As the smoke cleared Pinkamena found that a young muscular man was standing in the rather small crater that had been made upon his arrival, where his skin was fair and seemed to be white colored, before she found that there were all sorts of blue lines all over his body, forming a pattern she didn't recognize. As more of the smoke disappeared, and Kyojuro and the others could see what she was seeing right now, she found that the figure had short bright pink hair that fluffed out around his head, which was an odd color for the people of this world, based on what she had seen so far. He was wearing a short sleeveless haori that seemed to be a dark pink-purple color and was cut of at his waist, while open in the front to reveal his chest, and there was some sort of square pattern on the back of it, before she spotted that he was wearing a pair of white baggy pants that were rolled up just passed his knees. There was a blue rope belt wrapped around his waist, likely holding up his lower wear, and, unless she was seeing things, he had a ring of prayer beads that were resting above his ankles, or maybe they were pink pearls that he likely stole from some Humans he had crushed in the past.
The reason she started to think of him as if he was a Demon was because she could sense the power inside him, in fact it explained his skin color, and when he turned to look in Tanjiro's direction Pinkamena noticed his eyes, the right had the Kanji for 'Upper Moon' while the left had 'Three', something that caused her to stall as she wondered why such a Demon was here in the first place.
Even if the Demon was here to fight it wasn't like Tanjiro could anymore, as he had to focus on making sure his injury didn't open and his blade had been crushed with Upper Moon Three's arrival, which would infuriate Hotaru when he learned what happened to it, so soon after delivering it to him. Inosuke could also tell just how powerful the Demon was, as he seemed to be shaking in the area that he had stopped in, fear having gripped him as he determined that doing anything right now, in the face of this monster, would result in his death. Zenitsu and Nezuko were off in the distance, no doubt near the car that everyone had been riding in before Enmu's minions made their move, so if a fight broke out, and she was sure one would happen so, it would be up to her and Kyojuro to stall Upper Moon Three. She knew that she had the power to deal with the Lower Moons, in fact Enmu hadn't provided much of a challenge earlier, but there was no way of telling how much of a power gap existed between the two ranks, so there was no telling how she would measure up to someone like this.
A few seconds later the Demon burst through the air and zeroed in on where Tanjiro was resting, something that caused both her and Kyojuro to move and intercept him, where Kyojuro unleashed the Second Form of Flame Breathing, Rising Scorching Sun, and sliced into the Demon's incoming fist as Pinkamena sliced into both of his legs, though he jumped back before either of them could attack again.
"Nice technique." the Demon commented, where Pinkamena was able to see that Kyojuro had sliced through most of the figure's left arm after intercepting the fist that would have killed Tanjiro, she was sure of that, and the wound healed in a matter of seconds, far faster than a Lower Moon could heal, and he even licked up the rest of the blood that remained on his hand.
"Upper Moon, why are you targeting an injured person?" Kyojuro asked, though in this moment, facing the pressure and sheer amount of dread that was coming from the Demon in front of them, he was glad to have Pinkamena on his side, as her power would ensure that everyone else would survive this encounter, even if the Upper Moon hadn't targeted her in the last few moments.
"I thought he'd just get in the way, between the two of us... your companion can do whatever she wants." the Demon said, meaning he saw Tanjiro as a hindrance and wanted him removed before engaging the pair in a real fight, as that seemed to be the vibe that Pinkamena got from him, all while showing them that he didn't consider her a threat at all.
"So, are you here to talk or to fight?" Pinkamena inquired, because right now it was hard to figure out was going through the Demon's mind right now, despite what her feelings were telling her, but she kept her guard up as she debated when to reveal her hand and show off her true power, as she suspected she would need Chaos World to actually beat someone like the Demon that was in front of them, "Either way, despite this being our first meeting, I have a feeling that both of us already dislike, if not hate, you."
"Well, I happen to hate weaklings... in fact, I feel disgusted when I look at weaklings." the Upper Moon said, his tone telling them that he was definitely a fighter and that he was here to engage them in a fight, instead of talking about the death of Enmu, which he must have witnessed with the wreckage of the train, all while Kyojuro frowned for a moment, "I can see it in your eyes, you're thinking about how we have different morals and that your dislike of me has grown... or something stupid like that. I have a wonderful proposal: how about you both become Demons?"
