…!"

"Hey, it's not like I wanted to. She forced my hand!"

"You son of a bitch, you better keep me pinned down right now because if you don't… I'LL TEAR YOU LIMB FOR LIMB, YOU HEAR ME?!"

That's when something crashed into the ground near the three of them. They all looked to see what landed, staring into a cloud of dust and smoke that was lifted into the air by the sudden crash. They could hear the constant metallic clangs of a sword inside the dust cloud fighting against something. In an instant, the smoke was blown away to reveal Tanjiro and Akaza going back and forth in one spot. Tanjiro performed a vertical slash that Akaza avoided by performing a twirl in the air before springing back towards Tanjiro once he touched the floor.

Kanao faintly smiled upon seeing Tanjiro in the distance and cried out as loud as she could for him to hear, "TANJIRO!"

The boy whipped his head towards the direction where his name was called but was not given a chance to process what he was looking at as Akaza seized the opportunity to sucker punch Tanjiro's face while he was looking away. Out of irritation, the boy grabbed Akaza's wrists to hold him still so he could look back at the origin of the cry. That's when he saw Inosuke pinned to the floor with icicles going through his body, Kanao on her knees as her skin grew increasingly pale, and Upper Moon 2 next to them both. One of the boy's veins jut out from his forehead as it pressed against his skin due to the intense fury he felt upon seeing not only his girlfriend on her knees but his cromade bleeding out.

Tanjiro angrily pressed his foot against Akaza's chest and pushed forward as quickly as he could with enough force to rip Akaza's arms off his body and knock the demon back. Without delay, Tanjiro redirected himself to face his comrades and sprinted as fast as he possibly could towards his friends. Doma blew his fans towards Tanjiro, creating a gust of ice-cold wind that obscured the array of sharp icicles that sped towards Tanjiro. The boy stated his attack as he charged towards the blizzard without fear, "Sun Breathing: Fake Rainbow." before breaking out in a series of rapid movements so fast that he created afterimages of himself which the icicles passed through. Doma furrowed his brow as he attempted to fixate on Tanjiro's position.

In that moment, Doma's instincts screamed for him to run as Tanjiro rocketed towards him at blinding speeds. The demon didn't dare resist his instincts as he leapt out of the way from Tanjiro who furiously slashed his sword with enough force to displace the air he swung through. The boy skidded to a stop in front of Kanao and Inosuke while keeping his gaze on Doma. He used this time to kneel down and quickly remove the icicles pinning down Inosuke and turning towards Kanao, embracing her to comfort her as he noticed the girl was pale from fear and bleeding out from her cut-open thigh.

Doma complained, "Aww, you're ruining the fun! I just offered Kanao if she wanted to stay by my side back at my cult! I promise you that I won't hurt her!" Tanjiro's eyes looked towards Kanao's bleeding leg, causing him to growl intensely. That's when he muttered towards Inosuke:

"Inosuke… Get Kanao out of here."

Inosuke picked himself up as he protested, "Hey! Don't get any funny ideas, I'm going to be the one to kill that ice bastard!"

"DAMMIT, INOSUKE, DON'T ARGUE WITH ME RIGHT NOW, GET KANAO OUT OF HERE!" The boar boy froze upon hearing Tanjiro's distorted voice raised so loudly. He wasn't going to try to argue with Tanjiro at this point. He simply commented:

"Okay, fine! But make sure you save some of that bastard for me!"

"You got it."

Inosuke helped Kanao get on her feet before the two of them trudged away, blood pouring out from their open wounds. Tanjiro watched the two flee for a brief period before giving Doma a furious glare. The demon still had a nonchalant expression on his face. By then, Akaza was already next to Doma, with his arms regenerated.

The cyborg fights by Makoto Miyazaki

Tanjiro assumed a fighting stance with his blade pointed towards the two demons in front of him. Wraith energy travelled through his body, causing his pupils and scar to shift to a bright blue for a moment before returning to their original color. This caught Akaza's attention as he wondered what it was he just saw. Doma was focused on the two fleeing demon slayers and said to Tanjiro, "Do you really think I'd stand by and let a potential servant of mine leave me? You must be delusional!" before dashing towards the slowly retreating pair of slayers.

