Little Nakime

Muzan had always been bothered by the rare few who absolutely refused to raise the overall knowledge level of demons. Kagetsuki Chiyo was his most troublesome one.

Now, he'd thrown him to Akaza to teach him the hard way, and honestly, only Chiyo was left.

As long as he learned to read, it would mean all demons were literate.

A perfectionist's dream, right?

At this moment, in a room arranged by Nakime, Kagetsuki Chiyo was sharing "common knowledge" among demons with Akaza.

"Muzan is actually a total coward," he said, cautiously glancing around to confirm Muzan wasn't paying attention before speaking boldly.

Sharing his experience with the "newcomer": "If you want to complain about him, just make sure he's not looking and then you can talk. Though I've been hit quite a few times already. I don't know what's gotten into him, but he's insisting I learn to read."

As he spoke, he seemed to recall the pain of Muzan hitting his head, and touched his scalp. "He always puts on a gentle act, but he's actually really brutal. And he's not proper at all; he's the one who corrupted the atmosphere among demons."

Akaza was somewhat interested and put down the book he wasn't really enjoying to listen.

Akaza's reaction further fueled Chiyo's enthusiasm to talk:

"Let me tell you, if you're short on money, you can ask Nakime or Asanuma Seiji. Nakime can communicate with all demons and manages the money for the boss. But I'll warn you, if you ask for too much, you'll get beaten. It's best to earn your own money."

Speaking of his own dark past, Kagetsuki Chiyo was unapologetic:

"Decades ago, I asked Nakime for too much money, and both Nakime and Muzan beat me up. After that, I just decided to earn my own money.

He's really too stingy."

Speaking of Nakime, he added, "Oh, right. If you're ever in danger and can't win, just shout for Nakime to save you, and she'll teleport you to the Infinity Castle.

But the boss said it's best to break through your limits, then you won't be afraid of being beheaded.

And also, also..."

Kagetsuki Chiyo was getting really into it. He'd finally found a demon who could patiently listen to his "experience sharing," and his floodgates opened. He was speaking with great fervor when he suddenly realized Akaza's expression was a bit off.

His voice stopped abruptly, and he stiffly turned his head to look behind him, forcing a smile that was uglier than crying.

"Boss... you heard all that?"

Muzan, with a smile, replied, "What do you think?"

Then, Akaza watched as Muzan punched Chiyo's head clean off. Chiyo's head quickly regenerated, and he looked at Muzan with a grin as he disappeared.

Akaza couldn't help but gasp.

He really couldn't get used to the atmosphere among demons!

Why would they just blow off heads at the drop of a hat!

His impression of Muzan shattered instantly!

"Doesn't it hurt?"

Kagetsuki Chiyo touched his newly grown head.

"It's okay. Demons have a very low perception of pain. It only really hurts when you're cut by a Nichirin Blade or a Crimson Blade, or when you absorb the boss's blood – that's truly agonizing! Losing a head or an arm usually just causes a slight sensation."

Akaza: "..."

No wonder you haven't repented even after being beaten so many times.

"But Akaza, why did you suddenly become Upper Rank Two? I don't think I'm weak, so why not me?

How about we have a fight!"

Then, Kagetsuki Chiyo, who didn't actually have much combat power and whose Blood Demon Art had a very long wind-up, was instantly defeated by Akaza...

Muzan discovered a character who seemed to be part of the plot – a young artist in a fishing village who was doing bizarre things with art, constantly killing fish and sticking their corpses onto pots. His parents had both died during the fishing process.

(Searching for the book title might not work, you could try searching for the author, maybe the title was changed!)

Muzan knew about Gyokko. Like Hantengu, there wasn't anything particularly moving about him.

However, this was an opportunity for him to verify whether this thing called "plot power" existed.

After all, he was an Upper Rank in the original story, a key figure. If he didn't turn Gyokko into a demon, would plot power make him become one?

For the next period, he conveniently stopped Gyokko from killing the child who mocked him.

However, he also watched as the child was beaten up by Gyokko.

Then, Muzan noticed a Half-Demon appear.

Its target was clear, and it walked straight towards Gyokko.

Muzan, hiding behind a house, watched as the Half-Demon cut its own wrist and let the blood drip for the bruised and battered Gyokko to drink.

This was basically enough for Muzan to confirm that the so-called plot power existed.

Muzan wouldn't just stand by and watch the Half-Demon leave right in front of him, and at the same time, he could verify the strength of the plot power.

Muzan suddenly rushed out, and the whip-like appendage behind him instantly pierced the Half-Demon.

The Half-Demon clearly hadn't expected Muzan, a dignified Demon King, to sneakily hide behind a house and ambush him!

He was caught completely off guard.

He was directly impaled.

Muzan didn't bring a Nichirin Blade. Even though they were Half-Demons, they were born from his blood, and while they were out of his control, Muzan still had the power to kill them.

His arm transformed into a giant maw and, right before Gyokko, who had just become a demon, he swallowed it whole.

Gyokko watched his "savior" get eaten with his own eyes, and in terror, scrambled up from the ground and fled.

He simultaneously screamed for help, tears streaming down his face in fear.

But at this point, Gyokko had only just become a demon, so he wasn't particularly strong. Muzan caught up in an instant and, amidst Gyokko's terrified eyes and screams, swallowed him whole.

This Gyokko actually had intelligence.

And the other Half-Demon Muzan had just eaten also had intelligence. He knew that most of the Half-Demons he encountered were idiots with nothing in their heads.

But this Gyokko, of all people, had intelligence.

This Half-Demon was more like a tool of plot power.

But this power, from the depths of fate, clearly had no self-awareness. It only adjusted based on changes, at most predicting them slightly in advance, but it was still at the level of artificial idiocy.

Its form was more like what people called fate, but even more powerless.

Furthermore, it seemed the more related it was to Tanjiro and the final outcome, the greater its influence.

However, it also had to adhere to certain established rules. If he deliberately changed things, the plot power wouldn't be of much use.

The biggest impact currently was the appearance of the Half-Demons, and they had consistently made it so Muzan could barely detect them, leading the Demon Slayer Corps to believe that the ones randomly eating people were still just demons under Muzan's command.

This maintained a fresh supply of blood for the Demon Slayer Corps.

But Muzan knew that if he could deal with the Ubuyashiki family's so-called "curse," he would solve the problem of the Demon Slayer Corps. Then, if he dealt with the Half-Demons, he didn't believe plot power could do anything else!

After dealing with the Half-Demon issue, Muzan returned to the Infinity Castle and found Nakime covering her eyes and earnestly admonishing Akaza.

"The rules the boss set absolutely cannot be broken, and you absolutely cannot kill indiscriminately, or you'll get fired, and it'll be terrible..."

As she spoke, she realized Muzan had arrived and quickly shut her mouth.

Carrying a biwa, she returned to the high platform, knelt on the ground, and nodded slightly, as if nothing had happened.

Muzan: "..."

You little Nakime have two faces, don't you?