Want to read ahead? Join my Patreon for just $7 to get early access to all upcoming chapters!
> Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations
─────
Chapter 102: Do You Want to Become a More Perfect Demon Than Muzan?
"Gyomei! Could you achieve this level of destruction?"
After witnessing the devastation of Suyan's strike, Ubuyashiki Kagaya didn't immediately answer the question. Instead, his solemn gaze shifted to the Stone Hashira, who was still weeping and praying nearby.
Because of his frail and sickly body since childhood, Kagaya lacked a visceral, personal understanding of the absolute limits of Breathing Styles and a swordsman's combat power. Therefore, asking the strongest Hashira in the Corps was the safest bet.
"Forgive me, Master. I cannot!" Himejima Gyomei shook his head. "This is not something that can be achieved through mere Breathing Styles. Even if I were wielding my Nichirin weapon and executing the strongest form of Stone Breathing, it would be impossible to replicate this effect."
"Is that so?" Kagaya's breath caught in his throat.
The gaze he turned back toward Suyan was suddenly burning with feverish intensity.
More than once, he had heard the legends of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the unparalleled swordsman of the Sengoku Era who created the Breathing Styles. That was the closest humanity had come in a thousand years to eradicating the Demon King, Kibutsuji Muzan.
Tragically, for reasons unknown to history, despite overwhelming Muzan, Yoriichi allowed the Demon King to escape. Worse still, Yoriichi's own twin brother was later transformed into a demon by Muzan and assassinated the Master of the Demon Slayer Corps at the time. Following that catastrophic failure, Yoriichi was banished from the Corps.
For over four hundred years since that day, the Demon Slayer Corps had prayed for a new Yoriichi to rise and finally sever their blood-soaked feud with Muzan. But instead of killing the Demon King, the Hashira over the centuries had only ever managed to kill the Lower Ranks of the Twelve Kizuki.
As for the Upper Ranks? Aside from internal Blood Battles where demons killed each other for higher positions, the Demon Slayer Corps' kill count against the Upper Ranks remained a staggering zero.
It had practically become a universal law: A single Hashira facing an Upper Rank would only result in death.
But right now, standing in his courtyard, was a man who possessed power potentially rivaling the creator of the Breathing Styles. Coupled with the sudden return of the long-lost Sun Breathing...
The thought that their millennial blood-feud with Kibutsuji Muzan might finally end in his generation... How could Kagaya not be overwhelmed with emotion? A rare flush of color even crept into his pale, sickly cheeks.
Cough! Cough! Cough! A violent fit of hacking erupted from Kagaya's throat.
"Master!" The Hashira immediately stepped forward in alarm, wanting to check on his condition.
"I am fine." Kagaya gently raised a hand, stopping them. He then looked at Suyan with utmost seriousness. "Honored guest, are you absolutely certain that you possess the power to obliterate Muzan?"
He trusted the Stone Hashira's judgment, but he needed to hear the definitive answer from Suyan himself. If Suyan could give him the answer he desperately sought, Kagaya was willing to pay any price to ensure this opportunity didn't slip through his fingers.
"Of course!" Suyan replied, his tone stating it as an undeniable fact. "I can guarantee you that, aside from me, you will not find a second person in this world capable of dealing with Muzan."
Suyan's confidence stemmed partially from his own overwhelming strength, and partially from his meta-knowledge. In the original timeline, the Demon Slayer Corps only defeated Muzan through a miraculous alignment of accidents and coincidences.
First, Tanjiro encountered Muzan in the city. To create a distraction, Muzan recklessly turned a random civilian into a demon and fled. That specific demon was later taken in by Tamayo, and during the final battle, it was that exact demon's Blood Demon Art that successfully pinned Muzan down.
Second, Tamayo spent years developing a specialized cocktail of drugs that catastrophically weakened Muzan's regeneration, preventing him from exploding his body into 1,800 pieces to escape like he did against Yoriichi four hundred years ago.
And finally, the Hashira, having unlocked their Demon Slayer Marks to boost their combat power, collectively targeted the twelve permanent scars Yoriichi had burned into Muzan's flesh centuries prior, eventually stalling him until sunrise.
Now, thanks to the butterfly effect Suyan had caused, Nezuko hadn't become a demon, and Tanjiro had never memorized Muzan's scent. It was entirely uncertain if Muzan would ever create that specific demon with the crucial Blood Demon Art, or if Tamayo would even get a hold of him. Furthermore, whether the current Hashira could still awaken their Demon Slayer Marks was entirely up in the air.
"Good! Excellent!" Kagaya's voice trembled with sheer excitement, losing its usual calm cadence. "Please, state your requests. No matter how difficult, the Demon Slayer Corps will do everything in its power to fulfill them!"
"Relax, don't be so tense." Suyan waved his hand casually. "I don't have any ulterior designs on your Demon Slayer Corps. Honestly, aside from certain people, there isn't much here worth my attention."
Certain people?Does he mean me? Kocho Shinobu's heart skipped a beat, though her serene smile didn't waver in the slightest.
"Furthermore, the requests I'm about to make won't harm the Corps in the slightest. In fact, they will benefit you greatly." Suyan ignored Shinobu's subtle reaction and continued. "First, I want the Demon Slayer Corps to section off a safe, dedicated area to house the Kamado family until they turn back into humans."
"What?!!"
Shock rippled across the courtyard. Tanjiro abandoned all formalities and rushed forward. "Mr. Suyan, is that true?! Can my mother and the others really become human again?!"
Suyan didn't answer him directly. Instead, he looked at Ubuyashiki Kagaya with a playful glint in his eye. "Mr. Ubuyashiki, you should be well aware of exactly why Kibutsuji Muzan has been relentlessly creating man-eating demons for the past thousand years, shouldn't you?"
"The Blue Spider Lily! A mythical plant said to allow demons to conquer the sun," Kagaya answered, his expression darkening. "But it is merely a legend. Muzan has searched for a millennium and found nothing. I do not believe the Blue Spider Lily actually exists."
"It exists," Suyan corrected him flatly.
"What?!" Even the usually unshakeable Kagaya was floored. "How is that possible?"
"The reason Muzan has searched for a thousand years without finding it is precisely because he is a man-eating demon who cannot walk in the light," Suyan explained coolly. "The Blue Spider Lily only blooms during the hottest few days of the year, and strictly at high noon. It blossoms under the scorching sun for a very brief window before closing again."
"I see... No wonder..." Kagaya muttered, before a sharp, mocking laugh escaped his lips. "Hahaha! What profound irony! A creature of the dark searching for a thousand years, only to chase a flower that exclusively blooms under the sun!"
His laughter subsided, and Kagaya stared at Suyan with intense gravity. "So, is your ultimate goal to use the power of the Demon Slayer Corps to find the Blue Spider Lily... so that you may become a more perfect demon than Muzan?"
As Kagaya's words hung in the air, the Hashira immediately cast deeply suspicious glares at Suyan. Almost entirely in unison, their hands drifted toward the hilts of their Nichirin Swords.
In an instant, the atmosphere in the courtyard grew deadly, feeling as though every blade of grass had turned into a weapon.
─────
Support this fanfict by leaving Positive Review, Comments, and Power Stones.
For Advance Chapters:
> Patreon.com/NegativeTranslations