"Praise the Sun!" Tanjiro happily shouted, looking towards the rising sun.
His arms were raised, palms facing outwards. A bright smile on his face as I watched him do what I told him would raise his breathing style level. In reality, I was just using this as a distraction while I granted him access to chakra.
Zenitsu and Inoko were also 'Praising the Sun' next to him though they had different reactions to the 'training'.
"Is this even really doing anything?" Zenitsu complained.
"Uchoka Gojima! I will defeat you once I gain power from the bright lord of light in the sky!" Inoko shouted excitedly.
'For fucks sake, how is she still getting everyone's name wrong?'
"You haven't beat him in the thirty times you've challenged him Inoko, just give up." Zenitsu scolded her.
Inoko was about to retort angrily when Tanjiro came to her defense.
"Zenitsu, it's always good to keep challenging yourself."
Zenitsu dropped his arms, "He's beaten her every time without even drawing his sword, she's always ended up tied up to a tree!"
Tanjiro smiled warmly, "She's managed to last longer each time."
Zenitsu sighed before crying out in pain when I smacked him over the head with my bokken.
"Enough talking, keep Praising the Sun until it's high in the sky. I'll be teaching you all how to dance later."
"How's dancing going to help us fight demons!" Zenitsu whined.
"Dancing builds good stamina and teaches you patience." Tanjiro replied with a happy look.
"Then I will be the best dancer ever! I'll beat Unokoto Banpaku then I'll beat you Kamaboko Gonpachiro!" Inoko shouted.
"Is Kamado! Kamado Tanjiro!" Tanjiro seemed to finally snap.
"Whatever Ketanro Gapachi." Inoko scoffed.
'She's gonna give me a headache if she keeps getting everyone's name wrong.'
I sighed before conjuring a chair and watching the three bicker while facing the sun. Sitting down, I laid my bokken across my lap and waited for the sun to fully rise.
'Tamayo should be here tonight, I'll give her Akaza's blood then I'll ask her to share her research with me. I need to know more about this Muzan character.'
[Scene Break]
Once the three had grasped the basics of unlocking their chakra I had them do the leaf exercise for several hours until their control was passable. Then I had them do tree climbing and water walking.
Zenitsu was a bit sceptical at first but after I demonstrated he jumped into the training too. This was something I had already taught Kyojuro, Shinobu, and Mitsuri.
While they trained, I created a shadow clone to watch them and train them further. I had felt one of the Hashira cross my ward line.
I walked to my estates main gate and opened it just as a flashy looking young man was about to knock. I looked at him up and down, observing his clothes and the makeshift forehead protector on him.
"Tengen… what brings you to my home?" I asked.
"Akimitsu," he was one of the only ones to actually call me by my first name, "I need to borrow Tanjiro, Inoko, and Zenitsu."
I hummed, "Why?"
"I have a mission for them in the entertainment district."
"So you want to take them to the Red Light district?"
"No, not at all, they're too young, but I need their help infiltrating the place."
"Let's talk inside, this sounds interesting." I invited him through the gate.
While we walked to my main home, I had a few shadow clones disguised as servants bring out tea. He looked at them curiously, as if wondering where they came from.
"They're all trained shinobi, I brought them in from my village." I answered his unasked question.
"Shinobi, are you one as well?"
"When the situation calls for it." I nodded.
Tengen smiled, "Ah! A kindred soul… tell me, do you embrace the flashiness?"
'Nani the fuck?' "Embrace the flashiness?"
A look of disappointment seemed to cross Tengen's face before he masked it, "Nevermind, so will you lend me those three?"
"It's still unclear why you want them, why exactly do you need to infiltrate the Red Light District?"
Tengen paused, "My wives, they infiltrated months ago. I was investigating the reports of an Upper Moon being spotted there. One of them has gone missing."
I keenly observed every minute detail on his face as he explained, there was no hint of deception or anything that would show an ulterior motive. The man clearly just wanted to find his wife and get some answers.
Smiling at him I replied, "Wives huh? More than one?"
"Of course! As the God of Festivities and Flashiness I must have an appropriate number of beautiful wives." Tengen replied enthusiastically.
"I get it… I myself have several women to call my own, though only one of them can be considered my wife."
My thoughts drifted back to Kushina and the others, I missed the chaos that they brought to my life. I needed to wrap up my business in this world quickly and return to them.
"GAHHH! DESPICABLE! SOME OF US CAN'T EVEN GET A GIRL TO LOOK AT US WHILE YOU TWO ARE BRAGGING ABOUT HAVING MULTIPLE WIVES AND GIRLFRIENDS!" Zenitsu screeched and charged at Tengen and I.
