Konoha's Mission Master

"Kyojuro, take good care of yourself!"

Yakumo gripped Tanjiro Kamado's Nichirin Blade tightly.

"Destruction Kill - Final Move - Azure Silver Chaotic Remnant Light"

Akaza continuously threw punches in all directions, and those fist shadows converged in mid-air into transparent light bullets that sped away rapidly, creating a dense array of fist shadows on the surrounding ground.

Yakumo activated his perception to the maximum, and a thin mist rose around him.

"Fleeting Light".

"Breath of Flame, Fourth Form: The Winding Stream of Blazing Flame!"

With himself at the center, Rengoku Kyojuro unleashed a vortex of flames that gradually spread outwards, resembling a giant peacock spreading its tail feathers from afar, forming a barrier of flames... blocking the invisible energy blasts scattered across the sky.

Kyojuro Rengoku's face showed complete composure.

The golden light that Yakumo transformed into traversed the range of the invisible energy blast at an extremely fast speed. The Nichirin Blade in his hand suddenly turned pure white, then quickly turned crimson, and gradually ignited with golden flames.

The distance between the two continued to close...

“Wei Kingdom”.

Yakumo spoke softly, using a sword technique inherited from Miyamoto Musashi, and incorporating the skill of the swift light technique.

With each step and movement, countless air blasts landed in the air.

Akaza focused more attention on Yakumo, and countless transparent energy blasts crashed into Yakumo. This was his last gamble, and also a desperate attack at the peak of his power!

No matter how hard Akaza tried, he could never touch Yakumo's body, and his Ki Blast was always just a little bit short of Yakumo's reach.

"The Supreme Realm..."

Akaza watched Yakumo's actions as if he were witnessing a miracle.

Akaza felt as if Yakumo had entered the legendary, supreme realm of the Transparent World; in reality… he was simply faster.

shuh…

Golden blade energy pierced the sky and descended, instantly beheading Akaza.

But Yakumo did not stop. In order to prevent Akaza from breaking through the limit and overcoming the weakness of decapitation, the flames on the Nichirin Blade continued to burn.

"Instant Light - Seven-Hit Combo"

When all is quiet and everything is calm.

The seven golden lines slowly dissipated.

Akaza's domain was torn apart, and his body was burned to ashes.

At the last moment, Akaza regained his memories, found the reason why he had never been with women, and remembered his former love.

With a smile on his lips, he gradually turned to ashes.

In Yakumo's hands, Tanjiro's Nichirin Blade... broke.

"Ugh, it's so unreliable."

PS: Requesting monthly votes.

Chapter 217 Shinobu Kocho, Demon Slayer Corps Headquarters

A ray of light appeared on the horizon, and the sun gradually rose.

Tanjiro Kamado and his companions arrived from afar, bringing the battle to a complete end. With the deaths of Upper Moon One and Upper Moon Three, the balance of power between Muzan and the Demon Slayer Corps was utterly shattered.

[Congratulations to the player for defeating Upper Moon Three, Akaza.]

Congratulations, player! You have earned 5000 Conquest Points!

Let the fire of the sun extinguish all evil!

When Yakumo saw that everyone had arrived, he gently bit the tip of his tongue, blood gushed from the corner of his mouth, and his body began to sway before finally collapsing straight down.

At the same time, his face gradually turned pale.

Kyojuro Rengoku quickly supported Yakumo's body, his face filled with worry, but he didn't know that Yakumo was actually pretending...

"Take me back to a safe place to recuperate."

After saying this, Yakumo fainted.

Hantengu, who was secretly watching everything from afar, hesitated slightly before abandoning his plan to launch a surprise attack. Muzan-sama's order was for him to find the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters as soon as possible, and he also did not order me to kill the Flame Pillar, whose strength was basically intact, before dawn.

Without hesitation, Rengoku Kyojuro carried Yakumo on his back, and the group set off again. Although there was a logistics department in the Demon Slayer Corps, the one with the strongest medical skills was undoubtedly the Insect Pillar, Shinobu Kocho.

During the run, Rengoku Kyojuro conducted a brief examination on Yakumo and found that his breathing was steady, his heartbeat was strong, and his muscles and bones were strong, showing no signs of injury, yet he had fallen into a "coma".

The group hurried on their way, unaware that a tail was following them.

On the other hand, Muzan initially intended to avoid Yakumo's sharp edge, but when he heard that Yakumo had been seriously injured and unconscious after a life-or-death battle with Kokushibo, he was surprised.

Furthermore, they have already located the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters and are considering annihilating them in one fell swoop.

If the blue spider lily is his long-cherished wish that he has pursued for thousands of years, then annihilating the Demon Slayer Corps is his biggest unresolved issue at present.

Muzan pushed open the window, looked at the lights outside, and his heart gradually became incredibly hot. After a long while, he spoke and gave the order.

"Gather the remaining demons and prepare to storm the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters."

"Those who perform exceptionally well will receive my blood to reassemble the Twelve Demon Moons."

Meanwhile, Rengoku Kyojuro had already sent Yakumo to the Butterfly Mansion.

