The Upper Rank meeting

"Huh? You're asking me? As you can see, I'm a rookie in the Demon Slayer Corps."

When Ye Chen saw Tengen Uzui questioning him, he raised his eyebrows and waved a hand a few times, giving a rather dismissive answer.

Tengen Uzui raised an eyebrow, but seeing that Ye Chen had no intention of explaining, he stopped pressing him and walked away.

"Fine, you don't have to tell me. I'm heading to Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, though. After all, this is the first time we've killed an Upper Rank in a hundred years. You're the star of the show this time. Want to come with me?"

"Me... sure."

Ye Chen thought for a moment, suddenly remembering that he still had a Demon Slayer Corps system quest to become a Hashira. Now that he had killed an Upper Rank, perhaps he could become one when he returned.

"What? The demons there were Upper Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki, and you've already killed them? Well done! Tengen, Ye Chen... cough, cough!"

At Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, Kagaya Ubuyashiki received Tengen Uzui's letter from a crow. His whole body began trembling with excitement, but the rush of emotion also brought on a few quiet coughs.

"So... I see. Mr. Urokodaki's information really was accurate. And judging by the information Tengen sent, the one who made Muzan Kibutsuji suffer a setback earlier was probably Ye Chen. This newcomer's strength must be even greater than we imagined. He was probably behind those earlier incidents, too."

Kagaya Ubuyashiki wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and recalled the recent series of incidents, such as all the demons in the Final Selection disappearing, along with the rows of wisteria trees stripped bare.

"But this is our chance as humans. We've finally killed an Upper Rank. The balance that held for a hundred years has finally been broken. Muzan Kibutsuji, your days are nearly over..."

Meanwhile, Muzan Kibutsuji was in an otherwise empty room. The space seemed weightless-no, more precisely, gravity seemed to pull in every direction. Some furniture and tea sets sat on the ceiling, while others rested on the walls. Muzan Kibutsuji stood on one of those walls as though it were the floor.

"Gyutaro and Daki have been killed. There is a vacancy among the Upper Rank Demons."

Muzan Kibutsuji looked up as he spoke, his gaze dark. Over the past hundred years, the Lower Rank Demons had been replaced time and again, but not a single Upper Rank Demon had been killed. Instead, they had slain many Demon Slayer Corps Hashira. This time, however, that balance had been broken.

"Oh? I always thought Daki would hold Gyutaro back, but to think they really got killed. And I was the one who recommended them both. Now I feel a little ashamed. Lord Muzan, shall I gouge out my eyes for you?"

Standing on the floor, Doma spoke with a playful grin. Even with fellow Upper Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki dead, his flippant smile remained unchanged.

"Who did it? Shall I go kill him? I wouldn't mind adding another Hashira to my collection." A bizarre-looking demon suddenly emerged from a pot. He looked thoroughly seedy, and one glance at his eyes was enough to tell that there was nothing decent about him.

One of the demon's eyes bore the words "Upper Rank," while the other displayed the number five. This was Gyokko, Upper Rank Five of the Twelve Kizuki.

"Hmph. I'd like to see how strong this person who killed Upper Rank Six really is. It's been ages since I met anyone who could give me a satisfying fight." Another humanoid demon with short hair seemed equally unconcerned. Instead, fighting spirit shone in his eyes. One eye also bore the words "Upper Rank," while the other held the number three. Clearly, this was Akaza, Upper Rank Three of the Twelve Kizuki.

"The person who killed Daki and Gyutaro has encountered me, Kokushibo, and Doma before." Muzan's expression darkened, though he kept it restrained. After all, he was in front of his subordinates.

Whoosh!!

Kokushibo, Upper Rank One, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly rose to his feet. He seemed startled, but soon sat down slowly again and returned to silence.

Akaza was astonished to see such a strong reaction from Kokushibo, whom he had always held in awe. Turning to look, he discovered that even Doma's ever-present grin had stiffened.

"I see. So he began making his move after encountering us? Lord Muzan, how did he kill Gyutaro this time? From what I saw, his methods were strange, and he was considerably stronger than Gyutaro and Daki. But if Gyutaro chose to flee, I imagine even he would have had trouble catching him."

After a stretch of silence, Kokushibo, who had been sitting quietly on a cushion, was the first to speak, putting his question to Muzan. Doma listened with some seriousness as well. Naturally, the more information they had about their enemy, the better.

"No. This time, he used none of those tricks."

Muzan's answer was difficult for them to accept. His own expression was grim. "He used only his Breathing Style. Without employing a single one of his previous tricks, he easily killed both Daki and Gyutaro."

"And do you know what else? This time, he was probably using his real appearance. Before, he always disguised himself when facing us, afraid to let us learn his identity. Yet this time, he made no attempt to conceal himself. What do you think that means?"

"There are probably two possibilities." Kokushibo let out a soft breath. He had not expected this already troublesome opponent to seemingly become even stronger than before. "He is certain we won't dare make a move, because even if we do, we can do nothing against that strange defense of his."

"Second, he has gained enough confidence in his current strength that he believes he no longer needs to disguise himself when facing us."

Even Doma was struggling to maintain his exaggerated smile. That man's strength had already surpassed his before, and with those strange abilities, even Lord Muzan could do nothing to him. Only a little over two months had passed, and he had already become stronger?

"Lord Muzan, what should we do, then? Do you intend to do what you did four hundred years ago and wait until he dies before emerging again?" Kokushibo spoke once more, saying something that stunned every demon present.

In their minds, the Twelve Kizuki represented the elite, and the Upper Ranks among them stood at the very pinnacle. Muzan Kibutsuji, who controlled them all, was undoubtedly the ruler of the world. Had this invincible Lord Muzan really hidden from someone centuries ago, only daring to emerge after that person died of old age?

"Shut up!" Muzan's expression turned icy. Only Kokushibo dared say such a thing, because their relationship was not strictly that of superior and subordinate. He was also the only demon present who knew about what had happened centuries ago. It was a stain on Muzan's past, and that very defeat had led him to establish the Twelve Kizuki. He had never told anyone about these matters. Kokushibo only knew because he had been one of the key figures involved centuries earlier.

"What are you talking about? What do we need to hide from? As far as I'm concerned, whoever it is, we just have to punch them! And remember this: your position as Upper Rank One will be mine sooner or later."

Akaza was deeply displeased by Kokushibo's words. To him, losing a fight simply meant one's fists weren't strong enough. He did not believe anyone in this world could have harder fists than the Upper Rank Demons. Besides, the Upper Rank who had died was merely Upper Rank Six, the weakest among them.

"Akaza, you shut up too."

Muzan glared at him. Though he was displeased with Kokushibo's words as well, he had no desire to listen to this battle maniac. If he had truly followed Akaza's approach, he, the Demon King, would have died over four hundred years ago.

"We won't do what we did before, but we won't launch a direct attack now, either. What we need to do is find the blue spider lily. If we can't find it, then we must create it. Also, don't provoke that boy for now. When the time comes, I will deal with him myself."