Naruto: Uchiha Survivor Forced to Save the Shinobi World

The deep sense of unwillingness in Sasuke's eyes was clearly seen by Shinji, who possessed the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. However, at this moment, Shinji had little time to focus on Sasuke.

"Rengoku Kyojuro," Shinji frowned slightly, thinking to himself, "Why is it him?"

In his calculations, the Lampbearer of the Demon Slayer world, having seized the power of the Demon King, should have wiped out the Demon Slayer Corps. After all, even in the original timeline of the Demon Slayer world, the Twelve Kizuki's overall strength was above that of the Demon Slayer Corps.

Adding the Lampbearer who had seized the Demon King's power, the Demon Slayer Corps should have had no chance against the demons.

So, seeing Rengoku Kyojuro, holding his sword with a solemn expression, Shinji couldn't hide his surprise.

"No, something's off!"

Suddenly, Shinji's expression became serious.

Previously, due to Rengoku Kyojuro having no scent of blood on him, and because Shinji understood his character, he instinctively saw Kyojuro as a swordsman.

But after observing Kyojuro's details, Shinji realized that Kyojuro had already become a demon!

Immediately, Shinji looked up at the sky, his face filled with disbelief.

Despite being a demon, Kyojuro was standing in the sunlight!

At that moment, Rengoku Kyojuro placed his sword horizontally and sighed, "I'm sorry, but I must stop you."

Sasuke shouted, "Who are you people? Why are you attacking us?!"

Kyojuro glanced at Sasuke, "I'm sorry."

"You—"

Sasuke froze for a moment.

In reality, Sasuke's sensitivity far surpassed that of the average shinobi.

Perhaps it was due to his dojutsu bloodline, or perhaps it was due to his being a reincarnation of Indra Ōtsutsuki.

Regardless, as long as he wasn't overwhelmed by emotion, Sasuke could keenly sense goodwill and malice.

This was also why, when trapped in the sandstorm, he hesitated only for a moment before deciding to follow Shinji—he could feel that Shinji bore him no major malice.

And now, he could clearly sense that the orange-haired swordsman before him, holding his sword, was genuinely apologizing.

Shinji spoke coldly, "Do you think an apology will fix this?!"

Rengoku Kyojuro opened his mouth, but in the end, chose to remain silent.

Seeing this, Shinji understood.

Without a doubt, the Lampbearer of the Demon Slayer world had not only integrated the power of the demons but also united the power of the Demon Slayer Corps.

The Demon Slayer Corps was aware of the invasion of the shinobi world—at least Rengoku Kyojuro, the Flame Pillar, was aware of it. That was why he apologized, why he felt guilty.

"Get out of here; this isn't a fight you can handle!" Shinji ordered Sasuke, locking his gaze on Rengoku Kyojuro.

This battle wasn't about pride or sparring. For the sake of saving the Demon Slayer world, Kyojuro had fallen to become a demon, showing he had made his decision. For the sake of saving the shinobi world, Shinji had no choice but to fight to the death.

Their stances were in direct opposition!

Saying anything more was meaningless.

After hearing Shinji's command, Sasuke initially felt anger, but soon he calmed down. Realizing Shinji was speaking the truth, Sasuke hesitated for just a moment before reluctantly retreating.

Rengoku Kyojuro did not stop Sasuke from leaving. After Sasuke had stepped away, he raised his Nichirin Sword, "Be careful!"

Shinji sneered.

"Fifth Form: Flame Tiger!"

With a soft shout from Kyojuro, a surge of flames rose from his body.

Then, the flames fused with him, transforming into a gigantic flaming tiger, which pounced at Shinji with a roar!

Shinji's eyes narrowed, and he fully activated Susanoo Tomoshibi to meet the attack.

Boom!

In an instant, the two colossal forces collided, producing a deafening explosion.

The shockwave from the massive impact quickly spread out, lifting vast swathes of yellow sand into the air, creating a new sandstorm!

Sasuke, who thought he had retreated far enough, was thrown to the ground by the sandstorm.

Ptui.

He spat out the sand that had blown into his mouth, then looked towards the battlefield in shock!

In his eyes, the Akatsuki member codenamed "A," who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, should have been one of the strongest in the shinobi world.

