Just as he finished speaking, the sliding door to the inner courtyard was pulled open.
Shinobu walked out carrying a tray, happening to overhear their conversation.
Her gaze swept over Tengen and Yamada. The faint smile originally on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a dangerous curve of her lips.
"Ara, I was wondering who was shouting in the courtyard. So it's Uzui-san."
Shinobu approached with light steps, her gaze piercing Yamada. "I heard you're going to the Yoshiwara Red-Light District? The largest pleasure district in all of Japan, a paradise for men?"
The temperature in the air seemed to drop several degrees instantly.
Although Tengen had three wives, even he noticed the subtle shift in the atmosphere. He wisely took half a step back, pretending to look at the clouds in the sky.
Zenitsu keenly caught a strong scent of jealousy and dragged Tanjiro back in a panic.
"Just a mission. I'm going to slay a demon while I'm at it." Yamada met Shinobu's gaze calmly, his expression unchanged.
"Just to slay a demon?"
Shinobu walked up to him and looked up, her purple eyes flickering with scrutiny and a hint of petulance. "The courtesans there are famous for knowing how to please men. With your personality, if some Oiran catches your eye, will you even remember you're there to draw your sword?"
Ever since they had broken the ice between them, Shinobu had become increasingly direct about her jealousy.
Seeing her act like a kitten guarding its food, Yamada couldn't help but chuckle.
Ignoring the presence of others, he reached out and tilted Shinobu's chin up, leaning in close to her ear and speaking in a low voice that only the two of them could hear, "No matter how expensive the powder, it only smells of cheap, pungent additives. In this world, besides your wisteria scent, any other woman, even if she stood naked before me, would only be an eyesore."
This blunt yet sugary sweet confession exploded in Shinobu's ear.
Her cheeks were instantly dyed crimson, and the tips of her ears felt incredibly hot.
The bellyful of snarky remarks she had prepared vanished into thin air, silenced by those few words.
"You... shameless! Who cares where you go?"
Shinobu slapped Yamada's hand away and turned her back to him. "If you're going, then get lost. I've put the ointments and antitoxins in your pack. If you run into danger, don't be reckless. You must come back to me in one piece."
The last sentence was very soft, yet it carried a deep sense of attachment and worry.
Yamada watched her back, the corners of his lips turning up. "Don't worry. I am the strongest, after all."
—
In a side courtyard of the Butterfly Mansion, Tengen had already packed up Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke like little chicks and taken them to the dressing room, preparing for his so-called "flamboyant makeover."
Yamada didn't go to join the fun. He knew all too well what an eyesore those three jokers would be once they put on women's clothing.
Slinging the bag Shinobu had prepared onto his back, Yamada walked leisurely through the inner courtyard's long corridor with one hand in his pocket, heading toward the main gate of the Butterfly Mansion.
Just as he reached the cherry blossom tree in the front yard, Yamada came to a halt.
On the broad bluestone clearing, four people had stood there at some unknown point.
Flame Hashira Rengoku Kyojuro, Wind Hashira Shinazugawa Sanemi, Serpent Hashira Iguro Obanai, and standing at the very edge, forever like a block of wood, Water Hashira Tomioka Giyu.
These four core combatants of the Demon Slayer Corps were not wearing their haori, but were simply dressed in their standard black uniforms with their nichirin blades at their waists.
Seeing Yamada walk out, the few people who had been talking in low voices instantly fell silent, their gazes converging on him in unison.
"What's this? I haven't even stepped out the door yet, and you're already lined up to see me off?"
Yamada looked at the formation, a casual curve hooking the corner of his lips.
"Stop with the sarcasm."
Sanemi took half a step forward, his expression as fierce as ever. However, looking closely, the bloodshot eyes no longer held the arrogance and hostility from their first meeting. Instead, they betrayed a suppressed gravity.
"Rengoku told us everything about the Mugen Train. Although you used that bizarre illusion to deceive Kibutsuji Muzan, making him think that Upper Rank Three fled because the sun came out, we know very well that you were actually fully capable of twisting his head off right then."
Sanemi gritted his teeth, seemingly forcing himself to swallow his pride. "I didn't come here today to pick a fight with you. I only want to know one thing. Just how strong is that Upper Rank Three?"
Obanai, perched on a tree branch, spoke coldly, "For a hundred years, the seats of the Upper Ranks have never changed, while the number of Hashira who have died at their hands is countless. We only know they are strong, but because no survivors are left, the intelligence is always incomplete. Since you crushed him head-on, I want to hear your evaluation."
Not just them, even Giyu took a step forward, silently pricking up his ears.
So they came to scout the bottom line.
Yamada looked at this group of swordsmen who, in the original story, threw themselves into killing demons one after another, even at the cost of their lives, and put away his casual demeanor.
He walked to a large boulder at the edge of the courtyard, propped himself up on it with one hand, and scanned the crowd.
"Since you've asked so sincerely, I'll pour some cold water on you. Let you weigh how much you're worth before you encounter an Upper Rank."
Yamada's voice wasn't loud, yet it sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet courtyard.
"First, the conclusion. With your current strength, if you encounter Upper Rank Three or the two demons ranked above him in a one-on-one fight, your survival rate is zero."
These words were like a heavy hammer smashing into the hearts of everyone present.
A vein popped on Sanemi's forehead, and just as he was about to retort, he was stopped by Kyojuro reaching out a hand.
"Yamada-san is right!" Kyojuro crossed his arms, frankly admitting the gap in strength.
"Beside the Mugen Train, when that demon named Akaza descended, I merely felt his Fighting Spirit, and my body's instincts were already sending me warnings. If Yamada-san hadn't stepped in, even if I had staked my life, I'm afraid I could only barely stall until dawn. I wouldn't have been able to behead him at all."