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Hunter x Hunter: The Sun Breathing Zoldyck - 9
🕑 Added 2025-09-29 14:38:25 +0000 UTCChapter 9: What is Strength X A Nen User's Battle
Demons, in Roy's impression, weren't as terrifying as humans. On the contrary, humans could sometimes be more vicious than demons.
But the demons in the Demon Slayer world were different—they were physical monsters dependent on the Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji's existence.
Empowered by demon blood, their bodies were incredibly strong, far surpassing ordinary humans.
But like vows and limitations, strength often came at the cost of "restrictions."
Demons weren't without weaknesses either.
First, their life and death were entirely in the Demon King's hands.
Second, they feared light and would die if exposed to it, so they typically appeared at night. This was why at the beginning of Demon Slayer, Grandpa Saburo deliberately kept Tanjiro overnight, ultimately leading to the tragedy where the entire family except Nezuko was killed.
Third, demons craved blood and had to feed on humans. Prolonged starvation would weaken their strength, but once replenished, they would quickly recover.
Unfortunately, the demon before them was one that had been desperately hungry but had just replenished itself with a blood meal—a demon at full strength!
'It's clearly still daytime...' Roy couldn't help but sigh at his "excellent" luck.
Thick clouds happened to cover the sun, which was probably why this demon dared to attack the woodcutter despite the wind and snow.
"Nii-san... what is that?" Tanjiro tremblingly grabbed Roy's clothing.
"Didn't you just say it... a demon."
"A demon! There really are demons! Then shouldn't we... run quickly!"
"Run? Where to? Do you want to lead it back home?" Roy swung his right hand, shouldering the hoe directly, and strode toward the demon.
"I..." Tanjiro's body, which had just turned around, stiffened. Looking back, his Nii-san tossed him a single word without looking back: "Stay there."
In an instant, using Shadow Step and several consecutive leaps, he became a gust of wind carrying countless snowflakes, charging directly forward.
Three hundred meters—a distance neither long nor short.
Enough for the demon to notice the anomaly.
It dropped the corpse that had been mostly devoured, stared over with blood-red eyes, and grinned to reveal a mouth full of sharp fangs:
"Gyahahaha... perfect timing!"
"This woodcutter's meat is too tough, not tasty."
"Just right to use you two little ones to add some flavor."
The demon was overjoyed. Instead of retreating, it advanced, stomping the ground with one foot and creating a snow crater on the spot.
Then, like a cannonball, it charged toward the approaching Roy.
Mid-air, it extended claws sharper than blades, swiping directly at Roy's head!
So fast it drew a scream from Tanjiro!
"Nii-san, be careful!"
"Whoosh~" The fierce wind barely grazed past Roy's neck.
At the crucial moment, Roy's figure flashed. Mid-air, he used Rhythm Echo to change direction, creating a string of afterimages as he circled around to the demon's lower back, raising the hoe for a powerful strike!
"Bang!" The kidney was practically scooped out!
The demon cried out in pain, rolled on the ground, and quickly distanced itself from Roy.
It couldn't understand how a human could make movements that defied natural laws. Standing up again, it had already used the demon blood within to heal its body.
Tanjiro, crouched behind a tree, closely watched the battle situation. Seeing this scene, he was completely dumbfounded!
It could recover after being injured—how could this be fought?
But Roy seemed not to notice this point. He gripped the hoe with one hand, performed a sword flourish, and with a smile at the corner of his mouth, became even more excited.
[Notification: Host Combat Experience +1]
[Current Level: Combat: lv2 (16/100)]
[Note: Extra combat experience can be randomly allocated to application techniques the host has mastered.]
[Such as "Shadow Step," "Rhythm Echo," "Snake Awakens"...]
In this case, was this a demon? This was clearly a moving experience pack!
Roy's eyes lit up as he gained another layer of understanding of his Nen ability.
What was drawing nourishment? Besides learning, combat was also part of drawing nourishment.
'So the question is, should I kill him quickly or slowly?'
Roy already had his answer. He pointed the hoe from afar. The demon ten meters away, seeing his provocation, inexplicably shivered, not knowing why he suddenly felt an emotion called fear. He immediately became furious from embarrassment!
How hateful—he, Sato Takeichiro, had never feared anyone in life. He dared to kill even the daimyo's samurai. Now that he'd been transformed into a demon, he was being pointed at with a hoe by a little child. If that lord found out about this, he would surely face merciless destruction.
Mocking him for being inferior to even a child.
"Gyahahaha... really being underestimated here." Sato Takeichiro grinned savagely and flexed his ankles.
The earlier probing had made him realize that his opponent was not only fast but possessed a strange movement technique. If that was the case, to break the deadlock, he had to be faster and more elusive than his opponent to achieve final victory.
Fortunately, what Sato Takeichiro excelled at most was being "fast" and "unpredictable"!
"Blood Demon Art—Bullet Kill!" Sato Takeichiro transformed. The soles of his feet curved into an arc shape. With just a touch on the snowy ground, he flew up as if springs were installed under his feet!
Then, Tanjiro witnessed a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life!
Countless demon figures appeared in the forest.
These figures used tree after tree as springboards, each bounce bringing a gust of foul wind!
So fast that in the end, no matter how hard Tanjiro rubbed his eyes, he couldn't tell which was the real body!
He could only clench his fists and worry for Roy.
"This is bad, Nii-san... he can do the same splitting technique as you!"
No... it's not the same.
With his eyes covered in a layer of Nen, Roy directly activated Gyo, seeing more clearly than Tanjiro.
His opponent used the "spring" effect under his soles against the snow and trees to create reactive force, producing afterimages—so he was genuinely fast!
In contrast, Rhythm Echo utilized blind spots in human vision, focusing on confusing opponents. In terms of speed, it was far inferior.
However, what Sato Takeichiro absolutely couldn't imagine was that he wasn't facing some amateur who knew a bit of martial arts and was content with self-satisfaction, but rather—
A true Nen user who had opened his "aura nodes"!
And what was a "Nen user"?
With just Gyo, one could capture the aura on an opponent's body. With just Ten, one could focus the mind and maintain calm. With just Hatsu, one could release aura—either as Nen bullets to attack opponents or attached to objects to enhance striking power.
So...
'My foolish little brother, let your big brother give you a proper lesson!'
Roy held his breath and raised the hoe!
He said calmly: "Watch carefully, Tanjiro..."
"Only strength will not deceive your eyes."
With that, he swung the hoe down.
