"Want to learn?" Rin glanced at the young prodigy.
Muichiro nodded.
"You can't learn it." Rin cut him off without hesitation.
After all, the Sharingan's dynamic vision was a bloodline ability. A cheat.
Muichiro: "..."
Not to mention Muichiro, even if Tsugikuni Yoriichi himself came back to life, he still wouldn't be able to replicate it.
Seeing the slight daze on Muichiro's face, Rin casually patted his shoulder.
"Instead of trying to see through your opponent, you'd be better off learning to control your own emotions. Swinging a blade with a blank mind can hide your killing intent, but it also limits your explosive power."
Rin turned and walked toward Tanjiro and the others who had arrived.
"When you remember why you first picked up a sword, that's when you, the so-called Mist Hashira, will truly be worthy of that title."
Muichiro stood frozen.
Why he first picked up a sword?
He lowered his head, staring at the calluses on his palms.
Something deep within his memories stirred. The fog in his mind seemed to tremble, faintly showing signs of clearing.
"Rin-san!"
Tanjiro ran over, his eyes filled with admiration. Zenitsu and Inosuke followed behind him, unusually quiet. Even Inosuke, who was normally loud and arrogant, didn't dare make a sound.
"The demons in the village have all been eliminated. Some workshops were damaged, though. They'll need help with rescue efforts," Tanjiro reported.
"That's the Kakushi's job. Not ours."
Rin yawned and glanced at the sky. After everything that had happened, it was already well past midnight.
"My part is done. Let's go back and sleep. Tomorrow, find a blacksmith who's still alive and get your swords repaired."
…
The next morning.
The Swordsmith Village had survived the disaster.
Although more than a dozen swordsmiths had been killed when Gyokko first infiltrated, Rin's overwhelming speed in eliminating the threat ensured that the core forging area and most of the villagers remained unharmed.
The village chief, Tecchin Tecchikawahara, leaned on his cane as he led a group of villagers wearing Hyottoko masks. They lined up outside Rin's guest room and bowed deeply.
"Lord Rin, the Swordsmith Village will never forget your great kindness. From now on, whatever you need, every craftsman in our village will serve you without hesitation!"
"Enough with the formalities."
Rin sat on the veranda, sipping his morning tea.
"Have your people repair these three boys' swords first. And get me some matsutake rice. I didn't eat enough last night."
"Yes! We'll prepare it right away!"
Amid the busy scene of gratitude, a burly man wearing a Hyottoko mask came charging down from the back mountain, two kitchen knives in hand.
Haganezuka Hotaru.
He had spent the entire night fasting alone in the mountains, completely unaware of what had happened in the village. The moment he returned, he spotted Tanjiro standing in the courtyard.
"Kamado Tanjiro! You bastard! You actually chipped the blade I forged! I'm going to kill you!"
Haganezuka lunged forward, brandishing his knives.
"Mr. Haganezuka! Calm down! Let me explain!" Tanjiro bolted around the courtyard in panic.
Rin took a sip of tea, watching the chaotic yet familiar scene, and let out a satisfied sigh.
Upper Rank Four and Upper Rank Five had both fallen in one night.
When news of this reached the Infinity Castle, Muzan would probably be furious enough to smash a few of his experimental flasks. Heh~
...
Deep within the Infinity Castle,
Inside a vast laboratory styled like a Western mansion..
Cloudy blue medicinal liquid filled rows of glass beakers, while the blue flames of alcohol lamps flickered quietly.
Kibutsuji Muzan stood in a pristine white lab coat, a dropper in hand, his gaze fixed on a mutated blood sample in a petri dish.
He was experimenting with varying drug concentrations, attempting to increase the demon cells' tolerance to sunlight.
Drip.
A drop of liquid fell.
At that exact moment, Muzan's hand froze.
His plum-red slit pupils shrank abruptly, and a violent, inexplicable palpitation surged through his heart.
His fingers clenched unconsciously around the dropper.
Crack.
The fragile glass shattered in his grip. Sharp fragments pierced into his palm as dark red blood dripped between his fingers onto the spotless white workbench.
