The Master believed Uzumaki Gamu's words-their family shared blood ties with a clan of priests, so naturally, he believed gods existed!
The others weren't necessarily convinced, especially Sanemi, who had just taken a beating from Uzumaki Gamu. He was the first to challenge him. "If Yama really exists, why did he wait until now to capture Muzan?!" A thousand years had passed, and there was no telling how many people Muzan had killed. Only now were they sending someone... wasn't that a little late?
Uzumaki Gamu spread his hands. "I can't answer that. Lord Yama only issued the order recently... if you're unhappy, you can confront him after you die~" There was nothing wrong with that explanation. The system Yama had given him had arranged his arrival at this point in time.
If Uzumaki Gamu could choose when to arrive, he would definitely follow War Machine's idea for killing Thanos in Avengers: Endgame-show up right after Muzan was born, snap baby Muzan's neck, then send him off for cremation. He refused to believe Muzan could come back after being burned to ash!
"That's..." Uzumaki Gamu's answer left Sanemi speechless. Never mind whether he was telling the truth-if Sanemi really met Yama, would he dare question him?
At that moment, the Master helped smooth things over. "This isn't the first time heaven has sought to punish Muzan... several hundred years ago, an immensely powerful swordsman appeared. His strength surpassed everyone of his time. He was practically a monster, and single-handedly drove Muzan into a corner. Unfortunately... Muzan escaped in the end! Clearly, heaven has never given up on destroying that demon completely!"
With the Master's support, the others accepted this explanation too!
Then another man who had remained silent-the Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka-asked, "I have a question too... why did you come here?" Hadn't Uzumaki Gamu always acted alone, completely ignoring the Demon Slayer Corps? Why had he come looking for them now?
"Good question... mainly, I'm here to join forces with you!" Uzumaki Gamu stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point. "I've dealt with Muzan over the past few days. Right now, I'm confident I can kill him, but... if he tries to run, I can't guarantee I'll stop him! If he escapes, that shameless demon will hide somewhere no one can find him. Then I'll only be repeating what that swordsman did when he cornered Muzan centuries ago!"
The Flame Hashira said, "I see. You want us to help keep Muzan from escaping?"
"Exactly! I've already drawn up a battle plan. I need help from powerful fighters like you, people at the pinnacle of ordinary human strength... so, will you help?" Uzumaki Gamu turned to the Master!
"We will!" The Master agreed without a moment's hesitation.
"A wise decision... well, since everyone's here, let's start by sharing some intelligence!" Uzumaki Gamu intended to explain everything about Muzan and his Upper Ranks to make their next move easier!
But before he could begin, Sanemi stepped forward and interrupted again. (Were you ever going to stop?)
Well, this time he wasn't targeting Uzumaki Gamu, but Tanjiro and Nezuko. "Master, we have to kill that demon!"
After all that, the conversation had come back around to Tanjiro.
The Master accepted the siblings, but he favored a democratic approach rather than ruling by decree, so... it was time for him to work his magic!
First, the Master expressed his approval of the Kamado siblings and his wish to welcome them into the Demon Slayer Corps.
Then, when he asked the Hashira for their opinions, several of them naturally opposed the decision.
So the Master revealed that Tanjiro had personally encountered Muzan Kibutsuji in Asakusa. He then read out a letter from the former Water Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki, explaining that over more than a year of observation, Nezuko had never attacked a human or even drunk human blood. She was a completely harmless demon, and he offered this as proof to convince the Hashira.
Uzumaki Gamu chimed in too. "You probably don't realize just how impressive this girl is... in the past thousand years, she's the first human to resist Muzan's mental control through her own will. In other words, she's the first person to defeat Muzan since that ridiculously powerful swordsman. Killing someone that incredible without a second thought is pretty inhumane, don't you think?"
His words left the Hashira collectively embarrassed, while also helping them understand just what kind of person Nezuko was.
Still, Sanemi couldn't bring himself to trust Nezuko and insisted on one final test. Well, his behavior wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
Muzan had turned his mother into a demon, and she had attacked his younger siblings, leaving only him and one younger brother alive. To protect that brother, he had been forced to kill his own demonized mother... that hatred left him unable-and afraid-to trust any demon!
So he cut his arm and used his rare blood to give Nezuko one last test. Rare blood held a special attraction for demons, like catnip for cats, perhaps? If she could withstand even that, he would accept her!
And the result... naturally, she passed!
After Nezuko passed Sanemi's rare-blood trial, Kagaya officially announced that the Kamado siblings had joined the Demon Slayer Corps, winning the sincere acceptance of every Hashira.
