Meanwhile, Shinobu took two days travelling back to the Butterfly Mansion. When she arrived, she was surprised by the sight she saw.
The eastern part of the walls were being repaired, having suffered from something strong. The forest to the east was wrecked, looking charred and devastated.
'What happened?!'
Shinobu's eyes widened in worry and she quickly rushed through the gates. When the demon slayers guarding the gates saw her, they were too stunned to take action. They could only watch helplessly as she ran inside.
"I-is that really the Insect Hashira?"
They couldn't help but ask each other.
...
Inside the mansion, Shinobu burst into the main room without hesitation. Her eyes ignored every other person and searched for Kanao and the other three girls. Seeing them fine and uninjured, Shinobu breathed a sigh of relief.
"Shinobu."
A flat voice reached her ears, making her realize there were others in the room. Turning, she locked eyes with the Water Hashira.
"Tomioka-san."
They both looked at each other in silence, before Kanao shot at Shinobu, tackling the Hashira in a hug.
Shinobu's gaze softened, circling her arms to hug the girl.
"Hashira!"
Aoi and the others rushed to embrace her, their eyes lit with joy.
"Hashira, you're back!"
"They said you'd gone off with some demon!"
"I knew they were lying! Hmph!"
The three spoke one after the other, showing their bias towards their favorite person.
After almost an hour of calming the emotional girls, she requested for a private meeting with the Water Hashira who had been silent all this time.
When the girls left the room, Shinobu looked at the Giyu again. He looked a lot stronger than before, making her realize that a lot had happened in her absence.
"Tomioka-san. It's been a while."
Giyu's eyes rippled with an indescribable emotion before he nodded, then gestured for her to sit. In her own house, Shinobu felt like an outsider.
"Shinobu, you..." He paused, as if weighing his words. "You came back."
She nodded.
"Does that mean 'he' is here too?"
Shinobu was surprised by the mention of 'he', but she easily guessed they knew about him.
"No. He's not." She shook her head. Unknown to her, as soon as she said this, sadness and loneliness crossed her features, making Giyu hesitate slightly.
Brushing the brief gloom off, she raised her head. "I want to meet the other Hashiras and discuss something."
"Discuss something...?"
"Yes. Currently, I'd say Muzan has suffered a lot of losses."
"Losses?"
"Yes, Tomioka-san. There's a lot to discuss."
"Alright, let's get moving."
After saying farewell to the girls and repeatedly assuring them she'd be back, Shinobu left the Mansion with Giyu, heading straight for the Ubuyashiki Mansion. Giyu had also sent his gloomy crow to alert the other Hashiras for a gathering.
In half a day, they arrived at the secret mansion. Outside the lawn, the other Hashiras had gathered; Sanemi, Gyomei, Muichiro, Obanai, Mitsuri, Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke and even Tengen had appeared despite his retirement.
Finally, someone appeared from the main building, supporting a frail man covered in bandages.
"Oyakata-sama!"
All the Hashiras were stunned, then quickly bowed. They hadn't expected him to actually show up.
"You can *cough* *cough* rise."
He said between ill coughs, making the Hashiras wince at his suffering.
Even Shinobu felt her heart tighten. "Oyakata-sama..."
Her whisper seemed to have reached him as he raised his head and looked towards her. Even though bandages covered his face, one could tell that he was looking at her.
"Shinobu... It is good to see that you're back."
The Insect Hashira knelt before him, her expression sad.
"I'm sorry I didn't live up to your expectations, Oyakata-sama."
At this point, Gyomei spoke. "As much as we would appreciate the reunion, Lord Kagaya is unable to stay like this for long. Please share the important information you have."
All the other Hashiras nodded. Although it was good seeing Lord Kagaya, it remained that his body was still ill.
"I understand." Shinobu nodded, then began explaining to them.
How Douma had become cut from Muzan's blood like Tamayo, but instead, mutated into something stronger. Then she also explained that he later turned someone into a demon, but there was absence of bloodlust. She also shared the fact that he had turned three Upper Moons into his demons, further reducing Muzan's subordinates. And finally, she mentioned the fact that a demon called Nakime, who was responsible for the demons' secret base had been taken too. Essentially, there was no longer a demon's hideout. Even Muzan couldn't escape conveniently any longer.
After she was done, everyone was silent. The information seemed a lot to take. Unexpectedly, it was Inosuke who spoke first.
"So we can finally kill that Mustang?"
Tanjiro facepalmed, ashamed of Inosuke's habit of pronouncing names wrongly.
The Hashiras were indeed delighted about this matter. Finally having the chance to kill Muzan was a great miracle. However...
"You said, Upper Moon Two—"
"Douma."
Involuntarily, Shinobu interrupted Tengen, making it clear she had a bias towards the demon.
"Anyway you want it. I thought Upper Moon Two had a nice ring to it." Tengen waved his hands. "Douma turned a person into a demon, and also uh, 'converted' three Upper Moons into his underlings."
Shinobu nodded, confirming his claims.
Before Tengen could continue, Tanjiro's eyes widened. "Doesn't that make him Muzan 2.0?"
The others were slightly surprised. Indeed, if they looked at it from that angle, Douma had become a Demon Progenitor capable of having his own demonic force separate from Muzan.
"Seems like those western Werewolves lore." Muichiro muttered.
"Werewolves? What's that?" Zenitsu asked, his curiosity piqued. He had healed considerably after the fight with Kaigaku so he was able to attend.
Muichiro shook his head, "It's a lore. Not real. They're man-eating monsters that looks like wolves and can become demons."
"Ohhh! Wolves taste great!" Inosuke shouted, drawing the displeased gazes of the other Hashiras.
"So how does this relate to Douma?" Obanai asked, his voice low but clear.
"Well, from what I've heard, Werewolves can have more than one Alpha; a leader. Thus, there would naturally be two different packs."
"Ah! I see."
Mitsuri clapped, her eyes bright.
"So you mean Douma's group is totally unrelated to Muzan?"
Muichiro nodded. "It should be. Ask Shinobu not me."
All eyes turned to the shortest Hashira.