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He took the owl Juliet out of the box, handed the letter to her once more, and Little Goku—riding his somersault cloud—followed Juliet as she flew westward.
Meanwhile, Kibutsuji Muzan, hiding in the Yoshiwara Entertainment District disguised as a Courtesan, was trembling from head to toe—equally furious and terrified.
All seven Upper Moons had been killed in a single strike; that boy really did have the power to end him.
Even discounting Bloodline suppression, he himself could never one-shot every Upper Moon at once.
The boy's strength might surpass even that of Yoriichi Tsugikuni—the man who had once become his Heart Demon.
"From this moment on, I am the Courtesan Lady Mai."
For the next few centuries he would live as an ordinary Courtesan in Yoshiwara, never again showing his true face.
Only when he was certain the boy was dead—and the danger gone—would he reclaim the name Kibutsuji Muzan.
Why hide behind the identity of a Courtesan?
Courtesans rest by day and work at night, making it easy to conceal his nature as a demon.
Any other job would demand daytime appearances; after a while, nights-only outings would raise suspicion.
The role also kept him from losing touch with the human World, letting him gather news from the outside.
Most crucial: if he were found in the wild, escape would be nearly impossible.
In a city, he could threaten fragile humans to create openings for flight—a tactic he knew the Demon Slayer Corps would hesitate to defy.
He knew those swordsmen well; the ploy had worked before.
"You will die… you will die…"
"Found you—Kibutsuji Muzan!"
At midnight, amid the brilliant lights of Yoshiwara, Little Goku sat on his somersault cloud and tucked Juliet the owl safely away.
Although Muzan had slipped away in Demon City, Goku had memorized the demon's Ki.
Within fifteen kilometres he could pinpoint Muzan's exact location the instant it reappeared.
"A fight here would be bad."
Hovering above the dense crowds, Goku began to chant.
"Without Trace or Form!"
Under the spell his body slowly vanished from sight.
It was the Advanced Illusion Charm—an invisibility incantation.
Suppressing every trace of his presence, he Apparated onto the roof of a pleasure house and quietly slipped inside a room.
The moment he entered, he froze.
The figure before him was not the short-haired youth he had glimpsed in Demon City, but an unremarkable long-haired Courtesan.
Yet when he closed his eyes and sensed the Ki, it matched Muzan's perfectly—he had the right target.
Appearance could be changed by many means; Ki could not.
He had already proven that with Nymphadora.
No matter what face Nymphadora's innate Metamorphmagus ability wore, he could always recognise her by her Ki.
With a flash he shot toward the Courtesan.
"Something's wrong!"
The disguised Muzan was folding clothes when a sudden unease surged through him.
He glanced around but saw nothing amiss.
Then the sharp crack of an air-burst beside his ear jolted him—he was under attack.
Abandoning all pretence, his arms morphed into monstrous barbed whips and lashed toward the sound—though nothing was there.
His whip-cracks echoed like thunder, but the opening move had been lost; no blow landed.
Suddenly he felt a hand clamp onto his shoulder.
The World twisted—and he was back inside his Infinity Castle.
His shoulder split into a gaping maw that snapped at the hand, only to bite empty air.
"Kibutsuji Muzan—now we can settle this properly!"
Little Goku released the Illusion Charm and appeared five metres away, stance set for battle.
Muzan stared at the familiar surroundings, then at the boy ready to fight, and snarled, "You think finding me means you can kill me? Even Yoriichi Tsugikuni failed—what makes you think you can?"
By now he knew the only way out was to kill this boy; escape was impossible.
The child had some method of tracking him no matter where he hid.
He would not die—never. He would conquer the Sun and become the perfect life-form; anything in his way would perish.
"Die!"
Both arms became barbed whips that slashed at Goku, while nine tube-whips from his back sealed every avenue of escape.
Each whip cracked the air with thunderous force—proof of their lethal power.
Facing an onslaught fiercer than all Upper Moons combined, Goku's eyes lit with excitement.
This was the opponent he had wanted.
"Ki Breathing – First Form: Flowing Blast!"
The same strike that had wiped out every Upper Moon reappeared; one fist detonated the twin barbed whips and nine tube-whips into bloody mist.
"Die!"
Muzan was not surprised; through the memories of the Upper Moons he already knew this move.
"Swish!"
Eight more tube-whips burst from beneath Goku, aiming straight for his lower body.
Besides the two barbed whips on his arms and the nine on his back, Muzan had hidden eight more in his legs—his true trump card.
These eight were faster than the rest; the earlier barrage had merely been bait for this killing strike from below.
Since Yoriichi had nearly slain him, he had not wasted these centuries.
Goku was caught off guard, but seasoned reflexes sent him leaping high to evade.
Yet the whips curved mid-air and kept chasing him.
"Dodon Ray!"
His fingers flicked eight times; eight Dodon Ray beams vaporised the pursuing whips into thin air.
Muzan's face paled at the sight.
"So what? I can regrow them—let's see who tires first!"
In an instant Muzan's barbed and tube-whips regenerated and shot out again.
As the first demon ever born, his recovery far outstripped any other; unless struck by Sunlight or every cell annihilated at once, he would always bounce back.
He would drag the fight out until the boy's stamina failed—then victory would be his.
If Goku unleashed that devastating energy again, he would dodge—if the Upper Moons could, so could he.