Watching the whole process, Uzumaki Gamu marveled inwardly, He's a born leader... seriously impressive!
With everything settled, Teacher Uzumaki Gamu's class on Muzan could finally begin!
Meanwhile, Muzan was learning about Uzumaki Gamu from Akaza... huh? Where had that information come from?
Well, before Uzumaki Gamu visited the Demon Slayer Corps-last night-he had happened to run into Akaza.
Actually, it hadn't been a coincidence. Uzumaki Gamu had deliberately waited for him!
After Muzan executed that unlucky Lower Rank, Uzumaki Gamu guessed he would send someone else after him. Keeping an eye out, he deliberately tracked down Akaza-though from Akaza's perspective, he had discovered Uzumaki Gamu. (Uzumaki Gamu: My sensory range is huge. I can easily lead him into finding me!)
And the final result...
Muzan asked curiously, "Oh? He was no match for you and fled in panic?"
"Yes... my deepest apologies, Lord Muzan. If dawn hadn't been approaching, I could have presented you with his head," Akaza said on his knees.
That's right. Uzumaki Gamu had run away from his fight with Akaza-but of course, that had been deliberate!
Having decided to play the long game and deal with Muzan gradually, Uzumaki Gamu had no reason to display too much power and scare him off. So when he met Akaza, he put on a good show, fighting him for a while before pretending to be outmatched and fleeing. That demonstrated he was strong, but not too strong... Muzan wouldn't fear an enemy like that!
And Muzan reacted exactly as Uzumaki Gamu had expected. Heh, so he's just stronger than Rui and the others... that makes sense. Any Upper Rank could easily slaughter all the Lower Ranks. Crushing them doesn't mean much... I really was scaring myself!
Realizing he had overthought things, Muzan stopped worrying and no longer cared much that Akaza hadn't killed the man. As long as Yoriichi hadn't returned, everything was manageable!
But thinking of Yoriichi reminded him of Tanjiro. Out of his fear of Yoriichi, he couldn't allow the man wearing those earrings to live! So... should he keep sending people to kill Tanjiro?
Did that mean things had returned to the original plot?
Of course not. The Demon Slayer Corps now had intelligence on Muzan and every Upper Rank!
By the time Uzumaki Gamu finished sharing everything, it was already afternoon!
The Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, couldn't help remarking, "Your knowledge really is... comprehensive, Mr. Uzumaki Gamu!"
"I conducted a very thorough investigation... well, I actually began operating much earlier than you think!" That was complete nonsense, of course. His main source was the manga!
The Master declared firmly, "With this information, perhaps we can defeat Muzan at very little cost!" Defeating Muzan at all would have been hard enough, but with this intelligence... perhaps they could kill him without losing anyone?
Well, with Uzumaki Gamu there, how could anyone still die at Muzan's hands? If that happened, Uzumaki Gamu would be incompetent!
Next came the perfect trap, carefully prepared for Muzan!
And so, the story temporarily followed its original course, until several months had passed!
After a period of trials and training, Nezuko achieved what Muzan never could-she conquered sunlight, becoming the only demon who could move beneath the sun!
Muzan was ecstatic when he received the news! He believed he no longer needed to produce a drug through human means to overcome sunlight. Eating Nezuko would give him the same ability, so there was no need to keep searching for the blue spider lily!
Thus, he gathered all the remaining demons in the Infinity Castle and began planning to wipe out the Ubuyashiki family and capture Nezuko in one stroke, allowing him to overcome sunlight too.
After a thorough investigation confirmed the location of the Demon Slayer Corps' leader, Kagaya Ubuyashiki, Muzan personally set out to end the cursed connection that had plagued him for a thousand years!
On a dark, moonless night, a carefully dressed Muzan approached the Master's home with light steps. Today was a happy occasion, so naturally, he had worn his finest clothes!
Of course, Muzan hadn't completely let success go to his head. Before coming, he had sent lesser demons to investigate. All the Hashira were out on missions. Only Kagaya's wife and two daughters remained beside him as he lay gravely ill. Humans valued their loved ones and wouldn't casually put their families in danger, so there could be no trap here. He could proceed without fear!
And so, Muzan arrived before Kagaya's sickbed.
As though sensing Muzan's presence, Kagaya spoke despite his blindness. "This is our first meeting, isn't it, Muzan Kibutsuji..."
Muzan sneered. "...What a pitiful, hideous sight you are, Ubuyashiki!"
Kagaya answered his sneer. "Funny, is it? Yes, truly funny. After living all these years, you're still an overgrown infant... you're ridiculous."
"...What did you say?" Muzan frowned slightly. He suddenly sensed something subtly wrong... what was it?
