Haruto quietly sized up the young man in front of him, who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old.
He was exceptionally tall, the tallest Haruto had ever seen, second only to Himejima. He had a shock of white hair and was dressed very lavishly, with various jewels adorning all his accessories.
But Haruto's gaze was fixed on the two relatively inconspicuous golden earrings he wore.
He had seen the same style of earrings on Yamai's ears when he fought against Lower Three Yamai.
A coincidence?
Haruto, without changing his expression, extended his hand to him: "Demon Slayer Corps, Takanashi Haruto."
"Demon Slayer Corps?" Uzui Tengen was confused but understood the literal meaning: "Like a ninja clan, night watchmen hidden in the darkness? No... compared to ninja clans that are already on their last legs, perhaps your existence is more meaningful to this world. Demons..."
He glanced in the direction Lower Four had left and sighed, "They really are unflashy things!"
"Flashy?" Now it was Haruto's turn to be confused.
"That's right, flashy." Uzui Tengen pointed to his nose with his multi-colored fingernails, then to Haruto: "This, this, and..."
He pointed to the three female ninjas not far away and flashed a brilliant smile: "My three wives, all of them are representatives of flashiness!"
...Haruto looked at him blankly, then turned to look at the three female ninjas, each with a different charm but all with fiery figures.
"Wives? You mean... wives?"
"You mean all three of them—are your wives?"
Is there still justice? Is there still law?
At roughly the same age, some people are married with children, happy and complete; some have three slender wives and spend every night in revelry... while others, every time they visit their relatives, get their heads thumped with questions about whether they're married!
Is this reasonable?!
Absolutely! Absolutely must not let Godou River see this man with painted fingernails!
Otherwise, Haruto would be directly packaged and sold off!
With the help of the arriving Kakushi, they settled the farmers who had lost their homes.
During this time, Haruto gained a general understanding of Uzui Tengen, who was obsessed with flashiness.
"So, in the end, how did you see through her weaknesses and movements?" Haruto calmed his jealous heart and focused on the previous battle: "I mean, before learning a Breathing Technique, this would be almost impossible to do."
Uzui Tengen readily explained his 'Score' to him in concise language.
"As long as there's enough time, you can see through the enemy's weaknesses and flaws?"
Haruto was astonished; such a skill, if paired with a front-liner who could take a beating, would be the bane of demons!
Almost in the blink of an eye, he was already preparing to write to Kagaya, asking Kagaya, this natural leader with an aura of dominance, to recruit Uzui Tengen.
Time was passing too quickly; the demons were constantly growing, but the Demon Slayer Corps' progress wasn't fast enough.
Relying solely on Himejima and him wasn't enough; the Demon Slayer Corps needed an influx of more powerful young blood.
Otherwise, were they supposed to rely on just two Pillars to tear Kibutsuji Muzan apart?
Such a thought would be too dismissive of the Demon King who had lived for over a thousand years.
---
Infinity Castle
After a twanging sound from a biwa, Lower Rank Four Mukago suddenly opened her eyes.
After escaping from the Pillar's sword, she had eaten several people in one go and hidden in her old mansion to recuperate.
Because she had consumed too much flesh and blood nourishment in the battle, her recovery this time took longer than she had expected.
But with that biwa sound, her nerves tightened again, even more so than when facing a Pillar Swordsman's blade.
The wooden structure in front of her was peculiar, seemingly having a life of its own, constantly arranging and rotating.
Inside the labyrinthine Infinity Castle, Nakime, holding a biwa, sat silently on a high platform. All the rooms within the Infinity Castle twisted around her, making one dizzy at a glance.
Mukago looked up and saw a graceful woman in a purple sakura kimono with a blood-red blue spider lily in her hair. She lowered her eyes slightly, appearing delicate and easily bullied. But Mukago knew that anyone who underestimated her, whether ordinary humans or Demon Slayer Swordsmen, would become fertilizer to nourish her belly.
She was Lower One, Ubume.
Besides Ubume, Lower Two Hairou wearing a military cap, the little demon Rui with his head bowed, and the flustered Kamanue, she also saw two other figures standing equally distraught.
Had the Upper Ranks also arrived?
Her gaze quickly swept the space around her, but apart from these few figures and the always silent Nakime with her head bowed, she saw no trace of any Upper Rank Lord.
A huge sense of crisis washed over her.
"This is... what is this place?" Kamanue's voice, seeing it for the first time, was somewhat at a loss.
