Retire in Seclusion?

Inside the Infinity Castle's alternate space, the Upper Rank Demons Doma, Hantengu, Gyokko, Daki, and Gyutaro, along with the new Lower Rank Six demon,

all knelt before Muzan.

It was the first time in hundreds of years that the Twelve Kizuki had gathered in such full attendance for a meeting.

"Kokushibo!! Akaza!!"

"Those two traitorous dogs!!"

Muzan Kibutsuji, impeccably dressed in a suit and looking every bit the gentleman, was now absolutely furious.

His eyes were bloodshot, brimming with murderous intent!

Muzan truly hadn't expected this. What should have been a simple mission he was certain would succeed had turned into this mess.

He'd thought he'd already given that human swordsman more than enough credit!

But who could have guessed that the human swordsman would be so terrifyingly powerful?!

He'd cut off Kokushibo's head!

Kokushibo hadn't died, of course... but the instant Kokushibo was beheaded, Muzan had seen what happened through his eyes.

And that human swordsman, too—if he had that kind of strength, couldn't he have shown it earlier?

At worst, Muzan Kibutsuji could've gone into hiding for another hundred years!

Did it really have to come to this?

A new Demon King was bad news for both Muzan and the Demon Slayer Corps!

Only Kokushibo had come out ahead...

What would have best served Muzan's interests was for the two who now threatened him—a human and a demon—to kill each other!

It was true that Kokushibo had helped him get rid of a human swordsman who had nearly reached the level of Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

But the bad news was that Kokushibo had been beheaded and survived. Instead, he'd broken through his own limits and escaped Muzan's control!

And now he wouldn't listen to him at all!

Had he grown strong enough to strike out on his own?

That was something Muzan couldn't tolerate, either!

That said, Muzan really didn't seem to have any way to deal with Kokushibo...

They were both Demon Kings. Unless they fought to the death until dawn and let the sun burn them, neither could kill the other.

Muzan Kibutsuji glared darkly at his useless subordinates below.

He struggled to rein in his violent killing intent...

He couldn't kill any more of them. These demons might be incompetent, but things outside were different now!

That turncoat Kokushibo was steadily building up his forces. If Muzan kept killing Lower Rank Demons whenever he felt like it, just as he used to,

he would be destroying his own foundation.

Still, although Muzan now cared only about finding the Blue Spider Lily and breaking through his limits once more,

if he didn't teach the "traitors" a lesson,

there was no telling whether the rest of his subordinates might all run off as well!

Not wanting to hinder his search for the Blue Spider Lily, Muzan glanced down at Doma, "Upper Rank One," who was clearly distracted. His anger flared all over again!

But there really wasn't much he could do about this mentally ill demon with psychological problems!

Besides, Doma was the only one he could rely on right now!

The other Upper Rank Demons among the Twelve Kizuki would be nothing but a meal for the turncoat Akaza.

Suppressing his anger with great effort, Muzan gave an order:

"Doma!"

"I want you to find Akaza and bring me his head!"

"And don't let Kokushibo find out..."

"Doma! Are you listening?"

When Doma still didn't respond to Lord Muzan, Gyokko, kneeling beside him, had no choice but to work up the courage to reach out a short finger and poke Doma's shoulder.

Only then did Doma come back to himself. He looked at Muzan and smiled brightly.

"I understand, Lord Muzan."

Muzan gave Doma a cold look. That demon's smile was enough to disgust even other demons.

After the twang of a biwa string rang out, the Infinity Castle fell silent once more.

At the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters,

Kujo Tachibana's external injuries had finally healed completely, and today he was finally able to "leave the hospital"!

After saying goodbye to Miss Tamayo in her room, Kujo Tachibana eagerly followed a member of the Corps' support unit out of Tamayo's little courtyard.

Ubuyashiki Kagaya had arranged a residence for him at the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters.

He was practically a retired veteran of the organization now. He could no longer fight, but at least he'd served the Corps well.

Kujo Tachibana had already planned what to do with the few years he had left. He would take a page from Liu Bei's book:

Keep the music playing, keep the dancing going...

And enjoy life to the fullest.

But after staying inside the courtyard for so long, Kujo Tachibana noticed that the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters seemed to have changed.

And not for the better.

There were quite a few more injured people at headquarters. From hundreds of meters away, Kujo Tachibana could already hear the wounded swordsmen groaning...

No wonder Miss Tamayo had seemed so busy lately.

So many swordsmen had been injured?

But why had this happened?

Could Muzan have sent the Upper Rank Demons to retaliate against the Demon Slayer Corps?

Yet as he sensed the wounded men's low morale, Kujo Tachibana vaguely realized that something was wrong with the Corps.

Looking at the support member ahead of him, Kujo Tachibana couldn't help asking:

"Hirosuke, have there been any signs of an Upper Rank Demon recently?"

"Why are there so many more injured people in the Corps than usual?"

Maekawa Hirosuke began stammering out an explanation.

"Uh... maybe."

"Rumble Hashira, you know I'm not a swordsman."

"I haven't been sent out on any missions recently, so I don't really know what's going on."

"Oh, I see." After saying that, Kujo Tachibana didn't ask anything else.

It wasn't until they reached an elegant courtyard ahead that

Maekawa Hirosuke finally let out a sigh of relief. He turned around and enthusiastically introduced it to Kujo Tachibana:

"Rumble Hashira, look! This is your new home!"

"What do you think? Isn't it beautiful?"

Looking at the quiet, peaceful courtyard, Kujo Tachibana nodded.

He was very pleased with it.

Especially the tall ginkgo tree growing in the middle of the garden. It looked a lot like the one at the Kujo family's ancestral home, where he'd lived for more than ten years after arriving in this world.

But when he thought about spending the rest of his life here over the next few years, Kujo Tachibana couldn't help feeling a little melancholy.

The courtyard was already furnished, and all the daily necessities were in place.

As Maekawa Hirosuke was about to leave, he looked at Kujo Tachibana and said:

"Rumble Hashira,"

"are you sure you don't need someone to look after you?"

Kujo Tachibana replied jokingly:

"Really, I'm fine. I'm used to living alone."

"Besides, I'm a Hashira! Do I look like I need someone to take care of me?"

Maekawa Hirosuke paused, then nodded.

"We'll deliver the food you need once every three days."

"If there's anything special you want, just have your Kasugai Crow let us know."

"Okay. Thanks for the effort."

After seeing him off, Kujo Tachibana carried a chair out of the house, looked up at the ginkgo tree in the courtyard, and spent the whole day lost in thought.