Simultaneous Transmigration: From Japanese Anime to American Comics

It was meant as a joke, but Akaza took it to heart, falling into deep contemplation.

Was his lack of strength due to his inability to be in the sun?

Indeed, for demons, the inability to walk in sunlight was a fatal flaw...

Akaza closed his eyes.

Chu Yang sighed softly before delivering a punch that shattered Akaza's neck, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes.

Akaza's real name was Hakuji, and he had once been a good person. In his youth, to pay for his father's medical treatment, he often resorted to theft. Though his path was wayward, his motives were understandable—after all, he had been a filial child.

His father, feeling like a burden, chose to hang himself, and with the loss of his only family, Hakuji became extreme and violent. If he hadn't met his martial arts master, Keizo, later on, he might have gone further astray.

Hakuji was 15 years old then.

Settling at Keizo's dojo, he became the master's only disciple. Keizo had just lost his wife and was left with a sickly daughter, Koyuki. The two relied on each other for survival.

Keizo did not hold Hakuji's past crimes against him, even entrusting Koyuki to his care, fully displaying his trust.

During that peaceful time, Koyuki grew to love Hakuji, a boy who appeared fierce but was gentle at heart.

However, Hakuji, living without much honor in his past, never realized that Koyuki liked him.

At 18, Keizo decided to pass the dojo to Hakuji and arranged for him to marry Koyuki. The two confessed their feelings for each other while watching a beautiful firework display.

Excited, Hakuji rushed back to his hometown to inform his deceased father of the marriage, but this brief separation became the reason he and Koyuki would never meet again.

The neighboring kendo dojo had always been jealous of Keizo, who had a large dojo despite having few disciples. Resentment had long been building, but they hadn't dared act because they were no match for Keizo and Hakuji.

With Hakuji away, the scoundrels poisoned the well, killing both Keizo and Koyuki.

Thinking he was on the brink of happiness, Hakuji was shattered. He killed 67 members of the kendo dojo with his bare hands, wiping out their lineage entirely.

Afterward, he encountered Muzan Kibutsuji and became Akaza.

Over the long years, Akaza had forgotten everything about Hakuji, except for his obsession with strength. Deep in his soul, he believed that he hadn't been strong enough to protect his loved ones.

"If I had been as strong as him, my life might have turned out completely different, right?"

In his final moments, Akaza's mind merged his image with that of Chu Yang's, his decapitated head showing a peaceful smile.

As Akaza turned to ashes, Chu Yang felt some regret. As a demon, Akaza had never actively hunted ordinary people. Most of the civilians who died because of him were merely collateral damage from his battles.

But that didn't mean Akaza was innocent.

His crimes were just lighter than those of other demons, that's all.

If fate had been kinder to this young man, his life truly could have been different.

There was no time to lament Hakuji's tragic life.

Chu Yang dashed towards Doma, who was still engaged in battle with Kanae.

Desperate to escape, Doma had become increasingly ruthless, and Kanae was already wounded in several places, her beautiful haori soaked with blood.

"Get away!!!" Doma roared, his expression growing more ferocious as Chu Yang charged at him.

Even Akaza had been powerless. As the second-ranked Upper Moon, Doma doubted he could last more than a few rounds.

Kanae's face lit up with joy—Doma's despair made her even happier.

Ice and frost exploded from Doma's body, and a massive ice sculpture of a Bodhisattva appeared between him and Chu Yang. The ice statue's hands were clasped together in a benevolent gesture.

Chu Yang smirked disdainfully.

Though both represented the Buddha, Doma's creation was vastly different from the Bodhisattva that Gyomei Himejima worshipped at the temple.

To Chu Yang, the ice Bodhisattva lacked any true compassion, its pretense of kindness only more repulsive.

The statue raised its hand in a massive strike, ready to crush down with overwhelming force.

Filled with rage, Chu Yang suddenly pushed off the ground like a cannonball, dodging the strike and punching a gaping hole through the Bodhisattva.

He landed directly in front of Doma.

The two faced each other, Doma's expression frozen in shock.

In that moment, Chu Yang grabbed Doma's head and, like uprooting a radish, ripped it from his neck.

Pop

It wasn't until his head was detached from his body and his gaze met Chu Yang's cold eyes that Doma belatedly realized one thing—

He was going to die.

All demons created by Muzan, save for Muzan himself, had one fatal weakness—after being decapitated, there was only one outcome: death.

Only the strongest will to survive could push a demon to surpass their limits, allowing them to regenerate despite decapitation.

Achieving this was called breaking through one's boundaries.

For all these years, no one other than Yoriichi Tsugikuni had been able to exert enough pressure on demons to push them to this ultimate limit.

Akaza had been overwhelmed by Chu Yang's power and gave up his chance to survive because he knew that no matter how many times he regenerated, he couldn't defeat this monstrous man.

Doma never possessed such unwavering willpower from the beginning. Born with extraordinary talent and never having suffered any hardships, he was inherently evil, deriving pleasure from bullying the weak.

Doma and Akaza led entirely different lives, with no basis for comparison.

"This guy can actually feel fear..." Kanae, staggering from excessive blood loss, still managed to drag her exhausted body in front of Doma.

