Lin Yoriichi returned to Headquarters and met Kagaya Ubuyashiki again.
Although only a few days had passed, Lin Yoriichi noticed that the purple scarring on Kagaya Ubuyashiki's face showed signs of spreading further.
At this rate, it probably would not be long before his other eye went permanently blind as well.
Lin Yoriichi could not help sighing.
The will of this world really did pick on the weak and cower before the strong.
A monster as contrary to the natural order as Muzan Kibutsuji had emerged from the family, yet the Heavenly Dao dared not target Muzan Kibutsuji directly and instead laid a curse on the Ubuyashiki Family.
What was that supposed to be?
Cowering before Muzan Kibutsuji, but coming down hard on the Ubuyashiki Family?
Noticing Lin Yoriichi's gaze, Kagaya Ubuyashiki waved a hand and said calmly:
"Don't concern yourself with my condition."
"I've already received Kyojuro Rengoku's and Sanemi Shinazugawa's reports."
"You killed Lower Rank Three and Lower Rank Six in Tokyo Prefecture. Truly excellent work!"
At this point, Kagaya Ubuyashiki looked at Lin Yoriichi again, took a moment to gather his words, and asked:
"How did that matter you mentioned turn out?"
Lin Yoriichi recounted both "Muzan Kibutsuji's Remote Login" and "Almost-Beheaded Kokushibo."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki immediately grew excited:
"Mr. Lin, you really did it!"
"This is an incredible surprise for both me and the Demon Slayer Corps!"
"Driving back Upper Rank One! The Demon Slayer Corps has never accomplished such an astonishing feat in a hundred years!"
Lin Yoriichi smiled and shook his head:
"The surprise isn't just driving back Upper Rank One."
With Kagaya Ubuyashiki, Lin Yoriichi did not need to maintain the same rigid front he had before Kokushibo, and he could freely toss out all sorts of references:
"Let me spell out for you exactly what a surprise means."
"The surprise is that, after another scare like this, Muzan Kibutsuji absolutely won't dare show himself again anytime soon."
"The demons under his command will also attack humans far less frequently."
"Muzan Kibutsuji is bound to shift his focus toward overcoming sunlight and increasing his strength."
"Meanwhile, the Demon Slayer Corps should have far fewer extermination missions, temporarily freeing the Hashira from their demon-hunting duties."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki suddenly blinked:
"By then, Mr. Yoriichi, your strength will presumably have increased again."
At that, Lin Yoriichi looked slightly awkward.
Dealing with clever people like this was such a pain. They could see through whatever secrets he had.
Ubuyashiki was right. That was indeed Lin Yoriichi's plan.
When he had first crossed over here, his Restoration Rate had been only 10%.
Now, having just driven back Kokushibo, Lin Yoriichi's Restoration Rate had risen to 49%.
Judging by that rate of progress, he probably would not need very long to raise his Restoration Rate all the way to its maximum.
At that point, the only problems left before him would be how to find Muzan Kibutsuji and how to stop him from splitting into over 1,800 pieces and escaping again.
Lin Yoriichi already had some ideas about how to find Muzan Kibutsuji.
As for the latter-how to keep Muzan Kibutsuji from splitting apart and escaping-that was something Lin Yoriichi needed to discuss with Kagaya Ubuyashiki:
"I have an idea, but I'll need your cooperation."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki's expression shifted:
"Is it about going to the Swordsmith Village? I can arrange that right now."
Lin Yoriichi said gravely:
"Going to the Swordsmith Village is part of this plan, too."
"It's possible that all the Hashira will need to go to the Swordsmith Village then."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki could not help looking puzzled:
"You mean all the Hashira will need to go to the Swordsmith Village?"
"Wouldn't that mean their weapons will all suffer damage and need maintenance..."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki abruptly stopped.
Lin Yoriichi had just mentioned that the Demon Slayer Corps' Hashira could temporarily be freed from their demon-hunting duties, and now he had brought up the possibility of the Hashira going to the Swordsmith Village together.
Although he already had a vague sense of what Lin Yoriichi's next plan was.
An emotion called "surprise" struck him once again nonetheless.
Sure enough, Lin Yoriichi said with a smile:
"The Demon Slayer Corps has lost some of its teachings over the years. I happen to know a little about those things."
"So I'm planning to train the Hashira."
As mentioned before, Lin Yoriichi was certainly not someone who liked keeping his knowledge to himself.
Besides, his many skills had come from Yoriichi Tsugikuni rather than his own training.
And Yoriichi Tsugikuni himself had never held anything back, patiently guiding every swordsman.
Lin Yoriichi still remembered that the original story had mentioned it.
No matter who they were, Yoriichi Tsugikuni would teach them everything he knew about swordsmanship and Breathing Styles.
Even the emergence of the other derivative Breathing Styles had been connected to Yoriichi Tsugikuni guiding the swordsmen of his time in adapting them to their respective strengths.
Passing these skills on to the Demon Slayer Corps once again.
Lin Yoriichi believed that, if Yoriichi Tsugikuni himself were here, he would make the same choice.
At that thought, something suddenly stirred in Lin Yoriichi's mind.
He checked his Restoration Rate and discovered that this thought alone had raised it to 50%.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki could not help asking:
"So, what do you intend to teach them?"
Lin Yoriichi had considered this question long ago.
Breathing Styles, the Transparent World, the Demon Slayer Mark, and the Bright Red Nichirin Sword were collectively known as the four-piece demon-slaying kit of the Demon Slayer world.
Among them, the Bright Red Nichirin Sword was relatively easy to master and could quickly improve combat strength.
In the original story, there were theoretically four ways to activate a bright red Nichirin sword.
Mastering Sun Breathing, Nezuko's Blood Demon Art, grip strength, and clashing weapons.
Because his arrival had allowed the entire Kamado Family to survive, Nezuko's Blood Demon Art could be crossed off first.
As for activating a bright red Nichirin sword through grip strength or clashing weapons, although some said that the Demon Slayer Mark had to be awakened beforehand.
Lin Yoriichi felt they could try it before the Hashira had their Demon Slayer Marks.
If they could successfully activate bright red Nichirin swords, that would certainly be a good thing.
Even if they could not, Lin Yoriichi had a fallback method for activating bright red Nichirin swords-
He would first retrieve Yoriichi Tsugikuni's Nichirin Sword and obtain the complete bright red Nichirin sword effect after fusing with it.
Then, after using his Sun Breathing to help activate his bright red Nichirin sword, he would use "Passing the Flame," clashing his weapon with each of the other Hashira's weapons in turn.
That way, he could still achieve "bright red Nichirin swords for everyone"!
Thus, Lin Yoriichi said gravely:
"I'll teach them the bright red Nichirin sword."
After saying this, Lin Yoriichi explained the effects of the bright red Nichirin sword to Kagaya Ubuyashiki in detail.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki instinctively held his breath.
He finally understood just how astonishing this "surprise" was.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki instinctively started to thank him, but Lin Yoriichi suddenly raised a hand to stop him:
"All right, there's no need to thank me."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki took a deep breath and slowly suppressed his excitement.
He followed Lin Yoriichi's lead and changed the subject:
"Speaking of which, aren't you planning to visit the Kamado Family at the Butterfly Mansion?"
Before you continue