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"Ara ara~ I didn't expect to find two such adorable young ladies here. What a delightful surprise."
Upper Rank Two, Doma, looked at Shinobu and Kanae standing in front of him. He squinted with that fake, empty smile of his, fan resting against his cheek.
Of all the Upper Moons Muzan had brought tonight, Doma was easily the least motivated. He only really cared about eating beautiful women. Everything else — loyalty, orders, even survival — barely registered. His heart was a hollow void. He acted purely on whims, whether as a human cult leader or as a demon.
Even when he knew Shinobu's body was loaded with wisteria poison in the original timeline, he still chose to eat her. Because he felt like it. That same emptiness was exactly why Muzan found him so unreliable.
Kanae and Shinobu stared him down.
Shinobu's fists were clenched so tight her knuckles had gone white. She turned to her sister. "Nee-san… this is the Upper Moon who killed you, right?"
Kanae nodded calmly. "Yes. That's him."
Shinobu's voice was low and cold. "You know what I want to do, don't you?"
"Of course," Kanae said with a gentle smile. "You want to avenge me."
Shinobu nodded. "So don't try to stop me."
Kanae stepped closer and took her sister's hand. "I won't. I used to dream about humans and demons living in peace… and I asked you not to seek revenge before I died. But I've changed my mind. Nothing matters more to me than you, Shinobu. If this is what you need, then I'll help you."
She gave a small, knowing smile. "Besides, that's exactly why I asked Shuya for this ability, isn't it?"
Shinobu gave her sister a side-eye. She still didn't completely trust that gentle expression. "You'd better not pull any weird stunts like last time."
Kanae's eyes curved happily. "Weird stunts? You mean when I took over your body? But if I remember correctly… you seemed to enjoy it quite a bit when we were with Shuya~"
" Nee-san!! "
Shinobu's face turned bright red. She stomped her foot and tried to step on Kanae's toes to shut her up.
Kanae laughed softly while dodging, continuing in that sweet, black-bellied tone. "Your body is so light, Shinobu. When I used it with Shuya, it felt like I was floating in the sky~"
Shinobu's face was now the color of a boiled lobster. "Enough! Stop talking!!"
Before Kanae could tease her any further, Doma clapped his fan against his palm, clearly bored.
"Hey hey~ What are you two cute little ladies whispering about? Mind letting me in on the fun?"
Shinobu and Kanae exchanged a single glance.
No more words needed.
They drew their Nichirin blades in perfect sync.
Doma's Blood Demon Art was ice-based — similar to the lightning Akaza used. In theory, Shuya could have wanted it. But Doma was too empty inside. The only thing that had ever come close to filling that void was a woman named Kotoha… Inosuke's mother. And even that had ended in tragedy.
Shuya had decided it wasn't worth the effort. Better to just let the Kocho sisters have their revenge.
Shinobu shot forward first, blade spinning like a needle-filled syringe — her signature Insect Breathing style. Kanae followed right behind her.
Doma blocked both strikes with his fans, smiling lazily. "Close~ You almost got my neck there. You girls are pretty good."
Then both sisters dissolved into swirling petals.
Doma blinked. "Eh? Illusions?"
The real Kanae and Shinobu reappeared behind him.
Flower Magic: Illusory Petal Body.
Kanae had combined her Flower Breathing with her new Nen ability (and a little inspiration from Tamayo's Blood Demon Art) to create this technique. It was still in its early stages, but good enough for this.
She gave Shinobu a quick nod.
Shinobu didn't hesitate.
"Insect Breathing — Dance of the Centipede: Hundred-Legged Serpent Belly!"
Doma spun around, exhaling freezing mist that formed protective ice lotuses around him.
Kanae's blade ignited with roaring flames — another ability she'd asked Shuya for specifically to counter Doma.
The fire melted through the ice lotuses in an instant.
Shinobu's blade followed like a storm, stabbing Doma over and over with terrifying speed. She poured every ounce of grief and rage she'd carried for two years into each thrust. By the time she stopped, Doma's body was a bloody, shredded mess.
She staggered back, breathing hard, and sheathed her blade.
Doma's mangled form still tried to speak. "I'm Upper Rank Two… this kind of damage—"
Shinobu didn't even look back. "It's enough. Because you're already dead."
Doma's voice turned confused. "Dead? What are you talking about? Wait… my body isn't regenerating? Poison? But how—?"