"Not a chance." Kyojuro stated, because he was perfectly fine with being Human, and having all the weakness that came with such a thing, before he considered the humorous aspect of this particular conversation, Pinkamena's existence as a Demon was still being overlooked by every other Demon she encountered, to the point where an Upper Moon hadn't felt it upon his arrival.
"I know the both of you are strong, I can tell that your battle spirits are quite polished," the Demon continued, informing them that he was under the impression that he could convince them to accept Muzan's blood, or his blood, and turn into new Demons, before a slight smile appeared on his face, "You, with the hair styled like flames, you're a Hashira, one that is getting close to the Supreme Territory."
"You are correct. I am the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku," Kyojuro said, as he had a feeling that sharing their names and positions might get some information out of the Demon that was in front of them, that way all of the other Hashira could be warned about one of the Upper Moons, if he managed to escape from Pinkamena's powers, before he gestured to his companion for a moment, "and this is Pinkamena, our rising star, who we, the Hashira, have acknowledged as a Hinoe not that long ago."
"Really? That much of a jump?" Pinkamena inquired, because while she didn't care much about the ranking system that all of the Slayers used, due to her focus being on hunting down and eliminating the Lower Moons, she wasn't expecting the rank increase to be that much, as she went from the lowest rank, the Mizunoto, to the third highest, Hinoe, which wasn't counting becoming a Hashira.
"You killed most of the current Lower Moons, so it's a justified rank increase." Kyojuro replied, though he was pleased to be the one to give her this information, as he had learned that the higher ups would be sending a crow in due time, to tell her this news, but had taken their sweet time talking about what it might mean if others discovered she was a Demon, and he could see that the Upper Moon was surprised.
"Well, I am Akaza... so, you are the one whose been annoying the Great One." the Demon, Akaza, said, as he heard that a Slayer had done something every Demon claimed to be near impossible, killing four of the Lower Moons in moments, as in rapid succession, and while the current ones had been weak, in fact he was sure a Hinoe could kill them easily, he felt that only a Hashira could kill four skilled Demons like that, "It's a shame that you won't consider becoming Demons, because if you stay in this weak Human state you'll grow old and, eventually, die from old age... if you accept my offer you'll be able to train for a hundred years, maybe even two hundred, and become even stronger than you are now."
"You might not like it, but growing old and eventually dying is the beauty of the fleeting creature called a Human being," Kyojuro stated, turning his attention back to the Upper Moon that was in front of them, as he knew that to lower his guard would mean certain death for him, while Pinkamena would likely tank Akaza's attacks and kill him in due time, because he had faith in her interesting abilities, "because they grow old, because they die, they are tremendous, lovable, and precious. What they call 'strength' isn't a word that is used in regards to the body. This boy, for example, isn't weak, rather he is far stronger than you know, so please, don't insult him by calling him 'weak'. It's like I said a few moments ago, you and I have different moral values, and no matter what sort of motivation might be forced upon me, I will never become a Demon, nor will I ever like someone like you."
"I see... if you won't become Demons, then I'll just kill you both." Akaza said, where he shifted his stance, moving his arms and legs for a moment like he was using a martial arts stance, before some sort of compass appeared around him, which had to be his Blood Demon Art in action.
In the following moment Akaza rushed at them and the pair moved in response, Kyojuro using Unknowing Fire to counter whatever attack was being used against him, while at the same time opening the way for Pinkamena to lash out, as she spun and used her Sixth Form, Violent Vortex Slash, against their foe. What surprised her was the power of Akaza's blows, as the collision of his attack and Kyojuro's caused a surge of flames to erupt from where they were standing and, despite losing some of the power to parrying the first attack, he countered her attack as well, though he didn't lash out at her, as odd as it seemed. She had known that an Upper Moon would be stronger than all of the Lower Moons, though in her sealed state it was quite surprising that he was able to smash and counter her Chaos Breathing like this, something that kind of excited her since this was the first time she had been challenged like this and made her wonder when to unleash her full power. Despite that happening the three of them moved around the area that was a good distance in front of where Tanjiro was resting, their attacks clashing and kicking up some wind, though Pinkamena found that Akaza was much faster than the Lower Moons had been and his strength was no joke, making her wonder how strong the other Upper Moons were, especially Upper Moon One.
While that happened, however, she found that the past repeated itself, he only countered her attacks and then focused on Kyojuro, making her wonder if he didn't like to fight people of the opposite gender, an interesting thing to consider given he was a Demon, though she continued to assist Kyojuro to the best of her ability.
