How pitiful, elder brother

"Oh! Very well said!"

Kyojuro Rengoku nodded and declared heartily:

"Rather than wallowing in self-pity over your weakness, you should train harder!"

His voice was as bright and hearty as ever, but he failed to notice Sanemi Shinazugawa's exceptionally dark expression.

Murata cowered behind Lin Yoriichi.

He kept having a feeling that Mr. Shinazugawa was about to draw his sword!

Fortunately, Kyojuro Rengoku continued spiritedly:

"Mr. Lin! Much as I hate to part, we have completed our mission and must say goodbye!"

"It was a great honor to carry out this mission with you!"

"I will report your slaying of two Lower Rank demons to the Master! I'm sure he will be delighted to hear the news!"

"Sanemi, let's go."

Hearing this, Murata's eyes went wide.

He actually slew two Lower Rank demons?!

Mr. Yoriichi was so strong!

Meanwhile, Lin Yoriichi also breathed a sigh of relief at those words.

Fortunately, Kyojuro Rengoku had called Sanemi Shinazugawa away, or he would have witnessed the famous "Giyu Circle" scene again.

After seeing Kyojuro Rengoku and Sanemi Shinazugawa off, Lin Yoriichi left the mansion with Giyu Tomioka and Murata.

At the entrance, Lin Yoriichi turned to Giyu Tomioka and Murata:

"You should be finished with your investigation too. Go take care of your own business. I'll stay here a little longer."

Just then, a Kasugai Crow happened to fly over:

"Caw!"

"South-southeast! South-southeast!"

"Signs of a demon have been discovered aboard a train!"

"Hashira swordsman Giyu Tomioka and Kinoe swordsman Murata, proceed to investigate immediately!"

After receiving the message, the two said their goodbyes and hurried off.

Lin Yoriichi let out a soft breath and began searching for Yoriichi Tsugikuni's grave according to Miss Tamayo's directions.

Before long, Lin Yoriichi found a grave that looked ancient, yet the writing on its headstone remained clear.

[The grave of Yoriichi Tsugikuni]

Lin Yoriichi stood silently before the grave for a while, then began clearing the weeds around it.

At the same time, Yoriichi Tsugikuni's past, which he had read about in the original work, slowly came back to him.

An unknown amount of time passed before Lin Yoriichi came back to his senses.

Something stirred within him, and he checked his restoration rate on a hunch. Sure enough, it had risen again.

It had now reached 42%.

Just then, an incredibly powerful sound of something tearing through the air rang out.

Lin Yoriichi turned and found that a dull thud followed in a clearing not far away.

A shock wave mixed with dirt and grass clippings instantly swept up from that spot.

Once the shock wave dissipated, Lin Yoriichi clearly saw that a figure had appeared there.

He could see him clearly. The man stood tall and straight, wearing a kimono patterned with purple snakeskin and black patches.

At his waist hung a flesh-built katana that seemed alive.

Lin Yoriichi looked up and, sure enough, saw six terrifying golden eyes on the man's face!

In the central pair of eyes, Lin Yoriichi saw the characters for "Upper Rank" and "One."

[Upper Rank One · Kokushibo]

All six of Kokushibo's eyes fixed intently on Lin Yoriichi.

When Muzan Kibutsuji had sent him to find Yoriichi Tsugikuni's grave, Kokushibo had held no expectations.

He still remembered picking up the flute he had made by hand after cutting Yoriichi Tsugikuni's body in two all those years ago.

Back then, he had recovered what remained of his human feelings, and tears had flowed from his eyes.

Unwilling to face Yoriichi Tsugikuni's mutilated body again, he had simply left.

Given the state of the world back then, even if Yoriichi Tsugikuni's body had not been left exposed in the wilderness, someone would only have buried him hastily.

And with nearly three hundred years having passed, even if someone truly had laid Yoriichi Tsugikuni to rest, he should long since have turned to dust, leaving not even bones behind.

Yet what Muzan Kibutsuji had seen with his own eyes, along with the wounds on his body, forced Kokushibo to confront that possibility-

Yoriichi Tsugikuni had come back to life!

He had crawled out of his grave!

Following his memories from back then, Kokushibo had first found the place where he had last encountered Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

But despite searching for several days in a row, he had found no trace.

Kokushibo had been ready to give up and return to the Infinity Castle to report to Muzan Kibutsuji.

But just before leaving, he had heard from demons nearby that there was a strange grave in the local woods, one that seemed to have existed for hundreds of years.

Moreover, it was said that throughout those centuries, a beautiful woman would appear every so often to pay her respects at the grave.

After hearing the nearby demons' account, an exceptionally strong premonition had immediately arisen within Kokushibo-

That strange grave was where Yoriichi Tsugikuni lay buried!

Without further hesitation, Kokushibo had rushed toward the grave's location as described by the demons.

And as soon as he arrived, he saw-

Deep red hair and a red haori.

A dark red Demon Slayer Mark at the corner of the forehead.

A face exactly like that of the Yoriichi Tsugikuni in his memories.

And... the Sun-patterned hanafuda earrings his mother had left him.

The person before him was slowly overlapping with the Yoriichi Tsugikuni in his memories.

Kokushibo suddenly felt as though a large hand had seized his heart in a crushing grip.

Fear, shock, longing, hatred, jealousy...

A flood of emotions surged into Kokushibo's mind in an instant.

Having been calm for hundreds of years, he had never even imagined he still possessed such a wealth of emotions.

At last, Kokushibo slowly spoke:

"You do indeed resemble him."

His voice was exceptionally hoarse, like two sheets of rusted iron scraping against each other.

"But you cannot possibly be him!"

"Three hundred years ago, I saw Yoriichi Tsugikuni die before my very eyes."

"The dead cannot return to life. You are nothing but an imitator of Yoriichi Tsugikuni. You..."

Lin Yoriichi gave Kokushibo a long, searching look.

After standing beside Yoriichi Tsugikuni's grave and reflecting for so long, he had already put himself in Yoriichi Tsugikuni's place.

He reached out a hand, gently stroked the headstone beside him, and said softly:

"Elder brother, you are still just as you were back then."

"After my return, I thought I would meet you again, but I never expected it to be here."

Kokushibo seemed enraged by Lin Yoriichi's words.

All six of his eyes actually showed anger at once:

"Stop this charade. You cannot possibly be Yoriichi Tsugikuni."

"You may be able to deceive that lord, but a despicable imitator like you could never..."

Lin Yoriichi raised his head to look at Kokushibo and slowly spoke those words:

"How pitiful, elder brother."