One-on-one, there should have been no one who could stand against him.

Yet here was a stranger, dressed as a samurai, wielding a long sword, and emerging from the sand, fighting "A" on even footing.

And it didn't seem like he was losing ground!

"What is this? Taijutsu? Ninjutsu? But he didn't make any hand signs..."

A myriad of questions flooded Sasuke's mind as he stared at the scene, his three-tomoe Sharingan spinning rapidly as if trying to see through everything that was happening.

On the Battlefield.

The force of the collision sent Shinji back several meters.

His expression remained unchanged, but he began analyzing in his mind, "That last strike wasn't purely from 'Breath Techniques'; he used Blood Demon Art, and he enhanced it with chakra!"

While "Breath Techniques" could simulate various elements like water, fire, lightning, even moonlight and sunlight, normally, they couldn't actually release these elemental effects. Only when the Breath Technique was used to its utmost could it barely produce elemental attacks.

But Rengoku Kyojuro's Fifth Form, Flame Tiger, wasn't mere swordsmanship—it had truly manifested a blazing tiger of flames.

Without Susanoo Tomoshibi, Shinji wouldn't have been able to block it easily.

Rengoku Kyojuro, who had also been pushed back, didn't show any signs of surprise.

Or rather, he was shocked by the power of Shinji's Susanoo Tomoshibi, but regarding the outcome of this battle, he was rather calm, his face showing little emotion.

Huff.

Exhaling a misty breath, Kyojuro suddenly transformed into a streak of flames, vanishing from where he stood.

Shinji's face darkened.

He had already noticed the markings on Kyojuro's face, so he knew that before becoming a demon, this Flame Pillar—who, in the original timeline, fell before reaching his peak—had successfully awakened the markings in this Demon Slayer world, honing his "Flame Breath" to the extreme.

Even with this mental preparation, Shinji hadn't expected Kyojuro to be this fast.

If not for his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, he wouldn't have been able to track Kyojuro's movements at all.

Even with the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan tracking his movements, Shinji wasn't planning to match speed with speed, as he had significant "confidence" in his taijutsu skills. He knew that while his eyes could track the opponent's movements, his body wouldn't be able to keep up.

So rather than moving and exposing countless flaws, it was better to rely on Susanoo Tomoshibi and remain stationary.

From a Distance.

After realizing his Sharingan couldn't track Kyojuro's movements, Sasuke's jaw dropped. "This... how is this possible?!"

"First Form: Unknowing Fire."

"Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun."

"Third Form: Blazing Universe."

In the midst of the sandstorm, streaks of fire continuously struck the golden Susanoo Tomoshibi standing tall.

From afar, it looked like brilliant fireworks exploding one after another!

But only Sasuke, who was the closest, knew that what looked like dazzling fireworks was, in fact, a fierce, life-threatening assault.

This speed!

This power!

Fortunately, it was "A," who possessed Susanoo Tomoshibi. Otherwise, any other person would've already been engulfed and obliterated by those radiant flames.

"Who exactly is that sword-wielding guy..."

Shocked, Sasuke couldn't help but feel a growing curiosity.

He marveled at the unmatched defense of Susanoo Tomoshibi, admired how "A" remained calm amidst such fierce assaults, and was in awe of the yellow-haired swordsman's speed and swordsmanship!

Both types of power were ones he dreamed of obtaining!

Back on the Battlefield.

Both fighters had their own thoughts amidst the fierce battle.

Shinji could now be certain that this genius, Rengoku Kyojuro, must have touched upon the extreme of "Breath Techniques," unlocking the markings and achieving the Transparent World.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain his exaggerated speed!

After becoming a demon, Kyojuro had shed the limitations of a human's fragile body, allowing him to fully unleash his talent in swordsmanship.

But there was one thing Shinji couldn't understand.

Why was Rengoku Kyojuro, a demon, unafraid of sunlight?!

Judging by the other demons only acting at night and the fact that the demons that attacked Tsunade's squad kicked up sand to block out the sunlight, demons should still fear sunlight.

"Could it be that Kyojuro, like Nezuko, also doesn't fear sunlight? Is it because of Breath Techniques, or is it because he has maintained a human form and has not consumed humans?"

