Chapter 40: The Sleeping Zenitsu

At this moment, Haru continued to advance deeper into the mountain. As he moved, he noticed a small red area appearing on his mini-map. Upon closer inspection, Haru realized that this wasn't a red area, but rather a large cluster of red dots. There were so many red dots that, on the map, it looked like one large red area.

However, the fact that these red dots were clustered together was highly abnormal. If it wasn't an issue with the map, then the demons on Mount Fujikasane must have gathered together.

But why had these demons suddenly grouped together? After observing for a few seconds, Haru noticed that the red dots seemed to be moving quickly, as if they were chasing something.

"It seems I need to check this out!" Haru muttered to himself and then quickened his pace toward the location.

Halfway there, Haru encountered the group of boys who had abandoned Tanjiro and the others. Seeing them running frantically as if escaping, Haru blocked their path.

When they saw the figure wearing the fox-style mask in front of them, they immediately recognized Haru, as he had previously saved them.

"What happened?" Haru asked directly.

"Haru, your junior Tanjiro is in danger! A lot of demons have gathered and are moving together. Hurry up and save him!" One of the boys immediately explained the situation with just a few words.

Though many details were missing, they weren't important—the key point was that Tanjiro was in danger right now.

Haru didn't ask any more questions and instantly disappeared in front of the boys.

At that moment, Haru rushed towards the gathering of red dots with all his speed.

Meanwhile, Tanjiro was trying to help Zenitsu up, but the demons had already attacked.

The boy who had twisted his ankle near Zenitsu seemed to have accepted his fate, resigning to meeting the King of Hell. He stopped Tanjiro and said, "Don't worry about us! Go quickly! Otherwise, you'll die here too!"

But Tanjiro ignored the boy's plea and, driven by his kindness, rushed forward.

Unfortunately, Tanjiro was still a step too slow. The wave of demons quickly overwhelmed Zenitsu and the injured boy.

"No!" Tanjiro couldn't accept this and cried out.

In the next moment, a flash of yellow lightning surged, and the demon wave that had surrounded Zenitsu and the injured boy was thrown back.

Tanjiro looked and saw that Zenitsu had stood up, his body crackling with faint lightning.

As the demon wave was thrown back, more demons immediately rushed in.

Zenitsu's eyes were tightly shut as he assumed a sword-drawing posture.

"Thunder Breathing, First Form, Thunderclap and Flash."

As Zenitsu inhaled and exhaled, he muttered the words.

In an instant, Zenitsu moved like a bolt of lightning, and the demons charging at him fell, struck down by his blade.

Tanjiro stood in shock, and even the injured boy stared, dumbfounded.

No one had expected the fearful and cowardly Zenitsu to be hiding such power.

After the brief shock, Tanjiro realized that relying solely on Zenitsu wouldn't turn the tide. So he quickly moved to Zenitsu's side and, taking advantage of the opening during Zenitsu's attack, launched his own counterattack.

"Water Breathing, Fourth Form, Striking Tide!"