บท 63: Hunter [63]: Journey to the Swordsmith Village
"Are you awake now?"
Shinobu immediately noticed that Lin Jiu had returned to normal.
"Yes, but I feel quite hungry."
Lin Jiu said, rubbing his stomach.
"You've been sitting there for a whole day and night. Of course, you're hungry."
Shinobu laughed.
"A whole day and night? That long?"
Lin Jiu felt it hadn't been that long. Did it take that long for a life-flashing-before-your-eyes experience? Thinking about it, his experience was quite detailed, so maybe it did take that long.
Luckily, it wasn't a life-or-death battle; otherwise, he wouldn't have woken up before being decapitated.
"If your aura hadn't been getting stronger, we would have thought something had happened to you."
Rengoku Kyojuro laughed.
"Stop! Just stop right there!"
A shout came from the distance, a sound Lin Jiu had heard before. It was similar to when the hidden members were chasing Tanjiro before the Nine Hashira Meeting. Could someone else be running around here?
They then saw a figure moving nimbly, leaving the hidden members far behind. Finally, the figure stopped in front of Lin Jiu and the others.
"Brother Red, you're alright!"
It turned out to be Toko. She had been staying at the Butterfly Mansion with Tanjiro and the others. Since her injuries were minor, she recovered quickly. She had been training diligently at the Butterfly Mansion and seemed to have made great progress.
Lin Jiu smiled and patted Toko's head, saying, "What could happen to me?"
"But Sister Kocho said you were going to become a vegetable."
Toko looked at Shinobu with big, puzzled eyes.
"Ara~, I was just joking, Toko-chan."
Shinobu covered her mouth and chuckled.
Joking?
Lin Jiu suspected she was getting back at him for not taking her along to seek revenge on Doma.
Ah, women! So petty!
"Ah, Hashira-sama! Sorry, sorry! We couldn't keep an eye on her!"
The Kakushi who arrived late were extremely flustered upon seeing the two Hashira present and quickly bowed.
"It's alright. You can leave now," Shinobu said softly.
After the Kakushi left, Rengoku Kyojuro thoughtfully said, "Red, you've almost wiped out this generation of the Twelve Kizuki. You should become a Hashira. This big-eyed girl is your successor, right?"
"What? Brother Red, I see you as a brother, and you want to be my dad?" Toko was immediately surprised.
"Who taught you this nonsense!"
Lin Jiu knocked Toko on the head. She must have met Kanae while staying at the Butterfly Mansion and learned what a successor means.
"Hehe!"
Toko giggled and scratched her head. She had run over with a worried heart, but seeing nothing was wrong, she couldn't help but relax and tease.
"Becoming a Hashira doesn't matter Once we kill Muzan Kibutsuji, being a Hashira or not is irrelevant."
Lin Jiu responded to Rengoku Kyojuro. The Demon Slayer Corps' logistics exchange wouldn't offer more items based on rank, so there was no need to strive for it.
He would be fighting Muzan soon, and becoming a Hashira might make things more difficult.
"Caw, caw... Oyakata-sama summons!"
Lin Jiu's Kasugai crow flew in, speaking to Lin Jiu, Shinobu, and Rengoku Kyojuro.
"It looks like a big mission! Could it be preparations to deal with Muzan Kibutsuji?"
Rengoku Kyojuro said loudly.
"Very likely."
Shinobu agreed.
"Toko, you go back to the Butterfly Mansion first," Lin Jiu instructed. Seeing that everything was fine, Toko obediently returned.
Upon arriving, they found it wasn't another Nine Hashira Meeting. Kagaya Ubuyashiki had only summoned the Hashira who were at the headquarters or his residence. Besides Shinobu and Rengoku Kyojuro, Giyu Tomioka had arrived first.
"Someone has sent us a message. They informed us that Muzan Kibutsuji has learned the location of the Swordsmith Village and may take action. What do you think?"
Kagaya Ubuyashiki explained the reason for summoning them.
"Oyakata-sama, is this person trustworthy?"
Giyu Tomioka calmly asked.
"Are we about to start the final battle? This is our duty!"
Rengoku Kyojuro said resolutely.
"Regardless of the truth, we should evacuate the people from the Swordsmith Village first."
Lin Jiu didn't need to think to know that this was the work of the demon faction's contractors.
The final mission of the Demon Slayer Corps' faction was to kill the Upper Moons, while the opposing faction's mission was to kill the Hashira. So far, no Hashira had died, and more than half of their contractors had died directly or indirectly at Lin Jiu's hands. They no longer had the strength to kill a Hashira.
They could only rely on the strength of the demon faction. Lin Jiu felt pity for their Boss, Muzan Kibutsuji, for having such subordinates.