Tanjiro vanished from his position as he was now gliding in the air, zooming towards Doma to intercept him. The demon cast a wall of ice next to him to block Tanjiro but the boy smashed his fist into the structure, obliterating it, before passing through to get to Doma. The demon gasped as Tanjiro hacked into Doma's skin with his nichrin blade. However, Doma's skin was more durable than Akaza's as Tanjiro's blade was now lodged into Doma's body. It's not that he lacks the strength to cut through the demon's body but he couldn't risk putting in too much power into his swings at the risk of breaking his master's sword which was currently his only weapon.

"I'm your opponent, remember?!" Akaza shouted as he slammed into Tanjiro, pushing the boy away from Doma with his nichirin blade still stuck inside the demon's body. The ice demon yanked the blade from his skin, tossing it aside as he continued chasing after Kanao and Inosuke. Tanjiro leapt towards Doma but Akaza cut him off, throwing a punch towards the boy. Tanjiro backed off and performed a spin kick which Akaza dodged by ducking underneath the attack and performing his own spin kick which knocked Tanjiro back. "You have a strong battle spirit, but you're wasting it on the wrong guy. You should be focusing on me!"

Tanjiro drew the Super Shotgun and pointed it at Akaza who immediately jumped away from Tanjiro. However, the boy, instead, unleashed the meathook towards his nichirin blade which was on the floor and reeled it back towards him. Akaza charged towards Tanjiro once more while stating the name of his attack, "Destructive Death: Annihilation Type." Tanjiro focused on Doma who was still running towards his two friends and brought his sword back to throw it. Once he locked onto his target and was sure of his aim, Tanjiro hurled his sword like a spear towards Doma. The blade was enveloped in wraith fire as it sped towards Doma like a bullet. The demon was given no time to react as the blade pierced his body, searing it with wraith fire as the sword lodged into the ground, temporarily stopping the demon in his tracks.

Akaza punched Tanjiro with both of his fists, sending a shockwave of pain through the boy's body as he was launched into the wall of ice near them. Tanjiro winced as he forced himself out of the wall, he needed to think of something, quick. Akaza's not going to let him stop Doma. He has to figure out how he can get Kanao and Inosuke to safety. He thought intensely but time was running out as Akaza began advancing towards Tanjiro once more to continue their fight. That's when Tanjiro looked up to see a sentinel dragon fly over the ice wall and kill the other demons that were still fighting. That's when Tanjiro got the idea.

Akaza had a sadistic grin plastered on his face as he ran towards Tanjiro but his expression quickly changed once he saw Tanjiro spin around and punch the wall of ice as hard as he could. With that single punch, the entire wall of ice blocking the way for the Night Sentinel and ARC armies was shattered in an instant. Fragments of ice rained on the floor as a cold mist flooded the area. Akaza stopped to process what he had just witnessed. There was no way Tanjiro was strong enough to shatter that entire wall of ice with a single punch. Unless… he was holding back? Or was he this strong the entire time and Akaza should count himself lucky for being able to avoid Tanjiro? He couldn't tell. He watched as Tanjiro slowly turned around to face him. With that, a horde of Night Sentinels and ARC personnel began pouring into the area with their various vehicles and began wreaking havoc. They unleashed their firepower upon Akaza and Doma who were forced to retreat due to the overwhelming firepower being directed towards them. The ice demon ripping out Tanjiro's nichirin sword and angrily tossing it aside as he was forced to run away for the time being.

Tanjiro kept his gaze on the two Upper Moons and watched as they fled before rushing over to Kanao and Inosuke who were sitting against a rock, trying to catch their breath. Tanjiro called for medical assistance to help treat their injuries before kneeling down in front of Kanao and telling her, "I don't want you to put yourself in any more danger. Stay here. Leave the fighting to everyone else." Tanjiro got back up to retrieve his nichirin blade.

