Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters

Ye Chen followed Tengen Uzui to the Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters, surveying their surroundings as they walked.

The headquarters was certainly much larger than the branch offices. Swordsmen practiced their swordsmanship on the training grounds, while support personnel bustled about.

"We're here. Oyakata-sama is inside." Before long, Tengen Uzui stopped outside a courtyard and waited there with Ye Chen.

"Well, if it isn't the Sound Hashira. I heard you encountered an Upper Rank of the Twelve Kizuki this time and even killed them. Not bad, though it was only Upper Rank Six."

As Tengen Uzui and Ye Chen waited outside, a voice suddenly rang out. They turned to see a young man sitting in a nearby tree. One of his eyes was an ordinary brown, but the other was an unusual white, and a white snake coiled around his neck.

He was Obanai Iguro, the Serpent Hashira, one of the Demon Slayer Corps' nine Hashira.

Ye Chen merely looked the Serpent Hashira up and down without speaking. After all, the man hadn't been addressing him.

"What's worth mentioning, though, is that you managed to kill an Upper Rank even with a rookie in tow. That takes some skill."

Obanai Iguro glanced at Ye Chen again. He had heard that Oyakata-sama had sent a rookie to join Tengen Uzui on this mission. He hadn't expected the Sound Hashira to complete it with dead weight tagging along when their opponent turned out to be an Upper Rank.

"...Hey, Tengen, is this guy calling me dead weight?"

Ye Chen asked Tengen Uzui the question while pointing at Obanai Iguro.

He hadn't expected the Serpent Hashira to be so poorly informed. Ye Chen was the one who had killed the Upper Rank! Without him, the Sound Hashira alone would have been beaten so badly by Upper Rank Six that he wouldn't have been able to look after himself. Daki might have been manageable, but he absolutely couldn't have beaten Gyutaro, let alone the two together.

"Well, you are a rookie. That much is true." Tengen Uzui looked a little embarrassed. This rookie had indeed killed Upper Rank Six, but the Serpent Hashira was clearly giving him all the credit. He had already explained everything in his letter. Apparently, Oyakata-sama hadn't yet informed everyone of what had really happened.

"Brat, you're that rookie, aren't you? Remember to show your seniors some respect."

Obanai Iguro looked Ye Chen up and down. A small pebble suddenly appeared in his hand, and with a quick flick of his finger, he sent it hurtling toward Ye Chen with a whistle through the air.

"Hey, why are you so quick to hit people?" Yet Ye Chen caught the pebble with a casual turn of his hand. Then, with another motion, he threw it right back at Obanai Iguro.

Obanai Iguro's eyes narrowed. He moved, vanishing from the branch where he had been sitting. The next instant, the branch exploded as the pebble punched straight through it. Without slowing, it continued into the distant sky with a sonic boom and soon disappeared from sight.

"Looks like you're no ordinary rookie..." Obanai Iguro looked astonished. This guy was seriously strong. He had blasted apart a branch as thick as a bucket with nothing but a tiny pebble. Even Obanai would have found that difficult.

"Don't underestimate this rookie, Serpent Hashira. I wasn't the one who killed Upper Rank Six. This kid did-and it was a completely one-sided slaughter." Tengen Uzui felt rather helpless. At first, he too had thought Ye Chen was an ordinary rookie. Then he had discovered that the rookie was a troublemaker with strength on par with a Hashira. Finally, he had realized the kid was a powerhouse who could easily kill an Upper Rank single-handedly.

"Oh? He slaughtered an Upper Rank with ease?" Obanai Iguro found that hard to believe, but since Tengen Uzui had said it, he had little choice but to accept it. Apparently, a rookie with even more terrifying talent than the Mist Hashira had appeared.

"Wow! Iguro, Tengen, you're here too? I'm not late, am I?" A woman's voice rang out as a pink-haired woman appeared, looking over everyone gathered there.

Wow, Tengen really is so handsome! No wonder he has three wives! Still, I like Iguro more. And who's this young lad? He's pretty good-looking too.

This was, of course, Mitsuri Kanroji, the Demon Slayer Corps' Love Hashira. She kept looking over the three men, swooning inwardly.

