Insect Hashira Shinobu Kocho Seeking Recommendations and Collections

Mu Yu was about to leave when a voice rang out.

"Wait, please wait!"

Who else could be calling out but Kenichi Mitsushiro, whom he had just saved?

Kenichi Mitsushiro said, "Benefactor, please wait. You're a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman who kills demons, aren't you? I can never repay such a great kindness, so please allow me to show you some hospitality!"

Mu Yu had intended to refuse, but then he sensed a crow rapidly flying toward them from afar.

A crow?

Was it the Demon Slayer Corps' exclusive messenger crow, a Kasugai Crow?

That meant there was a Demon Slayer Corps member nearby?

Mu Yu had no desire to get involved with the Demon Slayer Corps right now. After confirming that the Imperial Blade could kill evil demons, he had even less reason to contact them.

"Fine."

Kenichi Mitsushiro was immediately overjoyed.

It was not merely a matter of repaying his savior. No one could understand the shock Kenichi Mitsushiro had felt when he saw Mu Yu standing atop a tree, using a fishing rod to save him from an evil demon.

In Kenichi Mitsushiro's eyes, Mu Yu was practically a celestial being!

"Benefactor, this way!"

"Wait a moment."

Kenichi Mitsushiro did not understand, but he soon saw Mu Yu return carrying a battered fish basket.

Kenichi Mitsushiro was utterly speechless. Had his benefactor really been fishing before saving him?

Should he say he was lucky, or unlucky?

This Mitsushiro family caravan had certainly been unfortunate to encounter an evil demon, but being saved by Mu Yu, who happened to be fishing here, was a blessing amid misfortune.

When they unexpectedly learned that not a single person in the attacked caravan had died, the place immediately became a sea of joy once more.

"Father, it's wonderful that you're all right. It's really wonderful!"

The boy named Taro threw himself into his father's arms with a wail, sobbing uncontrollably.

Although Kenichi Mitsushiro worked in Tokyo Prefecture and had been influenced by new ideas, he was, at heart, still a traditional father.

Mitsushiro Taro had always been rather afraid of his father. Deep down, he had even felt that his father was not as handsome or as good as his classmates' fathers.

But this brush with death had shown Taro an entirely different side of his father.

Seeing Taro and Kenichi Mitsushiro embrace, Mu Yu smiled.

His heart felt warm and comforted. It felt like he had done something truly meaningful.

Sure enough, everyone had a dream of being a hero!

"Taro, kneel down and kowtow to your benefactor."

Kenichi Mitsushiro pulled his son, Mitsushiro Taro, over and made him kowtow to Mu Yu.

Mu Yu was a little dumbfounded. To be honest, he was not used to people kowtowing at the drop of a hat.

But in the end, Mu Yu could not talk Kenichi Mitsushiro out of it.

Watching the little boy solemnly and meticulously kowtow to him, Mu Yu's feelings were incredibly complicated.

About a quarter of an hour after Mu Yu and the Mitsushiro family caravan left, a great swarm of butterflies suddenly appeared here.

Accompanying the butterflies was a girl wearing a butterfly Haori, with a butterfly hairpin in her hair and a smile on her face.

If Mu Yu had been here, he would have recognized her at once—the Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho!

"Oh my, it looks like the battle was quite fierce!"

"There's human blood, but there's even more demon blood. Looking at this crater, it seems the demon was slammed heavily into the ground. What tremendous force. Impressive!"

"Did another Demon Slayer Corps member happen to pass by?"

Shinobu Kocho found it somewhat surprising.

The Demon Slayer Corps had a long history stretching back a thousand years.

Yet it was not recognized by the authorities and numbered only around three or four hundred people.

They were severely understaffed!

Whenever a demon appeared somewhere, the Master would send out a mission through Kasugai Crows, notifying nearby Demon Slayer Corps members to hunt it.

Anyone who had watched the anime knew that Tanjiro's missions came one after another, without even time to rest when injured. That showed just how desperately short-handed they were.

If a mission required several Demon Slayer Corps members to act together, it was generally an exceptionally difficult task.

It was very likely a mission involving the Twelve Kizuki!

