Demon Slayer: The Ninjago Chronicles

Part 10: The Moon Elemental

Muzan teethed as the demons disbanded, freely roaming the Infinity Castle. The Demon King kept Kokushibo behind.

"You will not fail me, find the boy of green." He groggily demanded.

"It shall be done, Master." The Demon bowed, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Garmadon took this chance to exact revenge on Tanjiro and Wu, fleeing with Upper 1 in secrecy.

In the Monastery, Tanjiro panted to catch his breath, resting his limbs in the hot springs, letting the water soak into his skin. He exhaled heavily as he processed everything; Mitsuri was gone, Nezuko was gone, and the demons are slaves. Rolling his head from shoulder-to-shoulder, he then remembered Wu, Tanjiro had to find Wu. The sudden adrenaline rush kicked in as the boy leaped out of the water to dry of, using Spinjitzu to fully dry himself. The tornado of flashing green illuminated violently as Tanjiro span into the hallway, collecting his clothes and hastily covering his body working the tornado. The Kamado burst through the doors to the courtyard and just stood there in the dead of night. The wind blew over his head as he gently closed his eyes, he placed his hands out in front of him.

"I hope this works." He whispered.

A surge of green energy crept out of his palms and onto the night sky, he motioned his hands around to create a symbol in the air. When the symbol was finished, he clenched his fists, bringing his creation into reality through a burst of light. He had formed an Elemental Dragon. Tanjiro hoisted himself atop the Dragon's back, controlling it with his mind to take flight, leaving the Monastery for the first time since he arrived. The sun crept over the mountains as Tanjiro soared through the Taisho sky, flying above the people while levitating below the clouds. The dragon twitched it's head, jolting Tanjiro left, then right. He lost concentration in the sky, the creature dissipating in the air, Tanjiro began to fall through the sky at lightning speed. No thoughts filled his head as he fell, he only saw the incoming ground; a village with few inhabitants looking at him in shock. A blast of rusty white caught his limbs, hoisting the Green Saviour to the ground in a controlled manner; when Tanjiro reached the ground, he was met by Wu.

"What we're you thinking!" Wu yelled.

"Mitsuri—." He gasped, "Demons—."

Wu was left expressionless, choosing nothing but to slap Tanjiro in the back of the head out of anger. A small hatred grew inside Wu, his element of creation making its way out of his palms.

"I have the tea leaves. Let us hope they are willing to work with us." Wu finally spoke.

"They?" Tanjiro asked.

"Old students of mine from the old world, my home." The Sensei croaked.

Tanjiro gasped in confusion, his lungs almost imploding from the taking of oxygen. Wu began to trail through the forest, hoping his student would follow him back to the Monastery.

"Why not— why not make a dragon?" Tanjiro panted, slowly regaining his breath and stamina.

"Well, my boy, a dragon takes out too much strength and energy. None of which I have in my age." The Sensei groaned.

Through the dense trees, three pairs of bloody eyes stalked their movement, Kokushibo was waiting to strike. His gaze led him to wonder through the shadows of the trees, manoeuvring his physical body through the silhouettes of the birch wood shade. The demon began to manifest its body back into the physical plain but stopped when he felt another otherworldly presence; he felt Garmadon's shadow. Kokushibo had to retreat back through the shadows until he reached the darkness that was Garmadon. He manifested his physical body behind the Elemental Master as he unsheathed his blade to Garmadon's throat.

"Speak, wretch." Upper 1 forcefully spoke, "Why do you follow me?"

"Unfinished business." Garmadon gagged, the sharpened blade piercing his throat.

"Very well, but Master Kibutsuji wants him alive to witness the 'Loom'. Just break a few bones and call it a day." Kokushibo harshly whispered.

"And the boy?" Garmadon snarled.

"He fears the boy is too powerful, I was sent to exterminate him." He spoke., "Just attack the old bastard and leave the rest to me."

Garmadon nodded in agreement as Kokushibo disappeared into the shadows, allowing him to repair his throat. Upper 1 crept through the shade as he listened for the footsteps, eventually making it behind Tanjiro. It was instantaneous, his body appeared in the physical world out of rage and hatred.

"You dare fuck my wife?!" Kokushibo roared, unsheathing his blade.

"Holy shit!" Tanjiro yelped, "Wait— I'm trying to help her. Help you. I can save you."

"Bullshit! If there was a way out, I would've found it and freed Daki!" Upper 1 roared again, charging an attack.

"Don't believe me, then. Just know I was trying to help." The Green Elemental sighed.

Before either side could engage in combat, Garmadon leapt out from the shrubbery and tackled Wu to the ground. His four arms tangling the Sensei in a web of Darkness. Tanjiro couldn't do anything but stare at Kokushibo, who was charging his powers into his blade. The demon swung up, then down, creating a cacophony of blades from his pre-existing sword; a web of fleshy metal filled the skyline, each equipped with its own attack. Kokushibo clashed the ballades together, forging a constant spiral of moonlight, each ray of energy more deadly than the last. Tanjiro had no reaction time, falling victim to each swing, the moonlight clashed into his skin and through his bones, blocking all forms of his powers. There was no blood as he fell to the ground, twitching in a seizure-like state, he could feel his bones slipping from one-another as he only felt pain from every millimetre or skin he had.

"Pathetic." Kokushibo spoke, spitting on the Slayer's unhinged body.

Garmadon had beaten and bruised Wu to a disfigured corpse, his body barely able to keep the blood out of his lungs.

"We leave, NOW!" Kokushibo ordered, instantly having control over Garmadon.

The Master's face lit in horror as he fled the scene, leaving Upper 1 in a wolf state of confusion. As he turned all six of his eyes, he stood motionless in horror as he stood against Tanjiro, once again. The demon pulled his blade up for another attack but Tanjiro's reflexes were just too fast, he slashed his wrist against the blade, shattering the fleshy-steel into scattered pieces. The demon unsheathed what was left and brawled into a fist-to-fist battle. Upper 1 clenched his fist tightly, his veins bursting through the skin, he lit up for a single attack, but all efforts were futile. Tanjiro snapped Kokushibo's arm clean off, forcing the demon to regenerate during battle. Kokushibo then threw a single punch to Tanjiro's face, again, filled with moonlight, but it was quickly pulled back by Tanjiro's unmatched speed. The Green Slayer burned his own hand a scorching jade-green as Kokushibo's fist detached from his arm. Tanjiro then pulsed the severed hand into a beam of green energy, piercing through the demon's flesh and into his heart, drilling a hole from Upper 1 from the inside-out. Kokushibo couldn't fight back, so he called upon his Master to retrieve him from battle. In a blink of an eye, Kokushibo fled the scene and Garmadon was brought for questioning by Muzan.

"Sensei, are you okay?" Tanjiro whimpered, tending to Wu's injuries.

"The tea leaves..." Wu gasped, spitting blood from his mouth, "Finish the job."

Tanjiro carefully picked his wounded Master from the ground and trudged through the forest, towards the Monastery. The thought of losing Nezuko and Mitsuri carrying his spirits to save Taisho, and to redeem the demons. Whatever this tea was, it seemed to be the key to the battle. Tanjiro just prayed it was worth it.