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Chapter 104: Who Is Stronger, Yoriichi or Me?
Suyan was absolutely right.
Sometimes, the greatest obstacle facing the Demon Slayer Corps wasn't their lack of combat power compared to Muzan or the Twelve Kizuki. The real bottleneck was their complete inability to track him down.
Even if the Corps miraculously acquired the power to slay the Demon King tomorrow, it would be utterly useless if they couldn't find him. Compared to an immortal demon who could easily live for millennia, human lifespans were tragically short. If Muzan realized he was outmatched, he could easily hide in the shadows—just as he did with Yoriichi—and simply wait for his enemies to die of old age.
Using the Blue Spider Lily, the singular obsession Muzan had chased for a thousand years, was undeniably the ultimate bait to draw him out.
Over the centuries, the Ubuyashiki family had considered using fake rumors of the Blue Spider Lily as a lure. But just like Muzan, no one actually knew what the flower was or what its properties were—aside from the long-dead physician who originally treated Muzan. Without knowing its actual characteristics, any lie the Corps fabricated would have easily been seen through by the Demon King.
But now, armed with the precise details from Suyan, the situation had completely flipped.
They only needed to spread the unique blooming conditions of the Blue Spider Lily, and then conveniently 'leak' that the Demon Slayer Corps had successfully acquired the legendary flower. Given Muzan's deeply ingrained paranoia and extreme distrust of his subordinates, he would never entrust the retrieval of his ultimate prize to the Twelve Kizuki. He would personally emerge from the shadows to claim it.
There was only one lingering question.
Once they lured Muzan out... did they truly possess the power to execute him?
If they failed, and Muzan acquired the actual facts regarding the Blue Spider Lily, he would simply mind-control human thralls to search for it during the day. With enough time, his success would be inevitable.
Thinking of this, Shinobu couldn't help but voice her anxiety. "Will we win?"
"Of cou—" Suyan shot Shinobu a strange look, forcefully swallowing the confident reassurance that was about to leave his lips.
That was close. I almost triggered a massive death flag. Fortunately, his reflexes were quick, otherwise he might have just jinxed the entire operation.
Suyan immediately pivoted, changing the subject as he looked at Kagaya. "Finally, my third and last request. Mr. Ubuyashiki... can you tell me Tamayo's location?"
"You know of Lady Tamayo?" Kagaya blurted out, momentarily stunned.
However, he quickly realized that since Suyan knew the deepest secrets regarding Muzan and the Blue Spider Lily, it wasn't too surprising that he knew about Tamayo as well.
Kagaya fixed Suyan with an intense stare. "May I ask why you are seeking her? If you intend to bring harm to her, I must firmly refuse."
Even though Kagaya had never met Tamayo face-to-face, as the leader of the Ubuyashiki Clan, he was deeply aware of her existence. She was once a brilliant physician whose medical expertise caught Muzan's eye, leading him to transform her to aid in his quest to conquer the sun. Crucially, Tamayo was the only known demon to have successfully broken free from Muzan's absolute cellular control.
Beyond that, she was a direct witness to the legendary clash between Yoriichi and Muzan in the Sengoku Era. It was the chaos of that exact battle that allowed Yoriichi to help sever her connection to Muzan. Afterward, Yoriichi brought her to the Demon Slayer Corps, where she revealed Muzan's desperate hunt for the Blue Spider Lily. Following a tense negotiation, she formed a shadow alliance with the Ubuyashiki Clan, maintaining a tenuous, highly secretive line of communication for the past four hundred years.
Initially, Suyan wasn't entirely sure if Kagaya actually knew her coordinates, but Kagaya's instinctual protective reaction confirmed he hit the jackpot.
Of course, Suyan wasn't foolish enough to reveal his actual motives for seeking her. Instead, he effortlessly spun a convincing lie. "From what I know, among everyone hostile to the Demon King, Lady Tamayo is the sole surviving entity who witnessed Yoriichi fight at full power."
"I assume all of you still harbor some doubts about my strength, correct? So why not let the very woman who witnessed the pinnacle of the Sengoku Era judge the outcome? I am quite eager to hear how she would evaluate me in comparison to Yoriichi."
While it was a fabricated excuse, Suyan wasn't lying about his genuine curiosity. He was highly interested in the legendary predecessor of the Demon Slayer world's power system and wanted to hear a firsthand account of his prowess.
"Is that your only reason?" Kagaya asked, his gaze scrutinizing Suyan.
"Well, there is another motive," Suyan admitted. He patted Nezuko's head, flawlessly using her as his ultimate moral shield. "After all, Lady Tamayo is a physician whose skills were acknowledged by the Demon King himself. If possible, I hope she can develop a drug to turn demons back into humans."
"Mr. Suyan..." Nezuko looked up at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Not only had Suyan saved her and her family from a brutal demon attack, but he was continuing to move heaven and earth for the Kamado family. Two of his three monumental demands to the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps were entirely for their benefit! Overcome with emotion, Nezuko tightly hugged Suyan's arm, rubbing her cheek affectionately against his sleeve.
Standing nearby, Tanjiro and Shigeru looked at Suyan with profound, overflowing gratitude. They hadn't expected him to continually prioritize their family's tragedy amidst discussions of millennial wars and Demon Kings.
As for whether Suyan was telling the truth? Tanjiro's supernatural sense of smell could easily discern lies from sincerity.
He means it! Tanjiro thought, his heart swelling. Meeting Mr. Suyan was the greatest blessing our family could have ever asked for. Tanjiro glanced at his sister, who was happily clinging to their savior. If Nezuko could end up with a man like Mr. Suyan, that would be wonderful...
Suyan remained quiet, simply offering a warm smile to Nezuko before shifting his gaze back to Kagaya, awaiting his answer.
"Very well." Kagaya, though still harboring faint reservations, agreed to the request, albeit leaving himself a margin of safety. "I will send a Kasugai Crow to contact Lady Tamayo on your behalf. If she consents to a meeting, I will provide you with her location."
Kagaya swept his gaze across the courtyard. The return of Sun Breathing. The arrival of an unparalleled powerhouse like Suyan. The revelation of the Blue Spider Lily's secret.
With all these miraculous variables aligning at once, Kagaya couldn't help but feel a profound sense of destiny. Perhaps... in this generation, we truly have a chance to kill Kibutsuji Muzan and end this thousand-year nightmare.
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