Inosuke was silent as the Night Sentinels tended to his injuries, pouring a strange essence over his injuries which caused a constant stinging sensation to course through his body but he can handle it. While they did this, he looked towards Kanao who was staring off into the distance, seemingly in a daze. He called out, "Hey, what's the matter with you? Why are you acting all brain-dead?"

Kanao blinked and gasped, looking around to process where she was before looking towards Inosuke and answering, her eyes lowering as she spoke, "I don't know if I have the strength to avenge my sisters… he's too strong… I can't do the things that Tanjiro can do, I'm so weak in comparison to him now…"

"Hey, I admit that Tanjiro and that Hellwalker punk are way out of my league. I don't think I can catch up to them. We might not be as strong as those two freaks but we can still fight! I refuse to be looked down upon so let's show them what we can do!" Kanao looked at Inosuke, forming a small smile as she nodded in agreement. Yes, they had to try. They couldn't give up.

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Zenitsu kept fleeing from Kaigaku who was in hot pursuit of the yellow-haired boy. Zenitsu bounced around the walls of the cave like a ricocheting bullet while his former classmate ran straight ahead, spewing black lighting from his sword which crawled towards Zenitsu. Zenitsu kept looking back every few seconds to make sure Kaigaku was still following him. As he faced forward once more, he was able to see a light at the end of the tunnel. He knew he needed to get to it. With any luck, he'd be able to find the Night Sentinels who'd be able to help him out. Kaigaku shouted towards his classmate, "Get back here, Zenitsu! I'm not going to play this game of cat n' mouse with you all day!"

Zenitsu finally escaped the cave, bursting out of the entrance and finding himself within the warzone consumed with Night Sentinels and Immora's demons. The boy looked around frantically, trying to decipher where to go and decided to keep going straight forward because he had no time to think due to Kaigaku quickly catching up. It didn't take long for Kaigaku to spring out of the cave and chase after Zenitsu who was further up ahead. Kaigaku zoomed forward, relentlessly killing any Night Sentinel that was unfortunate enough to be in his way. He decapitated their heads and electrocuted them to death with his black lightning. However, he chose not to confront the vehicles as he knew he didn't have the necessary strength to destroy them.

Zenitsu was scrambling for ideas, he wasn't fast enough to outpace Kaigaku. At best, they're evenly matched in terms of speed. Zenitsu is lacking in his arsenal while Kaigaku has several breathing techniques as well as near-instant regeneration on his side. He was going to have to get creative if he wanted to take down Kaigaku but he wasn't sure if he had what it takes to get the job done. He wishes he had help.

Zenitsu stopped in his tracks once a large boulder was hurled to the floor in front of him. The boy backed up as the boulder crashed into the ground, disintegrating upon impact. Zenitsu looked behind him to make sure it wasn't Kaigaku who threw it but the demon was still relentlessly running towards him. That means someone else just threw it. The boy's enhanced hearing was able to pick up on the sounds of distorted grunts and metallic clangs nearby. He looked up towards the edge of a cliff and for a brief second, he saw Tanjiro dodging an attack from another enemy.

Perfect, Tanjiro should be able to help him out! Zenitsu began scaling the cliff as quickly as he could while Kaigaku was catching up to him. Once Zenitsu jumped on top, he was greeted to the sight of Tanjiro battling Upper Moon Three, Akaza. Zenitsu was partially disappointed now because he didn't want to make Tanjiro's hands more full than they already were. Unfortunately, Zenitsu was out of options for the most part.

Akaza mocked while evading Tanjiro's attacks, "You've got a superb battle spirit! You're reminding more and more of the Hellwalker with each passing second!"

Tanjiro leaped forward while channeling his breathing, "Sun Breathing: Fire Wheel." The boy began spinning forward, with his blade extended outwards, while going towards Akaza. Blue wraith fire exploded from the tip of Tanjiro's blade as it traced his movements and a large wheel of blue fire rolled after Akaza. The demon managed to side-step the attack and slam his leg into Tanjiro, knocking the boy back.