"I'm a fake, dumbass!" The sickly Kagaya suddenly sprang to life and flipped Muzan off. Then, before Muzan could react, he jabbed that middle finger into his eye.
This was, of course, Uzumaki Gamu... or rather, his shadow clone~ Taking advantage of this Demon Slayer bumpkin's ignorance of shadow clones and the Transformation Technique, Uzumaki Gamu had simply used his clones to impersonate Kagaya, his wife, and his daughters... and Muzan had stupidly walked right into the trap.
A trap! Impossible, he's definitely Ubuyashiki... The thought had barely crossed Muzan's mind when he heard words he would never forget for the rest of his life.
"Art is an explosion!! Katsu!!" At that same instant, flames swallowed the ground, and the house where Kagaya had been recuperating exploded!
The enormous mushroom cloud rising from the site made the explosion's power clear. Everything nearby vanished, leaving only a massive crater.
Besides gunpowder, the house had been packed with explosive tags Uzumaki Gamu had prepared and brought into this world!
Yet even that explosion failed to kill Muzan. Amid the smoke, he was already piecing himself back together.
Damn you, Ubuyashiki! You sent a stand-in to die in your place? Just how badly do you want me dead?! Muzan thought bitterly as he regenerated. Was this really the time to be thinking about that?
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Ten figures flashed out from every direction, thrusting their blades at Muzan simultaneously!
They were the nine Hashira and Tanjiro, who had trained until he reached their level! To fool Muzan's surveillance, Uzumaki Gamu had sent nine shadow clones disguised as the Hashira wandering around outside. Meanwhile, the real Hashira and Tanjiro hid nearby as executioners with help from their outside ally, Yushiro. His Blood Demon Art could conceal them even from Muzan, and Uzumaki Gamu had strengthened that concealment with ninjutsu, leaving Muzan completely unaware of how many people were nearby.
With the explosion as their signal, they rushed out immediately to kill Muzan!
Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen? When did they get here? At that speed, they must have been nearby! There's no time to open the Infinity Castle's door... damn it, what's going on?! Ugh... I'll have to take the hits? Everything happened too quickly. Still rebuilding his body, Muzan had no time to dodge... he could only endure it.
Of course, he didn't think being stabbed by these swordsmen mattered. None of them were Yoriichi Tsugikuni, so what was there to fear?
He only needed to hold out for a few seconds before the Infinity Castle's door opened. Then he could drag them all inside and deal with them at his leisure! But just as Muzan thought this, he suddenly realized he couldn't move!
It was the Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal again-planted when that finger stabbed his eye!
Now the curse activated, immobilizing Muzan's body! He could only let the nine Hashira run him through.
Ugh, what's on those blades? It feels... agonizing!! Of course there was something on them... they had been poisoned~
Strictly speaking, it wasn't poison, but a drug that turned demons back into humans! For ordinary people or ordinary demons, it was a good thing. But for Muzan, the demon king... it was a deadly poison that stripped him of his power!
Over these past few months, Tamayo had successfully developed the drug with the Demon Slayer Corps' help-Uzumaki Gamu had brokered their alliance. They then coated their blades with it and stabbed it directly into Muzan!
Now, besides the binding curse, Muzan had a drug suppressing him from within, weakening him even further!
Attacked from within and without, Muzan wanted only to flee back to the Infinity Castle. Just then, its door appeared beneath his feet.
Wonderful! Once I fall through, I'll be saved!! Muzan thought happily... but two seconds passed, and he realized he wasn't falling!
What was going on?
Steel wires had been tied to the swordsmen's sword hilts, with their other ends secured to distant trees. Muzan was effectively hanging in midair from ten steel wires!
Muzan thought in horror, Has every step from the very beginning been part of their calculations?
"Are you wondering whether everything so far has been part of our plan? That's right, it has~" Their final trump card-Uzumaki Gamu-finally appeared with the Body Flicker Technique!
Already in Sage Mode, he flickered in front of Muzan with a purple Rasengan in his hand and shouted, "Everyone, get back!"
At Uzumaki Gamu's shout, all ten swordsmen retreated, while the Rasengan in his hand slammed toward Muzan!
Sage Art: Lightning Release: Magnetic Storm Rasengan!
This was a new ninjutsu Uzumaki Gamu had independently developed over the past few months specifically to defeat Muzan!
First, Uzumaki Gamu developed lightning release ninjutsu that could emit ultraviolet rays. Then... he created a purple lightning release technique very similar to Purple Electricity, the ninjutsu Kakashi became known for later in life!
As soon as he created it, Uzumaki Gamu found an unlucky demon to test it on. It worked. Just bringing the technique near the demon made it begin to disintegrate!
