"Lower Moon One, Enmu!" Uchiha Shinji's eyes instantly sharpened.
Although the enemy was hiding in the shadows, thanks to his Mangekyo Sharingan's keen perception, he could still make out the figure and recognized their identity.
"Be careful!"
He quietly warned Haku and Karin behind him.
Seeing their powerful leader on guard, Haku and Karin naturally became even more cautious, focusing all their attention on their surroundings.
Enmu stepped out of the shadows, spreading his arms wide, his expression twisted into madness: "I can't wait to swallow you whole! Now, sleep!"
This time, with Enmu's words, ripples in the air spread out rapidly toward Uchiha Shinji.
"Not good!"
Uchiha Shinji knew something was wrong. As the distorted ripples reached him, he activated his Mangekyo Sharingan to its fullest.
The ripples passed over Uchiha Shinji, then dissipated into the night.
He checked himself and confirmed he was uninjured. He was about to look behind him to see if Haku and Karin were okay, but to his surprise, they were nowhere to be found.
"How is this possible!?"
He was shocked.
With his Mangekyo Sharingan activated, it should have been impossible for Haku and Karin to disappear silently from his side.
Suddenly, he realized something, turning sharply toward Lower Moon One.
"Huh!?"
Even Enmu made a surprised sound.
Uchiha Shinji couldn't believe it: "I've been pulled into your dreamscape?"
"Why are you the only one who entered the dreamscape? And..." Enmu looked at his own hands, puzzled: "Why did I get pulled in too?"
"Just as I thought..."
Uchiha Shinji frowned.
From Enmu's words, he confirmed that it wasn't that Haku and Karin disappeared, but rather that he had been trapped in the enemy's Blood Demon Art, drawn into a dreamscape.
Fortunately, Uchiha Shinji had managed to fully activate his Mangekyo Sharingan just in time, taking the brunt of the Blood Demon Art, allowing Haku and Karin to escape the effect.
Enmu seemed to realize something too. He took a few steps forward, staring at Uchiha Shinji: "Is it your eyes? Did they drag me into my own dreamscape?"
Uchiha Shinji's expression suddenly changed.
As Enmu got closer, Uchiha Shinji finally saw the characters in his opponent's eyes.
However, contrary to what he remembered, Enmu's left eye did not have the kanji for 'Lower Moon One,' but instead, 'Lower Moon Five.'
How can he be Lower Moon Five?
Uchiha Shinji was sure this guy was Lower Moon One, the strongest of the Lower Moons.
So, just like with Lower Moon Five, Rui, it wasn't that Uchiha Shinji remembered wrong, but that the ranking of the Lower Moons had changed.
The world of Demon Slayer was not the same as he remembered!
Realizing this, Uchiha Shinji didn't hesitate. He prepared to use Amaterasu, but no matter how much he tried to summon his ocular powers, he couldn't activate it.
Enmu laughed maniacally: "No one knows the dreamscape better than I do. Here, we are nothing but fragile pieces of glass!"
"In the dreamscape, have I lost my abilities too?"
Uchiha Shinji felt uneasy.
Losing his abilities meant that neither he nor Enmu could harm each other in this realm.
But fortunately, Haku and Karin had avoided the attack. Uchiha Shinji was confident that Haku, being resourceful, would quickly realize something was wrong.
As long as Haku woke him up, the fight would be over.
Pff... Suddenly, Uchiha Shinji coughed up blood without warning.
Looking down, he saw that his chest had caved in slightly, as if he had taken a heavy blow.
Enmu smirked: "It's not just you who has companions outside! If you're hurt in the real world, it shows up here in the dreamscape too!"
In reality.
Haku, while fending off the demons' attacks, shouted to Karin: "Karin, quickly, take leader away!"
"Okay, got it!"
Karin hurriedly hoisted the unconscious Uchiha Shinji onto her back and darted into a nearby alley.
The situation had changed in an instant.
One moment, the mysterious demon appeared and, at the same time, both the leader and the demon fell unconscious. Then, several more demons emerged from the surrounding shadows.
One of the demons had taken advantage of the moment to sneak attack their unconscious leader, injuring him.
If Haku hadn't blocked the subsequent attacks, both the leader and she would've been killed by the demons by now.
Thinking about how they had been in their apartment in the Hidden Leaf just moments ago, and now they were being hunted by vicious demons, with their mighty leader unconscious, Karin felt like crying.
"We can't let those demons catch us!"
All that kept her going now was her will to survive.
Meanwhile.
Haku was holding off all the demons.
In front of him, besides the mysterious demon who had fallen unconscious alongside the leader, were four other demons.
However, these four demons were extremely strange.
Two of them had the kanji for 'Lower Moon Five' etched in their eyes, while the remaining two had 'Lower Moon Six' inscribed in theirs.
However, all of the characters had large slashes across them!
"Based on the leader's description, these should be Lower Moons from the Twelve Kizuki. But why are there two 'Lower Moon Fives' and two 'Lower Moon Sixes'? Can there be multiple Lower Moons? And what's with the slashes? Does it mean 'disqualified'?"
Haku's thoughts raced.
One of the demons licked its lips: "So, you must be what they call 'shinobi' in this world, huh?"
Haku stared at the bloodstains on the demon's teeth and asked: "You've eaten people, haven't you?"
The demon grinned: "Don't worry. You'll soon be in my belly too!"
Haku, hearing this, felt his fear slowly give way to determination.
To be honest, he hadn't been prepared to fight these demonic creatures after joining the Akatsuki just yesterday.
But after seeing how bloodthirsty and brutal these demons were, Haku felt the Akatsuki had a just cause—these man-eating demons had to be eradicated!
With that resolve, he swiftly formed hand seals: "Ice Release Secret Technique: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"
Whoosh... Instantly, several cold mirrors of ice appeared out of nowhere, forming a semi-circle that trapped Haku and the four demons inside.
Haku then retreated into one of the ice mirrors: "I know I can't kill you, but I'll do everything I can to hold out until dawn!"
The four demons looked at the massive ice dome enclosing them, momentarily bewildered.
...
On Karin's side.
She carried the injured Uchiha Shinji through several winding paths, eventually spotting a house with faint candlelight and rushed inside.
"Is anyone there?"
Karin called out, hoping for help.
Footsteps echoed from deeper inside the house.
Karin looked toward the sound expectantly, but to her horror, a demon with drums embedded all over its body slowly emerged, walking toward her.
...
In the dreamscape.
Uchiha Shinji wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and chuckled: "Looks like it stopped. I thought you'd finish me off."
Enmu was also surprised. He had expected Uchiha Shinji to be killed by the demons outside, but after one injury, nothing further happened.
Looks like it was me who dropped the ball... Damn it, I let those rookies face such a dangerous situation!
Shaking his head, Uchiha Shinji turned to Enmu: "Hey, weren't you curious about my eyes? Let me show you clearly!"