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Chapter 98: The Demon Slayer Corps Hashira Meeting
After bidding Kanroji Mitsuri farewell, Suyan followed Kocho Shinobu and swiftly arrived at the headquarters of the Demon Slayer Corps.
It was a massively sprawling, lavish estate that resembled a miniature fortress.
"Lord Insect Hashira, and Lord Suyan, please follow us."
The moment they approached the entrance, two white-haired young girls dressed in traditional kimonos stepped out to greet them. Given their identical appearances and refined mannerisms, Suyan easily deduced that these were the daughters of the Corps' leader, Ubuyashiki Kagaya.
"Lead the way."
Without hesitation, Suyan and Shinobu followed the twins deep into the Ubuyashiki estate. After a brief walk down several winding corridors, they arrived at a meticulously kept interior courtyard.
Sweeping his gaze across the area, Suyan saw that aside from the Kamado family and Tomioka Giyuu—who had departed earlier that morning—several familiar faces from the anime had gathered.
There was the towering, muscular blind monk wielding a massive spiked flail and axe—the Stone Hashira.
The permanently enraged, violently aggressive Jalapeno, Rage Bro—the Wind Hashira.
The self-proclaimed ninja who used explosives and ninjutsu yet insisted it was Sound Breathing, Flashy Guy—the Sound Hashira.
The man with fiery, untamed hair and wide, burning eyes that made it impossible to tell if he was smiling or just staring blankly, Flame Owl—the Flame Hashira.
And finally, the most important figure present. Sitting alone on the elevated engawa facing the gathered swordsmen was a man whose upper face was hideously disfigured, appearing as though it had been grotesquely burned by boiling water.
The Master of the Demon Slayer Corps, Ubuyashiki Kagaya.
The Hashira Meeting, huh? Interesting. Taking in the scene, Suyan couldn't help but recall the anime's iconic Hashira Meeting, where the elite swordsmen had gathered to pass judgment on the demonized Nezuko.
The current situation was virtually a carbon copy of that moment. The only difference was that the roster of Hashira present was noticeably thinner than in canon. Missing were Kanroji Mitsuri—who had not yet had any contact with the Corps—and the Mist and Serpent Hashira, who had presumably joined the ranks much later.
"Brother Suyan! You're here!"
Nezuko, who had been sitting anxiously next to Tanjiro, instantly brightened the moment she saw him. Treating him as her absolute pillar of support, she happily rushed over, grabbed his hand, and pulled him down to sit beside her.
Beside her, Tanjiro and his younger brother, Shigeru, offered the man who had protected their family bright, deeply grateful smiles. Only the youngest sister, Hanako, hid timidly behind Tanjiro, clutching her older brother's haori while curiously peeking out at the man her older sister was clinging to so affectionately.
"Welcome, esteemed guest from afar," Ubuyashiki Kagaya spoke. Despite his horrifyingly disfigured appearance, his voice carried a strange, hypnotic cadence. It felt like a gentle mountain breeze, soothing the soul and easing the mind.
But Suyan was entirely immune to such parlor tricks.
He nonchalantly ruffled Nezuko's hair, looking directly at the so-called Master of the Demon Slayer Corps with flat, indifferent eyes. "So, where exactly are you at in your little discussion?"
"Brother Suyan!" Before Kagaya could answer, Nezuko hurriedly interjected. "They said that because our family preserved the Sun Breathing style, they would agree to spare Mom and the others. But they insisted on locking them up in a cell under heavy guard!"
"Oh? Is that right?"
Suyan considered it for a moment. To be fair, this outcome was significantly better than the one the Demon Slayer Corps had originally handed down to Nezuko in the anime. In canon, it had taken both the former Water Hashira, Urokodaki, and the current Water Hashira, Giyuu, putting their very lives on the line to act as guarantors just to buy Tanjiro the right to carry his demon sister into battle.
