Chapter 60: Half-Buddha

"Boss, this chashu… it wouldn't happen to be made from R-meat, would it....."

The bald owner wiped the sweat from his head with a white towel and forced a laugh. "You must be joking, customer. This little shop has been here for over ten years. How could we possibly be involved in anything illegal?"

"Heh, the shop may have been open for over ten years, but the person running it might not have been—" Another voice came from the inner kitchen, and a second Uchiha Nagi walked out.

"Customer, you… How are there two of you?!" The bald owner looked at the Uchiha Nagi who appeared from the kitchen, then at the Uchiha Nagi at the table. The two were identical.

"Still trying to argue? I could tell you weren't human at a glance."

The Uchiha Nagi sitting in the noodle shop's main area directly drew his Nichirin Blade, while the Uchiha Nagi at the kitchen entrance held Heiji's Nichirin Blade.

It turned out that the scroll Uchiha Nagi had given Heiji contained a sealed Shadow Clone, much like when Naruto opened a scroll after passing the Chunin Exams and a Chunin instructor popped out. A Shadow Clone had been prepared beforehand and sealed inside.

This was Uchiha Nagi's protection for the Hinoe-ranked members. If they encountered danger and opened the scroll, Uchiha Nagi would rush over with all his might. The Shadow Clone would buy them time to escape, and the Kasugai Crow in the sky would lead Nagi to them.

When dawn arrived and sunlight appeared, Heiji had entered the ramen shop to eat. However, his crow didn't go in but patrolled outside. When the crow saw its master being carried into the kitchen on the ramen shop owner's shoulder, it flapped its wings and flew off to find reinforcements.

But this bald owner, like a typical talkative villain, insisted on praying to the Buddha statue before making his move. Uchiha Nagi arrived at the critical moment, but he was a step too late; one person had already been killed. And when the scroll thrown into the fire burned, the Shadow Clone inside also emerged.

"I'm very curious, why aren't you afraid of the sun? Heiji couldn't move because he ate your noodles, right? You must have put something related to your Blood Demon Art in the noodles, something that causes paralysis," Uchiha Nagi said.

Sweat poured down the bald owner's head. Staring at the menacing red eyes before him, he finally buckled under the pressure. His face contorted with ferocity, and he quickly pulled a knife from his stove, stabbing viciously at Uchiha Nagi. Nagi, already in a combat stance, easily dodged the blow and, in the same motion, severed the hand holding the knife.

"Aah~~" A severed arm flew through the air. The bald owner screamed, clutching his stump, and stumbled out of the ramen shop with surprising agility.

Uchiha Nagi frowned. The opponent's strength wasn't bad, about three times that of an ordinary person. But what puzzled him was that it was daytime outside, the sun was already up, yet it had absolutely no effect on the owner.

"You watch Heiji. I'll go after him," Uchiha Nagi said to his Shadow Clone. The clone nodded, and the original immediately got up and gave chase.

Outside, a few people had begun to appear. After all, this small town wasn't a big city; many people still rose with the sun and rested at dusk.

Some people saw the bald owner and were about to greet him warmly when they suddenly noticed his severed hand, bleeding as he stumbled towards them.

"Help! Someone's trying to kill me! It's the culprit behind the recent nighttime disappearances!" Fear flashed across the bald owner's face.

"Everyone, please help me! Call the police!"

Pfft!

While the bald owner was shouting, Uchiha Nagi's blade had already pierced his body again. If it had been Tanjiro and his group, they wouldn't have detected a demonic aura and certainly wouldn't have attacked.

"Ah, help, save me! Murder~~!" the bald owner shrieked.

"Unfortunately for you, you ran into me. I'm a ninja, not a local of this place…" Uchiha Nagi said, his expression emotionless.

The Demon Slayer Corps only kills demons, never humans. They only save people. Even if someone, deluded by a demon, had attacked them, they still wouldn't kill them. This was their principle; Tanjiro was like that.

However, Uchiha Nagi came from the ninja world, a world where killing humans was more common than killing demons. Even if this bald owner were truly human, he would kill him without hesitation.

From the moment this bald owner drugged the Hinoe-ranked member, Heiji, paralyzing him and carrying him to the kitchen to prepare to butcher him, Uchiha Nagi had no intention of letting him go.

What puzzled him now was that the opponent had absolutely no demonic aura, seemed almost human, and wasn't afraid of sunlight. What was going on? If he were immune to sunlight, Muzan would have devoured him long ago. How could he still be around?

Muzan's obsession with becoming a perfect being had lasted for over a thousand years. If he learned the method, he would probably go mad with joy.

"Quick, call the police! There's a murderer here~" A farmer carrying a hoe frantically dropped his tool, screamed in terror, and ran off.

"You… you stay away, or we won't be polite~"

The surrounding people, holding whatever they could find for self-defense, trembled as they watched Uchiha Nagi approach.

Uchiha Nagi paid no attention to the ordinary people. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, his guard raised to the highest level against the bald owner before him.

He always felt that the opponent wouldn't be this simple, but he couldn't pinpoint the problem.

The bald owner finally realized that this Demon Slayer was completely different from the others. He didn't care about public opinion at all, cold and indifferent like a ruthless assassin.

Uchiha Nagi remained unmoved even by the patrolling police officers rushing over from the distance, continuing to brutally attack him, swinging his blade—

"Aargh…"

With a scream, the bald owner's other hand was also severed by Uchiha Nagi.

"Stop, or we'll shoot!" Two men in police uniforms pulled out firearms and aimed at Uchiha Nagi, preparing to fire.

Uchiha Nagi glanced at them, and his Sharingan's genjutsu activated.

The two men stood blankly, then holstered their firearms and slowly walked back the way they came.

Seeing that no one could save him, the bald owner finally felt fear. He struggled to his feet, supporting himself with his severed arms, and tried to run.

Uchiha Nagi narrowed his eyes, his killing intent palpable. A leg was immediately severed.

"Aah… Help, don't kill me, don't kill me! I'm a good person!" the bald owner cried, tears streaming down his face.

Shuuu—

A head flew high into the air and then rolled onto the ground. Uchiha Nagi no longer enjoyed torturing his enemies; he beheaded him directly.

The bald owner's body immediately stopped moving, lay on the ground, and died—

The surrounding onlookers had long since fled.

"Could he really have been human? Or perhaps deluded?" Uchiha Nagi scratched his head, looked up at the sun, and walked away, puzzled.

After Uchiha Nagi left, people slowly gathered around. Someone recognized him as the owner of the ramen shop.

But the corpse lying on the ground was too horrifying. This murderer was truly cruel, having brutally tortured and dismembered the ramen shop owner…