With his eyes closed, Yakumo could smell the fragrance of all kinds of flowers in the air. Even with his eyes closed, he could imagine the endless flowers, like waves, filling the entire courtyard.

Suddenly, Yakumo smelled a very special floral fragrance, light yet lingering for a long time. Someone inserted a stethoscope into his collar and pressed it against the left side of his chest for another examination.

"He wasn't injured; in fact, he was frighteningly healthy."

After examining him, Shinobu Kocho spoke to Kyojuro Rengoku.

"How is that possible? He was clearly vomiting blood!"

Rengoku Kyojuro immediately retorted, just then... Yakumo, who was lying on the bed, opened his eyes and easily sat up.

"Kyojuro, be careful... I'm definitely not injured."

"then you…"

Yakumo began to explain that from the moment he discovered the third person traveling with the two Upper Moons, he had been planning to lure out the Demon King Muzan. After all, this was just a side world, and he didn't want to waste too much time in it.

That's how the plan of deliberately feigning weakness to lure the enemy into a trap came about.

Just as Yakumo predicted, the third one had been secretly following them all along and had already discovered the Demon Slayer Corps' headquarters. In addition, with his strongest fighter severely injured, Muzan was very likely to launch an attack.

"You've been too hasty!"

Yakumo looked at the woman who had spoken. She was an extremely beautiful woman with a head of black hair that had a slight purple tinge at the ends, and even her eyes contained a noble purple hue. She had a faint smile on her face.

But Yakumo could sense that she was dissatisfied.

"Based on Kokushibo's strength, I have a very good chance of killing Demon King Muzan single-handedly. Surely the remaining nine Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps can't stop two Upper Moons and five Lower Moons combined?"

Yakumo smiled and asked Shinobu Kocho in return.

Upon hearing this, Shinobu Kocho fell silent for a moment. She couldn't think of a way to refute Yakumo. After all, the person in front of her had proven his strength countless times, and it was he who... personally killed Doma to avenge her sister Kanae, and he had done her a great favor.

"Thank you."

A few seconds later, Shinobu Kocho spoke softly.

"Thanks…?"

Yakumo was completely puzzled; he couldn't recall ever having any dealings with this beautiful young lady in front of him.

"Thank you for killing Doma."

"I just happened to run into them... so I killed them on the spur of the moment."

Yakumo waved his hand dismissively.

Shinobu Kocho wore a bright smile, but she didn't explain to Yakumo why she was grateful. However, she kept this kindness in her heart.

"Killing the Demon King Muzan should have been the original intention of the Demon Slayer Corps. I admit that I was gambling, but the chances of killing Muzan are extremely high. Doesn't the Demon Slayer Corps dare to gamble with me?"

"This matter... needs to be asked of the lord."

"It is Rengoku Kyojuro," he said.

"it is good."

Yakumo nodded. He also wanted to see what kind of person the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps was, that could win the hearts of so many talented young men and women.

Rengoku Kyojuro helped the pale-faced Yakumo to his feet.

As you open the wooden door of the house, what comes into view is a fairly flat pebble path about two meters wide, with flowers of various colors blooming in profusion on both sides of the path.

Suddenly, the fragrance of flowers around him became stronger, rushing into Yakumo's nostrils. Although it wasn't pungent, it was unusually strong.

Among the flower stamens, there were diligent bees the size of peas gathering nectar, and even more butterflies, like waves, lazily basking in the sun on the flower's heart.

As Butterfly Ren walked among the flowers, butterflies began to flutter around her, creating a beautiful scene.

Yakumo was leaning against her, and upon closer inspection, he noticed that Shinobu's body was incredibly slender, with a waist so thin it could be encircled with one hand. He could clearly smell the fragrance emanating from Shinobu, a delicate and lingering scent.

"Breath of Flame: Shiranui"

Kyojuro Rengoku swiftly drew his sword, his figure flashing past in an instant. Flames burned on the blade as he pierced the shadows not far away, where a clone of a demon was hiding, spying on the entire Butterfly Mansion.

With a low, mournful scream... a wisp of gray smoke rose.

Before the Half-Heaven Dog was annihilated, he saw the demon hunter who had defeated Kokushibo turn pale and cough up blood.

Kyojuro Rengoku's sudden attack startled the girl not far away, causing her to drop the wooden basin full of sheets. The white sheets spilled out of the basin as Kyojuro Rengoku sincerely apologized and explained the situation.

Shinobu Kocho, supporting the even paler Yakumo, headed towards their lord's residence. However, after only a few dozen steps, Kyojuro Rengoku carried Yakumo on his back, and the three of them quickly ran towards their lord's mansion.

Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke were left in the Butterfly House.

Along the way, Yakumo discovered that the surrounding forest was full of deadly traps and hidden sentries. Without someone to guide him, an ordinary person would almost certainly lose their life if they fell into these traps. It was just like a well-defended war fortress.

Unfortunately... none of these arrangements could stop Muzan.

"Alright, Steelzuka, don't be angry. That's..."