As they fought, their attacks damaging the area around them while avoiding Tanjiro, Inosuke, and the train itself, Akaza said a few things that interested them, that he had killed many Hashira over the years and that this was the first time that he had fought one of Flame, along with the fact that none of the high ranking Slayers had accepted his offer. Such a thing told her that many Hashira shared Kyojuro's thoughts on the matter, that they would rather face Demons for all their days and die as a Human, instead of being turned into a Demon and being twisted into monsters that preyed on people, which simply confused Akaza. In fact he seemed surprised that none of them wanted to preserve their talents and arts, like the martial arts he had been trained in before he became a Demon, and proclaimed that if they wanted to act that way all of them might as well die while they were young, causing him to unleash another technique on them, which was him simply punching the empty air and knocking them around with the shockwaves. His fighting style was unique, even among all of the Demons Pinkamena had fought so far, and in her sealed state she suspected that she wouldn't be able to best him in battle, even if she busted out the final Form of her Breathing Style, which would require her to break out more of her own power to make sure no one got hurt by the aftereffects.
Kyojuro, upon using Blooming Flame Undulation, the Fourth Form of his Breath, realized that to end this fight one of them had to get close or they would never make progress in this fight, where he said nothing as he rushed forward and clashed with Akaza directly, searching for an opening that Pinkamena could use to cut the Upper Moon down. As he did that, and all of the Demon's attention was on him, she made sure that Tanjiro stayed where he was resting and Inosuke stood near him, as she would be the one to assist their friend in dealing with the Demon, and once they understood she moved into the area and observed them. Akaza, sensing a new change in his opponent, switched to a new move that was a barrage of blows that shook the area in front of him, just in time to counter Kyojuro's Flame Tiger, the Fifth Form of Flame Breathing, which he was able to overpower in no time and the air vibrated with their brief collision. Of course that didn't stop Kyojuro from attacking and defending to the best of his ability, trying in vain to find an opening, any opening, that would allow his ally to jump in, but Akaza sensed what he was looking for and kept his guard up, though Pinkamena joined in as well, due to the fact that two fighters were definitely better than one.
Unfortunately, despite her inclusion, Akaza proved to be quite the opponent, as he blocked any attack and barely took any damage, though there were a few instances where he lost his hands and instantly regenerated them, displaying the might of an Upper Moon, and eventually they paused as Kyojuro huffed, as his left eye was gone, some of his ribs were hurt, and she was sure some of his organs were wounded.
"Don't die on me, Kyojuro." Akaza commented, his tone showing that he actually enjoyed fighting a Flame Hashira, even if there was someone just as strong as him standing nearby, before he raised a hand to his chest as Kyojuro's slash marks, all the wounds he had inflicted on the Demon, healed in seconds, "Even if you fight me with the intention of sacrificing the entirety of your body, it's pointless in the end, as all of the wonderful wounds your techniques left on me have completely healed. But how about you? Your left eye is smashed, I've cracked some of your ribs, and my techniques have bruised a number of your organs... there's no way for you to recover from this... not as a Human, anyway. If you were a Demon you would have healed all of this in the blink of an eye, as it would have been a mere scratch to a Demon born of a Hashira turning and saving themselves from death. No matter how much you struggle, Humans cannot defeat Demons."
Kyojuro knew that, while he was a Hashira and that he was stronger than most Slayers, Akaza was far stronger than his current level, even if he hadn't used too much power on Enmu or his demonic allies, before he glanced at Pinkamena and she took a step back, allowing him to ignite the area that was around him as he shifted his stance, raising his blade so that both hands were on the handle and it rested near his shoulder.
"I will fulfill my duties! I won't let anyone here die!" Kyojuro stated, as there was one move in his arsenal that might have the power to cross the gap between him and Akaza, one that might open the way for Pinkamena to move in and cut down Upper Moon Three, and if they succeeded in taking him down he would gladly die as well, to which he focused and ignited his insides as well, "I am the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku. Flame Breathing, Esoteric Art... Ninth Form: Rengoku!"
Pinkamena watched as Akaza, pleased with his foe's determination, shifted to a new stance as Kyojuro burst forward, as if he was being shot out of a cannon and rushed towards the Demon they were fighting, while the flames that surrounded him took on the form of a serpent dragon, an amazing technique in her mind. The collision of his power and Akaza's sent a bunch of dust into the air, where she found Kyojuro swinging his blade twice, the first one cutting through the Demon's right fist before hitting his chest, with Akaza deflecting it to avoid having his head taken off. In the following seconds, just before his foe could do anything, he twisted his blade around and pulled it straight up towards the sky, as if he was trying to split Akaza down the middle or something, transforming the flames around them into a pillar of fire. While Tanjiro and Inosuke looked on in amazement, as it was quite the battle to witness, Pinkamena knew that, even if Akaza was wounded, it wouldn't be for long and she was moving already, to intercept the Demon before he could flee.
