"After last night's battle, we eliminated three Lower Rank demons in total and obtained partial intelligence on Lower Rank One, Lower Rank Two, and Upper Rank Three."
"However, we also lost two Hashira and nearly twenty ordinary swordsmen."
A new day. Summoned by Ubuyashiki Kagaya, the Hashira gathered once again at the Ubuyashiki residence for a new Hashira Meeting.
Holding two meetings within a single month—this was extremely rare in the several-hundred-year history of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Inside the residence, the two seats normally occupied by Kyojuro and Obanai now sat empty.
But at the same time, a new seat had been added—Tanjiro's position.
After the battle at the Infinity Castle, his strength had been recognized by Ubuyashiki, and he became the newly promoted "Sun Hashira" of the Demon Slayer Corps.
At the meeting, the atmosphere among everyone was quite heavy, completely lacking the relaxed ease of the previous gathering.
In the main seat, Ubuyashiki was bowing his head, carefully reading through the several battle reports written collectively by the swordsmen who had participated in last night's battle.
"There are many matters to discuss at this meeting."
Time passed in silence, and finally, Ubuyashiki set down the reports in his hand.
He raised his face, already covered in scars from the curse, and looked toward Tanjiro sitting furthest away, speaking with a gentle smile:
"But first, I must congratulate our new companion, Kamado Tanjiro."
"Having been promoted to Hashira in less than a month since passing the Final Selection—Tanjiro, you are truly excellent. I hope you can maintain this momentum and continue to work hard in the future."
"Th-thank you, Master!"
Suddenly being praised by name in public, Tanjiro replied somewhat nervously in a loud voice.
"Then regarding Kyojuro and Obanai..."
His eyes suddenly dimming, Ubuyashiki spoke in a low tone:
"Both of them were excellent, responsible children. I deeply regret their sacrifice..."
Hearing this, everyone in the room lowered their heads and fell silent.
Losing two Hashira overnight—this was an enormous casualty that had never occurred since Ubuyashiki Kagaya took charge of the Demon Slayer Corps.
"Alright, don't let sorrow linger in your hearts for too long."
Collecting himself, a smile once again appeared on Ubuyashiki's face. He looked at the people before him and said:
"The details of last night's battle at the Infinity Castle, I presume everyone is already largely familiar with. Does anyone have any thoughts on this battle? Please speak freely."
As his words fell, the room remained silent.
Tanjiro in the distance wanted to speak, but seeing his seniors all in silence, he held himself back.
"Is that so..."
Seeing this, Ubuyashiki's gaze swept across Sanemi, Kanae, and Sabito, finally stopping on Sabito.
"In that case, let Sabito begin."
"Yes, Master."
Nodding lightly, Sabito—who had been named—no longer played the mute. He spoke:
"Last night, Akaza displayed extremely powerful strength. He was proficient in various combat techniques, and in his normal state could fight evenly against four of us Hashira simultaneously without falling behind."
"Although afterward, after Kyojuro successively awakened the Mark and entered the Transparent World, he once severed Akaza's head, Akaza quickly completed head regeneration and similarly entered the Transparent World."
"This kind of inconceivable evolution ability—I have never seen it before."
"Master, I speculate that this demon likely overcame the weakness of its neck during last night's battle. Only sunlight can truly kill it in the meaningful sense."
But how could a demon possibly obediently run out into sunlight and wait to be burned to death?
Thus, Sabito's words were actually a tactful way of saying that conventional combat methods could no longer defeat Akaza.
To kill him, they would need to use a large amount of combat power to drag him from night until day, forcibly dragging it out until sunlight burned him to ashes.
And ordinary combat power wouldn't suffice. Based on the strength Akaza displayed last night, only those who had simultaneously awakened both the Mark and the Transparent World would have the qualifications to engage him in battle.
After hearing Sabito's words, everyone's mood grew heavy.
All along, no matter how powerful a demon, they were creatures that would die if beheaded.
Demon Slayers didn't need to fight demons head-on in a battle of attrition; as long as they found a way to sever their necks, they could completely kill them.
But now there was suddenly a demon with extremely high stats, rich combat experience, the Transparent World, no weaknesses anywhere on its body, capable of regenerating any part at will.
You slash it with all your might one second, the next second it recovers as if nothing happened and continues to beat you.
Such an existence would only be a nightmare for Demon Slayers.
"Twenty years ago, that Tsugikuni predecessor informed us of the Transparent World's existence."
Amidst everyone's silence, Ubuyashiki slowly spoke:
"And previously at Mount Fujikasane, that Upper Rank One revealed to us the existence of the Mark."
"Regardless of the channels, the powers we lost from the Sengoku era are indeed returning to us one by one."
"Therefore, everyone, I have actually been wondering—is it possible that the powers Demon Slayers once possessed were not limited to only the Mark and Transparent World?"
"In that distant legendary era, is it possible that Demon Slayers actually also mastered some ability that could more efficiently inflict damage on demons?"
As his words fell, Ubuyashiki smiled and looked at the thoughtful people before him.
"Amitabha, it is indeed undeniable that this possibility exists."
The first to respond to him was naturally Himejima Gyomei.
"In that case, let us first try to dig in this direction... Kanae."
Suddenly calling Kanae's name, Ubuyashiki instructed:
"From now on, if your investigation team is fortunate enough to have another non-conflictual encounter with that Upper Rank One, you may try to inquire about such matters from her."
"As a demon who has survived from the Sengoku era until today, I believe her understanding of such information must far exceed ours."
"She may not necessarily tell us, but we must at least make the attempt."
Gathering intelligence from demons, then using this power to defeat demons...
Seemingly sensing the conflict in everyone's hearts, Ubuyashiki simply smiled and said:
"When facing demons, we should use every means to slay them. Even if we must draw power from them, it is a price we must pay."
"Yes, I understand..."
"Additionally, Gyomei, after the meeting ends, go in my place to the Rengoku family estate and visit that elder Shinjuro."
"Also, try to inquire from this predecessor about the past matters of the Demon Slayer Corps..."
"Yes, Master."