In the original timeline of the Demon Slayer world, only one demon was unafraid of sunlight—Nezuko, the sister of the protagonist, Tanjiro.

This was thanks to Nezuko's special constitution.

Her family had passed down the "Breath of the Sun" for generations, and the Breath of the Sun represented the power of the sun itself, meaning her bloodline naturally contained solar power.

Rengoku Kyojuro's "Flame Breath" was derived from the Breath of the Sun, essentially a weaker version of it. Therefore, it wasn't impossible for Kyojuro, having honed his Flame Breath to the extreme, to be immune to sunlight.

Moreover.

Shinji hadn't sensed any bloodlust or scent of blood from Kyojuro, suggesting that at least recently, this swordsman who had fallen to become a demon had not consumed any humans.

The fact that he hadn't consumed humans even to prepare for such a significant battle implied that he likely never had.

As for the immense chakra emanating from Kyojuro, Shinji suspected that it was injected into him by the Lampbearer of the Demon Slayer world by other means.

After deducing this, Shinji frowned slightly.

In the Demon Slayer world, anyone who could become a "Pillar" was undoubtedly a genius among geniuses, and Rengoku Kyojuro was one such figure.

If Kyojuro was still human, Shinji wouldn't be afraid at all.

No matter how outstanding Kyojuro's talent was, or how far he pushed his Breath Techniques, his human body meant he wouldn't last long in battle.

Fatigue, pain, poisoning—any of these could cause his state to deteriorate quickly.

But after becoming a demon, all of a human's weaknesses were gone. This talented swordsman now possessed an immortal body.

What made it even more terrifying was that, as a demon, he now lacked even the typical weaknesses of demons!

He wasn't afraid of sunlight!

This made defeating Rengoku Kyojuro all the more difficult for Shinji!

Whoosh!

Another flash of fire surged forward, pushing Shinji, along with his Susanoo Tomoshibi, back a step or two.

Shinji quickly activated Susanoo Tomoshibi to counterattack, but it was difficult for Susanoo Tomoshibi to match Kyojuro's speed.

Every attack by Susanoo Tomoshibi, though earth-shattering, often failed to connect.

Whoosh.

The flames attacked again!

Boom!

In a loud explosion, Shinji was once again pushed back several steps. Before he could regain his footing, the sound of cracking reached his ears.

He looked up and saw that a long crack had formed on the side of his Susanoo Tomoshibi!

From a Distance.

"Su... Susanoo was breached?!"

Sasuke's expression was one of shock, as if he had seen a ghost.

In his mind, the Susanoo—exclusive to the Mangekyō Sharingan—was invincible, impossible to penetrate!

Yet, the scene before him forced him to admit that the yellow-haired swordsman had managed to leave a crack on Susanoo Tomoshibi using only his sword.

And a crack meant Susanoo Tomoshibi's defense was no longer absolute!

As if to validate Sasuke's fears, several more cracking sounds echoed from the battlefield.

Clearly.

Kyojuro realized that without breaking Susanoo Tomoshibi, he couldn't inflict any harm on Shinji. Thus, he chose to execute concealed, continuous attacks, using a dazzling flurry of moves to mask his true intentions. Eventually, by way of continuous and seemingly inconspicuous attacks, he succeeded in breaking Susanoo Tomoshibi.

As the last cracking sound echoed, the long crack on Shinji's golden Susanoo Tomoshibi finally gave way, shattering into a large fragment, exposing an opening!

Shinji looked at the opening, his demeanor showing a hint of panic.

Whoosh!

In that instant, Rengoku Kyojuro transformed into a brilliant blaze of fire, rushing through the opening straight into Susanoo Tomoshibi's interior!

Kyojuro then swung his sword at Shinji, his face showing neither joy nor sorrow.

From a Distance.

"No!"

Sasuke wanted to shout but found no voice coming out.

He never imagined that A, who possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, would be defeated by what appeared to be a mere swordsman, nor did he think that Susanoo could be pierced by a sword!

It overturned everything he knew, along with the pride he held as an Uchiha!

Just then, within Susanoo, Shinji smiled slightly, looking at Kyojuro as he swung his sword. "A blade like yours can't kill me!"