Demon Slayer: Muzan, will you dance too?

The lingering darkness of night was like ink dissolved in water. As dawn broke and darkness began to fade, a black raven streaked across the sky at incredible speed.

Headquarters,

"Kiyokawa Izumi successfully defeated Lower Moon Five at Natagumo Mountain!"

With Lady Amane's help, Kagaya Ubuyashiki slowly sat up.

"That's wonderful news! Is that kid proving himself? How is he now? Is he injured?"

The lord, who had just woken up, still spoke in a calm voice.

Compared to the Lower Moon Five, he was actually more concerned about whether Kiyokawa Izumi was injured.

Successfully defeating a lower moon might greatly boost the morale of ordinary team members.

But the Lord knows that Muzan can always replenish the Lower Moons – the Demon Slayer Corps has killed quite a few Lower Moons over the years.

Also this year, the Flame Pillar Kyojuro Rengoku successfully defeated Lower Moon Two, Pero.

Killing a low-level person isn't actually that shocking.

"No injury!"

A sharp sound came, and the raven, tilting its head, gave a very simple answer.

Judging from his not-so-bright appearance, you can tell at a glance that he belongs to the Kiyokawa family.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear. That kid's strength has improved significantly again."

A genuine smile appeared on his severely disfigured face.

He has always believed that Izumi Kiyokawa has great potential.

His talent may be no less than that of Muichiro Tokito.

The fact that he wasn't injured means he won easily.

He barely won against Xia Liu last time, but now he can win very easily. It seems that his strength has really improved a lot.

If Kiyokawa Izumi knew that this person thought of him this way, he would definitely cry foul.

The improvement in strength is not significant; it's just an intelligence advantage.

……

"What monstrous talent! I remember last time I saw him, he hadn't even mastered the Total Concentration Technique yet, right?"

Sitting on the roof, Uzui Tengen's expression became much more serious. Upon hearing the news, he was simply marveling at Kiyokawa Izumi's rapid growth.

After this battle, there will likely be no more dissenting voices, and even the other Pillars will no longer doubt Kiyokawa Izumi's strength.

During the last Pillars meeting, the Wind Pillar had some unspoken words, seemingly questioning Kiyokawa Izumi's abilities and believing that he was not yet qualified to serve as a Pillar.

Perhaps due to the lord's decision, the doubts could only be suppressed for the time being.

If Kiyokawa Izumi is a demon, even if the lord vouches for him, the Wind Pillar will not hesitate to express his opinion.

Undoubtedly, they will strongly oppose it.

All evil spirits should be slain!

However, Kiyokawa Izumi is neither a demon nor does he have the merit of killing the lower six. Although there are doubts, they have not reached the point of strong opposition.

……

"The younger generation is working so hard; it's truly embarrassing!"

Upon hearing the news, Rengoku Kyojuro couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh. His thoughts were not so complicated; he was simply happy for his junior's achievements.

I felt a little ashamed.

Kiyokawa Izumi, who is younger than him, has already killed two Lower Moons.

I haven't made much of a contribution during this time, and I haven't even been able to meet the Twelve Demon Moons.

We still need to keep working hard!

In contrast, Giyu Tomioka's reaction was the most indifferent.

"oh!"

His cold face remained expressionless; without careful observation, one could not even detect the slightest nod from him.

There was no joy or similar emotion; it was as if I had heard something trivial, like—Kiyokawa Izumi found a cat while out today and it ate udon noodles.

My senior brother remained as indifferent as ever.

Perhaps this is also an acknowledgment of Kiyokawa Izumi's strength.

……

Butterfly House

"Mr. Kiyokawa Izumi is really acting recklessly. Should I go over there?"

Upon hearing the news from the Kasugai Crow, Shinobu Kocho's first reaction was, "Should I go there myself?"

After all, that guy is known for his reckless behavior.

The injury must be quite serious.

When Shinobu Kocho heard that Kiyokawa Izumi was unharmed, she was slightly taken aback.

She harbored an inexplicable and vague expectation towards him.

It's not that I hope Kiyokawa Izumi can get along well with the demons and inherit the wishes that I couldn't fulfill—Kiyokawa Izumi is not the kind of person who can get along well with demons. Although his attitude towards demons is not extreme, he is also ruthless when it comes to taking action.

This expectation might stem from the belief that he can become stronger and accomplish more things that I cannot.

Or perhaps she was hoping that he would make a different decision than she did.

When her sister died in front of her, she made up her mind to take revenge.

Therefore, he has not left the Demon Slayer Corps, nor will he leave.

But when he saw Kanao, he didn't really want her to join the Demon Slayer Corps like him. He hoped she could live like an ordinary girl, just like his sister hoped for him.

There's no need to impose the hatred you carry on others.

What Shinobu didn't know was that Kiyokawa Izumi didn't intend to kill all the demons.

This guy knows about Tanjiro's sister.

By not reporting it, he was, in a sense, violating team rules.

Yiyong's act of letting the evil spirit go is suspected of being cover-up.

However, he is not entirely without responsibility for failing to report the fact.

But Kiyokawa Izumi clearly didn't care.

While still wandering around Mount Natagumo, he didn't forget to collect Tired Blood, thinking that he could visit Miss Tamayo when he had time.