There was no need to think about who notified the Demon Slayer Corps; it was those contractors who orchestrated the situation. Their actions were easy to understand. Without informing the Demon Slayer Corps, how would they send the Hashira over?
If Muzan Kibutsuji's dispatched subordinates raided the Swordsmith Village, and the news reached the Demon Slayer Corps, sending the Hashira over would be too late. Without a confrontation, how would they seize the opportunity to complete their mission?
Although Lin Jiu didn't know what methods they used to focus Muzan Kibutsuji's attention on the Swordsmith Village, he immediately suggested evacuating the personnel. He still needed those swordsmiths to fuse the [Willow Shallow] into [Dawn]; they couldn't die now.
"It's truly shameful! I didn't think of the safety of the people in the Swordsmith Village first!"
Rengoku Kyojuro said, bowing his head.
"So, it seems that Red-san is quite suitable to be a Hashira," Shinobu said with a smile.
"Then, I'll have you go to the Swordsmith Village to relocate the people and stop the attacking demons."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki instructed the four present.
Lin Jiu walked out, pouting. No side quest triggered, what a disappointment.
"No time to lose! Let's set off immediately!"
Rengoku Kyojuro said, looking ahead.
"Let's go."
Giyu Tomioka set off.
Lin Jiu and Shinobu followed behind them. Apart from the last time they surrounded and killed a demon for Lin Jiu, they hadn't experienced so many Hashira executing a mission together.
"Red-san, do you think Muzan Kibutsuji will show up?"
Shinobu asked with a smile.
"I don't think he will."
Lin Jiu said plainly. Muzan Kibutsuji, already cautious by nature, had become even more vigilant after witnessing Lin Jiu's daylight assassination. He feared that the Demon Slayer Corps might not opt for a confrontation but instead try to trap him until daylight, which would be the end for him.
"Huh?"
"I think it will be Upper Moon One."
Lin Jiu concluded.
The Upper Moon demons he had nearly wiped out were not easy to create. It's not that it would harm Muzan Kibutsuji, but most people couldn't withstand so much demon blood. Even Kaigaku, a former demon slayer trained from a young age, could only handle becoming Upper Moon Six. Finding suitable candidates to become Upper Moon demons was incredibly difficult.
Regardless of how those contractors attracted Muzan Kibutsuji's attention, the location alone was enough for Muzan to take it seriously. Annihilating the Swordsmith Village would be akin to cutting off the Demon Slayer Corps' arms, naturally making it a priority. Cautious as he was, if Muzan didn't come personally, the most likely one to appear would be Upper Moon One, Kokushibo.
Compared to Muzan Kibutsuji, Lin Jiu found Kokushibo more difficult to deal with. Muzan relied on his Blood Demon Arts and near-immortal body, making him easy to manipulate in battle.
But Kokushibo was different. Originally a swordsman, he continued to hone his swordsmanship even after becoming a demon. If not for the world's limits, his swordsmanship would have reached a high level of mastery!
If Muzan Kibutsuji couldn't suppress Kokushibo through bloodline control, it would be hard to tell who would win in a fight between them. This is also why Muzan has always wanted to eliminate Tamayo.
Tamayo broke free from his control, which could mean she could help others do the same. This was detrimental to Muzan's absolute control over his demon subordinates.
The difference between Kokushibo and Muzan Kibutsuji was like the difference between Madara Uchiha and Kaguya Otsutsuki in the Naruto world.
In a slightly higher-tier derivative world, Lin Jiu wouldn't engage Kokushibo without gathering nine Hashira. It's easy to understand that each world's basic attributes have limits, but techniques...
It's not hard to understand either. Mastery-level techniques can already reach extraordinary realms through skill alone. But Kokushibo's combat power was more about his Moon Breathing technique combined with his demon body, clearly not relying solely on sword skills.
It was evident that Kokushibo's sword skills were stronger than those of the Nine Hashira but not overwhelmingly so, indicating he was still at a proficient level. As characters from derivative worlds are subject to such limits, even hundreds of years of honing hadn't reached mastery!
Even the native world, with much higher freedom than derivative worlds, was constrained by world limits.
It's normal; if the world limit wasn't this high, it wouldn't be a first-tier derivative world. Lin Jiu wouldn't have come to this world to execute missions.
"Brother Giyu, let's discuss something. How about taking Toko as your successor?"
Lin Jiu sidled up to Giyu Tomioka.
"Too troublesome."
Giyu Tomioka said calmly. They were used to Lin Jiu's strange nicknames; what could they do when they couldn't beat him?
Lin Jiu smiled, "Five meals of radish stewed salmon."
"Ten meals."
"Deal."
Giyu Tomioka was just being modest. He had seen the girl named Toko; her talent was indeed excellent. Moreover, he had heard that she learned Water Breathing by listening to Red's theoretical explanations, making her very suitable as his successor.
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