After the events in the Swordsmith Village were settled, Kagaya Ubuyashiki would soon summon another Pillar Meeting.
The focus of that meeting would revolve around training and strengthening the Demon Slayer Corps.
The Demon Slayers would improve their overall combat ability, while the Hashira would discuss methods to awaken the Demon Slayer Mark.
However, during that meeting, the discussion regarding the Demon Slayer Mark would not reach a clear conclusion. The Wind Hashira and the Stone Hashira would only awaken their marks later during the final battle.
As for the so called training of the Demon Slayer Corps, Raiden quietly shook his head.
Rather than training the entire corps, it would mostly benefit Tanjiro and the others.
During the battle in the Infinity Castle, very few ordinary Demon Slayers contributed meaningfully. The real fighters were Tanjiro and his companions alongside the Hashira.
"I should deal with Kaigaku first. Hashira training can wait."
After thinking it over, Raiden decided to resolve the Kaigaku matter before participating in the training.
If the training delayed him and the Old Man died because of it, neither he nor Zenitsu would be able to accept that outcome.
Early the next morning, a Kasugai Crow returned with information regarding Kaigaku's movements and the location of his mission.
At the bottom of the letter was an additional message that was unrelated to Kaigaku's report.
"Many thanks, Raiden, for your contributions to the Demon Slayer Corps."
"Sincerely, Kagaya."
Raiden quickly glanced over the final lines of the letter and smiled faintly at Kagaya's words.
He accepted the gratitude without hesitation.
His relationship with Kagaya was primarily cooperative. The Demon Slayer Corps provided him with intelligence and weapons, while Raiden had already slain three Upper Rank demons consecutively.
That achievement alone more than repaid any assistance he had received.
Kagaya's thanks were only natural.
After memorizing Kaigaku's location, Raiden headed toward Muichiro's residence.
The sooner he could awaken the Demon Slayer Mark, the higher his chances of defeating both Muzan Kibutsuji and Kokushibo.
Tanjiro and Mitsuri Kanroji had also awakened the mark, but their explanations were far too emotional and vague. Even with his current level of comprehension, Raiden doubted he could understand their descriptions clearly.
Muichiro, however, had a clearer memory of the circumstances and described things with greater objectivity.
Because of that, Raiden planned to learn about the Demon Slayer Mark from Muichiro.
When Raiden entered the courtyard, Muichiro was in the middle of tidying his room.
Sensing someone enter, Muichiro turned his head. When he saw Raiden, his eyes brightened slightly. He set the clothes aside and walked over.
Since recovering his memories, Muichiro had become noticeably friendlier toward Raiden.
After hearing Raiden's request, Muichiro carefully recalled the events and explained the process of his Demon Slayer Mark awakening.
His explanation was detailed, even including what Inosuke and Kotetsu did after he had been trapped inside Gyokko's Water Prison Pot.
After filtering out the irrelevant details, Raiden identified two key points.
Being placed in an extremely dangerous situation.
And reaching an abnormally high body temperature.
Increasing his body temperature was easy. Breathing techniques could achieve that.
The real issue was the life threatening situation.
Did he need to fight Muzan himself before such danger could be achieved?
If he waited until that battle to awaken the mark, failure would mean death.
But Raiden was unwilling to abandon the possibility of gaining the mark.
The boost it provided was almost comparable to the advantages granted by the Transparent World.
He could not ignore such power.
This time, he would attempt it during a battle with Kokushibo.
Kokushibo's strength existed on a completely different level compared to other Upper Rank demons. The way he overwhelmed Muichiro in the Infinity Castle proved that clearly.
Even with his current power, Raiden would not casually claim he could defeat Kokushibo without fighting him first.
After obtaining the information he needed, Raiden bid farewell to Muichiro and set out for Kawamoto City.
That city was the destination of Kaigaku's current mission.
The objective was to eliminate two demons.
According to the Kasugai Crow's report, Kaigaku had only recently received the assignment. Raiden estimated that Kaigaku was still traveling toward the location as well.
While moving toward Kawamoto City, Raiden continued attempting to awaken the Demon Slayer Mark.
Using breathing techniques, he could easily raise his body temperature.
However, he had no idea how to reproduce the intense urgency of a life threatening situation.
A forced or imagined sense of danger produced no real physical response.
After numerous failed attempts, Raiden decided to rely on Kokushibo.
During that confrontation, he would attempt to awaken the mark.
At the same time, he intended to befriend Kokushibo.
If successful, it would accomplish three goals at once.
Rewards.
The Demon Slayer Mark.
And the elimination of Kaigaku.
Raiden already had a rough idea of how to approach Kokushibo.
Kokushibo spoke formally and valued hierarchy. This was evident during the meeting of the Upper Ranks, when Akaza insulted Doma and Kokushibo reprimanded him for it.
However, Raiden did not intend to become Kokushibo's subordinate.
He intended to approach him as an equal.
Based on Kokushibo's personality, demonstrating sufficient strength would earn his respect.
If he gained that recognition, Kokushibo would likely not reject the idea of forming a temporary alliance or friendship.
Late that night, Raiden arrived in Kawamoto City.
According to the information from the Kasugai Crow, Kaigaku had also reached the city not long before.
After arriving, Kaigaku immediately followed several local Demon Slayer Corps members toward the location of the demons.
Raiden quietly followed behind them.
Looking at Kaigaku's familiar face, memories from their time on Mount Sagiri began to surface in his mind.
When Raiden first arrived there, he had been unable to practice breathing techniques.
Because of that, he rarely clashed directly with Kaigaku.
However, that did not mean their relationship had been peaceful.
During training, Kaigaku had more than once "accidentally" used breathing techniques on Raiden.
One incident might have been a mistake.
But three or four times could hardly be considered accidental.
Raiden never reported those injuries to the Old Man, Jigoro Kuwajima, nor did he tell Zenitsu.
He avoided telling Jigoro because he found it embarrassing.
He avoided telling Zenitsu because Zenitsu had been far weaker than Kaigaku at the time. Raiden did not want Zenitsu to suffer because of him.
After Raiden confirmed that he could not use Thunder Breathing and began staying in the courtyard to manage logistics, his interactions with Kaigaku became less frequent.
Kaigaku's bullying naturally stopped after that.
Although many years had passed, Raiden had not forgotten.
If Kaigaku had remained a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, Raiden might have simply beaten him up to vent his frustration.
But Kaigaku had chosen a different path.
He betrayed the Demon Slayer Corps and became a demon after encountering Kokushibo.
More importantly, his betrayal would drive the Old Man to take his own life.
That changed everything.
Following Kaigaku, Raiden eventually arrived outside an old courtyard that had once been occupied by demons.
Raiden leapt silently onto the roof.
His nose twitched slightly.
Inside the courtyard there was only a weak demon hiding in the shadows.
There was no trace of an Upper Rank demon.
Raiden raised an eyebrow.
Had his actions caused another butterfly effect?
Or had Kokushibo simply not arrived yet?
If Kokushibo never appeared, Raiden's entire plan would collapse.
Not only would he fail to kill Kaigaku, he would also lose the opportunity to gain the reward for befriending Kokushibo.
"Let's wait a little longer."
"And see how strong Kaigaku has become."
Kaigaku had later been forcibly promoted to Upper Rank Six by Muzan in the Infinity Castle.
The result of that promotion was obvious.
After learning that the Old Man had died because of Kaigaku, Zenitsu cut off Kaigaku's head with only a few moves.
____
Patreon = _Zeph