Because the Ubuyashiki family felt a profound, heartfelt gratitude and respect toward Horitake, and because the bond between Horitake and Kagaya had grown increasingly deep, Horitake's standing within the Demon Slayer Corps continued to ascend.
Previously, Horitake held the rank of the Sky Pillar. In terms of authority, he was effectively "one man below, ten thousand above"—second only to the leader himself.
But now, his status seemed to have shifted another step forward. Vaguely, almost imperceptibly, his influence had begun to stand on equal footing with Kagaya, the Master of the Demon Slayer Corps.
With this, Horitake had finally reached the absolute pinnacle of the organization.
Regarding this further rise in his status, the entirety of the Corps—from the highest-ranking officials to the lowest-ranking members—was in total agreement.
Professionally, Horitake's strength was overwhelming and his combat record was illustrious. As the Corps' supreme combat power, he possessed the strength to suppress the other Pillars. Furthermore, he was the legendary figure who had slain two Upper Moons and countless other demons.
Personally, Horitake had rendered a debt of immense kindness to the Ubuyashiki family and shared a profound brotherhood with Kagaya.
With these two factors combined, whether for public or private reasons, the Corps viewed Horitake's elevated status as a natural progression. It was something everyone accepted without question.
But what of Horitake himself?
He had very little self-awareness regarding the rise in his status. This was largely because his attention was currently consumed by the production of the medicine.
Ever since Kagaya had made a full recovery, Horitake had followed the plan the three of them had discussed. He plunged headfirst into the research laboratory within the Butterfly Mansion, beginning the grueling process of developing the medicine day and night.
As Shinobu Kochou had mentioned before, Aoi Kanzaki also joined the research team.
Though Aoi was young, her capacity for learning was exceptional. She was efficient, decisive, and agile in her work. Not long after joining the project, she proved herself to be an invaluable asset. Gradually, she mastered the intricacies of pharmaceutical production.
If nothing else, as an assistant to Horitake and Shinobu, Aoi was beyond reproach in her dedication. With her help, the progress of the medicine production accelerated significantly.
However, a person's life consists of more than just brewing medicine.
For one, Horitake couldn't spend twenty-four hours a day cooped up in a lab. He had to maintain a strict daily training regimen to ensure his strength continued to grow steadily. Whenever a difficult mission arose that required his personal intervention, Horitake did not hesitate to head out.
Compared to him, Shinobu spent even more time in the laboratory. Yet, even for her, certain responsibilities were unavoidable. For instance, whenever a critically injured patient arrived at the Butterfly Mansion, Shinobu had to step away to perform surgery. Or, when a specific mission required her unique skills, she had to temporarily set aside the medicine and depart.
Even Aoi couldn't dedicate every waking moment to the research. As the "manager" of the Butterfly Mansion, if she ignored everything else to focus solely on medicine, who would cook for everyone? Who would clean? Who would ensure the mansion continued to function?
The "button-eyed" triplets could help, but they were still quite young. As for Kanao... well, it was better not to rely on her for logistics.
Thus, the mansion couldn't function without Aoi.
In short, each member of the three-person research team had other vital responsibilities. None of them could dedicate 100% of their focus to the medicine alone. As a result, production was intermittent, and progress was inevitably delayed.
In this manner, by the time the second vial of medicine was successfully completed, approximately two months had passed.
Two months was indeed a long time to produce a single dose, but under the circumstances, it was unavoidable. Fortunately, as the trio grew more synchronized, the subsequent production became easier.
The third vial took less than two months. The fourth took less than a month and a half.
As they grew more proficient, the pace quickened, and the quality of the medicine improved. They had finally hit their stride.
And so, roughly a year passed...
(Note: The pace must accelerate now. After skipping this year and finishing the upcoming original plot segments, we will prepare to enter the main storyline of the original work.)
(Of course, the main storyline won't just blindly follow the original plot and the protagonist; it will be interspersed with my own original developments.)
A year had passed, and they had produced a decent amount of medicine—barely enough to be considered sufficient.
Horitake's strength had also been steadily increasing. But to what level exactly?
That... was difficult to say.
During this year, aside from making medicine and training, Horitake had only gone out for the occasional high-level mission. Consequently, he hadn't encountered a truly worthy opponent in a long time. Surprisingly, he hadn't encountered a single Upper Moon in an entire year!
Without a heavyweight opponent to test himself against, Horitake found it hard to gauge the exact limits of his power.
In his downtime, he had tried to estimate his current standing.
"Well... how should I put it?"
At his current level, killing a Lower Moon was as easy as child's play. Dealing with the bottom three ranks of the Upper Moons would also be relatively simple. If he were to face Akaza again, Akaza would absolutely no longer be his match. If he encountered Doma, he felt confident enough to take the demon's head.
However, if it were Kokushibo... killing him would likely require a significant amount of effort.
As for Muzan... the final boss who looms over the entire series... Horitake still didn't have total certainty. But if he were to clash with Muzan, Horitake was confident he could at least retreat unscathed.
Horitake never underestimated Muzan.
In the original story, how great a price did the Demon Slayer Corps pay to kill him? How many lives were lost?
Looking at the original plot, Muzan's combat power seemed high, yet at the same time, it didn't seem impossibly out of reach. But to think that way would be a grave mistake.
One must not forget that in the original timeline, Tamayo dealt Muzan a devastating blow before her death. Those four medicines—especially the one that accelerated aging—caused Muzan immense distress. It could be said that Tamayo's drugs had an incalculable effect, drastically weakening Muzan's power, creating a massive opening for the Corps, and buying them precious time.
So, without the medicine—at Muzan's absolute peak—how strong would he be?
It was difficult to estimate. But one thing was certain: Muzan was terrifyingly powerful.
Caution is a virtue; it is far better than losing one's life to arrogance. For the sake of his friends and the women he loved, Horitake never dared to look down on Muzan. In his mind, he had already braced himself for the worst-case scenario.
Thus, Horitake's assessment of the current power balance was:
We have the strength to fight.
Yes, they had the strength to fight. If the current Demon Slayer Corps went all out against the demons, even if they couldn't win outright, they were strong enough to ensure mutual destruction.
But how could Horitake stand by and watch his comrades perish in a pyrrhic victory?
What Horitake wanted was to annihilate the demons and Muzan with overwhelming superiority when the final battle finally arrived.
"The accumulation of power... is still not enough."
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