KAIZOKU: KIMETSU NO YAIBA ||One Piece x Kimetsu no Yaiba||

CHAPTER 24 - Battle of Takeshi's Castle: Part 1

CHAPTER 24 - Battle of Takeshi's Castle: Part 1

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"Don't tell me this old man is..." Uzui was taken aback.

"That's right. You saw his technique." Tomioka replied, giving an obvious look.

"Jigoro Kuwajima, the Thunder Hashira!" Uzui bellowed, "I thought he was dead!"

"Uh, it's a long story." Tomioka was impatient.

It so happened that Karaku the Upper Demon had fled the scene after Sekido's downfall, following his demon radar giving warning jolts from the Takeshi's Castle.

"We can't make small talk whilst an Upper Demon Moon has slipped past us." Tomioka reminded, getting up from his sitting crate.

"I know where that demon went." Uzui said, "It's been quite some time but I guess we'll find Roronoa and Kanao Tsuyuri whilst at it."

"Tsuyuri? Shinobu's tsuguko?" Tomioka asked surprised.

"That's right."

"More the reason we shouldn't let them wait." Tomioka said, leading atop one of the nearby houses. Uzui and Master Kuwajima followed suit describing the castle far to their sight.

"I couldn't sense anything from here. Roronoa and Shinobu's tsuguko are taking their sweet time." Uzui said.

"They could've gotten into trouble." Tomioka said concerned, "Come on."

The three of them made way through the rooftops taking possible shortcuts, whilst cutting time.

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They found the main route to the castle situated on an elevation compared to the rest of the town. Broken boulders and redundant traps lying about all the way until they found a thin unsafe bridge without any guardrails.

"For some reason, this bridge was made to keep us out." Tomioka mentioned.

"Agreed." Uzui said.

Without further ado, the three of them made attempt to cross over. The river flowed below with its strong currents, something the Demon Slayers onboard the bridge tried not to think about. Without the annoying demon bats, the trip was smooth sailing to the other end. They observed the wreck left behind by the demons in the wake of both the encounters against Zoro.

"This looks recent." Tomioka mentioned, "We are close."

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"And I thought everything was done in the plan. Why is this not so?"

"I... I'm sorry. Ubuyashiki's Hashiras showed up and then that swordsman." trembled Urogi, one of Hantengu's clones.

"Silence! You are a coward."

Urogi, the clone of 'delight' showed quite the contrary to his usual emotion and demeanour, cowering in front of the audience and the fellow who was throwing rage upon him.

"That man..." Shinobu trembled from the aura.

Zoro understood her concern, ever vigilant of the threat ahead. He made quick observations finding Kanao in the same boat as her big sister. Even the cold-steeled Kanae Kocho showed concerns.

"That him?" Zoro asked.

He needn't a reply from his companions. The fellow alongside Urogi faced him, taking off his hat.