Muzan scared out of his wits

Rumor had it that when first-rate Demon Slayers killed demons, not even a drop of blood stained their Nichirin Blades.

Looking at the puddle of demon blood she had flung onto the ground, Chinatsu realized her swordsmanship still had a long way to go. Her sword techniques only had such powerful offensive force because her Breathing Style enhanced them. In terms of pure swordsmanship, she still had plenty of training ahead of her.

Seeing Chinatsu kill a demon in an instant, Tanjiro snapped out of his daze. Unlike Chinatsu, however, he did not use Hinokami Kagura, continuing with Water Breathing instead.

In truth, it hardly made a difference. Whether they faced Hinokami Kagura or Total Concentration Water Breathing, the damage was clearly far more than necessary.

"Water Breathing: Water Flowing Splash + Water Surface Slash!"

Tanjiro used two sword forms in succession. Water Flowing Splash was a movement-based sword technique, and Yahaba's eyes trembled as he tried and failed to track Tanjiro's movements-until a single, razor-sharp Water Surface Slash severed his head.

Whew...

Tanjiro let out a breath. Though he could tell that those two demons had been considerably stronger than the one on Mount Fujikasane, they had still been weak enough to kill in an instant.

This was the strength he could wield after mastering "Total Concentration: Constant." Though it was not enough to qualify him as a Pillar by the standards of this era, a few generations earlier, a Demon Slayer who had mastered "Total Concentration: Constant" would already have been worthy of the title.

That was because this era's Pillars were the strongest group since the Sengoku era!

After dealing with the two demons, Chinatsu and Tanjiro quickly turned and left, returning to Tamayo's residence.

Once Chinatsu and Tanjiro had dispatched Susamaru and Yahaba, Muzan, who was holding a little girl in his arms while posing as an exemplary human father, sensed that his direct subordinates had been killed.

Had some ordinary lesser demon been killed, he would not have reacted at all. But Susamaru and Yahaba were his direct subordinates. They had accompanied him to this city, and their movements had been confined to an area not far from him.

His subordinates had been killed by Demon Slayers nearby. No matter how much of a scumbag he was, he could hardly remain indifferent.

"Daddy? Daddy? What's wrong?"

The little girl in Muzan's arms looked at him in confusion. He immediately put on a gentle smile and told her, "Daddy just remembered that he still has some work to take care of. I need to go right away, so you and Mommy should head home first."

"Aww... okay. But come home early, Daddy!"

Muzan saw the little girl and her mother into a car and watched them leave the area. As soon as they were gone, his expression changed dramatically. With a grave expression, he turned into an alley off the street, then vanished in a flash and arrived where Susamaru and Yahaba had been destroyed.

After a quick survey, Muzan deduced that two members of the Demon Slayer Corps had come here and fought Susamaru and Yahaba.

"They lost two against two? What a pair of useless fools," Muzan muttered in irritation.

Though he had not been the one to lose, those two had still been his direct subordinates. Having the Demon Slayer Corps kill them practically under his nose was no small humiliation.

Muzan's expression was grim. He was already preparing to investigate which two little Demon Slayers had attacked his subordinates, then personally take "revenge" for them.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, however, he noticed the sword mark Chinatsu's Hinokami Kagura had left on a nearby wall. In an instant, his grim face turned pale... no, deathly white would perhaps have been more fitting.

"This sword mark... this is!!!"

Muzan's eyes widened in his deathly pale face. Without even realizing it, he began to tremble faintly in both hands.

Hinokami Kagura had originally been called "Sun Breathing." This Breathing Style was also known as "origin breathing," the first and strongest Breathing Style. Muzan had once encountered a swordsman who used it. In their very first exchange, that swordsman had overwhelmed him, ultimately forcing him to split his body into chunks of flesh and flee in panic.

If Muzan was the ceiling of power in Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, then that swordsman was the supreme being standing on the roof. His existence had allowed humanity to suppress the demons during the Sengoku era. Only after he died of old age like an ordinary human had the demons sounded the call to counterattack.

Muzan: Yoriichi Tsugikuni is finally dead!!!

After Yoriichi Tsugikuni's death, Muzan had been delighted, but his lingering psychological trauma had also driven him to spend an enormous amount of time specifically slaughtering anyone connected to origin breathing. As a result, by the present day, no one outside the Rengoku family even knew it existed.

Staring at the sword mark on the wall, Muzan felt as though his aging eyes were playing tricks on him. That terrifying man seemed to appear before him once again, holding a black-and-red Nichirin Blade and staring at Muzan like a fiend.

"What do you think life is?!"

Muzan shuddered. He lowered his head, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth.

How is this possible!!!

There's still a successor to Yoriichi Tsugikuni, and they killed my subordinates right under my nose. Is this a warning to me?

Muzan was both a scumbag and a coward, but that was entirely because that man had beaten it into him all those years ago. He understood that Yoriichi Tsugikuni's current successor probably was not yet strong enough to contend with him. But what if... what if they suddenly unleashed some hidden power?

Even if there was only one chance in a hundred thousand that his opponent could cut him down, he had no intention of taking it.

Muzan approached the wall bearing the sword mark and pressed his hand against a section of it. In an instant, that section crumbled into fragments and dust.

"Damn it!!!!!!"

Muzan then urgently called a meeting in the Infinity Castle, ordering every Upper Rank to attend. Under normal circumstances, a meeting of this magnitude meant only one thing: one of the Upper Ranks had died at the hands of a Demon Slayer.

Upper Rank Three, Akaza, opened his eyes upon arriving in the Infinity Castle. His gaze was grave as he considered why he had been transported here. After thinking it through, his eyes widened, and he blurted out, "Could that bastard Doma have been killed by a Demon Slayer?!"

"Hey, hey, hey! That's no way to talk about me. I'm not that easy to kill!" Upper Rank Two, Doma, appeared behind Akaza and spoke with a smile.

Upper Rank One, Kokushibo.

Upper Rank Two, Doma.

Upper Rank Three, Akaza.

Upper Rank Four, Hantengu.

Upper Rank Five, Gyokko.

Upper Rank Six, Gyutaro.

Once the Upper Rank Demons had gathered, standing before them was their leader, Muzan Kibutsuji.