As a Hashira, she had already been dispatched. Under normal circumstances, there was no need to assign additional manpower.

Strange!

Still, it was good that no one had been hurt.

"Kasugai Crow, send word to the Master and ask what happened."

"Caw!"

The Kasugai Crow gave a strange cry, then flapped its wings and flew into the night.

Shinobu Kocho's smile remained radiant as she watched the Kasugai Crow fade into the distance.

"Big Sister, we missed it this time. But judging by the scene, it must have been a demon unwilling to coexist peacefully with humans. I'll keep trying!"

Time passed.

At the Ubuyashiki clan's secret base, Shinobu Kocho's Kasugai Crow returned.

After hearing the Kasugai Crow's report, Kagaya Ubuyashiki wore a thoughtful expression.

"Someone killed the evil demon before Shinobu Kocho arrived?"

Kagaya Ubuyashiki found it strange. He was certain that, aside from Shinobu Kocho, he had not assigned any other Demon Slayers.

His memory was exceptionally good. He remembered not only the names of every Demon Slayer currently active, but also those of every swordsman who had died.

Still, Kagaya Ubuyashiki had encountered similar cases before—more than once.

For example, Sanemi Shinazugawa, the current Wind Hashira.

After the mother who had always gently protected him and his siblings was turned into a demon, Sanemi Shinazugawa came to hate demons with a burning passion.

Without receiving any training whatsoever, and without even possessing a Nichirin Blade, he began hunting demons alone.

Since he had no way to kill demons outright, every encounter left him covered in wounds. He would even risk being gravely injured and near death just to hold out until dawn, when the sunlight could burn the demons to death.

Had Kagaya Ubuyashiki not found him early on, he might already have died at a demon's hands.

But the situation Shinobu Kocho had reported was somewhat different.

The demon had been killed before dawn. That meant the person had at least possessed a Nichirin Blade!

Was it a Demon Slayer Corps member merely passing through, or a prospective Demon Slayer Corps member who had yet to pass the examination?

The Demon Slayer Corps had not only demon-slaying swordsmen but also Kakushi who specialized in cleanup. Strategic items such as Nichirin Blades generally did not circulate outside the Corps.

But it was not impossible!

"Based on Shinobu Kocho's report, the one who acted should have been a rather powerful child. Perhaps another pitiful child who has suffered misfortune. Hunting demons alone is extremely dangerous."

Kagaya Ubuyashiki stroked the Kasugai Crow's feathers and said gently, "Send a message to Shinobu Kocho. Tell her to keep an eye on the area and, if possible, lend that child a hand."

After crying out once, the Kasugai Crow flew into the night sky.

At the same time, Kagaya Ubuyashiki's wife, Amane Ubuyashiki, came out and gently took his arm.

"It snowed not long ago, and the weather is still cold. You should rest early."

Kagaya Ubuyashiki said, "It's all right. Compared with my beloved swordsmen running about everywhere, this little cold is nothing. Muzan Kibutsuji will surely be defeated by my hand!"

Amane Ubuyashiki said nothing. She merely looked at her husband with heartache in her eyes.

Her husband had once been as elegant as jade, but due to the curse, his eyesight was now deteriorating rapidly, and his body was growing ever more frail.

But how could Muzan Kibutsuji be so easily defeated?

The Ubuyashiki clan had struggled for a thousand years to defeat Muzan Kibutsuji.

Yet...

The Demon Slayer Corps had repeatedly come close to total annihilation, while Muzan Kibutsuji had always remained alive and well.

Not only that, but every man of the Ubuyashiki clan was frail from childhood and none lived beyond the age of thirty.

The more one understood the Ubuyashiki clan's history, the more hopeless defeating Muzan Kibutsuji seemed.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki held his wife's hand and reassured her, "I have a feeling that the day Muzan Kibutsuji is defeated is not far off. It may very well be accomplished in my hands!"

Amane Ubuyashiki nodded.

She had married him for better or worse. The elegant, handsome, and carefree Kagaya Ubuyashiki of the past had been her husband, and this Kagaya Ubuyashiki, whose face was half ulcerated and whose vision had deteriorated until he could barely see, was still her husband.