The real world.
Yamada released Akaza's hair and slowly stood up.
A faint glimmer of dawn had indeed begun to show on the horizon. There were approximately less than twenty minutes left until sunrise.
"Wake up."
Yamada snapped his fingers, and the Mangekyo Sharingan faded away.
Akaza, lying at the bottom of the pit, gave a violent shudder, and his unfocused pupils instantly regained clarity. He looked around blankly at his torn clothes, his newly regenerated arm, and Yamada and Kyojuro standing not far away, their bodies covered in 'bloodstains' (a visual deception applied by Yamada's genjutsu).
The tampered memories flooded into his brain like a tide.
Akaza's expression instantly became incredibly distorted. He suddenly looked up at the increasingly bright dawn in the east, feeling the temperature in the air gradually rising.
"Damn it! Damn the sun!" Akaza let out an unwilling roar.
Driven by the false memories, he believed he had clearly pushed this group of Demon Slayers to the brink and was only one blow away from killing them all, yet dawn had to break at this very moment.
If he didn't run now, he would be burned to ashes by the sunlight.
"Don't think you've won!"
Akaza glared viciously at Yamada and Kyojuro, gritting his teeth as he said, "Rengoku, and you, the kid who uses lightning! I'll leave your lives with you for now! Next time we meet, I will definitely crush you completely with my Destructive Death!"
Before his voice had even faded, Akaza slammed his foot down, shattering the rock beneath him. He bolted toward the depths of the nearby dark forest without looking back, disappearing in a few leaps.
"This..."
Kyojuro, standing above, was dumbfounded.
Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke also stared wide-eyed in the direction Akaza had fled.
What was the situation?
Just now, that Upper Rank demon had clearly been beaten by Yamada until his bones were broken and tendons snapped, lying at the bottom of the pit. Yamada only needed to draw that black sword and give it a casual swing to cut off his head.
Why did he not only refrain from acting but also allow the other party to run away after shouting some harsh words?
And... the state of that Upper Rank as he fled didn't look like he had been beaten into submission at all. Instead, it looked like he was forced to retreat because of the daylight?
"Yamada-san, this... why is this?"
Kyojuro walked quickly to the edge of the pit and looked at Yamada, who had jumped up, his face full of confusion. "While letting him go may have your own deep reasons, that is Upper Rank Three. Once he escapes, more innocent people will surely lose their lives in the future."
"Don't worry, he won't live for long."
Yamada casually brushed the dust off his black haori, his tone relaxed.
Looking at the confused crowd, Yamada explained, "The Demon Slayer Corps and the Twelve Kizuki have been entangled for over a thousand years. Have you never thought about why Kibutsuji Muzan has always hidden in the shadows and never comes out?"
Tanjiro paused for a moment and followed the line of thought, answering, "Because he's afraid of sunlight?"
"Not just the sunlight, but also because he is a complete and utter coward."
Yamada gave a cold laugh. "Muzan can read the memories of his subordinates through their blood. If I were to kill Upper Rank Three right now, Muzan would immediately know that a combat force capable of unilaterally crushing an Upper Rank has appeared in the Demon Slayer Corps. Guess what he would do?"
Kyojuro thought for a moment, and his brow suddenly furrowed. "He would shrink away, never send Upper Ranks to act alone again, and even hide his tracks so that we can never find him again."
"Exactly."
Yamada snapped his fingers. "So I just used a little special trick on him to tamper with his memories of tonight."
"Tamper with memories?!"
Everyone gasped. Such a miraculous method was simply unheard of.
"In his mind, tonight's battle was one where all of us fought with everything we had, exhausted all our trump cards, and finally barely survived because the sun came out. His escape just now was also because he believed in his memory that he had the upper hand and only retreated due to the pressure of the sunlight."
Yamada looked toward the distant woods with deep eyes. "Once he takes this memory back to the Infinity Castle, Muzan will feel that although we have some strength, we are still bugs that can be crushed at any time. Before long, he will send an even stronger lineup, perhaps even the top two Upper Ranks, to find trouble with us."
"Using a heavily injured Upper Rank Three as bait to lure out the core combat power of the Twelve Kizuki and wipe them all out at once... that is my plan."
After hearing these words, the scene fell into a deathly silence.
Kyojuro's eyes widened, and his chest heaved violently. He looked at the young man before him, the awe in his heart having climbed to its peak.
Such a far-sighted layout, such a spirit to toy with an Upper Rank in the palm of his hand.
In comparison, the past tactics of the Demon Slayer Corps—simply charging in to fight to the death whenever they encountered a demon—seemed far too naive.
"Mm! I understand!"
Kyojuro straightened his back and bowed deeply to Yamada.
"I am in awe of your wisdom and courage. You are right. To completely end the tragedy of a thousand years, this risk is entirely worth taking. From now on, if there is any need for mobilization, the Flame Hashira line is willing to follow your command."
Tanjiro also looked at Yamada with a face full of admiration.
Not only was his strength absurdly high, but even his brain was so clever. To trick that cold-blooded Upper Rank so thoroughly... such a thing could probably only be done by Yamada.
[Ding! Detected that the host successfully used genjutsu to tamper with an Upper Rank's memories, laying out a long-term hunting plan!]
[Completely won over Flame Hashira 'Kyojuro Rengoku', increasing the cohesion of the protagonist's group!]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining Dimension Points: 3,000!]
A crisp notification sound came from his mind.
Adding the rewards obtained from crushing Akaza's pride earlier, the income from tonight's Mugen Train trip had already exceeded ten thousand.
On the horizon, the first brilliant rays of sunlight finally pierced through the clouds and spilled over the wilderness.
Yamada stretched towards the morning sun. "Alright, let's wrap up. Back to the Butterfly Mansion for breakfast."
[Dimensional Template System]
[Host: Tanaka Yamada
[Current Template: Sasuke (Mangekyo Sharingan Period)]
[Dimension Points: 51,990]