Kagaya Ubuyashiki knelt in the corridor, one hand tightly gripping the intelligence report brought back by the Kasugai Crow. The edges of the paper were stained with dark red blood, and every word written on it burned his eyes.
"How is this possible? How is this possible?"
He muttered in a low voice, his tone weak yet carrying a heartbreaking heaviness.
As soon as the words left his mouth, a suffocating fit of coughing forced him to bend over uncontrollably. Blood seeped through his fingers and dripped onto the wooden floor before him, blooming like bright red spider lilies.
"Master!"
Lady Amane hurriedly stepped forward, using a handkerchief to wipe the blood from him, her eyes filled with heartache and worry.
Kagaya gently waved his hand, indicating for her not to fuss. Forcing his ailing body to sit upright again, his extremely pale face contrasted with his eyes, which burned with a resolute light.
"Immediately... convene an emergency Hashira Meeting!" His voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable authority. "Use the highest-level summons to gather all the Hashira! We must immediately discuss a countermeasure against the 'Ultimate Demon'!"
At his command, several elite Kasugai Crows abruptly took to the sky. Cawing hoarsely, they flew off toward the respective estates of the Demon Slayer Corps' Hashira.
However, this time, they brought orders but returned with an unsettling silence.
The Kasugai Crow flying toward the Flame Hashira's estate was blocked by an invisible barrier of heat waves hundreds of meters away from the dojo. No matter how hard it crashed against it, it could not advance a single inch.
As it continuously impacted the barrier, the edges of its wings even began to curl and blacken from the heat.
The Kasugai Crow heading to the Sound Hashira's training grounds, just as it approached the area where explosions echoed endlessly all day, was bounced back by a light-distorting force field, as if it had slammed into an invisible wall.
The Kasugai Crow traveling to the Water Hashira's training waterfall similarly returned without success. The area around the cascading waterfall seemed to be enveloped by an endless flow of water, forming an absolute domain that no external object could breach.
One after another, the Kasugai Crows returned with confusion and anxiety. They filled the courtyard, yet they brought back no responses from any of the Hashira. Kagaya quietly listened to Lady Amane's report, his heart growing increasingly anxious.
Just as he was almost beginning to think that the strongest fighters of the Demon Slayer Corps had met with some disaster, several faint yet clear mental messages crossed those invisible barriers and transmitted directly into his mind.
"Master, please do not worry. A demon that has conquered the sun is no longer something to fear." This was Kyojuro Rengoku's voice, containing a fiery brightness and scorching heat that was more passionate and majestic than ever before.
"We are currently training under the guidance of unimaginably powerful individuals. Our strength is growing at an incredible rate." This was Giyuu Tomioka's voice, calm as water, yet profoundly unfathomable.
"The day we return will be the day... our thousand-year grudge comes to an end!"
Responses filled with unbelievable yet overwhelming confidence transmitted into Kagaya's consciousness one after another.
He could sense that the aura of every Hashira had undergone an earth-shattering transformation, becoming ethereal and unreachable.
Kagaya could not help but fall into deep thought. He looked at the wisteria flowers drifting down with the wind in the courtyard, a glimmer of light mixed with bewilderment and absolute resolve flashing in his eyes.
He did not know what his swordsmen had encountered, much less who these mysterious "mentors" actually were.
But he chose to believe. He believed in these children who had fought demons for countless days and nights, completely disregarding their own lives.
He slowly closed his eyes, betting everything of the Demon Slayer Corps, and the very future of humanity, on these children—on this generation, the strongest Demon Slayer Corps in centuries.
Meanwhile, changes were occurring within the Infinity Castle.
The once twisted, gloomy, and sunless bizarre architectural complex had now been completely transformed.
Giant skylights were opened in the dome, channeling the midday's brilliant golden sunlight into the castle, illuminating every inch and corner as bright as day.
Muzan Kibutsuji, having transformed into the Ultimate Being, sat on his throne, enjoying the bath of sunlight.
This was now his favorite way to relax.
He had already taken control of the Daimyo of this country, and through this puppet, he had commandeered the entire nation's military forces and resources for his own use.
Now, below his throne, a massive number of newly born demons of various forms were gathered.
Among them were samurai thirsting for power, desperate ronin with nowhere to go, and even some heroic figures who had once helped many and earned the reverence of commoners.
Now, they had all accepted Muzan's "Sun Blood" and become demons of a new era, though they referred to themselves as gods.
Bathing in the once-lethal sunlight, their eyes burned with fanatical worship for the Demon King on the throne—no... the God King.
Standing at the very forefront of this group of newborn demons were three extremely powerful entities.
Leading them was a gaunt man with gloomy eyes. The space around him was slightly distorting, as if it would collapse and shatter at any moment.
His Blood Demon Art allowed him to fold and swap space within a certain range of his line of sight, enabling him to teleport continuously.
Behind him were two others. One was a beautiful young girl with an indifferent expression, a strange light flickering in her pupils.
Her Blood Demon Art could "rewind" any "destroyed" object, restoring it to its perfect state prior to being damaged.
The other was a burly man, massive as an iron tower. He was bare-chested, and the surface of his body seemed to be covered by a strange film of energy.
This was the effect of his Blood Demon Art. Any attack directed at his body would be reflected back at the attacker with double the power by this peculiar energy.
These were the brand-new Demon Generals that Muzan had prepared for the Demon Slayer Corps.
One month later.
At the Demon Slayer Corps' special training grounds, the anomalies gradually subsided.
Within that boundless, hellish sea of fire, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto looked at Kyojuro Rengoku, who was wreathed in roaring flames, his expression showing approval.
"Very good. Your flames have now acquired a will of their own."
Captain-Commander Yamamoto reached out his hand, and an Asauchi forged by Ian, modeled after "Zanka no Tachi", appeared out of thin air in his grasp.
"Entrusted by another, I bestow this blade upon you."
Kyojuro respectfully accepted it. The moment he grasped the hilt, the surging Flame Power within him resonated with the blade!
Hum—!
Roaring flames erupted from his palm, instantly enveloping the unadorned blade. Within the inferno, the Asauchi transformed into a searing blade composed entirely of fire.
On the ancient tsuba, a majestic flame totem slowly emerged.
"From this day forth, let your flames incinerate all sins in this world."
Captain-Commander Yamamoto's figure gradually became transparent, ultimately turning into a wisp of flame that dissipated into the air, leaving behind only this majestic instruction.
...
In another dark bamboo forest.
Orochimaru looked at Iguro Obanai before him, his golden snake eyes revealing a look of extreme satisfaction.
Obanai's aura had completely changed now.
Not only had he mastered a vast array of ninjutsu and forbidden jutsu from another world, but he had also unlocked the White Snake Sage's Sage Mode.
He had even learned Orochimaru's self-created forbidden jutsu, granting him the ability to transform into the mountain-sized Yamata no Orochi.
"A very perfect masterpiece." Orochimaru smiled faintly. As a final "gift", he planted a black, magatama-shaped curse mark into the back of Obanai's neck.
This contained not only the Cursed Seal of Heaven but was also fused with Hashirama Cells.
"Go. I have nothing left to teach you."
Before his voice even faded, Orochimaru transformed into countless small white snakes that scattered in all directions, disappearing deep into the bamboo forest.
Iguro Obanai slowly opened his eyes. Around those golden snake pupils, purple Sage Mode markings had emerged.