In front of the gates of the Eternal Paradise Cult.
This kid… why does he look kind of familiar?
And that punchable tone, that impatient look… it's practically a carbon copy of Inosuke!
Are all people from the Paradise Cult this obnoxious?
Or is there something wrong with the local environment?
Shinobu Kocho took a deep breath, doing her best to maintain the flawless smile on her face.
Her hand, however, had already slid to the hilt of her Nichirin Blade.
"Little brother,"
Shinobu said gently, her voice sweet enough to drip water,
"I really do have something urgent to discuss with your Cult Leader… or with your Young Lord, Inosuke.
Could you please help pass along a message?"
"Pass along my ass!"
Kaigaku finally lost all patience.
Creak—
The main gate swung open.
Kaigaku strutted out in a Western-style servant uniform, a magatama necklace and a pocket watch hanging from his neck, swaggering without restraint.
He sized Shinobu up and down, his gaze full of disdain, as if he were looking at an idiot.
After staring for a while, he suddenly blurted out:
"What're you smiling for?
Can't read?"
He pointed at the crooked notice on the gate, his face full of contempt.
"It's written clearly right there! 'Reporting for work'!
What, can't you understand words?"
The smile on Shinobu's face finally cracked.
But just as Kaigaku's patience hit rock bottom, he froze.
His eyes locked onto Shinobu's distinctive haori—and the slender Nichirin Blade at her waist.
"Wait… this woman…
Isn't she the Insect Hashira from the Demon Slayer Corps?!
I've seen her before when I was leveling up!"
Thump.
Kaigaku's heart skipped a beat.
Even though he now considered himself a loyal retainer of the Paradise Cult,
he still harbored an instinctive fear of the Hashira.
Why did she find this place?!
How does she even dare to come here?!
The Young Lord just got kicked out of the Demon Slayer Corps after swallowing a mountain of humiliation—
and now this woman shows up at our doorstep?!
Is she here to finish the job?!
Kaigaku clenched his fists, cold sweat breaking out.
Thank god the Cult Leader went chasing his wife, and the Young Lord went to find Third Uncle.
If they were home… someone would definitely die at the gate today.
"Ahem!"
Kaigaku's eyes darted, and his expression changed instantly.
If I can't fight her, I'll bullshit her!
After all, the Young Lord had made it very clear—no visitors.
"So, you're looking for the Cult Leader and the Young Lord, huh?"
Kaigaku crossed his arms, putting on an air of unfathomable mystery.
"Too bad. They've gone to the Pure Land to report for work."
Shinobu frowned.
"The Pure Land? Where is that?"
"Very, very far away."
Kaigaku pointed to the sky, then to the ground, fully committed to his performance.
"That place… has no map.
Only those with a sincere heart can reach it."
"And this time, the Cult Leader went for… uh…
for the happiness of all humanity! For world peace!"
"So this trip will take, at the very least, three to five years—
or maybe they'll never come back in this lifetime."
He waved his hand dismissively, like shooing a fly.
"So yeah, big sis, you should just go home."
"And don't come back either.
The Paradise Cult is under my management now, and I'm busy—no time to entertain you."
"Three to five years?"
Shinobu raised a slender finger and pointed at the notice on the gate.
Despite the ugly handwriting, the words were still legible:
"Reporting for work. Duration: three days."
"But doesn't it say right here that it's only for three days?"
Shinobu asked with a sweet smile, her eyes sharp as blades.
"What?!"
Kaigaku blurted out in shock:
"You can read?!"
Shinobu: "..."
This Paradise Cult… really doesn't have a single normal person.
Realizing he'd exposed himself, Kaigaku didn't panic at all.
His skin was thick enough to tank it.
He straightened his back and argued righteously:
"So what if you can read?!
Does that mean you can understand divine revelations?!"
"That's the Buddha of the Paradise Cult's sense of time!
Three days in heaven equals three years on earth, got it?!"
"Besides, when have leaders' speeches ever been accurate?!
They say a one-hour meeting and talk for half a day every time!"
The more he spoke, the more convinced he became.
"Bottom line! They're not here!
Who knows when they'll be back!"
"Go home! When the Cult Leader returns—uh—I'll have him notify you!"
Without giving Shinobu a chance to respond—
BANG!
He slammed the gate shut.
Then added three locks for good measure.
Outside the gate.
Shinobu looked at the tightly shut doors, then at the crooked notice.
She wasn't angry.
Instead, she calmed down.
Through the cracks, she could vaguely see that the main hall inside was indeed empty—
no sign of that man, nor of that boy.
"So… they really aren't here."
"Hmph."
Shinobu let out a soft cold laugh.
"That's fine.
I can wait."
She turned and walked straight toward the only inn at the foot of the mountain.
Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters
Though the weather had warmed, the courtyard was still swept by chilling winds.
Ever since Inosuke and the other two left, the place had become eerily quiet.
