Thanks to his unique Blood Demon Art, Gyokko possessed the ability to travel freely between any of his jars without any distance limitations.
In other words, as long as he maintained a sufficient number of jars, Gyokko could effectively survey all of Tokyo in an extremely short amount of time.
In a sense, this could almost be called "teleportation."
Because of this, Mitsuba had grown particularly fond of using Gyokko to gather intelligence in recent years—convenient and practical.
Of course, this also had to do with the fact that among the current Upper Rank demons, Gyokko was relatively the most idle.
The other Upper Rank demons, including Mitsuba herself, all had quite a lot on their plates...
Perhaps some might wonder—wasn't the most idle demon among the current Upper Ranks actually that old beggar who spent all day crouching in gutters begging for food, occasionally sneaking attacks on other homeless people?
Well, strictly speaking in terms of idleness, Hantengu was indeed the most idle.
But the crucial point was that this old friend of hers had an extremely unstable mental state. Especially every time he saw her, he was practically indistinguishable from someone who had just escaped from a psychiatric hospital.
Compared to Hantengu, even Gyokko could be considered mentally healthy and emotionally stable.
"You didn't alert them, did you?"
In the darkness, Mitsuba reclined on a lounge chair nearby, eyes closed, hands folded, rocking leisurely.
Perhaps it was a sign of getting on in years, but lately she didn't like sitting on sofas or chairs—she preferred leaning back on this lounge chair, swaying gently. It felt incredibly comfortable.
"Of course not!"
From the jar beside her, Gyokko's head quickly replied:
"Miss Mitsuba's rules are always engraved in my heart! Within Tokyo city limits, whether human or Demon Slayer, I would never dare to kill anyone without your command!"
In Gyokko's view, Miss Mitsuba's desire for control was even stronger than that of the Master himself.
Back when the Master personally led the Twelve Kizuki, he had essentially never established any hard rules.
At most, he would designate a territory and tell you to stay within those boundaries, not to wander off into other demons' territories...
Occasionally, if someone caused trouble—like killing too many people at once and drawing human society's attention—the Master would at most scold them a few times without imposing any real punishment.
But Mitsuba was different.
Ever since the Master delegated management authority of the Twelve Kizuki to her, this Upper Rank One had established numerous new rules.
For instance: no more hiding in remote mountain villages—everyone must move toward major cities with dense populations.
Furthermore, they all had to find suitable disguises and live within human society, but were forbidden from harming people casually within city limits.
When they needed to consume humans, they either had to go outside the city to handle it themselves, or target Demon Slayers.
Over the past several decades, only Hantengu had managed to exploit a loophole by ambushing homeless people with no identities, thus avoiding Miss Mitsuba's punishment.
Beyond that, any Twelve Kizuki member who dared violate these rules—especially the Lower Rank demons, with the exception of that Lower Rank Two from a few days ago—had ultimately been personally dealt with by Miss Mitsuba herself.
This Upper Rank One appeared casual, but her desire for control was extraordinary.
She despised anything beyond her control; if she encountered it, she would find a way to eliminate it.
Serving by her side required extreme caution.
"Miss Mitsuba, what should I do next?"
From within the jar, Gyokko's head asked.
Mitsuba, still rocking on the lounge chair, did not open her eyes.
After a brief moment of thought, she gave her order:
"Gyokko, go cause some commotion outside in the next couple of days. Once those Demon Slayers notice, they'll naturally leave."
"Yes, I understand... But Miss Mitsuba, are we really just letting them leave without doing anything?"
Gyokko couldn't help but probe further.
In his view, Tokyo belonged to the Twelve Kizuki, not to those Demon Slayers.
Hearing his somewhat reluctant tone, Mitsuba simply shook her head with a smile.
"These flies will only multiply the more you swat them. The true curtain has yet to rise—it's not yet time to eliminate them all in one fell swoop.
Wait a while longer. When the time comes, when I've had my fill, I'll let you all kill to your heart's content.
However, if you truly cannot wait, you may cause a bigger ruckus this time—just be careful not to bring trouble back here."
"Yes!"
Having received Mitsuba's permission, Gyokko's bizarre face instantly flushed with excitement.
"Miss Mitsuba! Then I shall take my leave!"
"Mmm, go."
His head withdrew into the jar, and silence returned to the room.
"Speaking of which..."
In the dark room, Mitsuba slowly opened her eyes.
"The Demon Slayer Corps' Final Selection should be starting soon this year, shouldn't it?
Honestly, how much longer does Doma intend to dawdle abroad? Inosuke has already returned ahead of him..."
Muttering to herself, Mitsuba finally rose from the lounge chair. She stretched her arms and let out a long breath.
"I had originally planned to dump this matter on him once he and Kotoha returned from abroad.
Oh well, then this time, I suppose I'll have to make the trip personally..."
"..."
"Dad! Mom! I'm heading out now!"
The sun hung high in the sky. Within one of the Demon Slayer Corps' compounds, a certain young boy charged out of his home carrying a Nichirin sword.
The boy's name was Kamado Tanjiro—lively, cheerful, warm-hearted, and kind.
He had short, deep red hair tied in a small ponytail at the back, a shiny forehead, and a burn scar on the left side of his forehead.
Born and raised within the Demon Slayer Corps, the sixteen-year-old Tanjiro was undoubtedly a prospective Demon Slayer, now preparing to participate in this year's Final Selection.
Unlike the vast majority of Demon Slayers, Tanjiro not only had both parents alive, but also several younger siblings at home.
His father, Kamado Tanjuro, though not an official Demon Slayer, enjoyed the deep trust of the Corps Master.
Not only did he practice Breathing Styles himself, but he also frequently instructed prospective Demon Slayers in swordsmanship.
Because of this father, Tanjiro had begun training in Breathing Styles from a very young age.
And what he trained in was the strongest of all Breathing Styles in existence—Sun Breathing!
Sun Breathing, the legendary original Breathing Style, the source from which all other Breathing Styles in the world originated.
Legend had it that hundreds of years ago during the Sengoku period, the legendary child of God had used it to drive the mysterious Demon King to the brink of destruction!
The Sun Breathing practiced by the Demon Slayer Corps today had been brought back over a decade ago by that senior named "Tsugikuni Mitsuba." Its techniques and secrets were completely identical to the Hinokami Kagura passed down through the Kamado family.
According to his father, this originated from an ancient connection between their Kamado ancestors and that original Breathing Style swordsman...
In any case, being able to train in such a powerful and legendary Breathing Style was both an honor and a responsibility for Tanjiro!
Demons were the cancer of this world.
And as a Demon Slayer, he would surely carry on the will of his predecessors, thoroughly slay that evil Demon King, and completely erase demons—creatures that should never have existed—from this world!
And all of this would begin with this year's Final Selection!
____________________
This story has ended in chapter 315, you can read on patreon.com/dzeref887 for faster access or wait until August to read on WebNovel until the story ends.