Muzan showed no sign of feeling pain. His expression darkened to the point it seemed as though water could drip from it.
The connection had been severed.
Just a moment ago, his mental link to Upper Rank Four, Hantengu, had been completely cut off.
Hantengu… was dead.
How was that possible?
Hantengu might have been cowardly, but his Blood Demon Art allowed him to split into multiple bodies. As long as his true form—smaller than a rat—remained hidden, even three or more Hashira working together wouldn't be able to kill him so quickly.
Before Muzan could process the shock, another thread deep within his consciousness snapped.
Upper Rank Five, Gyokko.
His life force had completely vanished.
Less than the time it took for a stick of incense to burn.
Bang!
Muzan overturned the laboratory bench in front of him.
Precious reagents shattered across the floor, glass fragments scattering as pungent fumes filled the entire room.
"Two Upper Ranks… killed in a single night?"
Muzan's teeth ground together. His pale face twisted under the weight of fury and an indescribable dread.
Ever since Gyutaro and his sister had fallen in battle, the Upper Rank seats had only just begun to recover.
He had sent Hantengu and Gyokko to destroy the Swordsmith Village, believing it to be a guaranteed victory.
Instead, it had become a death sentence.
The Upper Ranks, whose positions had remained immovable for over a century, had lost more than half their members in less than a month.
This was no coincidence.
"Nakime!"
Muzan's voice exploded through the empty laboratory, thick with uncontrollable violence.
Clang—!
The sharp note of a biwa echoed through space.
The surroundings distorted, and in the next instant, Muzan stood upon the interwoven platforms at the heart of the Infinity Castle.
As several spatial doors opened, the remaining Upper Ranks were forcibly summoned.
Upper Rank One, Kokushibo.
Upper Rank Two, Doma.
Upper Rank Three, Akaza.
The moment they appeared, they felt it..
A suffocating pressure in the air, as if it could crush them at any moment.
The killing intent radiating from Muzan was more violent and unrestrained than ever before.
"Muzan-sama?"
Doma dropped his usual playful smile, immediately sensing something was wrong.
Kokushibo's six eyes narrowed slightly as he knelt on one knee in silence.
Akaza lowered his head, unease surging within him.
Muzan said nothing.
He strode straight toward Akaza, his right hand shooting out to seize him by the throat and lift him off the ground.
"Ugh… Muzan-sama…" Akaza struggled for breath, completely unable to understand what he had done wrong.
"You fool. What kind of garbage fills your head?!"
Muzan's fingers pierced straight through the skin of Akaza's neck, demon blood spilling freely. "The information you brought back—wasn't it that the lightning-using swordsman and the Flame Hashira barely managed to force you back, even when fighting together? That they only survived by relying on the coming dawn?"
"Y-yes… Muzan sama.. I witnessed it personally…" Akaza forced the words out through his constricted throat.
"Then explain this to me—why were Hantengu and Gyokko killed tonight at the Swordsmith Village as easily as crushing two ants?!"
Boom!
The words struck like thunder in the minds of the three Upper Ranks.
Hantengu… and Gyokko… were dead?!
How could that be possible?!
Muzan flung Akaza against a wooden wall, blasting a large hole through it.
His chest rose and fell violently. He stepped forward and pressed his hand against Akaza's head, forcibly probing his memories.
Muzan did not believe the Demon Slayer Corps possessed the power to kill two Upper Ranks in a single night.
He intended to find the flaw himself.
Yet no matter how he searched, Akaza's memories of the battle aboard the Mugen Train remained unchanged—scenes of a desperate struggle, of a demon slayer barely clinging to life.
There were no inconsistencies. Everything appeared perfectly real.
And that was precisely the problem.
If the demon slayer's strength had truly been limited to that level, how could Hantengu and Gyokko have died so quickly? They hadn't even had the chance to send back a signal.
Muzan released his grip and took two steps back.
A chilling realization slowly formed in his mind.
"Your memories… have been altered."
Looking at Akaza collapsed on the ground, Muzan felt something he hadn't experienced in a long time.
Fear.
____
Bonus Chap!♥
12 Advance chapters:Patreon/slept01