Tanjiro dug his robotic fingers into the ground to slow himself down and prepared to jump back into the fight until he heard Zenitsu call out to him. He looked to see Zenitsu next to him, embarrassed to be interrupting Tanjiro's fight. Tanjiro went up to Zenitsu, inspecting his injuries and asking if he was okay. Zenitsu simply nodded, looking at Tanjiro and noticing he was without Xernex's axe and asked, "Hey, what happened to your glowy red axe? Isn't that thing important to you?"

"Yeah, it's important to me, but I lost it because that guy-" Tanjiro looked towards Akaza as he said this, "-decided to throw it away and I've had no chance to find it yet."

"Oh…" Zenitsu felt bad for Tanjiro, he understood how much of an influence Xernex had on Tanjiro so he could only imagine how uneasy Tanjiro feels right now without his idol's weapon. Unfortunately, their moment was interrupted by Kaigaku who finally made it up top as he continued shouting Zenitsu's name. Zenitsu looked into Tanjiro's eyes and begged, "Hey, man, I know this might be a lot to ask of you right now but do you think you can give me a hand? I need your help taking down my former classmate but don't kill him! I need to be the one to do it, I won't be able to forgive myself if I don't deal the finishing blow. If… that's okay with you."

Tanjiro stared at Zenitsu, nodding as he placed a comforting hand on the blonde's shoulder and assured, "Of Course I'll help you, it's what friends are for. Let's show these guys what we're made of."

AGL Krillin & Gohan (Kid) theme from Dragonball Z: Dokkan Battle

Tanjiro and Zenitsu turned towards their respective opponents and raised their blades towards them. In unison, the two boys tapped into their spiritual energy and stated the names of their attacks at the same time:

"Sun Breathing: Dancing Flash"

"Thunder Breathing: First Form, Thunderclap and Flash.

They both vanished from their positions as they sped towards their opponents at blinding speeds. Zenitsu decided to become more aggressive, switching things up as he began swinging his sword with the same speed and intensity as his breathing technique. Kaigaku's blade clashed against Zenitsu's each time but the demon was impressed by the aggressiveness as it caused him to grin from pride.

Meanwhile, Tanjiro zoomed towards Akaza as the Upper Moon stated the name of his attack before performing it, "Destructive Death: Crushing Type, Ten Thousand Leaves Flashing Willow." Akaza dug his fist into the ground, creating a massive shockwave that expanded in every direction. Tanjiro brought his arms up to block the shockwave as it slammed into him, pushing Tanjiro back slightly. Once Tanjiro lowered his arms, Akaza was already in his face, ready for more combat as he transitioned into his next attack, "Destructive Death: Eight-Layered Demon Core."

Tanjiro countered while bringing his sword back, "Sun Breathing: Raging Sun." before slashing at Akaza. The repetitive clashing of their two attacks going back and forth created numerous shockwaves that blasted against Kaigaku and Zenitsu while they fought.

Despite their back and forth, Akaza was still one step ahead with his ability which allows him to predict Tanjiro's attacks. That much was obvious at this point, they've been fighting long enough for Tanjiro to figure that out. The problem was now figuring out how to counter such an ability.

Zenitsu was now zipping in circles around Kaigaku who stated the name of his attack, "Thunder Breathing: Fourth Form, Distant Thunder." Before coating himself in his own black lightning and shooting it out in every direction to stop Zenitsu. The yellow-haired boy was unfortunately struck by the attack as he was fried by the electricity, screaming in pain as he was shot back as a result.

Tanjiro looked to see Zenitsu get blown away with Kaigaku chasing after him. That's when Tanjiro turned his body in the other direction and vanished from his current position with Akaza following right behind him. Kaigaku couldn't react to Tanjiro's speed as his torso was blasted off by a single kick from Tanjiro. The boy knew Akaza was behind him so he reflexively whipped around to swing his sword at the demon who redirected the blade away from him and threw his own punch towards Tanjiro. Tanjiro caught the fist with his free hand, pushing Akaza back to give himself some space.

