You didn't expect this, did you? I've time-traveled again!

After placing Zenitsu Agasa under a tree, Suoh Takeru stretched his neck and shook his legs to loosen his muscles and bones, preparing to teach her a lesson.

"Oh my, is Mr. Oni finally getting serious?"

Shinobu Kocho looked at him with a smile, while simultaneously raising her Nichirin Blade to remain on guard against a sneak attack.

Because of her rude behavior, Suoh Takeshi said in an annoyed tone, "Since you can't explain yourself, I'll just have to teach you a lesson, little girl!"

Shinobu Kocho should be 18 years old now. Although she is only two years younger than Takeshi Suoh, her loli-like figure and super young appearance make her look very young.

"Little girl...?!"

Butterfly's face showed a forced smile, but the veins on her forehead were clearly visible, indicating that she was angry.

"Take this, little girl! A lightning bolt with a radius of fifty meters!"

Suoh Takeshi continued to rub salt into her wounds, while striking a lightning-fast pose.

Sword skills, when wielded by different people, naturally have different effects and damage. To put it bluntly, Suoh Takeru, who secretly learned the Thunderclap Flash, is at least three to four times stronger than Zenitsu Agatsuma currently!

After all, at the same level, the stronger one's physical attributes, the more powerful one's sword skills will be!

This is an eternal truth!

After being enhanced with skill points, Suoh Takeru's physical abilities have far surpassed those of ordinary people!

From the very beginning, he planned to invest all his skill points in the skills [Magic Expansion] and [Physical Enhancement].

Despite his analytical and imitation skills, he couldn't use these skills and sword techniques without a good physique!

Similarly, magic is the same.

Without sufficient magical power as a backing, one cannot unleash any powerful magic.

If we compare the human body to a computer in operation, then the body is equivalent to the computer's hardware. Only with good hardware can you install and run various high-quality large-scale games!

Otherwise, with those old computers, it takes several minutes to open a webpage, let alone run large games.

Therefore, basic hardware is the most important thing!

Ahem, I've gone off on a tangent.

Let's turn our attention back to Suoh Takeshi and Kocho Shinobu.

He takes a deep lunge, grips his sword with both hands, and prepares to strike. His body gradually lowers until it is almost parallel to the ground.

"Thunder Breathing - First Form: Thunderclap Flash!"

Swish!

Suoh Takeshi charged straight at Shinobu Kocho like a yellow lightning bolt!

The next second, he appeared behind Shinobu Kocho and slashed at her head with his sword...

slap~

A soft sound came from Shinobu Kocho's head.

Suoh Takeshi wielded a knife in his right hand and lightly 'chopped' her little head.

It was inevitable that Suoh Takeru could instantly kill Kocho Shinobu.

Shinobu Kocho, who relied solely on speed due to her poor physical abilities, was utterly powerless against Takeshi Suoh, who was even faster.

"Huh...?!"

Shinobu Kocho was stunned, and it took her a long time to react. "This is... Thunder Breathing?!"

"Correct answer!"

Suoh Takeru patted her little head and said with a smile, "It is indeed the Breath of Thunder."

"Could it be that Mr. Oni also knows Thunder Breathing?"

Shinobu thought she would understand that Suoh Takeshi wasn't a demon, but in reality, she misunderstood even more deeply. She thought Suoh Takeshi had secretly learned the Thunder Breathing Technique somewhere.

"I'll say it again, I'm not a ghost!"

Suoh Takeru was furious and pinched her cheeks, "Is it this mouth? Is it this mouth that maliciously slandered me?"

"I was wrong, I was wrong!"

Shinobu Kocho quickly apologized, "Mr. Oni isn't an oni."

"Hey!" Suoh Takeshi shouted, "What do you mean 'Mr. Oni isn't a ghost'? I'm really not a ghost!"

Is Shinobu Kocho like that?

That's infuriating!

To avoid any misunderstanding, Suoh Takeshi quickly introduced himself and then recounted what had just happened to prevent the misunderstanding from escalating.

"But I just saw green light coming from Suoh-kun's hand... wasn't that Blood Demon Art?"

