"What?!"
Seeing the Wind Hashira, Sanemi Shinazugawa, get casually flung away by a single kick from the long blue-haired woman, all the Hashira were stunned. Esdeath's kick had been far too fast, they couldn't even see it coming!
They all rushed forward together, but Esdeath, clearly uninterested, lowered her leg, her eyes radiating pure contempt. "Disappointing... Truly, utterly disappointing."
Shinobu immediately stepped between her and the Hashira, preventing any further clash.
"Everyone, please stop! They're my friends. They're not demons, and they're not enemies."
"Children, lower your weapons," Kagaya also urged, calling an end to the pointless fight.
Even though Shinobu had said that and Master Kagaya himself ordered them to stand down, the Hashira didn't relax their guard, not even slightly, especially toward Esdeath. A single kick from her had sent Sanemi flying; if she intended to harm the Master, they would have no choice but to engage her immediately.
Kagaya quickly ordered someone to check on Sanemi, and fortunately he was only unconscious. Leaning on Amane's arm, Kagaya slowly approached.
"You must be the friends Shinobu mentioned, the ones capable of defeating Muzan?"
He approached them with humility. Guided by Amane, he had already pieced together descriptions of each person's appearance.
A tall, arrogant woman.
A woman radiating coldness, dressed in military attire like a hardened soldier.
And a calm man who carried quiet, commanding authority among them.
The way they descended from the sky and Esdeath's display of power were anything but normal, they strongly resembled Blood Demon Arts. Yet Kagaya Ubuyashiki sensed that they were not demons.
"Ubuyashiki-sama," Shinobu greeted, kneeling.
"Shinobu."
"Yes!"
At Kagaya's gentle request, Shinobu stood and introduced them one by one, without revealing their otherworldly origins. Those details weren't hers to explain.
"Pleased to meet you, Master of the Demon Slayer Corps, Kagaya Ubuyashiki. I'm Tetsuya Hiratsuji, you can just call me Tetsuya. I'm the one who asked Shinobu to send that message," Tetsuya said directly, skipping unnecessary preamble. "We won't waste time. I have a way to defeat Muzan Kibutsuji, but it requires full cooperation from all of us."
Before the Hashira could voice their doubts, Tetsuya raised his hand.
Buzz!
"Is a storm... coming?"
A low hum filled the air. Just moments ago the night had been calm, but suddenly the sky darkened. In mere seconds, black clouds gathered overhead, and the wind exploded into a ferocious roar.
Kagaya and Amane nearly lost their footing, only to be caught and steadied by Gyomei. Everyone felt an immense surge of power as lightning began striking from every direction, converging around Tetsuya's clenched fist.
A colossal pillar of lightning formed, stretching from his hand straight into the heavens.
Then Tetsuya punched upward.
Boom-crack!
The atmosphere seemed to shatter, splintering apart from the explosive thunderbolt. The dark clouds spun faster, the wind rapidly expanded into a vortex laced with crimson lightning that spiraled skyward from Tetsuya's hand.
Debris flew everywhere as the storm's force pulled everything nearby toward it. The deafening roar gradually faded into the distance, leaving everyone staring upward at a sky that now looked as though it had been punched through.
"Incredible!" Mitsuri shivered, her heart pounding wildly from the spectacle she had just witnessed.
Uzui Tengen's voice was full of awe and admiration. "That was an absolutely spectacular show! So flamboyant!"
Obanai Iguro's mouth hung open behind his bandages. "Blood Demon Art. It has to be a Blood Demon Art!"
"Amazing! Hahaha! What terrifying power!" Rengoku laughed heartily, his face beaming with admiration.
The others were equally shocked by Tetsuya's display of strength.
Shinobu stared in wonder. Even though she had seen it through a live feed before, experiencing it in person felt completely different. Esdeath, meanwhile, wore a serious expression mixed with anticipation and intrigue, she watched Tetsuya like he was a fascinating prey, her gaze filled with pure desire for battle.
As for Hancock, she stared at the hole in the sky and then at the man responsible. Though she still felt irritated by the number of men around, standing near him didn't feel quite as uncomfortable anymore.
"..."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki was blind, he couldn't see what had happened. Even so, he could hear and feel the extraordinary power lingering in the air. He heard the collective praise from the Hashira and felt his wife's trembling hand in his own. He understood, this was the perfect moment to make his decision.
"Tetsuya-san, we will fully cooperate with your plan."
Tetsuya smiled. Showing was far more effective than telling. See? Just do it, and boom! No further explanation needed.
...
Tetsuya then explained his plan to Kagaya and the others: how to lure Muzan out. After all, in Demon Slayer, Muzan was the most cowardly boss, a true coward who had hidden for a full thousand years. If Muzan learned there was someone who could kill him easily, Tetsuya had every reason to believe the bastard would dig himself an even deeper hole, hundreds, maybe thousands of meters underground, to bury himself alive, sleep for centuries until the threat died of old age, then crawl back to the surface.
To deal with such a coward, Tetsuya would exploit his obsession and force him into the open. Muzan's obsession was to become a perfect being. Even as the Demon King, he still feared sunlight and longed to conquer that weakness, to achieve true immortality.
For that, he needed the Blue Spider Lily. But despite having more than one brain's worth of intelligence, Muzan might never realize, or even imagine, that the flower only blooms under blazing sunlight, fully exposed to direct rays. The location Tetsuya knew of was near the home of the protagonist, Kamado Tanjiro. Now the Demon Slayer Corps would investigate the details, and with their manpower, everything would become much easier.
But for now, since it was already the middle of the night, there wasn't much else they could do. Everyone went their separate ways.
Hancock wanted to be alone, so Shinobu took her to the Butterfly Mansion.
Esdeath challenged Tetsuya to a fight, but Tetsuya insisted on waiting until the Muzan problem was resolved. If their intense battle were to be sensed by Muzan and scare him into fleeing even deeper, it would ruin everything. Esdeath accepted the reasoning and instead chose to "discipline" Sanemi, who had just woken up and immediately challenged her.
Kagaya left promptly with Amane, not wanting to listen to any more of Sanemi's stubbornness.
Shinobu had previously mentioned that killing demons earned points, so she had taken the initiative to hunt demons alone, trying to rack up as many points as possible to grow stronger and take revenge. That was how she had encountered Doma.
Tetsuya was curious and wanted to try something. Holding an ordinary katana, he slowly closed his eyes and began breathing in a steady rhythm. At that moment, his breath turned into visible hot vapor, and flames began to ignite along the blade.
Flame Breathing - First Form: Unknowing Fire!
His figure shot forward, unleashing a horizontal slash of fire that instantly boiled the water in the nearby pond.
"..." Shinobu was dumbfounded. How could Tetsuya use Flame Breathing so effortlessly? It was far too sudden.
A bit excited, Tetsuya invited Shinobu to go demon hunting together. Besides testing the Flame Breathing he had just "recalled" from watching the anime, it was also a chance to gather points for Shinobu.