What she wasn't expecting was to find that the Upper Moon was unharmed, save for the split arm that was healing, and Akaza's right hand had pierced Kyojuro's chest, though as he proclaimed that his foe was going to die, and that he should become a Demon, they found something interesting, Kyojuro had focused his mind and trapped the hand before it could be ripped out of him. As Akaza realized that, as he did so in the same moment that Pinkamena discovered it, Kyojuro did the next thing that came to him, he raised his right arm and swung his blade, cutting into the Demon's neck a little, which surprised Akaza more than it should have. In the following seconds the Demon swung his other fist with the intent to kill his foe, where Kyojuro raised his other hand and grabbed onto the arm before it could hit him, where he stopped Akaza's attack in it's tracks, once more shocking the Demon by what he was doing. Normally this was reserved for trapping one of their demonic enemies in an area so the sun could burn them to death, but since things had happened so quickly he knew it would be some time, fifteen minutes maybe, before sunrise came and he knew he couldn't hold out for that long, as the Demon would kill him before that, hence why he was sacrificing himself to open the way for Pinkamena.
Akaza realized the true trap not a few moments after that, though while Pinkamena couldn't use some of her techniques, due to the fact that Kyojuro would be caught in most of them, she flashed up to her companion's left side and swung her blade, intending to sever Akaza's head... though in that moment they underestimated the sheer power of their foe, as he forcefully moved his arms, and Kyojuro, so that Pinkamena's swing took off half his arms and shattered Kyojuro's blade so the Demon could retreat, all while she managed to avoid the Flame Hashira's arm.
"I have to admit, that was a decent plan... but not good enough to take me down." Akaza stated, where he healed his arms and hands in a second before extracting the blade fragment that was currently lodged partway through his neck, which he tossed it to the ground once it was out and allowed that wound to disappear in no time, causing him to stare at the pair as he considered his next move, "With the Hashira broken and weaponless, and you lacking the speed to deal with me, I'll be able to finish what that worthless Lower Moon started, killing and eating the men while hunting down the few Slayers that are still here... they might not offer me much, but weaklings need to be crushed."
"Don't you dare look down on any of us." Pinkamena replied, where Akaza paused for a moment as he noticed something odd, the right eye of her mask, which she wore at all times based on what he saw, seemed to glare at him, as if it moved all on its own, before she knelt by Kyojuro for a couple of seconds, "I know you have your morals, but surely you'll let me heal you so you can continue with your duty, as there..."
"I know you mean well, and I know how I used your power before this point, but this is my limit." Kyojuro said, as he knew that if she put her mind to it Pinkamena could heal his body, because her unique Blood Demon Art was unmatched and he suspected that it would push even Akaza to his limits, but he also knew that this was as far as his power could take him, even if it worried those that were around him.
Pinkamena sighed for a moment, as while she respected his decision on the matter, she still felt it was the wrong one, but to make sure he didn't turn into a Demon accidentally she carefully removed Akaza's arm fragment from his body and set up a barrier of sorts so he didn't bleed out before his time. As she did that, however, she realized that this was the first of her friends that she was going to actually lose to one of Muzan's twisted followers, as while they weren't all that close she was sure all the time they spent training, so he could face stronger Demons, might have created the spark of friendship that Pinkie and her friends had. Such a thing enraged her, especially when she thought about the fact that Akaza had said that he was going to kill all of her other friends, those she had known for longer than a month, to which she turned as she got up and faced the Upper Moon that was still standing nearby, like he was the best fighter in the area. As she did that, however, Kyojuro noticed that crimson energy was leaking out of her body as her fox mask looked like it was twisted into a look of rage, meaning she wasn't too pleased with what was going on right now and had to be blaming Akaza for her and the others losing a Hashira.