Suyan glanced between Tanjiro and Nezuko. "And what do you guys think about that?"
Tanjiro opened his mouth to reply, but was abruptly cut off.
"If you ask me, there's no such thing as a demon that doesn't eat humans! Any creature converted into a man-eating demon should be slaughtered without an ounce of mercy!"
The scarred hothead, Shinazugawa Sanemi, the Wind Hashira, aggressively stepped forward. "Locking them up under heavy guard is entirely pointless! As long as they are demons, they deserve to die!"
"Did I ask you?" Suyan shot Sanemi an icy, piercing glare.
Suyan was well aware of the Wind Hashira's tragic backstory. His mother had been turned into a demon and slaughtered five of his siblings. Right before she could butcher him and his sole surviving younger brother, Sanemi had been forced to rely on his rare marechi blood to disorient and kill her. Because of that agonizing trauma, he harbored a venomous, irreconcilable hatred for demons that eclipsed almost anyone else in the Corps.
He was also the very first Hashira in the anime to violently demand Nezuko's immediate execution.
Suyan felt a fleeting sliver of sympathy for the man's past, but sympathy was where it ended.
Regardless of the circumstances, Suyan was the one who had personally used Muzan's blood to turn Kamado Kie and her children into demons. Yes, his primary motivation had been to farm affection points from Nezuko and secure the Sun Breathing techniques from Tanjiro. But he was also the one who had ultimately permitted them to follow Giyuu here to meet the Master.
If he allowed their family to be butchered right in front of him, wouldn't that be the equivalent of letting these swordsmen slap him directly across the face?
Therefore, it was completely unrealistic to expect Suyan to show the resident rage-bro any leniency.
"What was that? You looking for a fight, bastard?" Sanemi, already functioning as a walking powder keg when it came to demons, instantly flared up.
Suyan waved his hand dismissively, his tone dripping with sheer boredom. "Forget it. You're far too weak. Go play somewhere else."
After sparring with Shinobu that morning, Suyan had already gained a highly comprehensive understanding of how Breathing Styles functioned. Furthermore, he wasn't a battle junkie. He had zero interest in wasting his time fighting swordsmen who posed no threat to him. And besides, the hothead had already lost his mom in the most tragic way possible. It felt almost like bullying a disabled puppy.
"He is correct."
Thinking back to his terrifying duel with Busujima Saeko, and recalling the overwhelming power Suyan had casually displayed against Shinobu, Giyuu spoke up. Desiring to prevent Sanemi from provoking Suyan and subsequently being beaten to death, Giyuu turned to the Wind Hashira with absolute, deadpan seriousness.
"He is on a completely different level than you."
"You bastard."
As history proved, Tomioka Giyuu's attempts at de-escalation were legendary for spectacularly backfiring. While Sanemi did indeed stop trying to provoke Suyan, he successfully redirected every ounce of his volcanic rage directly toward the Water Hashira.
"I've put up with your arrogant shit for way too long, Tomioka!"
Put up with me? What does he mean by that? Giyuu blinked, genuinely baffled. He had simply stated an objective, verifiable fact. He hadn't said anything wrong, had he?
"We are all comrades here. Are you truly going to start infighting right in front of Oyakata-sama?" Himejima Gyomei, the Stone Hashira, placed a massive, immoveable hand onto Sanemi's shoulder, instantly halting his advance.
Brought back to reality, Sanemi immediately bowed his head toward the engawa. "Forgive me, Oyakata-sama. I lost my composure. But the Demon Slayer Corps exists for one singular purpose: to hunt and eradicate demons. Sparing them simply because of their unique circumstances… forgive me, but I absolutely cannot accept this!"
Kagaya did not immediately answer. Instead, he shifted his sightless gaze toward Suyan.
"Tell me, have all of you completely lost your minds?" Suyan looked at the distressed expression on Nezuko's face, his patience finally wearing thin. "I don't recall ever saying I was handing them over to you to deal with."
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