Ever since disposing of the Lower Moons, Muzan had found his days growing more and more unpleasant. The Upper Moons had begun disappearing one after another as well, starting with Doma.
Muzan had suspected the Demon Slayer Corps, but after more than a thousand years of entanglement with them, he knew all too well that they could not possibly have that kind of method. If the Ubuyashiki bloodline possessed such means, they would never have dragged things out until now before making a move.
But one thing was beyond doubt. Someone was helping that eyesore band of trash.
As that thought crossed his mind, Muzan sensed the emotions being transmitted by Hantengu, and his expression darkened further.
What a pack of useless fools.
"Nakime."
The biwa music echoing through the Infinity Castle came to a halt. After a brief silence, a sharp twang rang out, and the scene before Muzan shifted with it.
He looked at the black-haired woman before him, kneeling obediently with her head lowered. His mood finally improved a little. A crimson, razor-sharp tube-whip extended from behind him and pierced straight into Nakime's forehead.
"Find that worthless Hantengu for me. Then choose a few demons with Lower Moon-level strength and have Kokushibo take them there to slaughter every last one of that trash."
Nakime's body trembled involuntarily as a large amount of blood poured into her, but she still kept her head bowed in submission.
"Yes."
"I want to see what kind of reckless filth dares interfere with my affairs..."
Setting aside, for now, the matter of Muzan being so disgusted by Hiru that he personally stepped in to command things, Hiru, after taking over Ubuyashiki's estate, finally dumped Hantengu out of the box he had folded him into and tossed him into the indoor training ground. During the day, he let the Hashira use him for practice. At night, he folded him back up and stuffed him into the box again, over and over.
The training ground, however, was clearly divided into two groups. One was the combat team led by Sanemi, lining up to study how to deal with an Upper Moon. The other was the vigilance team led by Mitsuri, stationed beside Hiru. Though Hiru preferred to call the latter the slacking-off team, since he knew better than anyone whether he had any hostile intent.
The slacking-off team's daily task was to sit with Hiru at the edge of the grounds, eat all kinds of sweets, and watch the other Hashira fight for their lives right in front of them.
Today was exactly the same. Hiru sat leisurely at the side, a dessert box brought by Mitsuri placed beside him, eating away without pause.
"Um... Hiru-san, are you really a demon?"
Hiru turned to look at Mitsuri, whose eyes were full of curiosity. He swallowed the sweet in his mouth and raised a hand to point at himself.
"Want me to take my head off to prove it?"
Mitsuri immediately waved her hands.
"No, that's not what I meant. It's just that Hiru-san feels completely different from when we first met. There isn't even a trace of demon aura or danger around you anymore..."
"Oh, that. That's because I used medicine... Ugh!"
Hiru spat out the daifuku he had just bitten into, his face full of disgust.
"What the hell is this?!"
"Ah, that's supposedly a new product that's been really popular lately. Cream cilantro daifuku." Mitsuri laughed. "It has a very delicate flavor. I thought it was pretty good~"
Hiru: ...Σ(°-°lll)
Silently setting down the daifuku with only one bite taken out of it, Hiru stared at the dessert box and hesitated. Had he ever wanted to try such a bizarre daifuku? Otherwise, how was he supposed to explain the things this illusion had created?
"Oh, right, there should be two more new daifuku flavors in the box." Mitsuri looked extremely happy. "One is honey-pickled bitter melon daifuku, and the other is whitebait edamame paste daifuku. I tried them both, and they were really good, so I wanted to surprise you, Hiru-san. How is it? Is it tasty?"
[...Looks like this girl's terrifying trait isn't just her appetite. Her sense of taste is terrifying too.]
With that thought, Hiru's gaze swept around the area before finally landing on Kyojuro. After confirming with Mitsuri that she had only bought three new flavors and that they were all in the same box, he picked it up and walked straight over, handing him the entire thing.
Seeing Kyojuro eat the daifuku one after another without showing even the slightest odd expression, Hiru finally could not hold back.
"...You don't think there's anything strange about them?"
"Umu?" Kyojuro tilted his head. "Not really. I think they're delicious!"
[...Could my sense of taste have gone wrong after spending so many years in Hell?]
That thought lasted less than a second before Hiru flung it out of his mind.
[No, no, no. No matter how you think about it, this isn't my problem! Sure, demons and humans have different senses of taste, but if we're really going to talk about it, the person who developed a daifuku flavor like this is the real demon!]
Hiru did not dwell on the daifuku issue for long. He soon looked toward Hantengu, and the smile on his face spread.
"Well now... have they found their way here? Fast work. But if the movement is this quick, he probably didn't come in person, did he?
"As for the Upper Moons left now... aside from Aniue, there should still be that space demon and the Pickle Jar. We have Himejima and Uzui on our side, and I'm at full strength... Mm. Even if they all come, it shouldn't be a major problem."
"Hiru-san, may I ask what you mean by your older brother?"
"Hm?"
Hiru turned to look at Kyojuro, who had already emptied the dessert box, and tilted his head.
"My older brother is my older brother? One of my aniue from the Tsugikuni Clan, though not my biological older brother.
"My surname wasn't originally Tsugikuni. When I was very young, my birth mother brought me to the Tsugikuni Clan, and I was adopted into it. Aside from Tsugikuni Yoriichi, the Original Swordsman I mentioned that day, the current Upper Moon One is also my brother. You can call him Tsugikuni Michikatsu or Kokushibo."
"Hah. One brother is the Original Swordsman who protects humanity, and the other is an Upper Moon of the Demon Moons who kills humans. Didn't expect your background to be this rough."
Hearing that, Hiru rolled his eyes at Tengen, who had somehow drifted over beside him.
"That's called having connections on both sides, got it?"