"So it really is like this..."
The surprise on Uchiha Shinji's face gradually faded, replaced by a deep seriousness.
When he encountered Rengoku Kyojuro in the Land of Wind, he had already started to suspect something, as he understood the Flame Hashira Rengoku Kyojuro, and knew he was an incredibly righteous swordsman.
Thus, if this crisis was merely the last hysterical act of the "Lamp Bearer" from the Demon Slayer World, a meaningless attempt at mutual destruction, someone like Rengoku Kyojuro would certainly not participate.
In other words:
The only reason capable of driving someone like Rengoku Kyojuro to fall into being a demon and attempt to destroy another world was to save the Demon Slayer World.
Only salvation could drive these swordsmen to invade the shinobi world.
"That bastard must be trying to find some way to avoid the overlord's threat. Whether it was the previous invasion or this time with the five 'anchor points,' it must all be his attempts..."
Uchiha Shinji's expression darkened as he continued to analyze.
From the other party's multiple actions, it seemed they were constantly trying to bring the Demon Slayer World closer to the shinobi world, even at the cost of using 'anchor points' to align them, risking the overlapping and destruction of both worlds.
[No spoils detected.]
[Rescanning...]
[No spoils detected.]
Suddenly, the "Lamp's" prompt rang again in Shinji's ear.
He paused for a moment, then quickly realized.
The fact that the Lamp had detected no spoils meant that Tanjiro, who had been hit by his Amaterasu and then swallowed by the avalanche, was not dead.
As for Rengoku Kyojuro, whom he had dealt with days ago at the 'anchor point' in the Land of Wind, he was unsure if the reason was due to time, distance, or perhaps because Rengoku simply did not drop any spoils.
[Reward settlement in progress.]
[Rating: SS]
[Reward: Gift from the Shinobi World.]
While Shinji was listening attentively to the Lamp's reward, a sudden commotion came from behind.
He immediately turned his head and glanced back, then sighed, "Sigh, what a hassle!"
The commotion behind him wasn't from anyone else but a large group of Cloud shinobi.
He had ridden the Two-Tails across the Land of Lightning, which obviously did not go unnoticed by Cloud Village. After discovering him, they had quickly mobilized forces to pursue him.
Previously, he had been too focused on reaching the Land of Water to take care of the final 'anchor point,' but now that the crisis had been resolved, continuing to make such a spectacle clearly wasn't in Shinji's nature.
So he immediately used his dojutsu, commanding Yugito Nii to release the Tailed Beast transformation. The two then restrained their chakra and quietly disappeared into the nearby forest.
...
On a high mountain in the Land of Fire.
A lone figure stood at the cliff's edge, calmly gazing into the distance, wearing a haori with a lantern hanging from his waist.
Swish.
At that moment, 'Upper Moon Two' Kokushibo landed on the cliff, bowing respectfully to the figure, before standing by.
Moments later...
Nakime, holding her biwa, also arrived on the cliff, bowing to the figure as well.
After another while...
The 'Upper Moon Five' Gyokko and 'Upper Moon Six' Kaigaku arrived together, prostrating themselves on the ground before the figure, not daring to raise their heads.
After waiting for a long time...
Whoosh!
Another figure landed on the cliff, looking extremely disheveled, covered head to toe in scorched wounds.
By all rights, demons should have been able to heal their injuries, but for some reason, these shocking burn marks on his body did not heal.
Without a doubt.
This heavily injured figure was none other than 'Upper Moon One' Tanjiro, who had successfully escaped from Uchiha Shinji by utilizing the avalanche.
Tanjiro, upon arriving at the cliff, neither bowed like Kokushibo nor prostrated like Kaigaku, but rather just moved aside.
Kokushibo glanced at the injured Tanjiro and slightly furrowed his brow, saying, "The others are way too slow!"
At that moment, the figure at the cliff's edge, the one with a lantern hanging from his waist, shook his head, "There's no need to wait; they're not coming."
Kokushibo was visibly stunned.
Nakime tilted her head slightly.
Kaigaku was dumbfounded.
Gyokko was shocked.
Only Tanjiro remained indifferent, as if he hadn't heard anything.
Seemingly realizing something, Kokushibo spoke in a deep voice, "Those damn swordsmen, they must have done it on purpose! With their strength, there's no way they would fall so easily!"
Though he disliked Rengoku Kyojuro and Tomioka Giyu, Kokushibo had to admit that these two swordsmen, who had perfected their respective Breath Styles, had enough strength after becoming demons to be ranked among the Upper Moons, even capable of challenging him.
If even newer members like 'Upper Moon Five' and 'Upper Moon Six' had survived, there was no reason for them to have died.
The figure with the lantern hanging from his waist spoke softly, "Perhaps they didn't use their full strength, but they indeed faced formidable opponents."
Upon hearing this, Kokushibo fell silent.
Glancing back at the assembled Upper Moons, the figure sighed softly, "It seems my opponent still hasn't revealed themselves."
Kokushibo bowed his head, "My apologies."
Nakime inclined her head slightly, while Kaigaku and Gyokko bowed even lower.
Clearly...
The figure with the lantern hanging from his waist was the mysterious "Lampbearer" from the Demon Slayer World.
This time, he arranged for the five 'anchor points' in an attempt to force the 'Lamp Bearer' from the shinobi world to reveal themselves through a mutual destruction strategy, then gauge their strength through his subordinates.
Yet all his careful planning had led to this result.
He had assumed the 'Lampbearer' of the shinobi world would dispatch all members of the Akatsuki this time, but unexpectedly, the opponent had only sent two members to dismantle his strategy.
Thinking of how he had mobilized almost all of his subordinates, only for the opponent to send just two, he couldn't help but sigh, "The shinobi world's foundation is still far beyond ours."
Kokushibo responded, "My lord, the enemy must have utilized the strength of the Five Great Shinobi Nations."
"A clever strategy indeed," murmured the 'Lampbearer' from the Demon Slayer World, his gaze falling. "If we cannot locate him soon, our entire plan could fail."
There was no doubt.
The information gathered from the Lower Moons' infiltration of Amegakure had led the 'Lampbearer' of the Demon Slayer World to mistakenly believe that the 'Lampbearer' of the shinobi world was none other than Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki.
Thus, out of caution, he had devised a plan to use the five 'anchor points' to disperse the forces of the shinobi world's 'Lampbearer.' Once they revealed themselves, he would attack in full force.
Little did he know, it was all a misunderstanding!
The supposed connection between the shinobi world's 'Lampbearer' and the Akatsuki was entirely fabricated by Uchiha Shinji to conceal his own identity.
In reality, the 'Lampbearer' of the shinobi world had been running around right under his nose, and as for why the shinobi world's 'Lampbearer' didn't use the power of the Lamp, it was simply because Uchiha Shinji was only a "Junior Lampbearer" and hadn't yet mastered the power of the Lamp!