Chapter 59 Intelligence
Four of the five Pillars have fallen.
After landing, Aoki looked at the only girl still standing.
Kanae Kochō's expression was serious, and she assumed a defensive stance.
Aoki smiled.
"Let's end it here for today!"
Kanae Kochō paused, then slowly sheathed her long sword.
She still had the strength to fight, but there was no need to continue.
This wasn't a life-or-death battle to begin with.
The other Pillars stood up one after another, their faces extremely grim.
Their injuries weren't serious; strictly speaking, they hadn't completely lost their fighting ability.
However, everyone knew that this was the result of "Aomura Kazuhiko" holding back.
If it were a life-or-death battle,
even if they could unleash greater potential, at least half of them would have died.
Five against one, and they lost.
And lost so miserably.
Aoki remained calm.
He had already anticipated this outcome when he realized he was extremely restrained by Himejima.
Black Death Eyes faced Himejima with his three-piece set of Mark, Crimson Blade, and Transparent World, plus Himejima with his two-piece set of Mark and Crimson Blade, as well as Tokito Muichiro who briefly entered the Transparent World, and Shinazugawa Sanemi with his two-piece set,
and Shinazugawa Genya who had a surprisingly effective set. He ultimately still managed to kill Tokito Muichiro and Shinazugawa Genya, repeatedly pushing Himejima and Shinazugawa Genya to the brink of defeat.
He was only facing five basic Pillars, not a life-or-death battle, and the strongest among them was severely countered by him. If he couldn't win easily under these circumstances, he might as well just kill himself.
Tap tap tap.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya, supported by Ubuyashiki Amane, walked over.
His expression remained calm, as if unaffected, and he spoke gently.
"Mr. Aomura Kazuhiko, how does the Upper Moon compare to your strength?"
Aoki had already considered this question: "My current strength is roughly equivalent to Upper Moon One!"
Kanae Kochō perked up and asked, "Mr. Aoki, how do you think our strength compares to the Upper Moons?"
Aoki replied, "In a one-on-one fight, none of you are a match for any of the Upper Moons!"
The Pillars fell silent.
They were all extremely confident individuals and naturally didn't want to accept this assessment, but given their recent disastrous defeat, they had no grounds for rebuttal.
Kanae Kochō had personally fought Upper Moon Two and had a deeper understanding of the Upper Moons' strength than the others, making her more accepting of this answer.
"Then, what about Muzan Kibutsuji?"
Instantly, everyone forgot about the other questions, their gazes fixed intently on Aoki.
Face, confidence—everything paled in comparison to the name "Muzan Kibutsuji."
Even Kagaya Ubuyashiki looked on with anticipation.
Although they considered Muzan Kibutsuji their mortal enemy, they knew very little about him.
Every bit of information is invaluable.
"Muzan Kibutsuji?"
Aoki chuckled. "If you all attack together, Muzan Kibutsuji probably wouldn't even need a tenth of his power to easily defeat you!"
He didn't know exactly how strong Muzan Kibutsuji was. In any case,
even after aging nearly several thousand years, Muzan could still bring almost all the Pillars with Demon Slayer Marks and Crimson Blades to the brink of death in an extremely short time.
These now-defunct Pillars, even if they attacked together, wouldn't pose any threat to Muzan Kibutsuji.
A deeper silence fell, the courtyard so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
After a while,
Ubuyashiki Kagaya was the first to recover, his tone calm yet firm: "I didn't expect the gap to be so large, but I believe that as long as we keep working hard, one day, one day, we will definitely defeat Muzan Kibutsuji!"
"That's right, Muzan must die!" Aoki nodded, his tone filled with killing intent.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya smiled: "Mr. Aomura Kazuhiko, we have a common goal, we should help each other."
"Of course,"
Aoki readily agreed.
This was his goal all along, there was no reason to hesitate.
The Pillars remained silent, no one objecting, clearly they had already discussed the issue and reached a consensus.
Aoki also noticed that after the sparring match, the Pillars' hostility towards him had decreased significantly.
Was this a case of becoming friends after a fight?
Nothing is more convincing than facts.
If he truly harbored malice, the Demon Slayer Corps would already be suffering heavy casualties, especially Ubuyashiki Kagaya, who would certainly be dead by now.
Afterwards, Aoki and Ubuyashiki Kagaya discussed the details of their cooperation.
The Demon Slayer Corps mainly provided the intelligence, and Aoki was responsible for processing it, making him a special unofficial member of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Aoki also shared some information he had gathered.
"Regarding Upper Moon Two, he is the founder of the Eternal Paradise Cult, a small cult with only about 250 members..."
The Pillars all showed great interest.
Although "Aomura Kazuhiko" said they were no match for an Upper Moon one-on-one, it didn't matter; if they couldn't win in a one-on-one fight, they could gang up on him.
There was no need to talk about martial ethics with demons.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya said, "The Eternal Paradise Cult? Good, this is a very important clue. We will immediately launch an investigation and notify Mr. Aomura Kazuhiko as soon as we have any news."
Aoki nodded in satisfaction.
Using the Demon Slayer Corps' intelligence network to find his prey was his purpose for this trip.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya asked, "Anything else, Mr. Aomura Kazuhiko?"
Aoki thought for a moment and said, "There's another personal matter. I'd like to ask the Demon Slayer Corps to help me find a charcoal-selling boy named Kamado Tanjiro.
He's about 12 years old, with deep red hair and red eyes, a scar on his left forehead, and always wears a green Ichimatsu-patterned haori." He
figured he might as well use the Demon Slayer Corps' resources.
He wasn't afraid of them discovering anything.
Tanjiro was just an ordinary charcoal-selling boy now; who would have thought he possessed the strongest talent for becoming a demon, had seen the blue spider lily, and mastered the Breath of the Sun?
Ubuyashiki Kagaya asked, "Kamado Tanjiro? Mr. Aomura Kazuhiko, is he your relative?"
The Pillars also quietly perked up their ears.
They knew a lot about what happened to "Aomura Kazuhiko" after he became a demon, but they knew nothing about his identity before he died.
This might be an opportunity to learn more about him.
Aoki shook his head: "No! I just want to ask him about some things."
Everyone knew something was amiss, but since they were in a cooperative relationship, they couldn't force "Aomura Kazuhiko" to speak.
However, it didn't matter.
If they could find the boy named Kamado Tanjiro, they could investigate first.
This wouldn't violate their agreement.
"Tanjiro's family lives in the mountains, making a living by burning and selling charcoal. He's the eldest son, with five younger siblings. His father may have passed away..."
Aoki briefly introduced Tanjiro's situation, finally looking at Tomioka Giyuu: "Tanjiro's family might be in your area of responsibility!" Tomioka
Giyuu paused, then silently nodded: "Okay!"
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(End of Chapter)