Zenitsu struggled to climb back onto his feet. That was the first direct-hit that the boy took while fighting against his former classmate. As a result, he was in agonizing pain. It didn't matter, he had to keep fighting and avenge his master. He raised his sword once more in anticipation of Kaigaku's regeneration which didn't take long at all. Once the former classmate was regenerated, he blinked several times as he was still processing what just happened to him, commented in disbelief, "Wow."

Tanjiro was backing up, doing his best to block and avoid Akaza's attacks while he failed to land an effective blow against the demon. He decided to ask an indirect question that might clue him in on the nature of Akaza's ability, "You sure like to dodge!"

Akaza responded while holding Tanjiro back, "You can thank the Hellwalker for my improved abilities. My little session with the Hellwalker turned me into quite the escape artist. Sure, I wasn't as fast as him but you better believe my reflexes got better!"

"Really? And you say I remind you of the Hellwalker?"

"You both share an intense hatred and lust for battle, I want to see how far you can go, kid!" Tanjiro leapt back until he was right next to Kaigaku who was focused on Zenitsu. Kaigaku turned around and was surprised to see Tanjiro right behind him. Kaigaku decided to seize this opportunity to strike Tanjiro. During this, Akaza was charging toward Tanjiro to deliver a devastating blow.

With everyone in-place, Tanjiro tapped into his spiritual energy and performed his counterattack, "Sun Breathing: Clear Blue Sky." Tanjiro quickly spun in-place with his sword extended as the wraith fire trailed his movements. Akaza barely managed to avoid the attack as he barely jumped back in time with the blade, consequently, grazing the skin of his forearms. Unfortunately, Kaigaku couldn't respond in time as he was sliced from the shoulder-down. Kaigaku's upper torso (what's left of it) slapped against the ground while Tanjiro moved towards Akaza, hoping Zenitsu would use the opportunity he just gave him.

Zenitsu knew this was his chance, he had to deliver the finishing blow now! Zenitsu lunged at Kaigaku's upper torso, preparing to decapitate his former classmate and end his life. However, as he got close, Kaigaku's head began jutting out blades in every direction like a pufferfish. Zenitsu raised his arms to protect himself as he aborted the attack, getting cut by the numerous blades jutting out of the demon's body. The opportunity was wasted now as Kaigaku now had time to regenerate his body and get back on his feet. Zenitsu was panting from the pain he was feeling, he was still feeling the pain of being scorched by the black lightning on top of being cut from the head down.

Kaigaku mocked while slowly approaching Zenitsu, "You didn't think I'd let you kill me that easily, did you? There's a reason I was able to beat the old man so easily."

Zenitsu grit his teeth before retorting, "You didn't. You aren't as good as him!"

"Tell that to his corpse."

"You said it yourself, didn't you? That the fight was easier than you expected. Did you ever wonder why?"

"I know why, because I was simply too strong for him."

"No… He let you win. There's no way gramps would ever harm any of his students! We were his prized pupils! We might've disappointed him in our own ways but he still loved us no matter what! There's no way he would ever fight you unless he let himself get killed by you!"

A strain formed on Kaigaku's face upon hearing this as he clenched his fist angrily, "You little shit, are you calling my strength a lie?!"

"Something like that. If you were really stronger than gramps, you would've killed me by now."

Kaigaku was furious now, his pale skin became warm because of his boiling anger as he insulted, "YOU THINK I'M A LIAR?! THEN LET ME REUNITE YOU WITH THE OLD MAN AND TELL ME WHO'S THE LIAR!" Kaigaku zoomed forward, bringing his blade back to slash Zenitsu with it. The blonde leapt back to avoid the hit. Unfortunately, Zenitsu underestimated Kaigaku's boost in speed due to his intense rage. Kaigaku shouted while swinging his sword, he was attempting to decapitate Zenitsu who only had a split second to dodge. The blonde threw his entire body back as much as he could to avoid the attack. He watched in slow-motion as the blade passed by mere inches in front of him. Suddenly, everything became pitch black for Zenitsu.