I glanced at him with my Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan spinning in each eye. With a small pulse of chakra I trapped him in a world where he was getting chased by overly butch women who wanted to kill him via 'snu snu'.
"That should deal with him for a bit… very well Tengen, I'll accompany you and provide you some aid in finding your wives, there's no need to bring the kids."
Tengen smiled and gave me a respectful bow, "It is very much appreciated Akimitsu-San."
[Scene Break]
We walked around the red light district for around an hour while subtly investigating the various Oiran houses. I had a few shadow clones henge into inanimate objects at several places to gather more information.
From what I had gathered so far, it seemed that there was an unknown party demanding for certain girls to be brought to them. These girls would then never be seen again.
The Oiran houses thought this was strange but ultimately they couldn't do anything so they made excuses for them. Anything from the missing girls being taken away by rich nobles to the girls running away.
Tengen and I knew better though, clearly this was some demon posing as some affluent house, they took the girls and quite possibly killed them.
Tengen was worried, his wives had disappeared a while ago. The chances of them being alive still grew slimmer with each moment that passed. He didn't give up hope however.
"Chances are this demon is just stockpiling its 'food', if it killed and ate this any people it would have gone through the entire town already." I discreetly told the flashy ninja.
"It relieves me to know that they may yet still be alive, however this demon has gone too far, we must find it quickly and eliminate it." Tengen replied.
Nodding in agreement I turned to him, "How do we do this? We could split up and look for the demon separately or we could stick together."
"We split up, we will cover more ground this way."
Sighing, I nodded again, "Very well, don't be afraid to ask for help though."
"Ha! I'm the great God of Festivities, there's nothing I can't handle." Tengen smiled confidently before disappearing in an impressive burst of speed.
I crossed my arms and thought about how to proceed, with a little over 90% of my divine power locked away I doubted that the demons could sense me at all. In short, they should be able to detect me so they wouldn't be actively avoiding me.
My senses were constantly probing the area around me too, nothing escaped my perception. Aside from the usual lingering taint that the demon left behind I couldn't sense it in my general vicinity.
I adopted my 'traveling' outfit and merged into a crowd of people. Blending in was easy, though the straw hat with the little bells did seem a bit much.
I whistled a random tune as I walked, eventually finding myself in an alley, I sensed a disturbance and followed its source. Not long after there was a scream, I continued walking, this demon clearly enjoyed prolonging the suffering of its victims.
I could feel the woman's fear permeating the air as I drew closer. When I rounded the corner I was met with the sight of a female demon standing over a woman who was trembling.
The female demon would have been exceptionally pretty if it wasn't for the malicious look on her face. The tinkling of the bells on my hat drew the demon's attention. The woman on the ground also looked in my direction.
"Who the fuck are you supposed to be?" The demon asked with a snarl.
I reached up and slowly removed my hat, lowering it slowly for dramatic effect. I paused for a beat before revealing my Sharingan to the demon who froze. I seized the initiative and didn't let her attack.
My lower body broke into dozens of ravens leaving just my torso floating midair. I glanced down at the demon with a cold expression.
"Attacking those that are helpless, yet in the face of true power you stand frozen."
"Shut up! I'll kill you!" The demon screamed, she launched an attack at me that seemed to be made out of fabric.
I stayed in place, letting the colourful fabric phase through me. The demon recovered from her shock quickly and attacked again. Closing the distance she started trying to fight me hand to hand.
"Are you truly an Upper Moon?" I saw the letters engraved in her eyes.
"Die!!!" She didn't bother responding, just screaming at me.
Letting out a sigh I raised my cane, the wood burst apart revealing Ryujin Jakka. I wasn't going to draw it just yet, I felt Tengen somewhere in the distance fighting someone else.
"You're not worthy of staining my blade with your blood."
I continued to taunt the demon, clearly she wasn't very composed as she screamed and charged at me again. I continued to dodge and parry her attacks, her fabric attacks bounced harmlessly off of my swords scabbard.
"ONII-CHAN!!!!! HELP ME!" The demon suddenly screeched.
I hummed as the air suddenly dropped a few degrees. Turning my head a bit I sensed a slightly more powerful aura rocketing towards my direction.
[Scene Break]
Daki was not having a good day, well at first she was… until he showed up. She didn't know who he was, at first she had thought that he was another demon, given that he had glowing red eyes that radiated malice even greater than Lord Muzan's.
Then the taunts came, she tried lashing out at him but he somehow turned into birds that her attacks seemed to just phase right through. He kept taunting her, barely even making an effort in fighting back despite effortlessly batting away her attacks.