His voice echoed emptily through the Infinity Castle, but he received no reply from anyone.
All the demons were silent, or rather... trembling.
Mukago swallowed, gasping for air as if someone had clutched her throat.
"Clang!"
Another biwa sound, and several demons gathered together.
Mukago lowered her head; she had already sensed the presence of "That Person" in the air.
Sweat trickled from her forehead, and a pair of gleaming leather shoes gently stepped into everyone's line of sight.
The terrifying pressure of a high-ranking demon swept through the Infinity Castle. Mukago immediately pressed her forehead to the ground, her still unhealed demon body even experiencing tearing pain under this pressure.
It was a gentleman in a black suit, with slightly curly hair, a slender figure, pale skin, and eyes like a blood moon in the sky.
The Demon King Kibutsuji Muzan, master of the Infinity Castle, and the bloodline progenitor of all demons.
Mukago felt no shame in her subservience; on the contrary, among all the Lower Moons, except for the little demon Rui, almost all the demons knelt down at the same time.
The silence in the Infinity Castle did not last long; the man's low voice sounded from above.
"How humble."
Muzan's leather shoes tapped lightly on the wooden floor, making a crisp clacking sound.
"Another meaning of humility is incompetence."
Mukago's body trembled, and large drops of cold sweat rolled from her forehead.
"Yamai died at the hands of a Demon Slayer Swordsman, and Mukago..." His voice was filled with severity: "The story of you running away with your head in your hands has spread to everyone's ears."
"I am very sorry! It was that swordsman..."
"Did I ask you to defend yourself?" Muzan coldly interrupted her: "Was it not you who repeatedly thought of fleeing during the confrontation with a Pillar?"
Mukago cowered, cold sweat forming a small stream on the floor.
Muzan's scarlet eyes looked down disdainfully, but then his brow twitched, and he cast his gaze towards the newly appointed Lower Rank Six Kamanue.
"It's only human nature to want to run away when facing a powerful swordsman... Is that what you were thinking?"
Kamanue trembled, covering his unvoiced mouth in disbelief.
"Human nature... Do you still consider yourself human? After accepting my blood and eating so many people, do you still classify yourself as that inferior species, 'human'?"
Muzan's expression darkened: "Why can he see the secrets in my heart, you must be thinking that, right?"
Bloodshot eyes filled Kamanue's whites: "Please forgive me, Lord Kibutsuji!"
"Prying? Your thoughts aren't worth my prying. You're merely a fish on a table, with clearly visible veins, yet you still think so highly of yourself."
Muzan sneered and extended his hand towards Kamanue.
A thick, eye-covered demon claw burst through his sleeve and, with a swift motion, crushed Kamanue's head.
Blood mixed with gray brain matter splattered near Mukago, and all the demons shook like sieves.
"Mukago, you know, he died in your place."
Muzan had brought two new demons. If Kamanue hadn't been seeing Muzan for the first time and hadn't known he could read demons' minds, then it would be Mukago lying on the ground now!
"Yes! Lord Kibutsuji! I will definitely go and kill that swordsman!"
"No, no, no... There's no rush for that." Muzan lowered his eyes and pointed to the two new demons: "This is Mei Jing."
The beautiful young woman in a bright white kimono bowed her head slightly.
"This is Bakeneko."
The cat-like demon with two tails wagged her tails.
"They will become the new Lower Three and Lower Four." Muzan looked at Mukago: "As for you..."
Blood burst from Mukago's right eye. She muffled a cry, covering her eye, not daring to scream.
When she raised her eyes again, the 'Lower Four' in her pupils had been erased and re-engraved with the characters 'Lower Six'.
"Until you have the courage to initiate a Successor Blood Battle, honestly serve me with the title of 'Lower Six'."
"...Yes." Mukago lowered her head.
Muzan snorted and snapped his fingers.
"One more thing."
All the demons straightened their backs.
The Demon King's eyes flickered, and some unpleasant memories surged in his mind.
"Stop bothering with those Demon Slayer Corps ants. Besides searching for the blue spider lily, focus on finding the person wearing Nichirin flower-patterned ear ornaments.
Find him, then report back to me."
The demons bowed: "As you wish, Lord."
Muzan's gaze swept past them, drifting beyond the Infinity Castle.
So many years have passed, why do you still have descendants left in the world?
Why didn't you die a cleaner death?
Yoriichi Tsugikuni!