Suddenly, as if grasping at a final straw, Zenitsu scrambled on all fours to Yamada's feet and grabbed his pant leg.
"Boss Yamada! Say something! You also think a guy with three wives is too much, right? Quick, use your invincible lightning to blast this normie scumbag into charcoal! Do it for the good of the people, Boss!" Zenitsu wailed, snot and tears flowing, trying to find solidarity with Yamada.
Yamada frowned in disgust, shaking his leg to kick Zenitsu back into Tanjiro's arms like a soccer ball.
"Stay away from my pants, they're covered in your white powder prints."
Yamada looked down at the rolling Zenitsu and sneered, "What? Is it strange to have three wives?"
Yamada rested his chin on one hand, his tone as flat as if he were stating a universal truth. "In this world where human life is as cheap as grass, it is an inevitable law that the strong possess more resources and partners. Weaklings can't even protect their own lives, yet they want to play at romance? That's just asking for death."
At this point, Yamada paused, seemingly recalling a kiss from before they left—one filled with a hint of youthfulness and sweetness—and the corners of his lips curled up slightly.
"Besides, I don't think three is many. After all, if you want to find some fun in this boring life of demon hunting, the drama of a 'backyard fire' is quite entertaining."
Yamada's nonchalant words were like ten thousand sharp arrows piercing deep into Zenitsu's heart.
Zenitsu stared blankly at Yamada, recalling the way Shinobu had acted shy in front of Yamada back at the Butterfly Mansion.
"Aaaaaah! So you're a scumbag too! This world is beyond saving! Let a meteor fall and crush all you normies to death!"
Zenitsu completely broke down, squatting by the roadside and drawing circles in the dirt, surrounded by a thick aura of black resentment.
Tanjiro scratched his head awkwardly and quickly changed the subject, asking Tengen seriously, "Um, Uzui-san. Since you have three wives, wouldn't you have to prepare three gifts for birthdays? If they have an argument, who do you side with? Is this how ninjas live?"
This peculiar train of thought made even Tengen pause for a moment.
"Brat, my business is none of your concern! The three of them get along wonderfully, they aren't jealous like ordinary women!" Tengen shouted to cover his embarrassment, waving his hand.
"Enough talk! It's almost dark. Speed up, we must reach Yoshiwara before nightfall."
With Yamada's merciless verbal blows and Tengen's urging, the farce finally came to an end.
—
As the sun set, the fiery clouds on the horizon were gradually replaced by the deep blue curtain of night.
When the five of them crested the final mountain, a massive complex of brilliantly lit buildings appeared abruptly in the dark basin below, like a radiant pearl on the nighttime landscape.
This was the city of desire passed down since the Edo period, the largest and most prosperous entertainment district in all of Japan—the Yoshiwara Red-Light District.
High-hanging red lanterns formed a sea of fire, and magnificent wooden pavilions stood row upon row. Even from the distant hilltop, one could faintly hear the sound of music drifting on the wind, along with the flirtatious laughter of women and the boisterous noise of customers.
Within this barrier shrouded by night, daytime morality and order were completely abandoned, leaving only pure desire, money, and beauty intertwined.
"What a noisy place."
Yamada stood on the hill, the night wind blowing his black Haori.
He closed his eyes, channeling the Chakra within him, and the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan quietly opened beneath his eyelids.
When he opened his eyes again, the crimson hexagram patterns rotated slowly in his pupils. Powerful ocular power radiated from him, his vision piercing through the surface of the glitzy night city.
In the eyes of an ordinary person, it was a city that never slept, full of luxury and dissipation. But in Yamada's vision, it was permeated with a thick and nauseating dark purple miasma.
That was the resentment of countless despairing humans, and the dense demonic aura accumulated over many years.
The intensity of this aura was far beyond that of Lower Moon Five at Mount Natagumo.
"It seems the big guy hiding in this place has already eaten quite a few people."
Yamada's eyes returned to deep black pupils, as his lips curled into the cold smile of a hunter spotting his prey.
Tengen also dropped his usual laziness, looking at the Yoshiwara ahead with a solemn expression.
"According to the plan, Tanjiro goes to Tokitouya, Zenitsu to Kyogoku House, and Inosuke to Ogimotoya. I will use my identity as a friend of the house owners to sell you in as servants. Remember, your task is to find the whereabouts of my three wives. Once you find any trace of a demon, you are absolutely forbidden from acting rashly. Find a way to notify me immediately."
After giving instructions to the three cross-dressers, Tengen turned to Yamada, his tone much more polite. "Yamada-san, how do you plan to act? Given your status, it's clearly not appropriate for you to disguise yourself as a servant."
"Disguise? I don't need such a thing."
Yamada pulled a thick stack of banknotes from his pocket (expense funds given by the Ubuyashiki Family before he left) and slapped them against his hand, making a crisp sound.
"Don't those monsters who eat people whole usually like to target wealthy and influential guests? I'll just go and book the most expensive brothel and call for the most famous Oiran."
Yamada walked toward the brilliantly lit gates of Yoshiwara with one hand in his pocket.
"Since we're here to kill a demon, let's make a scene. I'll make that rat hiding in the gutter crawl out onto my blade."