"The army..."
Kibutsuji Muzan let out a ferocious laugh, as if enlightened.
"Hehehe... For a thousand years, I've always discreetly created demons to search for the blue spider lily."
"That's because I didn't want to provoke this country too much, causing it to launch a national war to eradicate me."
"Now that the Demon Slayer Corps is relentlessly pursuing me, it has come to this point. So, what if I turn the Taisho Emperor and all the high-ranking officials of this country into demons, and use the entire nation's army to annihilate the Demon Slayer Corps?"
"Even the powerful Demon Slayer Corps, at its current strength, absolutely cannot withstand the might of an entire nation!"
"As long as the Demon Slayer Corps is completely eliminated, and I hide for a few more centuries, humans, with their short lifespans, will soon forget what is happening now."
Just as Kibutsuji Muzan was about to attack a soldier holding a gun, he heard a voice from behind him.
"Tanjiro! What are you doing, Tanjiro? Why are you suddenly running around?"
Buzz—
The familiar sound of a nichirin blade being drawn made Kibutsuji Muzan frown and turn around, his eyes filled with killing intent.
It was a young boy from the Demon Slayer Corps whom he wished to kill immediately, but the Hanafuda earrings on the boy's ears made him bare his fangs instantly.
Tsugikuni, Tsugikuni Yoriichi's earrings!!!
"Demon, Kibutsuji Muzan!" Tanjiro roared, gripping his blade with both hands, seething with rage.
This is that smell! This is the smell that was left at home!
This person is the culprit who killed his family and turned Nezuko into a demon!
"Tanjiro, what's wrong? Why are you running so fast! I can't keep up."
Before Zenitsu Agatsuma could catch up, Tanjiro shouted, "Don't come up, Zenitsu! This guy is Kibutsuji Muzan! The progenitor of all demons!"
"Damn it! Demon Slayer Corps everywhere!" Kibutsuji Muzan's peripheral vision caught sight of several swordsmen in Demon Slayer Corps uniforms, and his upper and lower fangs ground together, making a clicking sound.
However, he still had no intention of fighting. A fleshy whip instantly grew from his arm and lashed out at Tanjiro and Zenitsu Agatsuma.
Whoosh—
The speed was incredibly fast, tearing through the air. Tanjiro had no time to react. The nichirin blade in his hand snapped with a clang, but strangely, he was unharmed.
The powerful inertia sent Tanjiro flying like a cannonball, crashing into a nearby shop.
With a loud bang, the shop was wrecked, scaring passersby who cried out in panic.
"Ahhh!"
"What happened!"
Kibutsuji Muzan looked at Tanjiro, who was unharmed except for his broken blade, and felt a chill down his spine: "It's like this again! That inexplicable power!"
He had absolutely intended to kill him; even the Demon Slayer Corps' Hashira could be killed instantly.
"Tanjiro!" Zenitsu Agatsuma was instantly terrified.
"Kibutsuji Muzan!" Tanjiro burst out of the ruined shop, but Kibutsuji Muzan's figure was nowhere to be seen.
"He's gone! Where is he!" Tanjiro was about to give chase.
"Hey! Kid! What are you doing! Pay for my shop!" The shop owner, furious, grabbed Tanjiro's collar.
"Ah! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm very sorry! I'll pay, but I don't have any money right now."
"Kid, are you messing with me!"
"I'll earn money to pay you back. I'll help you tidy up the shop right now."
...
Meanwhile, a soldier in military uniform, holding a rifle, was lifted by Kibutsuji Muzan, who had him by the neck. Demonic claws directly pierced his neck, and the soldier instantly rolled his eyes and spat out red liquid.
"Ah! What is this! Gurgle gurgle..."
Kibutsuji Muzan's face was covered in a grid pattern as he threw the soldier to the ground.
"Roar!" The soldier instantly demonized, sharp demonic fangs emerging as he roared.
After all this, Kibutsuji Muzan paid no attention to the demon he had casually transformed; he merely wanted to obtain the soldier's memories.
Kibutsuji Muzan arrived at the Tokyo Police Department.
"This is the police department taken over by the Tokyo Army, you... gurgle gurgle..."
Kibutsuji Muzan said nothing, raising his hand and turning the sentry soldier into a demon.
"Stay here quietly."
Kibutsuji Muzan gave the newly transformed demon this command, then walked directly into the police department.
At this moment, inside the police department, the presiding officer was bowing subserviently to a man in military uniform.
"Congratulations, Lord Honda, on your promotion to Army General."
General Honda laughed heartily: "Ah ha ha ha! It's all thanks to His Majesty, the Taisho Emperor, for his patronage."
Becoming a General was already the highest military authority; above that was the 'Marshal's Office,' where marshals were typically members of the imperial family and elder statesmen of the shogunate.
The presiding officer quietly asked, "General, I heard that His Majesty the Taisho Emperor and the lords of the Marshal's Office have unanimously decided to gather the nation's strength to launch a war against China to the west. Is that true?"
General Honda: "Of course it's true. China has declined, and we, having absorbed advanced technology from Western nations, are at our strongest in a thousand years. This is an opportunity sent by heaven!"
"To think that China's fertile land, stretching for thousands of miles, should rightfully belong to His Majesty the Taisho Emperor! We are the true China!"
"Ah ha ha ha ha..."
Just as they were lost in their fantasies, a sound came from outside the door.
"Stop! Who are you! Ah! Help... gurgle gurgle! Roar—"
The presiding officer and General Honda frowned: "What happened!"
Creak! As soon as the door opened, two sharp demonic claws grabbed both their necks.
"Ugh..." Both men looked in terror at the not-so-tall man who was choking and lifting them, his crimson eyes staring madly at them.
Man-eating demon!!!
As high-ranking officials of the country, they had naturally heard of the existence of demons, but they had never encountered one, so they merely treated them as stories.
Moreover, having received Western education, they scoffed at the idea of ghosts and gods.
They never expected to actually encounter one.
"Roar—" Both men instantly demonized after Kibutsuji Muzan injected his blood into them, letting out low growls.
Due to Kibutsuji Muzan's deliberate control, neither of them lost consciousness.
"Kneel!" Kibutsuji Muzan said, looking down at them after setting them down.
Both instantly knelt on the ground.
"Now you are immortal demons. I have just transmitted the information about the Demon Slayer Corps and the Hashira to you through the blood."
"Now go and mobilize the army to enter Tokyo and kill all those damned Demon Slayer Corps members."
"Of course, I injected a lot of blood into both of you just now. You can share the blood with soldiers to turn them into demons. The more demons, the better."
The demonized presiding officer and General Honda excitedly said, "Yes, Lord!"
They had expected to be eaten, but instead, they had become powerful demons!
Kibutsuji Muzan's thoughts had completely twisted their wills.
Kibutsuji Muzan's expression was crazed, his crimson demonic eyes looking towards the luxurious area of Tokyo inaccessible to commoners.
That was where the Taisho Emperor, the Imperial Family, and the elder statesmen of the shogunate resided.
"Just one General is not enough."
"To prevent the remaining army from turning against me, I might as well turn them all into demons, hehehehe..."