Tanjiro stopped once he heard Zenitsu's screams of pain from the other side. He looked to see Zenitsu on the floor, curled up in a ball as he was covering up his face with his bloodied hands. Kaigaku stood triumphantly over Zenitsu, breathing heavily from his frustration as he raised his blade to finish off Zenitsu.

Akaza, who was smiling from the thrill of the battle, became shocked at the increasing size of Tanjiro's battle spirit. He was getting flashbacks to his fight with the Hellwalker when the warrior's spirit exploded like a sun. It was happening again with this boy. Everything slowed down as he watched Tanjiro's eyes widen with panic. Soon, Tanjiro's spirit exploded similar to the Hellwalker's as he witnessed Tanjiro's pupils and scar turn to a bright blue before the boy vanished from thin air in front of him.

Kaigaku exploded into a mist of blood as his entrails sprayed the floor where he was. Akaza looked around and was surprised to see Tanjiro already next to Zenitsu, kneeling down to help the boy sit up as he asked, "Oh my god, are you okay?!"

Zenitsu uncovered his face to reveal a deep cut going across his face horizontally which went through his eyes. Zenitsu whimpered, nearly at the verge of crying, "I can't- I can't open them…! It's so dark… I can't see…!" The blonde-haired boy was at the verge of a panic attack but Tanjiro tried his best to calm his friend down.

Akaza was dumbstruck, he couldn't believe the incredible speed and power that he just witnessed. It was as if Tanjiro had become an entirely different person. Despite Akaza noticing Tanjiro's pupils and scar turning blue, they had already returned to their normal color. Just what is Tanjiro? What was going on?

Tanjiro said to Zenitsu, "Remember what Master Rengoku taught us before! Focus on your breathing, try to see if you can stabilize the pain in any way! I'll get you some help!" Tanjiro prepared to scoop Zenitsu in his arms so they could retreat to safety but the blonde stopped him. Tanjiro looked down at Zenitsu to see the boy fighting through his panic to control his breathing, he was beginning to maintain it and overcome his fear. The boy told Tanjiro:

"I have to.. Keep fighting! I already made the mistake of letting him live once… I don't plan to do it twice!"

"Are you insane?! There's no way you can fight without your sight!"

Zenitsu sat up on his knees as he pointed out to Tanjiro, "You didn't stop fighting without your limbs… so I don't have an excuse to stop fighting without my sight! You showed me that it's possible… So I'm going to keep on fighting!" Tanjiro helped Zenitsu get back on his feet. By then, Kaigaku had regenerated, wide-eyed from shock as he had no time to realize that Tanjiro destroyed his body in less than a second.

Akaza furiously called out to Tanjiro as he asked, "Hey, kid, what the hell was that?! Are you holding back against me?!"

Tanjiro helped Zenitsu onto his feet before making eye contact with Akaza and answering, "I am."

"If you had that type of power to begin with, why didn't you kill me right off the bat?!"

Tanjiro was silent as he formulated his response, "I was initially reserving that power as a last resort. But now, I'm just trying not to kill you."

Several veins jutted out from Akaza's body from frustration as he pointed out, "Are you still on about that?! I told you before, kid, I don't need lecturing from the likes of you! You're a demon slayer, I'm your sworn enemy!"

Tanjiro shook his head in denial as he stated, "I'm no longer a part of the Demon Slayer Corps. I follow my own rules now. It's a tiny spec, but I think there's a goodness in you that I can bring out and I won't stop until I bring it out. I don't view you as a demon, you're just another person like me."

Akaza clenched his fist as he began shouting, "FIRST, YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO HOLD BACK AGAINST ME AND NOW YOU SEEK TO CONSOLE ME?! YOU'RE ONE FUCKED UP KID, I HOPE YOU KNOW THAT! IF YOU REFUSE TO GO ALL-OUT AGAINST ME, THEN I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET THAT CHOICE!"

Tanjiro allowed Zenitsu to stand on his own so he could draw his nichirin blade and point it towards Akaza and challenged, "Fine by me. I think I'm starting to get the hang of your little technique."