"I see, did you see that... Just to clarify, that green light isn't Blood Demon Art; it's a unique healing technique of mine."

Suoh Takeshi also realized that Shinobu Kocho, who was hiding in the shadows, must have seen the green light emanating from his hand and subconsciously assumed that he was an evil spirit and was using the Blood Demon Art unique to evil spirits.

"That's a lie."

"No."

"..."

"..."

After a while, Shinobu Kocho patted her forehead and said embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, Suoh-kun, I think I made a mistake."

"Really, you've got it wrong."

Seeing Shinobu Kocho emerge from her misconceptions, Takeshi Suoh felt gratified.

It was really tough.

"To express my apology, please accept this, Mr. Suoh."

"what is this?"

Seeing the small cake in Shinobu's hand, Suoh Takeshi suddenly felt hungry and swallowed it in a few bites.

"Delicious! Sweet and soft, fragrant and chewy, it's really delicious!"

Suoh Takeshi licked the grease off his fingers. "Is there any more? I'm getting a little hungry too."

After exercising with Shinobu Kocho, Takeshi Suoh was actually quite hungry.

"Yes, there are many more."

Shinobu Kocho took out a small package from her bosom, which was full of these kinds of small cakes.

Suoh Takeshi's eyes lit up, and he picked up the small cake and wolfed it down.

"Delicious, really delicious! What kind of pancake is this, and why is it so delicious?" Zhou Fangwu asked.

"These are wisteria flower cakes."

"..."

Suoh Takeshi suddenly lost interest in the biscuit in his mouth.

But then, Shinobu Kocho smiled and said again, "This is... wisteria flower cake."

"So, I'm not a demon at all—!!!!!"

Suoh Takeshi was mentally devastated.

Chapter 019 In-Depth

Shinobu Kocho's background is quite tragic.

She was originally the daughter of a family of pharmacists, but her family was invaded by demons who killed her parents. She and her sister, Kanae, were saved by the Stone Pillar when they were about to be killed.

After rigorous training, she and her sister passed the final trial and became members of the Demon Slayer Corps, beginning their hunt for demons.

Four years later, her older sister became a pillar, and she became her older sister's stepson.

But during one of her demon-hunting missions, her older sister, Kanae Kocho, encountered Doma, the Upper Moon Two!

Despite her fierce battle, the older sister, Kanae Butterfly, died just before dawn.

Shinobu Kocho believes it's all her fault for arriving at the scene after dawn.

She felt guilty for not being able to save her sister.

From then on, although she always smiled and turned to her sister, her heart was filled with an unquenchable anger and hatred towards the ghost.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that Shinobu Kocho has a unique obsession with demons; she wants to kill them all, whether they are good or evil.

Even though her sister's wish was for humans and ghosts to coexist peacefully.

"Moshi moshi, Suoh-kun, you're not angry anymore, are you? I apologize. I'm sorry, I was wrong." Shinobu Kocho followed beside Suoh Takeshi, offering a sincere apology.

"Humph."

However, Suoh Takeshi did not accept her apology at all, and just kept rushing into the interior of Mount Natagumo.

Their destinations were the same: the central battlefield of Natagumo Mountain.

Zenitsu Agatsuma has recovered almost completely after Suoh Takeru's emergency treatment and has been handed over to the Hidden Squad of the Demon Slayer Corps for care.

So now it's just the two of them.

However, Suoh Takeshi clearly didn't want to pay attention to Shinobu Kocho, all because Shinobu Kocho attacked without any explanation and then tried to test Suoh Takeshi with wisteria flower cakes, which made Suoh Takeshi very unhappy.

Wisteria flowers are a type of plant that, while harmless to humans, are extremely poisonous to evil spirits; a spirit that ingests wisteria flowers will die.

Poisoning a ghost with wisteria flowers is also a very good way to kill it.

Shinobu Kocho used this method.

Because she was too weak to cut the demon's neck, she chose to use poison.

"I was wrong, I was wrong."

Shinobu Kocho apologized sincerely, but in a tactful tone, "Besides, Suoh-kun was also at fault!"