Muzan: Are You Going to Keep This Up or What?

Another world.

The Ubuyashiki estate.

For nearly two months, no demons had attacked anyone. With the Demon King sealed away, it seemed that all the demons had fallen silent.

But the Demon Slayer Corps hadn't been idle during that time. They'd been even busier than usual.

Busy helping Obanai Iguro build up good karma.

Yes, that was what Kagaya Ubuyashiki called it.

Whenever Corps members found civilians suffering, they held back their instinct to help and contacted Obanai right away, leaving him to handle the situation.

At the same time, the Ubuyashiki family handed over its vast business network to Obanai, who handled every transaction.

These days, Obanai had only half an hour to pray and three hours to sleep each day.

He even ate while traveling.

But he still felt it wasn't enough. He'd asked them to wake him after just one hour of sleep.

Muzan would break free of the seal in a hundred days. They couldn't let that one descend again before then...

If it's just me this time...

Even if I die, it doesn't matter!

It was his master who persuaded him.

"That one said many things, but I think the last sentence was the most important."

"Obanai, the most important thing is that you stay alive."

"Even if we fail this time, as long as you're alive, we'll have another chance. You're the one person who absolutely has to keep living!"

That day, after finishing a day's worth of exhausting work, he returned to headquarters.

The entire Demon Slayer Corps had gathered at the newly built headquarters. The buildings surrounded the wooden barrel containing the sealed Muzan.

They'd made preparations for both possibilities. If that one didn't come, they would launch their final battle when Muzan broke free of the seal.

Steadying his breathing, Obanai entered the room where the shrine was kept, wearing the most reverent expression he could muster.

"Kaburamaru, I'm sorry."

Obanai took the white snake from around his neck and placed it before the shrine. Then he used a small knife to cut through its scales.

It already had many wounds, but it didn't complain. Instead, it flicked its tongue, comforting Obanai.

Back then, it had been Kagaya's wish to protect his wife and daughters that prompted that great one to respond.

Since someone close to him was more likely to make the prayer effective, Obanai had no choice but to bear the pain of hurting Kaburamaru, who had grown up alongside him.

Clap.

He pressed his palms together and prayed silently.

God, please heal Kaburamaru. Great...

In the darkness, with his eyes closed, he didn't notice the mark on his forehead slowly appearing.

The Demon Slayer Corps members waited outside.

Seeing that there was still no response, just as before, Obanai's friend, the short-tempered Sanemi Shinazugawa, muttered:

"Why do we have to wait for that person? While Muzan's sealed, why don't we just slash open the barrel during the day?"

"Watch your words! You mustn't show disrespect to the gods!" the Stone Hashira hurriedly scolded him.

"Cough, cough..."

With his wife supporting him, Kagaya dragged his ailing body inside.

Several captains quickly gathered around him, shielding their master from the evening breeze.

"Master, you need to rest. You shouldn't—"

"I tried."

His voice was low, and he barely had any strength left, but it was still as gentle as ever.

"If it can kill Muzan, then even if it goes against a god's will, I'll do it."

"But even gunpowder can't blow that barrel open."

"The seal doesn't just trap Muzan. It protects him, too."

"I didn't tell you before... but I can't hold on much longer. Perhaps tomorrow..."

"How can you say that? Master, please, don't—"

Kagaya raised a hand, signaling for everyone to let him continue. "That one isn't a god who came to save us. To him..."

"This must be a transaction."

"Unfortunately, I gave everything I had back then, and it still wasn't enough to persuade him to destroy Muzan."

"It's... cough, cough... It's the Infinity Castle... To that one, demons are worth more than we are."

"But I can feel that he's merciful."

"Remember... after I die, if that one comes..."

"Ask him to destroy Muzan. Don't demand it. Destroying Muzan isn't one of the rules he has to follow."

"Mm. You're right."

A voice appeared without warning.

The tense Demon Slayer Corps members drew their swords and looked around. The next instant, an overwhelming presence made them all look up at the eaves.

The Three-Tomoe Sharingan swirled with an eerie glow.

The air turned sharply colder. The swordsmen of the Demon Slayer Corps let out strangled whimpers, as if an invisible giant hand had closed around their throats. Cold sweat soaked through their backs.

These battle-hardened elites could barely keep their hands from shaking, and even their thoughts had grown sluggish.

It had only been a few months...

Even they could clearly feel that this person was stronger than when he'd appeared last time!

Uchiha Sora held the trembling Kaburamaru in one hand. A black hole appeared behind him.

It was a perfect circle, as though all color had been stripped from within it. Nothing could be seen inside.

Extremely simple.

For traveling through time and space, it was too ordinary, with an indescribable sense of wrongness.

Shisui leaned out of it. His Sharingan swept over the area, then he landed steadily at Uchiha Sora's side.

He'd been warned beforehand, so even though Shisui had a hundred questions racing through his mind, he didn't dare ask them.

He imitated Fugaku's deadpan expression, his face blank, like a loyal guard.

Two gods... had come!!

Tossing the white snake to Shisui, Uchiha Sora said flatly, "Make the cut a little bigger. It's so small it might heal before we're done."

Swish—

Shisui drew his short blade and widened the wound, which had been less than half a centimeter long. Obanai watched from below, his heart aching.

Without exchanging greetings, Uchiha Sora used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of the wooden barrel he'd left behind.

Shisui couldn't hold back any longer. He asked in a low voice, "Sora, where have you brought us? Is this still the Land of Whirlpools?"

The Land of Whirlpools?

This wasn't even the Shinobi World anymore, and he was asking about the Land of Whirlpools.

Uchiha Sora glanced at Shisui and said flatly, "Search that guy's memories later and you'll find out. He's lived for over a thousand years. He's weak, but his mind's full of all sorts of information."

"The keywords are Nakime and the Infinity Castle."

Shisui nodded, still confused. Hearing Uchiha Sora say the monster had lived for over a thousand years made him a little nervous.

Uchiha Sora placed his hand on the wooden barrel, and the hidden symbols appeared.

"Sealing Jutsu..."

The Transcription Seal could still be considered a variation of an ocular technique, but this was orthodox Sealing Jutsu.

Sealing Jutsu had always been a difficult category of ninjutsu. After the Uzumaki Clan vanished, there were few people left in the Shinobi World who could be called sealing masters.

Shisui had tried to learn Sealing Jutsu, too, but he had no talent for it.

Thinking about Uchiha Sora's age...

"Get ready."

Uchiha Sora's voice interrupted his thoughts. The sealing talismans on the barrel were torn away, and the faint Cursed Seals slowly faded.

Boom!!

Without the Cursed Seals to hold its shape, the wooden barrel burst apart in an instant, exploding into countless splinters.

Muzan, bare-chested, had just felt the moonlight. His thoughts began to stir...

He didn't even have time to turn and run.

The moonlight became lightning, and the darkness twisted into flames.

Muzan was pinned to the mountain peak. He looked up at those eyes that filled his entire mental sky.

The psychological shadow these eyes cast over him had already become as terrifying as Tsugikuni Yoriichi's.

Again?!