Shinobu finally glanced over her shoulder, expression cold. "I coated my blade with more than just wisteria poison this time. Tamayo-san's reversion drug is in there too. You're going to die as a human."
She turned to Kanae with a small, genuine smile. "Nee-san… let's go find that scumbag."
Kanae smiled back, warm and proud. "Ara~ The fight's barely over and you're already thinking about Shuya? That's my little sister for you~"
She started walking away without waiting.
Shinobu puffed her cheeks and hurried after her. "Nee-san!! I'm seriously going to get mad if you keep doing that!"
Behind them, Doma's body finally collapsed for good.
Elsewhere on the battlefield.
Akaza cracked his neck, grinning at Shuya with genuine excitement.
Finally — a real opponent.
He didn't kill women. He hated the weak. And most of the people at the Butterfly Mansion were either injured or non-combatants. But this man in front of him… Akaza could feel the overwhelming fighting spirit radiating off him.
"You're strong," Akaza said. "Stronger than anyone I've met. But as a human, you'll never reach the pinnacle. Your lifespan is too short."
He spread his arms. "Become a demon. Gain eternity. We can pursue the peak of martial arts together."
Shuya shook his head. "Not interested in fighting for fun. How about a trade instead, Akaza?"
Akaza frowned. "Trade? Don't care. I'd rather use my fists."
Shuya kept his voice calm. "You sure? The deal involves your memories… and your death, Kotetsu."
Akaza froze.
The name hit something deep inside him — a flash of pain and familiarity he couldn't grasp.
"Who… is Kotetsu?"
Shuya didn't answer directly. "Trade for your Blood Demon Art and I'll give you back your most important memories… then I'll kill you cleanly."
Akaza's instincts screamed that those names mattered. But the offer to die still pissed him off.
"Kill me? Interesting. If you can actually do it, go ahead."
He slammed his foot down. A snowflake-like pattern spread across the ground — Destruction Style activated.
Shuya sighed. "Guess I have to jog your memory the hard way."
He blurred forward and drove a fist into Akaza's face.
"Kotetsu?"
Another punch.
"Koyuki?"
Akaza stood there taking the hits, eyes wide and unfocused as old memories started cracking through the walls Muzan had built in his mind.
Shuya kept punching, voice steady. "They're waiting for you, Kotetsu. It's time to go home."
When Akaza still didn't fully react, Shuya put real power behind the next punch.
Akaza's head exploded like a watermelon.
Shuya stepped back, watching.
But the expected regeneration and memory flood never came.
Because something far worse had just happened on the other side of the battlefield.
Muzan felt every Upper Moon dying — Kokushibo, Doma, Gyokko — and finally snapped.
He tried to flee.
"Nakime!!"
A cold, murderous voice answered from behind him.
"Die, Muzan."
Tamayo's hand — empowered by Yushiro's invisibility — pierced straight through his chest. She had injected every vial of reversion drug she had into his body the moment he dropped his guard.
Muzan roared in rage and grabbed her head.
Tamayo's skull burst in his grip.
"Tamayo!!"
Shizuka screamed and tried to reach her, but she was too far.
At the exact same moment Akaza's head exploded, Tamayo's did too.
Shuya arrived in a flash of black and red lightning, fist slamming into Muzan and sending the Demon King flying.
He dropped to his knees beside Tamayo's headless body.
"Tamayo-san?! Tamayo-san!!"
A weak, fading voice came from the corpse.
"…Sorry, Shuya-sama. I'm breaking our deal…"
Shuya's hands trembled. "Don't you dare die on me!"
The voice grew fainter. "I'm… sor—"
Then nothing.
Shuya slowly stood up. Red and black lightning crackled violently around his body. His eyes were ice cold as he looked at Muzan struggling to rise in the distance.
"You want to know how you're going to die, Muzan?"
Muzan felt a chill run down his spine — the same kind of primal fear he'd only ever felt from one person before.
Yoriichi.
He ignored Shuya and screamed into the air. "Nakime?! Where the hell are you?! Did you betray me?!"
Shuya's voice was terrifyingly calm. "She can't reach you. Not inside my domain. So I'll ask again… how do you want to die?"
Far away, inside Greed Island, countless blue particles of light gathered together, slowly forming a human-shaped mass.
A familiar figure began to step out of the glowing orb.
If Shuya could see her right now, he would have been shocked.
Because the woman reforming from the light… was Tamayo.