Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters.
Sunlight filters through the ancient eaves, casting dappled patterns on the bluestone-paved courtyard.
Kyojuro Rengoku's gaze swept over his seven teammates standing there, his voice loud and powerful:
"Everyone, it's been so long!"
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at him.
Upon seeing Kyojuro Rengoku, Mitsuri Kanroji's lips unconsciously curved into a crescent shape.
That's great! Mr. Rengoku is still as enthusiastic and sincere as ever!
Seeing how happy Mitsuri Kanroji was to see Kyojuro Rengoku, Obanai Iguro felt slightly displeased. His gaze lingered on Kyojuro Rengoku for a moment, and he said softly but with a hint of sarcasm:
"What's so special about not seeing each other for so long! Unless there are special circumstances, we usually have a meeting every six months, right? That means we basically only see each other once every six months!"
Upon hearing this, Mitsuri Kanroji's gaze shifted between the two of them, and she muttered to herself.
Ah! Mr. Iguro is still the same as before, with a sharp tongue like a viper!
"Hmm!" Kyojuro Rengoku laughed heartily and nodded, "But I'm also very happy to see everyone again, which proves that everyone is safe and sound!"
Obanai Iguro shifted her gaze back to the white snake coiled around her neck.
"You must be safe and sound to be standing here where you can see me!"
Hey! You two! Can you stop spouting nonsense?
Sanemi Shinazugawa interrupted their conversation.
Although these were normal words to him, they sounded like he was about to get angry to those around him.
Sanemi Shinazugawa asked, "Half a year has passed. Has any of you encountered Lower Rank?"
Mitsuri Kanroji secretly sized up Sanemi Shinazugawa.
Mr. Shinazugawa has gotten even more scars! That's so cool!
After a long while, no one answered.
Sanemi Shinazugawa couldn't help but say angrily:
"It seems no one has ever encountered the Lower Rank! Those damned ghosts are hiding deeper than rats!"
Tengen Uzui crossed his arms, tilted his head slightly, squinted at the rising sun, and said:
"There's nothing we can do about it! There are only six Lower Rank scattered all over the place, how can we expect to encounter them so easily? I've been a Pillar for so many years, and I've only encountered two Lower Rank!"
Upon hearing this, Mitsuri Kanroji secretly turned her gaze to Tengen Uzui.
Mr. Uzui is as flamboyant as ever! But... I'd better not comment too much...
Upon hearing Tengen Uzui's words, Sanemi Shinazugawa's anger intensified:
"Damn it! I wish all these ghosts would just disappear at once!"
Seeing that Sanemi Shinazugawa was so angry, Mitsuri Kanroji carefully comforted him:
"Anon, even though we didn't encounter Lower Rank, we still managed to defeat more demons, right?"
"Um?"
Sanemi Shinazugawa glared at him fiercely.
Upon seeing this, Mitsuri Kanroji immediately averted her gaze, shrank her neck, and didn't dare to reply.
She was the only girl on the field right now, and she was facing the fiercest of the Pillars Sanemi Shinazugawa. She wasn't very brave enough to communicate with Shinazugawa-kun.
Obanai Iguro spoke up at the right moment to help Mitsuri Kanroji out of her predicament:
"What Mitsuri said makes sense, doesn't it? Although we didn't encounter Lower Rank, we did eliminate a lot of ordinary demons!"
"Snort!"
Upon hearing this, Sanemi Shinazugawa, though still resentful, could only snort coldly, cross his arms, and remain silent.
He knew what the others were saying was true, but he was still very angry.
Tengen Uzui gently smoothed his elaborate headdress, making sure every strand of hair lay neatly beneath the exquisite decorations.
"The Flower Hashira and the Insect Hashira are clearly the closest of the nine pillars to headquarters, so why are they here when everyone else has arrived?"
Gyomei Himejima his hands together and said, "It's precisely because they're closer that they're arriving later!"
Mitsuri Kanroji also turned her gaze in that direction.
Mr. Himejima is as composed as ever! But it's best not to comment too much...
"Oh? What do you mean?" Tengen Uzui turned his gaze to Gyomei Himejima.
Gyomei Himejima said, "The Pillars who live far away need to arrive early and stay overnight at headquarters, so we can wait here from the start! But for them, they only need to come over on the same day! This will naturally be much slower!"
Obanai Iguro, "That doesn't change the fact that they were the last ones to arrive!"
Giyu Tomioka said, "It's not the time the Oyakata-sama has given us yet, so there's no issue with being late. As long as we arrive before then, there won't be any problem!"
Mitsuri Kanroji looked at Giyu Tomioka in the distance and continued to comment on him in her mind.
Mr. Tomioka is still standing there all alone, just like before! How cute!
Obanai Iguro straightened up slightly, about to continue his rebuttal, when a very subtle vibration under his feet made him realize that someone was walking towards him.
Those present were not weaklings either, and they quickly sensed it as well, all looking towards the corridor.
The two people should be the Flower Hashira and the Insect Hashira.
Obanai Iguro thought this, she frowned slightly. As she got closer, the vibrations under her feet became clearer.
No!
There are three!
Although the last person's footsteps were extremely light, there were indeed the footsteps of a third person!
His gaze was fixed on the end of the corridor, trying to see who the third person was.
Unlike others who rely on sound for location, Obanai Iguro is better at capturing information from subtle vibrations in the ground.
Therefore, the heavier a person is, the more difficult it is for them to hide their presence from him.
With a series of crisp footsteps, Kanae stepped into everyone's view like the warm spring sun.
Seeing that everyone was looking at her, Kanae glanced around the room and then enthusiastically raised a hand to greet everyone.
Good morning, everyone! Looks like we're the last ones to arrive!
Following Kanao, Shinobu Kocho also emerged.
When Mitsuri Kanroji saw that her two best friends had finally arrived, she took two steps forward and raised her hand as well.
" Kanae! Shinobu! You two have finally..."
He was interrupted halfway through his sentence by the figure that followed Kanae and Shinobu.
He was a young man dressed in a white haori with blue patterns, over which he wore black clothes. He had Nichirin Blade at his waist and looked clean and neat, exuding a natural and effortless aura.
Hey? Who's that? So handsome!
Upon seeing the footsteps of the third person, Tengen Uzui's gaze also narrowed slightly.
He didn't hear the sound of a third person's footsteps.
Upon seeing the newcomer's face, Tengen Uzui's lips curled into a smile, and he raised his hand.
He took over from Mitsuri Kanroji and greeted her.
"Yo! Kato! Long time no see, it's been over a year!"