She felt her hairs tingle when his walking stick turned into a sword. But then he had told her that her blood wasn't even good enough to stain his blade.
She knew she couldn't beat him so she had called for her brother. Daki felt their connection strengthen as Gyutaro drew closer and a smirk formed on her lips.
"You're screwed now asshole! My brother is going to kill you!" She shouted at the man who hadn't moved from where he hovered.
The man scoffed, "If your brother is anything like you, I'm not worried. If anything two pathetic excuses for demons is still just two pathetic demons."
Rage filled her body as he continued to dismiss her threats. She was supposed to be the hunter, not the prey. This man obviously was underestimating her and her brother.
Daki may not have been the strongest, but if Gyutaro was by her side fighting alongside her, then nothing could stop them.
"DIE!!!"
Daki nearly jumped for joy as Gyutaro appeared behind the man with his blades prepared to cut the man in half. Daki waited for the inevitable spray of blood once the man was killed.
Only it never came, Gyutaro flew through the man's body as if he wasn't even there. Daki screamed at her brother.
"Oni-chan! He has strange powers! Help me kill him!"
"GAHGH YOU HURT MY SISTER PREPARE TO DIE!!!" Gyutaro roared and charged again.
Daki leapt into the air to assist her brother, the man didn't move. Daki grinned,
'That right, continue to underestimate our power, it will be your doom.'
The man blocked Gyutaro's sword with his scabbard, his cold gaze unchanging. Daki let out a grunt of pain as the man kicked her in the stomach hard.
Gyutaro, enraged at seeing his sister get kicked away, launched into a flurry of attacks. Yet despite his best efforts none of his blows seemed to find their mark. Daki smelled the stench of fear and found her eyes landing on the woman she had been about to kill.
The woman hadn't even bothered running, she was still huddled where Daki had thrown her. A smile crept onto Daki's face as an idea formed in her mind.
She charged at the woman while sending a mental impulse to her brother. Gyutaro grinned evilly as he also rushed towards the man at the same time.
Before she could reach the woman the man finally moved in a flash of red light, the woman reappeared next to the man shocking Daki. But her shock quickly dissolved as she grinned.
'It worked, he's distracted quick Oni-Chan… kill him!'
Gyutaro slashed at the man who shoved the woman out of the way, Gyutaro's blade finally managed to slash the man's arm spilling his blood.
"HAHAHAH! Take that!" Daki cheered.
She jumped towards the now poisoned man and pinned him to the floor with her sash, her obi piercing his body in multiple places. Something felt off but she shook off the feeling, she had finally managed to kill the man.
Sneering down at the dying man she was about to gloat when the man slowly raised his hand and pointed off to her right. Instinctively she followed his fingers and her eyes widened when she spotted the same man still hovering in the air.
Daki looked back down only to see the man's body disintegrate into dozens of black birds.
"H-how! I saw Gyutaro cut you! I felt my attack hit you!"
"Did you? Or was it all just in your head." The man responded in a monotone voice.
Daki glared at the man, her eyes widened when the man's eyes pulsed with power. Daki now found herself chained to a stone cross. The world around her had turned blood red.
[Scene Break]
The female demon stood frozen in place. Another demon was currently trying to snap her out of my genjutsu. The demon had greenish hair and a really ugly face.
They seemed to be siblings, if their auras were anything to go by. The male demon had arrived faster than I expected and managed to cut the sleeve of my cloak.
The demon turned to me with rage filled eyes.
"What have you done to Daki!" He shouted at me.
I shrugged, "She should be snapping out of it any second now."
"Wha-
"KYAAAAA!" The now named female demon screamed as she fell to her knees.
"Daki! What happened!" The demon asked as he crouched to her side.
Daki was shaking, clearly still reeling from whatever my Tsukiyomi world showed her. I had set it to auto-traumatise so I didn't really know what happened.
"You bastard! You'll pay for what you did!" The demon shouted as he picked up his blades and rushed at me.
I was getting bored, deciding to end things quickly. I slowly drew Ryujin Jakka, the woman had been sent away and the Kakushi had already evacuated the area.
It was one of the reasons I toyed with Daki for so long, I didn't want any civilians getting caught up in the fight and ending up as collateral.
The green haired demon looked rather strange, a grotesque body and mottled skin. He kept screaming at me about how I seemed to be lucky and that I deserved to die.
Tengen arrived a moment later, now wearing his demon slayer outfit, twin swords attached by a chain at his side.
"You're fashionably late." I turned to him after sending the green haired demon flying back.
"As long as it was fashionable." Tengen gave me a grin.
