Zenitsu Agatsuma

"...Netherworld Breathing? A breathing style I've never heard of. I imagine you created it yourself?" Kagaya Ubuyashiki was mildly surprised by Ye Chen's words, then smiled and nodded.

"Then I hereby declare the official appointment of the Demon Slayer Corps' tenth Hashira, the Netherworld Hashira!"

"I am honored to have fulfilled my duty!"

Ye Chen bowed slightly, smiling as he placed a hand over his chest to show his respect.

[Ding! C-rank mission completed: become a Pillar-level Demon Slayer Corps member. Exchange points ×1,000.]

"Still, it's hard to believe. This era certainly has its share of freaks."

Seeing Ye Chen become a Hashira, Tengen Uzui sighed in admiration. The enigmatic Stone Hashira possessed unfathomable strength, while the Mist Hashira, who had only recently joined the Demon Slayer Corps, was an exceptionally rare genius. The Wind Hashira might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but his strength was beyond question. And now this new Netherworld Hashira clearly wasn't someone to take lightly either.

"That concludes today's meeting. You may all leave. Oh, Ye Chen, if you have any more information about the Twelve Kizuki or Muzan, please come here and report it to me. After all, the more information we have, the better."

Kagaya Ubuyashiki continued smiling as he announced the end of the meeting.

Ye Chen felt a little helpless. In truth, he didn't know all that much. Although he knew the most important details, he hadn't actually investigated the Twelve Kizuki or Muzan himself. He had only read the original story, so his information about them was rather incomplete.

Still, he didn't refuse. Since Kagaya wanted information, he would give it to him when the time came, though there was very little more he could offer now.

Before long, the Demon Slayer Corps assigned Ye Chen a reasonably spacious villa at headquarters as his base. With its courtyard and rooms, the villa became his new home.

Every Hashira received a place like this. Once they attained that rank, having a base allowed them to help train newcomers and choose their own successor, supplying the Demon Slayer Corps with fresh blood.

"So, what's my next mission?" Ye Chen asked a member of the support staff after putting away his luggage.

"Huh? No, there aren't any new missions at the moment. Besides, Pillar-level Members no longer have to simply accept whatever missions the Demon Slayer Corps assigns them. You can freely choose your next mission. If you need mission information, you can ask the intelligence staff."

The support worker froze for a moment. You've only just put away your luggage, and you're already thinking about another mission? Isn't that a little too dedicated? Still, he didn't waste words and continued explaining what Ye Chen needed to know.

"I see. Becoming a Hashira really does give you more freedom and access to more information on hunting demons."

Ye Chen lowered his head and considered this. None of it had been mentioned in the original story, so he hadn't known much about it. After the support worker's explanation, he had a fairly solid understanding of how the Demon Slayer Corps operated.

"Um, there's one more thing..." Seeing Ye Chen deep in thought, the support worker hesitantly spoke again.

"Now that you've become a Hashira, you'll also need to choose a successor and train some fresh blood for the Demon Slayer Corps."

Hearing this gave Ye Chen a headache. Killing demons was fine, but teaching people? That would be a huge hassle. Besides, he had no real experience teaching anyone. His approach amounted to:

System, redeem this for me! System, give me a prize draw!

And they wanted him to teach someone? It was already a miracle he hadn't asked the Demon Slayer Corps to send someone to teach him. After all, his understanding of breathing styles and the basics of demon hunting was still far from thorough.

"All right, let's leave that for later. I've only just joined, so surely there's no need to rush me?" Ye Chen waved a hand, casually brushing the matter aside. Then he finished putting his things away and ran off to ask the intelligence staff for a mission.

Two days passed. Following the mission information he'd received, Ye Chen killed two intermediate demons capable of using Blood Demon Arts. Then he discovered a Demon Slayer Corps base nearby and decided to stop in, say hello, and get some rest. But as he approached, he heard a series of wails in the distance.

"Zenitsu, get down here!"

"No! I don't have the talent! I don't want to train anymore! If I join the Demon Slayer Corps, I'll die! I'll definitely die!"

"Come down first! You need to face what I've taught you with courage! You're my student. You can't run away from your responsibilities!"

"No, Grandpa! I'll really die if I join the Demon Slayer Corps! Training like this every day will kill me! I'll die the very next day! No, I'll die right away!"

On a distant hill stood a boy, a rather short old man, and a tree. The black-haired boy had climbed up the tree and was sobbing and wailing at the top of his lungs, while the old man stood below, repeatedly urging him to come down.

Rumble...

Just then, a low rumble of thunder suddenly sounded overhead, surprising Ye Chen. This scene seemed rather familiar.

"Huh?" The young man suddenly froze and stopped crying. He had noticed that something seemed wrong with the weather.

Crash!!

A bolt of lightning suddenly struck the young man in the tree, leaving his whole body numb and his hair standing on end. He fell to the ground and lay there twitching.

"Zenitsu, are you all right?" The old man clearly hadn't expected lightning to strike out of nowhere, much less land directly on his precious student's head. He hurried over to check on the young man.

To his surprise, although his student had taken a direct lightning strike, he had suffered nothing worse than minor burns and injuries from the fall. His black hair, however, had turned yellow from the lightning.

Curious, Ye Chen walked over. Although he had seen this in the original story, witnessing it in person was genuinely astonishing. Apparently lightning could dye someone's hair. That wasn't scientific at all!

He knew everyone before him. The young man was Zenitsu Agatsuma, one of the original story's main cast. He was timid, cowardly, and something of a lecher, but when he encountered danger while unconscious, he could unleash strength that seemed completely at odds with his usual behavior.

The old man was naturally his master, Jigoro Kuwajima, the Demon Slayer Corps' former Rumble Hashira. He had even been called the strongest among the many former Hashira, but he had since retired and was training students at this small base.

"Grandpa... I've been trying really hard... but I really can't learn any techniques beyond the First Form of Thunder Breathing..." Zenitsu Agatsuma lay on the ground, still mumbling groggily and slurring his words.

Jigoro Kuwajima felt rather helpless too. He knew that although Zenitsu Agatsuma appeared terrified of death, he put plenty of effort into his daily training. Unfortunately, he had only managed to learn the first form of Thunder Breathing and couldn't master a single form beyond it. That had dealt Zenitsu Agatsuma quite a blow.

After helping Zenitsu up, Jigoro Kuwajima intended to take him to his room to rest. But when he saw Ye Chen approaching from the distance, he raised an eyebrow. He had already noticed Ye Chen standing over there, so he asked:

"Young man, what brings you to this old man's place?"

Once Ye Chen approached, he simply smiled and greeted him, his eyes also turning toward the unconscious Zenitsu Agatsuma.

"Nothing particularly urgent. I'd finished a mission and came over looking for somewhere to rest. I didn't expect this to be the former Rumble Hashira's base, though. And I also happened to spot a very interesting Preliminary Newcomer."