"Muzan Kibutsuji should be nearby. Don't let your guard down for a second."
Gyomei Himejima spoke like an older brother, staying a few paces ahead of Muichiro Tokito as they moved through the Infinity Castle.
"Yes."
Muichiro nodded obediently.
The two of them pushed forward, both of them sensing the demonic aura surrounding the shifting corridors.
Suddenly, Gyomei heard a strange sound.
"Tokito!"
He spun around to warn him, but it was already too late.
A wall bulged outward without warning and slammed into Muichiro, blasting him across the corridor.
"Stone Hashira, keep searching for Muzan's position," Muichiro shouted. "Don't waste time on me!"
Even as he spoke, he realized how bad the situation was.
Behind him was another wall, and the sudden pressure from the moving structure pinned him in place.
"Looks like I'll have to take it head on."
With a quiet breath, Muichiro immediately activated his Breathing Technique.
His muscles tightened instantly, his bones cracking and popping as if compressing into something denser and stronger.
Boom!
Muichiro drove himself into the wall.
The wall collapsed on impact.
Rubble exploded outward, and Muichiro fell through the broken stone, landing hard and rolling into an unfamiliar space.
When he steadied himself and looked up, he realized he was inside a room.
Pillars stood everywhere. Here and there were bamboo partitions.
It didn't look like a battlefield. It looked like some strange hall built for an unknown purpose.
Then a figure appeared before him.
A man.
"The Demon Slayer Corps has arrived…"
The man sighed and slowly turned around.
The moment Muichiro saw his face, it felt like a shadow dropped over his lungs.
He couldn't breathe.
Six eyes.
The man's face held six enormous eyes. Everything around the pupils was a terrifying, blood red glare.
And within those eyes, Muichiro saw the marking that confirmed it.
Upper Rank One.
Muzan's number one demon.
"Hmm?"
Kokushibo paused, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
His posture loosened, just slightly.
"Why does this feel… familiar?"
"A sense of nostalgia…"
His six eyes narrowed.
In an instant, it was as if he could see through Muichiro's body.
The density of his muscles.
The way the muscle along his chest wrapped tightly around his left ribs.
Everything about that structure felt strangely known.
"So that's it."
Muichiro didn't realize he had been read so thoroughly.
All he knew was one thing.
The demon in front of him was dangerous.
Upper Rank One was nothing like the other Upper Moons.
Not in presence.
Not in aura.
Not in form.
Even the sheer pressure of his authority, that heavy, grounded dominance, hit Muichiro like a mountain.
Muichiro's eyes flicked down to the blade at Kokushibo's waist.
A sword?
He uses a sword?
Was he a Demon Slayer in his human life?
Judging by his stance, he wasn't just skilled. He was a master.
They stood facing each other.
And then Muichiro noticed something that made his throat tighten.
He was trembling.
His hand on the hilt had been shaking for who knew how long.
It was the demon aura.
It was crushing him.
"What is your name?"
Upper Rank One spoke.
"Kokushibo's" voice was calm, almost distant.
"Muichiro Tokito…"
The Mist Hashira answered quietly.
"I see. So that's how it is…"
Kokushibo let out a slow, hollow sigh.
"I didn't expect it to be so long."
"After centuries of change… the name 'Tsugikuni' has disappeared."
"Tsugikuni?" Muichiro repeated, confused. "Who is that?"
The name felt unfamiliar.
And yet, somewhere deep inside, it felt like it carried weight.
"As expected. You don't know."
Kokushibo's tone remained even.
"It's no surprise. It has been hundreds of years."
"When I was still human… my name was Michikatsu Tsugikuni."
"You are the descendant of the child I left behind in the Tsugikuni family."
"In other words…"
"You are my bloodline."
The words landed like a blade.
Muichiro's pupils tightened.
The demon in front of him, a monster soaked in countless deaths, was his ancestor?
He was descended from this thing?
Impossible.
And yet, the seed of doubt sank into Muichiro's chest, unwanted and heavy.
If that was true, then this demon who had lived for centuries…
Was the legendary swordsman connected to the First Breathing Style.
Muichiro shook his hands hard, forcing the tremble out of his body.
Calm down.
Ancestor or not, demon or not, terrifying or not…
This was the enemy he had to kill.
Kokushibo noticed the change. He stroked his chin, interested.
"In an instant, you stabilized your trembling heart."
"Strong mind. No flaws."
The moment the thought ended, Muichiro attacked.
His body flashed forward, appearing in front of Kokushibo in an instant, and the pale green blade cut through the air.
Mist Breathing, Second Form!
Eight Layered Mist!
Eight cold arcs erupted in a blink, surrounding Kokushibo from every angle.
No impact.
Muichiro's eyes widened.
Kokushibo had already slipped out of the net, standing in a safe spot, calmly observing the technique.
"Your swordsmanship is refined to an impressive degree."
"Mist Breathing, hm?"
"Not bad."
Praise.
Real praise.
And it made Muichiro feel even more powerless.
But there was no time to think.
Muichiro's momentum turned sharply, his body flowing into the next strike as he launched himself again.
Mist Breathing, Fifth Form!
Sea of Clouds and Haze!
A dense mist exploded outward from the sword form, swallowing both of them.
The heavy, colored haze blocked vision, and Muichiro's blade flashed again.
Still no impact.
Muichiro twisted his head.
Kokushibo was behind him.
At some point, he had moved without Muichiro even noticing.
Muichiro's heart lurched.
Kokushibo felt like he had already seen every move before it happened.
Like Muichiro's sword forms were being predicted and avoided without effort.
"Muichiro," Kokushibo said softly.
"You look fourteen or fifteen."
"And your swordsmanship is already this polished."
"You're young, you have strength, and you've already suppressed your fear of me."
"Worthy of my blood."
"Your bloodline may have been diluted until it's barely there, but it doesn't matter."
"Even if the surname ended…"
"The cells inside you still carry my existence."
"Are you messing with me?" Muichiro said coldly, eyes locked on him.
"Even if I'm your descendant, it's been hundreds of years."
"How could your blood, your cells, still be alive in me?"
"They would've been swallowed up long ago."
As he spoke, a pale green mark began to appear across Muichiro Tokito's face.
----------------------------------------------------
The deeper he goes, the more the truth unravels. Don't wait read ahead and witness Vincent's rise before the world catches up!
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