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Chapter 131: Equivalent Exchange, A Deal with Yoriichi Tsugikuni
"Weak?!"
Suyan couldn't help but freeze for a moment. This was the first time since his transmigration that someone had evaluated him like that. He quickly realized the reason—was it because he had been subconsciously using the In technique to conceal the Aura within his body?
Realizing this, Suyan immediately deactivated his In. A majestic wave of life energy instantly surged outward. "And now?" he pressed.
"A technique to conceal one's life energy?" Yoriichi Tsugikuni watched the powerful Aura suddenly erupting from Suyan, unable to stop himself from sighing in awe. "Such tremendous life energy! How truly terrifying!"
"It far surpasses even that man I once met named Muzan. If I didn't already know you weren't a demon, I might have mistaken you for the true Demon King."
"So, do you believe I have the ability to help you fulfill your lingering obsession now?" Suyan asked, the corners of his mouth turning up into a faint, nonchalant smile.
If the Zetsu technique worked by erasing one's Aura to lower their presence—making people subconsciously ignore them even when standing in plain sight—then In simply hid the Aura entirely. Unless someone specifically used Gyo to look, even a Nen user wouldn't be able to distinguish him from a normal person as long as he didn't actively expose himself. It was the ultimate way to be a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Yoriichi's expression turned solemn. "If you possess this level of strength, I believe you truly have the ability to kill Muzan and my older brother, Tsugikuni Michikatsu."
"So, whether it is the Demon Slayer Mark, the Transparent World, or anything else, you may take it all from me. I am nothing more than a dead spirit now anyway; keeping these things is useless to me."
"I only hope you can complete the mission I failed to finish four hundred years ago—kill the Demon King, Kibutsuji Muzan." Yoriichi paused, a hint of crystalline moisture swirling in his eyes. "And... please end my brother's pitiful life!"
Actually, compared to destroying Muzan, Yoriichi cared much more about his older brother, Tsugikuni Michikatsu.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have carried the flute his brother gave him all his life, nor would he have sought him out right before dying of old age to deliver a strike of Sun Breathing. In the end, he couldn't bear to deal the lethal blow to his brother, passing away peacefully from old age in his brother's presence after swinging that final sword.
Hearing this, Suyan didn't hesitate. He conjured a Parchment from his Equivalent Exchange ability and tossed it to Yoriichi.
Yoriichi's eyes casually scanned the Parchment. There were only two conditions for the trade:
In exchange for killing Muzan and Upper Rank 1's Kokushibo, Suyan would take Yoriichi's Nen ability.
It was a Nen ability, not the Demon Slayer Mark!
Suyan wasn't entirely certain if the Demon Slayer Mark was actually Yoriichi's Nen ability. But by setting the condition directly as exchanging for a Nen ability, as long as Yoriichi truly was a Nen user, Suyan was guaranteed to strike gold.
Yoriichi didn't hesitate for long. "I agree!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the Parchment in his hands transformed into a stream of light and drilled into his body.
Yoriichi could clearly feel an extra mass of Aura within him—something he couldn't normally perceive. He couldn't see it even when using the Transparent World.
It was an incredibly profound feeling. He knew it was there, yet he couldn't see or sense it in any physical way. Furthermore, after entering his body, this mass of Aura seemed to wrap around something extremely important within him, something that couldn't be described with words.
"Is this... my Nen ability?" Yoriichi murmured.
At this stage, the Equivalent Exchange ability wasn't actually fully activated. The transaction between the two parties hadn't reached completion yet.
Therefore, this Aura generated by the Equivalent Exchange would remain inside Yoriichi's body. Once Suyan fulfilled the requirements on the Parchment by killing Muzan and Kokushibo, the Aura left inside Yoriichi would forcibly extract his Nen ability and convert it into Suyan's.
Suyan's Equivalent Exchange ability had two methods of activation.
The first was like this current deal with Yoriichi: acting like a quest to help the target complete their desired task. Upon completion, the Equivalent Exchange power left in the target's body would forcibly bring their Nen ability back to Suyan.
The second was a clean, direct exchange. Suyan would provide an item of equal value to immediately complete the Equivalent Exchange.
For example, during his previous trade with Sabito, he used the Conjuration-type Nen Aura provided to them as the trade item to exchange for ownership of Makomo. The advantage of this method was speed; the ability took effect instantly. The downside was that it required a tangible trade item. If Suyan reneged and forcefully took back the item, it would be considered a breach of contract.
The Equivalent Exchange would fail, and he would never be able to initiate a trade with that target again, regardless of what he offered.
To put it into perspective, when Suyan first awakened this ability, his initial idea for Equivalent Exchange was to use "sparing the target's life" as the trade item to acquire their abilities.
This method was actually viable. It was an upfront transaction.
However, it came with extremely strict conditions. Using "sparing their life" as the item meant that once the trade was complete, Suyan could not actively kill the target under any circumstances. If he broke this rule, the ability he gained would vanish.
Of course, if the target's death had nothing to do with his subjective intent, it was fine.
For instance, if Suyan let a target go, and they happened to run into Busujima Saeko looking for Suyan, and Saeko accidentally squashed them like a bug on the side of the road. If Saeko didn't know the target was Suyan's trading partner, and Suyan didn't know Saeko was coming to find him at that exact moment—as long as both conditions were met, the death would be classified as an accident. It wouldn't count as Suyan breaking the trade.
"Junior, I shall take my leave." Yoriichi spoke calmly to Suyan. "With your strength, you likely don't need me to teach you anything. I look forward to the day you send my brother to join me on the other side!"
"Mr. Yoriichi!" Suyan quickly called out, stopping the man before he could vanish. "Please wait a moment. I have one more request."
"Oh?" Yoriichi turned around, looking at Suyan with a surprised expression.
Suyan explained, "I have a friend. She is a pure swordswoman who thirsts for battle against strong opponents. So, I was hoping you could personally spar with her once."
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