But although he was on the right track, Uzumaki Gamu discovered that this lightning release alone had limited destructive power.
There was no helping it. Lightning release inherently concentrated its attacks at a single point, usually gathering the energy together, as with Chidori. At long range, it dispersed easily and lost power.
To defeat Muzan, he needed a ninjutsu that could explode all at once and engulf Muzan's entire body... would a lightning release Purple Kirin work better?
Well, that was too difficult and required too much preparation to be practical in battle. So Uzumaki Gamu changed his approach... why not follow Naruto's example and turn everything into a Rasengan?
Combining this technique with the Rasengan would produce something like a psionic storm-lightning carrying ultraviolet rays would fill a spherical area, turning everything inside to charcoal. If it could do that to ordinary people, it would be even worse for Muzan, who was particularly vulnerable to it!
The move's only problem was how difficult it was to master. Incorporating Chakra Nature Transformation into a Rasengan was already extremely difficult, and this lightning release involved an even more unusual transformation. Uzumaki Gamu had spent a long time learning it! (Uzumaki Gamu: Whew~ With this move mastered, I'm roughly as strong as Sage Naruto... damn it, that's still not enough for the Shinobi World War!!)
As the sphere approached, Muzan sensed a lethal threat. But bound in place, he couldn't move, and the attack struck him head-on!
The Magnetic Storm Rasengan exploded instantly, swallowing Muzan in a lightning storm!
Muzan thought in terror, What is this? My body's being broken down! I can't regenerate! This feels like... a natural disaster! Even Muzan was powerless before true natural disasters-earthquakes, storms, and tsunamis!
Infused with natural energy, this senjutsu subjected him to the crushing force of nature itself, leaving him unable even to think of resisting. The attack annihilated him completely!
At that moment, Uzumaki Gamu heard a notification: "Muzan Kibutsuji has been killed! Mission complete! The host may choose to return at any time!"
Hearing it, Uzumaki Gamu thought happily, Great, I can finally go back... well, it only took a few months. That wasn't too long. Mito shouldn't blame me anymore, right? Uzumaki Gamu had been so efficient this time purely because he wanted to return early and avoid Mito's scolding!
Naturally, he was delighted that he could go home. Still... another couple of days wouldn't hurt. He would say goodbye to everyone first!
Of course, the important thing was to bring back some local specialties!
Watching Muzan vanish without any sign of returning, the Demon Slayer Corps stood dazed for a while. Then the Infinity Castle opened beneath their feet began collapsing too, reminding them that Muzan really was dead!
Once they confirmed it, everyone erupted in cheers. Then... there was no need to say more. Time for a victory feast!
And then... two days passed!
Lying in his sickbed, the Master asked Uzumaki Gamu, who had come to visit, "Are you leaving, Mr. Uzumaki Gamu?"
"Yes. My mission's complete, so it's time I went home," Uzumaki Gamu answered with a nod. "Are you starting to feel better, Mr. Kagaya?"
Kagaya said gratefully, "Thanks to you... after Muzan died, life gradually returned to my dying body... it looks like I'll be able to live a little longer!"
"Well, with that menace dead, your family's curse is naturally gone too. You should gradually recover now. I just don't know whether your blind eyes will recover."
"Simply surviving is already something to be deeply grateful for. I ask for nothing more! In any case... thank you, Mr. Uzumaki Gamu. Without you, it wouldn't have been so easy for everyone to survive!"
"It was nothing. No need to thank me!" Uzumaki Gamu prepared to leave. "Then, until we meet again, leader of the Demon Slayer Corps!"
"Yes, until we meet again, Mr. Uzumaki Gamu!" With that, Uzumaki Gamu flickered away!
Before truly leaving, Uzumaki Gamu also went to see Tanjiro and Nezuko!
Hearing that Uzumaki Gamu was leaving, Tanjiro said in surprise, "Huh? You're going now? I was hoping to invite you to visit our home~"
"Well, my little sister's waiting for me to come home~ So I won't stay any longer~" Uzumaki Gamu explained.
"Huh? You have a little sister too, Mr. Uzumaki Gamu?" Tanjiro asked curiously.
"Yes. Like your sister, she's a dependable, adorable girl... she's my most important family!" Uzumaki Gamu said with a smile. "Anyway, you've avenged your family, and you're both alive. Live well from now on. Until we meet again!"
"Yes, until we meet again!" Tanjiro waved!
After saying goodbye to everyone he knew in this world, Uzumaki Gamu was transported back to his own.
Hehehe, I can't wait to see my reward! What could it be~
You'll find out next chapter~
Before you continue