At the word "wild card,"
the dark red gleam deep in Yaha's eyes froze.
His gaze locked onto the Man in Purple before him like a tangible blade.
The temperature of the surrounding air plunged to freezing without warning.
Fine crystals of frost even began forming along the edges of the white-sand courtyard.
The instincts of the King of Curses within Yaha raced, trying to catch even the faintest trace of hostility in the air.
But he sensed nothing.
There was no killing intent in this sickly, broken man's body.
Only a fathomless calm filled those clouded eyes.
Standing a few steps away, Sanemi Shinazugawa keenly sensed the suffocating pressure.
The veins in his neck bulged.
Without hesitation, his right hand clamped down on the hilt of his green Nichirin Blade.
"Stand down."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki slowly raised a hand, stopping Sanemi Shinazugawa before he could draw his sword.
His voice was gentle, but his tone carried unquestionable authority.
"All of you, withdraw. I wish to speak with Tomioka Ye Yu alone."
The courtyard's tense, murderous atmosphere froze.
Sanemi Shinazugawa clenched his teeth and unwillingly took half a step forward.
Kyojuro Rengoku's smile faded as well, his brows drawing tightly together.
All eight Hashira resisted inwardly, but they could not defy Oyakata-sama's absolute command.
They could only retreat together and stand guard outside the sliding doors of the inner room.
Eight gazes filled with hostility and vigilance bored into Yaha's back like steel nails.
Only Giyu Tomioka stood a short distance away with his eyes lowered, his expression conflicted.
Yaha ignored their stares.
With both hands in his pockets, he sauntered straight across the threshold of the inner room.
The shoji doors slowly closed behind him.
They shut out those cold gazes completely.
No lamps were lit inside, leaving the room dim.
Kagaya sat quietly on the tatami and gestured for Yaha to sit.
Yaha paid no heed to such formalities.
He walked straight to a wooden pillar and leaned lazily against it.
From above, he looked down at the supreme leader of the Demon Slayer Corps.
"I don't like beating around the bush." Yaha's voice was icy. "Explain what you meant."
Kagaya did not grow angry.
He picked up a clay teapot and slowly poured a cup of tea, faint wisps of steam rising from it.
"The Ubuyashiki Clan possesses a special gift for prophetic dreams."
Kagaya spoke softly, his unfocused eyes staring into empty space as though looking back through those strange, fantastical scenes.
"I saw the changes you brought."
"The Hand Demon on Mount Fujikasane was supposed to kill Sabito and Makomo."
"Lower Rank One in the southern basin was supposed to slaughter an entire Hidden Corps squad."
"Lower Rank Five on Mount Natagumo was supposed to take the lives of over a hundred swordsmen."
Kagaya folded his hands on his knees and faced Yaha directly.
"You forcibly severed those predestined paths to death."
"And just now..."
"I sensed Muzan Kibutsuji's panic. For the first time in a thousand years, he experienced the terror of being hunted."
Before he had finished speaking,
Kagaya suddenly doubled over and erupted into a wrenching fit of coughing.
He clutched a white handkerchief tightly over his mouth.
Dark red blood soon soaked through the fabric, spreading a sickly-sweet, rusty smell through the enclosed room.
Yaha narrowed his eyes slightly.
Sukuna's visual perception activated instantly, and his gaze pierced straight through Kagaya's fragile flesh.
What he saw was no terminal illness caused by organ failure.
Instead, there was a dense layer of purple markings, clinging to him like an infection embedded in his bones.
Those markings were etched deep into the man's marrow and even coiled around the depths of his soul.
A curse operating on the level of fundamental laws.
Yaha scoffed inwardly.
Reverse Cursed Technique could indeed repair physical damage to the body.
But the basic Reverse Cursed Technique he currently possessed could not erase this kind of law-based corrosion of the soul.
Unless he unlocked higher-level domain abilities and gained control over the laws governing the repair of souls, the man before him was certain to die.
Yaha withdrew his gaze indifferently.
He offered no warning, nor did he have any inclination to meddle and save people.
Kagaya's coughing subsided. He slowly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sat upright again.
"The Demon Slayer Corps does not require your submission."
Kagaya's voice had become extremely hoarse from coughing up blood.
"Nor will I force you to obey any of our rules."
"I ask only that we form an alliance."
Kagaya laid his stake directly on the table.
"The Hidden Corps will place its entire intelligence network on Muzan and the Twelve Kizuki at your disposal."
"In exchange,"
"the Demon Slayer Corps will never interfere with your freedom of action. You will have every privilege."