After a brief moment of fear, Doma's expression returned to normal. He looked at Kanae with indifference and said regretfully, "What a pity. I couldn't bring you with me to the afterlife. It could have been quite fun."

"It doesn't matter. All the people you've harmed will be waiting for you along the way, until you meet them again." Kanae spoke calmly, a glimmer of satisfaction in her eyes. "Go and receive your punishment properly."

Doma chuckled softly and turned his gaze to Chu Yang. "I'm really looking forward to the day you meet Lord Muzan. Will it mark the end of the demon era or the complete annihilation of the Demon Slayer Corps from history? It's a shame I won't see that day."

"That has nothing to do with you." Chu Yang threw Doma's head away, watching it burn to ashes in the flames of Sun Breathing.

Kanae let out a long sigh of relief as a wave of exhaustion surged through her.

Her body could no longer hold on, and she collapsed, swaying.

Quick on his feet, Chu Yang caught her by the shoulders, letting her lean against him.

"Sorry, I wasn't much help in the battle just now, and now I have to trouble you to take care of me," Kanae murmured weakly, her eyes half-closed. She mumbled softly, and if not for Chu Yang's sharp hearing, he wouldn't have been able to catch her words.

"When I was at the Butterfly Mansion, didn't you also take care of me the whole time? No need to be so polite," Chu Yang replied as he slowly transferred Wood Release chakra into Kanae's body to help restore her vitality.

The recent battle had already drawn quite a few people, standing by their windows, watching. Fortunately, it was late at night, and it was too dark outside for them to see much.

Chu Yang's Kasugai crow had already relayed the information back to headquarters, and before long, the support team would arrive.

A short while later, Kanae's complexion improved significantly, and she could barely walk. Taking advantage of the night, the two of them left the town. Staying any longer would have made the town's residents restless.

They hadn't been on the road outside the town for long when they encountered members of the Kakushi who had come to assist them. Among the group was Kanae's younger sister, Shinobu. Upon seeing Kanae covered in blood, she could no longer hold back and rushed forward.

The two sisters embraced, with Shinobu breaking down into sobs. Chu Yang, witnessing Shinobu cry so sorrowfully for the first time, couldn't help but stand to the side and watch with great interest.

But before long, Chu Yang found himself in trouble.

"You idiot! Why did you follow Sister Kanae here? It's because of you that she got hurt!" Shinobu exclaimed angrily. "If it weren't for protecting you, Sister Kanae wouldn't have been injured by the demon!"

Chu Yang clicked his tongue. He preferred the Shinobu of a few years later—though sharp-tongued and sarcastic, she was much more adorable than the little girl in front of him.

At least she wouldn't unjustly accuse people.

Some members of the Kakushi stayed behind to care for Kanae, while others went to the town to clean up.

The intense battle had destroyed quite a few public facilities.

However, everyone ignored Chu Yang because he was spotless from head to toe—not a trace of blood, not even a tear in his clothing. To the others, it seemed as though Kanae had risked her life to protect him.

Kanae tugged at Shinobu's sleeve, pulling the fuming girl back to her side. She smiled bitterly and said, "Stop embarrassing yourself. If it weren't for Chu Yang, I'd already be dead. He single-handedly killed two demons. I wasn't able to help at all..."

Though Kanae spoke softly, her words reached everyone's ears clearly. For a moment, all movements paused before resuming, with everyone returning to their tasks.

Shinobu was also stunned, subconsciously thinking she had misheard, until she saw her sister's serious expression.

"Wasn't it because he was holding you back that you got hurt?" Shinobu asked incredulously, looking at her sister.

"To be precise, I was the one holding him back. We encountered Upper Moon Rank Two and Upper Moon Rank Three just now. I wasn't a match for either of those demons," Kanae admitted, calmly recounting their encounter and openly acknowledging that she couldn't defeat the demons.

As a Hashira, saying such things took immense courage.

Silence.

The scene fell eerily silent!

The fact that Chu Yang had single-handedly killed two demons and protected the Flower Hashira was shocking enough. But what truly stunned them was the identity of those two demons!

Upper Moon Rank Two!

Upper Moon Rank Three!

These support members had often heard terrifying stories from injured survivors about the Lower Moons. Yet, none had ever seen a Demon Slayer who had survived an encounter with the Upper Moons.

Because anyone who met an Upper Moon had already perished, including former Hashira-level swordsmen.

Seeing the astonished expressions around her, Kanae suddenly realized something and asked Chu Yang in surprise, "What information did your Kasugai crow relay?"

Chu Yang shrugged and replied, "That you were injured and that they should send people quickly to treat you."

"Why didn't you report that you had killed the Upper Moons?!" Kanae was so angry that she felt lightheaded, asking through gritted teeth, "Why didn't you pass on such important information?!"

"I did report the important information," Chu Yang said matter-of-factly. "You were so badly injured. Isn't that important?"

Kanae's reprimanding words abruptly stopped. She stared at Chu Yang in a daze, and then her pale cheeks began to flush, the redness spreading from her ears down to her neck.

Shinobu, too preoccupied to question how Chu Yang had managed to kill the Upper Moons, glanced back and forth between the two of them, her face full of curiosity.

Oh-ho, something's going on between these two…