"C... Cain?"
Uzui Tengen was stunned for a moment.
After realizing what had happened, he slowly lowered his dual blades and his tense expression finally relaxed.
"Did the Master send you?"
"Yeah. He said someone went missing after arriving in Tokyo and suspected that an Upper Rank demon might be lurking nearby."
Cain glanced toward the hostages.
"I didn't expect you to get held up by three Lower Moon demons."
"Their Blood Demon Arts were extremely troublesome."
A helpless expression appeared on Uzui Tengen's face.
Even though they were all Lower Moon demons, there were still significant differences in strength among them.
Facing the top three Lower Moon demons at the same time would put pressure on even someone like him.
On top of that, there were too many hostages, and the Blood Demon Arts of Ubume and the others complemented each other perfectly.
With all those factors combined, he had been stalled for an entire night.
However...
All of that effort had been worth it.
Looking at the safe hostages not far away, a bright smile appeared on Uzui Tengen's face.
"Thanks for this one, Cain."
"If you hadn't arrived in time, at least half the people here would have been sacrificed."
"No need to be so polite. If you really want to thank me, help me with something later."
"No problem. But before that, let's move somewhere else."
Uzui Tengen looked into the distance.
After Ubume died, her Blood Demon Art collapsed along with her.
The Public Security Bureau, which had previously been concealed by illusion, was now fully exposed to the outside world.
It was currently noon, and the streets were filled with pedestrians. It would only take a few seconds before people noticed that the Public Security Bureau had turned into ruins.
If he and Cain continued standing here, they would soon be surrounded by crowds.
"Let's go. We're heading to the Butterfly Mansion."
Cain had already noticed this as well and immediately led Uzui Tengen toward the Butterfly Mansion.
Since he had not known the exact situation when he set out, Cain had moved at full speed on the way to the Bureau, taking only a few minutes to arrive.
By the time he finished clearing the scene and brought Uzui Tengen back to the Butterfly Mansion, Kochō Kanae had just finished treating Fujiwara Tetsusuke's injuries.
"Cain, you're back."
Seeing Cain return safely, Kochō Kanae let out a sigh of relief.
Just as she was about to ask about the situation, she noticed Uzui Tengen walking in behind him.
"Good afternoon, Flower Hashira."
Uzui Tengen waved casually in greeting.
"Mr. Tengen, you are..."
Kochō Kanae carefully observed Uzui Tengen's condition, and a trace of confusion appeared on her face.
As a professional physician, Kochō Kanae possessed extremely sharp observational skills.
With only a brief glance, she confirmed that Uzui Tengen had not been poisoned and had not suffered any serious injuries.
Rather than looking like someone who had just come out of battle, he looked more like someone who had just returned from a night long run.
"I ran into three rather troublesome opponents."
Seemingly guessing Kanae's thoughts, Uzui Tengen took the initiative to explain everything that had happened.
"Lower Rank One, Lower Rank Two, and Lower Rank Three were acting together?"
Kochō Kanae looked somewhat surprised after hearing this.
Because of Kibutsuji Muzan's strict control, demons rarely formed groups to cooperate.
Three Lower Moon demons working together like this had probably not happened for nearly a hundred years.
"It seems that something unusual is happening among the demons. We need to report this to the Master as soon as possible."
"Since you're going to report it, help me pass along another message as well."
Cain's voice sounded from the side.
"Tell him that I intend to move ahead of schedule and begin taking action against Upper Rank Six."
Uzui Tengen: "?"
Kochō Kanae: "?"
The two people who had just been discussing the Bureau incident froze and immediately turned their heads toward him.
Uzui Tengen blinked.
"Take action against Upper Rank Six?"
Cain nodded calmly.
"Although the situation at the Bureau wasn't part of the original plan, it created a good opportunity."
"I killed Lower Rank Five last week, and this time the two of us killed Lower Rank One through Lower Rank Three."
"In just one week, more than half of the Lower Moon demons have been eliminated by the Demon Slayer Corps. How do you think Muzan will react when he hears this news?"
"...Furious?"
"Exactly."
Cain nodded.
"Muzan is cruel, arrogant, and extremely egotistical. He will definitely be enraged by this, and he might even summon the remaining two Lower Moon demons and question what value they still have."
"If at this moment we strike again and capture Upper Rank Six alive through overwhelming force, how do you think Muzan will react?"
"His anger will spill over onto the Upper Ranks."
Without waiting for Uzui Tengen and Kanae to reach their own conclusions, Cain answered his own question.
"The Lower Ranks are nearly wiped out, and even the Upper Ranks have begun to suffer losses. Muzan's dissatisfaction with the Lower Rank demons will be completely transferred onto the Upper Rank demons."
"And if at that moment we deliberately leak our location using the captured Upper Rank Six as bait, do you think Muzan will personally make a move?"
"Hmm... that's possible."
Uzui Tengen quickly understood Cain's plan.
He intended to completely enrage Muzan and force him to step out from the shadows.
If it succeeded, the Demon Slayer Corps would gain a rare opportunity to confront Muzan directly.
If it failed, there would still be no real loss. The Corps would only have wasted some time without suffering any casualties.
"When do you plan to act?"
"Tonight."
Uzui Tengen frowned slightly.
"The timing is a bit tight. Considering the travel time, I won't have much opportunity to recover my stamina."
"I know."
Cain nodded calmly.
"That's why I never planned to have you participate in tonight's operation."
Cain took out a sheet of paper and a pen from his robe, quickly wrote a short letter, then handed it to Uzui Tengen.
"Help me deliver this letter to the outskirts of Tokyo."
Uzui Tengen took the letter.
"To whom?"
"The Flame Hashira, Rengoku Shinjuro."
T/N- I'll use english terms from now on.
Leave a review guys. TT