Akaza, sensing that something was coming, rushed through the space between them as the energy covered Pinkamena, to which he swung his fist and expected to crush Kyojuro once and for all, so he could depart from this area and get back to his own duties, before discovering that the energy stopped his attack. As that happened Kyojuro noticed something else, Pinkamena's energy was darkening the area, or maybe it was more accurate to say that it was forming a dark barrier to ensure she could inflict maximum damage on the Demon, instead of allowing the sun to rise and attempt to burn him to death, before the sphere of energy started to break down. What he expected was her normal fox form, the light red orange he had seen during the Hashira meeting not that long ago, but what he, Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Akaza found was that the main color of her fur had been twisted into a dark pink color, the red marking on her hand had disappeared, and her fox tail was no longer alone, due to the fact that there were three tails now, where the tips were crimson red colored. Kyojuro wondered what he and the others were seeing, especially since he was sure that the marking that had been on her hand had reappeared on her back, or at least that was what he thought he saw under her clothing for a few seconds, like it was transparent, before the see though effect disappeared entirely.
In that moment he realized that Chaos World had evolved, elevating Pinkamena's power to new heights, and with it came a sense of dread, which Akaza seemed to be feeling, especially since his fist had been stopped by Pinkamena's crimson aura, the area just below it looking like a bone had formed, even if she hadn't been the target of that attack.
In the following moment Pinkamena grabbed onto the side of his head and moved forward, everything shifting into her control in an instant as Akaza found himself unable to resist her grip, where she rushed into the forest and hurled him at the ground without wasting even a second. As Akaza tried to figure out what was going on, since he wasn't expecting such a surge in power, Pinkamena leapt into the air and crimson energy gathered around her blade as she focused on her foe, a fact that caused Kyojuro to pause as he realized what he and the others were seeing right now, due to the fact that this was a move she rarely used against her foes. Kyojuro barely had time to process what was happening as their companion swung her arm and loosed a wave of crimson energy straight at where Akaza was resting, who seemed to freak out as he saw it coming at him, causing him to move out of the way to the best of his ability, though it sliced through his left arm, as it was the last thing to get out of the way. Pinkamena grinned as she noticed that her foe hadn't realized what was coming his way, as while Akaza was distracted she sent a second Lunar Fang straight at him, this one taking both of his legs, or at least half of each one, causing the Demon to stumble for a moment before regenerating, and, sure enough, he retrieved his pearl jewelry before moving out of the area.
She glanced at the ground for a moment, two deep gashes that were left in the forest thanks to her attacks, before she burst out of the air and smashed into the area that Akaza was running through, where the Demon shifted his stance and summoned his compass, no doubt to defend himself. Pinkamena lashed out with her blade and Akaza quickly found that his fingers, even his right fist at one point, went flying from where he was standing, showing him that while he was holding back, due to the fact that he refused to kill women and he wasn't about to start by ending her life, her new power was just as strong as his current low powered state. The surprising thing, besides the fact that he was sure that more than fifteen minutes had passed by this point, was that all of the pieces that went flying ended up just vanishing in the blink of an eye, as if something else was going on right now, which caused him to consider the rapid and sudden transformation he had witnessed. His foe, as odd as it seemed, was a Demon, a rather powerful one based on the fight that was going on right now, one that was disobeying their master by joining the very force that existed to end their kind, because that was the only thing that could explain the transformation and the odd power he was facing, it had to be a Blood Demon Art of some kind.
As he thought about that, in the blink of an eye, his foe vanished and he was kicked in the chest, sending him flying into a couple of trees as he went deeper and deeper into the forest, though as Akaza tried to regain himself he noticed strands of energy gathering around Pinkamena's left pointer finger, forming a small orb in front of it. He had no idea what she had planned for her new attack, as his instincts told him that it was an attack, but instead of sticking around to find out he did what had to be the smartest move in this situation, he turned around and fled from the scene, because with her rage he suspected it would be impossible to best her. Pinkamena, on the other hand, fired a beam of crimson energy that raced through the forest and struck Akaza in the back, causing an explosion that obliterated the entire area around him, at least five trees in each direction by her estimates, and once that was done she approached where she had last seen the Demon who attacked them. What she discovered, in addition to the crater she made, was that Akaza had fled from the battlefield, choosing to use the smoke from her attack as his cover, and while it was the smart thing to do it did show her that Akaza knew that he stood no chance against her heightened power, causing her to sigh for a moment.
With the Upper Moon gone she returned to where Kyojuro and the others were resting, all while she made sure to lower her barrier, as it seemed like killing Akaza would have to wait for later, the next time he decided to show himself, so for the time being she decided to focus on helping her friend pass before worrying about the consequences that would come from such a thing happening.