Yaha listened to those words.
He paused for half a second, then broke into a broad grin and laughed without restraint.
His laughter echoed through the dim room, laden with undisguised mockery.
"You're gambling with the lives of your entire corps?"
Yaha's eyes turned dangerously sharp, like a savage beast that had spotted its prey.
"You're staking everything on a monster."
"What makes you think I won't have a bad day and slice up your swordsmen to feed the dogs?"
Icy cursed energy radiated from his body.
The wooden floor creaked under the strain, as though it might collapse at any moment.
With a mortal body that could die at any time, Kagaya faced that terrifying pressure head-on.
Yet he merely shook his head gently.
"I'm not gambling on your humanity."
Kagaya's tone was frighteningly certain.
"As long as you still care about Giyu Tomioka,"
"as long as you still care about Tsutako Tomioka,"
"you will always be an ally of humanity."
Kagaya placed the bloodstained handkerchief on the table.
"I'm not gambling on your mercy. I'm gambling on your instinct to protect your own."
Those words were like a needle, slipping with precision into a gap between Yaha's hard scales.
Yaha's shoulder stiffened almost imperceptibly against the wooden pillar.
This blind old man had used the gentlest tone to seize his only weakness in this world.
Yaha scoffed, pressing the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth.
"Old man, you've certainly worked it all out."
He did not deny it, but the violent pressure of his cursed energy rapidly receded like an ebbing tide.
Having someone see through the logic behind his actions irritated him immensely.
But he did need the Demon Slayer Corps' intelligence network.
Searching every mountain and field for the Upper Ranks on his own would waste far too much time.
Those higher-ranking members of the Twelve Kizuki were the perfect fuel for unlocking Domain Expansion.
"Find me the Upper Ranks' locations."
Yaha delivered the words coldly.
"I'll take the deal."
Kagaya's tense shoulders finally relaxed, and a relieved smile appeared on his face.
Bracing himself against the low table, he struggled to stand.
Yaha turned and pulled open the wooden door.
Dazzling sunlight poured over them both once more.
Outside the door,
the eight Hashira still had their hands on their sword hilts, every muscle taut as they stared intently at them.
Supported by his two daughters, Kagaya slowly walked to the steps beneath the eaves.
"I have a new directive to announce."
Kagaya's gentle yet penetrating voice carried throughout the courtyard.
"Tomioka Ye Yu is innocent."
"From this day forward, he will have special operational authority above that of the Hashira."
"All Hidden Corps intelligence systems will be open to him without restriction."
The courtyard instantly fell deathly silent.
Sanemi Shinazugawa snapped his head up, the veins on his sword hand throbbing violently.
The white snake around Obanai Iguro's neck hissed uneasily and coiled tighter.
The smile vanished completely from Kyojuro Rengoku's face, his brows tightly knitted.
Standing in a corner, Shinobu Kocho instinctively touched her throat, her fingertips trembling slightly.
An inhuman monster who could lose control at any moment
had simply trampled over centuries of Demon Slayer Corps rules and placed himself above the Nine Hashira.
They resisted bitterly within, but faced with Oyakata-sama's command, they could only grit their teeth and swallow their resentment.
All they could do was fix their hostile, unwilling gazes on the boy in black.
Yaha did not care in the slightest.
With both hands in his pockets, he walked down the wooden steps.
His combat boots struck the white sand with dull, brazen thuds.
He sauntered toward the courtyard gate without a care.
As he passed Sanemi Shinazugawa,
Yaha stopped.
He tilted his head slightly, his dark red eyes casting a downward glance at the Wind Hashira.
A nasty, mocking smile curled his lips.
"Next time you want to cut me,"
Yaha lowered his voice until only the two of them could hear.
"remember to pick a sturdier blade."
With that,
Yaha looked away and strode through the gate without looking back.
Sanemi Shinazugawa's chest heaved with rage. The knuckles of his right hand turned white around the hilt, and he nearly crushed the scabbard.
Just as Yaha's combat boots were about to clear the gate completely,
an utterly piercing shriek suddenly rang out from the sky.
A Kasugai Crow covered in black blood plummeted straight down from the clouds.
Thud!
The Kasugai Crow slammed into the white sand at the center of the courtyard, dark red blood rapidly staining the ground.
"Urgent report!"
The Kasugai Crow coughed up blood as it cried out in a shrill, hoarse voice.
"Blue Stone Town to the west!"
"Widespread flesh assimilation!"
"Thousands of civilians taken captive and mutated by demons!"
"Requesting... highest-level support!"
Before you continue