"So, did you find your wives?"
He nodded his head, "Indeed, they are trapped however I believe this demon has a way to free them."
"Shut up! Don't ignore me!" The green haired demon charged at us again, his sickle blade launching arcs of red energy at us.
"Shit! Move!" Tengen called out as he rushed to block the attack.
I hummed, "No need to worry."
Ryujin Jakka glinted in the light of the moon as I raised it over my head.
"All things in the Universe, turn to ashes… Ryujin Jakka!"
A tidal wave of flames vaporised everything in front of me, even the demons red projectile attacks vanished. The heat around me rose to unbearable levels, houses burst into flames, the ground began to melt.
A wide portion of the street along with hundreds of houses had turned to ash instantly. Nothing was left of the green haired demon.
Daki, who had been passed out not too far away screamed in pain as whatever connection she had with the green haired demon was vaporised along with his body.
Quickly sheathing my blade the flames vanished and the temperature returned back to normal. Tengen was gaping at the sheer destruction I could deliver with just a swing of my blade.
"That had to be the flashiest attack I have ever seen! Even that phase you said before unleashing it… that was the epitome of flashy!"
I chuckled lightly, "Come on, there's another demon. This one has a unique fabric attack, she also had a connection to that green haired guy I just turned to ash. She'll probably know how to free your wives."
Tengen followed me with a wide grin on his face, I could tell he was replaying my attack in his head from how he kept miming my last overhead strike.
"Oi… wake up." I kicked Daki over onto her back.
I was surprised to see her in tears however. I didn't think demons could cry, not these ones at least. These demons seemed far detached from their humanity.
"O-Oni-chan…" Daki sobbed.
"That demon was her brother?" Tengen mused.
"Apparently so." I hummed in reply.
"But he was so fucking ugly." I turned to Tengen to raise an eyebrow.
"Don't you dare talk about my brother like that!" Daki seemingly recovered and lunged at Tengen.
Only I intercepted her mid air with a swift kick to the stomach. My kick sent her flying back to the ground with a bang. Daki's body bounced off the ground and she gasped in pain while blood gushed from her mouth.
"D-don't call h-him ugly!" She got back up again, impressing me with her resilience.
Tengen drew his sword prepared to kill her. I stopped him, "Let me ask her about your wives first."
Daki growled and rushed at me again, I punched her back before using my Sharingan to get into her mind. We appeared in her mindscape and I looked around.
It was a snowy world, I spotted a quietly sobbing girl beneath a ratty old blanket. The girl had long dark hair, she looked extremely malnourished.
"Hmm, so this is you when you were human. I'm starting to feel as if this Muzan character likes to prey on people that are down on their luck."
The sobbing girl looks up at me with large tears in her eyes. She happily rushes over to me and hugs my legs while crying loudly.
"Oni-chan! Don't leave me!"
"Eh?" 'Why does she think I'm her brother.'
I pushed her away gently, "I am not your brother."
"No! Please! Don't say that Oni-chan… I'm sorry, please don't leave me."
'This could be a problem.' I thought.
Losing her brother right after I practically mind raped her with Tsukiyomi was definitely not good for her mental state. Her mind was a fractured mess, but this also presented an opportunity.
Daki was an Upper Moon demon, she had to have information on Muzan. I had a feeling that Tamayo also could probably benefit from being able to study another high powered demon along with Akuza.
Sighing and mentally preparing myself for what I was about to do I patted Daki on the head.
"Fine I won't leave… but promise me something Daki."
"Anything! I'll do anything! Please just don't leave me."
"You will obey everything I tell you to do." I looked into her eyes while using my Sharingan to implant the order in her mind.
She nodded frantically, "Yes! Yes! I'll do it… please just don't leave me Oni-chan."
I hummed, 'This is probably gonna be a headache and a half later… she's lucky she's relatively attractive.'
Nodding at her I pulled her out of her mindscape and returned to the real world. Tengen was looking at the now docile Daki with a look of confusion.
"Daki…" she looked to me, "do you know who has taken this man's wives?"
She looked hesitant for a moment as if debating whether to answer or not, "Hai, it was me." She finally replied while looking down.
"Good," I patted her head adding to Tengens confusion, "can you take us to where you're keeping them?"
"Okay Oni-chan." She replied.
"What did you do to her?" Tengen asked me as we followed Daki through the ruined buildings.
I sighed again, "In her mind I'm her brother now. She won't be a threat anymore."
Tengen shrugged, "If you're sure…"
"If anything, I will take full responsibility when we report this back to HQ."
"Alright then, let's keep moving."