The laughter of the past was gone, replaced only by the dull sound of blades being swung.
Sanemi Shinazugawa had just returned from a mission.
He sat alone on a stone bench, staring blankly at the Nichirin Blade in his hands.
Bandages were still stuck to his face—remnants of the beating Inosuke had given him that day.
The wound wasn't deep,
but the knot in his heart refused to loosen.
"Yo! Isn't this the Wind Hashira?"
A slightly exaggerated voice rang out.
Uzui Tengen strode in with his twin blades slung over his shoulders, fresh from another mission, still carrying the scent of gunpowder.
He glanced at the absent-minded Sanemi and raised an eyebrow.
"What, still beating yourself up over those brats?
That look on your face…
Tsk, not flashy at all."
Sanemi snapped back to reality and shot him a cold glance.
Normally, he would've snapped back immediately.
But this time, he looked at Tengen with confusion and accusation in his eyes.
"Uzui."
Sanemi's voice was hoarse.
"That day… everyone who'd ever benefited from Inosuke was pleading for him.
Rengoku knelt for him.
Giyu was ready to commit seppuku.
Even that blockhead Muichiro stepped forward."
Sanemi stood up and locked eyes with Tengen.
"Your three wives—weren't they saved by that kid?
Sure, he's an asshole, but he saved their lives."
"Yet that day…"
Sanemi stepped closer, his tone pressing.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"Why didn't you try to stop him from leaving?"
"Are you… just as cold-blooded a bastard as I am?"
Tengen froze.
The playful smile vanished from his face.
His expression darkened, becoming more serious than ever.
"Cold-blooded?"
He scoffed and leaned against a pillar.
"Sanemi, you think I didn't want to stop him?
I'm grateful to that flashy kid too.
If it weren't for him, Hinatsuru and the others would've been dead."
Tengen paused, his eyes clouding.
"But… some things were just too strange."
"Strange?"
Sanemi frowned.
"I heard the details of that day from my wives,"
Tengen said quietly.
"In the Entertainment District… the one who kidnapped them wasn't that ugly thing we fought above ground."
"It was a female demon."
"A very powerful, very beautiful—
you could even say flashy—female demon."
His fingers tapped lightly against his blade.
"She captured them, but didn't eat them.
She only locked them up."
"And then… when we found Inosuke fighting that ugly bastard to the death,
that female demon vanished."
"Completely.
Not a trace left behind."
"It was as if everything had been carefully arranged."
Tengen looked up at Sanemi.
"I've replayed that battle countless times.
I considered many possibilities—orders from Muzan, another Upper Rank…"
"I never suspected Inosuke."
"But now… he's Dōma's adopted son.
So that female demon—could she have been Dōma's subordinate? Or Inosuke's accomplice?"
"What if it was all an act?
A staged suffering meant to win our trust?"
Tengen sighed, pain flashing in his eyes.
"I don't want to believe it.
I really like that idiot kid."
"But until I figure out who that vanished female demon was…
I can't vouch for him.
That's why I stayed silent that day."
Sanemi's pupils contracted sharply.
A vanished female demon.
Disappeared without a trace.
Inosuke's identity.
The words connected, and the chaotic guilt in his mind suddenly found a direction.
"So that's it…"
Sanemi's eyes lit up.
"That brat… really wasn't that simple, huh?
Not just saving people—there was something else going on behind the scenes?"
Sanemi stood up abruptly, stretching, his bones cracking loudly.
All traces of dejection vanished.
"In that case…"
He looked at Tengen.
"Let's go to Yoshiwara.
To the Entertainment District."
"Let's find that vanished female demon.
If we can uncover her connection to Inosuke, everything will be clear."
But Tengen shook his head.
"No. I'm not going."
"I don't want to dig any deeper into this."
"Deep down, I still hope that boy is a good person.
Digging through old wounds to find rot…
that's just not flashy."
He patted Sanemi on the shoulder and turned away.
"You go investigate on your own.
If you find something—don't tell me.
I don't want to hear it."
Watching Tengen's retreating back, Sanemi snorted.
"Coward."
He turned and strode toward the Master's estate.
"If you won't go, I will."
"No matter what the truth is…
I'll dig it out myself."
The Master's Estate
After hearing Sanemi's report, Ubuyashiki Kagaya frowned deeply, his blind eyes clouded.
"A vanished female demon…"
He murmured.
"That is indeed… a major point of suspicion."
"If Inosuke truly had ties to that demon…
then the nature of his actions changes entirely."
After a moment of contemplation, the Master nodded.
"Go, Sanemi."
"Investigate thoroughly—but remember, do not act rashly."
"If you encounter danger… or encounter Inosuke,
do not attack. Ask questions first."
"Yes."
Sanemi accepted the order and left.
What he didn't notice—
was that in the shadows of the courtyard,
after he departed,
a tall figure followed after him, awkwardly and quietly.
Genya Shinazugawa.
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