"Does Oyakata-sama have another task for us this time? Or does he have something to announce? Whatever it is, I'll follow his wishes!" After the Love Hashira arrived, another hearty voice rang out. A yellow-haired man made a dazzling entrance. He was clearly Kyojuro Rengoku, the Demon Slayer Corps' Flame Hashira.

"Hmm... I don't really think it matters..." A young man sat crouched in an open area nearby, staring blankly into space. He was clearly Muichiro Tokito, the Mist Hashira who had become a Hashira less than three months after first taking up a sword.

"Keep your voices down. What if you disturb Oyakata-sama?" At some point, Giyu Tomioka, the Water Hashira, had also arrived. After speaking calmly, he turned toward Ye Chen. "You're the rookie Urokodaki recommended, aren't you? Thank you for what you did before."

"Huh? What are you thanking me for?" Ye Chen gave him a puzzled look, but Giyu Tomioka clearly had no intention of saying anything more. Ye Chen shook his head, having a rough idea of what the Water Hashira was thanking him for.

It was probably because he had killed the Hand Demon in the Wisteria Flower Sea, avenging Sabito for him. Perhaps it was also because he had protected Makomo of the next generation and brought the Urokodaki lineage's tragedy to a close.

"Ah, has an Upper Rank Demon finally been slain? Perhaps our turning point has come. Heaven is merciful." Gyomei Himejima, the Stone Hashira, also arrived, holding a string of prayer beads.

"You're all so noisy! Looks like Oyakata-sama has summoned every Hashira again. And who are you, brat? What are you staring at?" The white-haired Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa, arrived as well, shouting at Ye Chen.

Ye Chen shrugged. This was a big shot he didn't dare provoke. All right, he simply didn't want to argue with a madman. Though the Wind Hashira wasn't exactly out of his mind, he certainly qualified as half-crazy-the sort who injured himself in a fight.

"Oh my, is everyone here already? I'm not late, am I?"

Another woman's voice rang out as Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Hashira, arrived in her pink butterfly-patterned outfit.

And so, the Demon Slayer Corps' nine Hashira, humanity's strongest fighters, gathered there.

Creak!

Amid the jumble of voices, the sound of a door opening rang out like an unexpected note, instantly silencing the nine Hashira who had been speaking loudly.

Kagaya Ubuyashiki, the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps, emerged from the courtyard, supported by two little girls.

"Everyone, I'm sure you've already heard the news. Our Demon Slayer Corps has slain one of the Upper Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki." Kagaya Ubuyashiki raised his head slightly, revealing his scarred face, and continued, "This proves that our past efforts have not gone unrewarded. We have also cost Muzan Kibutsuji one of his great generals."

"In our era, the Stone Hashira, Wind Hashira, Water Hashira, Mist Hashira, Sound Hashira, Love Hashira, Insect Hashira, Flame Hashira, and Water Hashira-nine Hashira in all-have attained supreme strength. Aside from the Sengoku Era, this is the strongest era in the Demon Slayer Corps' history."

As Kagaya Ubuyashiki spoke, he turned his head toward Ye Chen. "And now, a rookie has appeared who once wounded Muzan and has now slain an Upper Rank."

Whoosh!!

The instant he finished speaking, all nine Hashira turned their eyes toward Ye Chen, disbelief written in their gazes.

"You've seen Muzan? What distinguishing features does he have? What does he look like?" Sanemi Shinazugawa immediately stepped forward and grabbed Ye Chen by the collar, roaring his questions with urgency in his fierce eyes.

"Calm down, Wind Hashira. We're in front of Oyakata-sama. Mind your conduct." Looking rather helpless, Tengen Uzui pulled the Wind Hashira away.

"Huh? What did you say? I'll want to tear Muzan to pieces until the day I die! Now that there's news of him, you're telling me to calm down?" Sanemi Shinazugawa roared, this time shouting at Tengen Uzui as well.

Tengen Uzui's eyelids twitched. He didn't particularly want to provoke either Ye Chen or Sanemi Shinazugawa: one was a powerful troublemaker, the other a highly skilled madman. And compared with Yatsuka Nightstar, the Wind Hashira before him was clearly harder to communicate with. Ye Chen might have been a troublemaker, but at least he listened when people spoke!