Chapter 49

My name is Zero.

The Zero Pillar of the eleven Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps.

Sometimes I wonder, does everyone in the Demon Slayer Corps have to experience all kinds of strange things?

For example, now...

Just woke up in the morning, only to find Kanae and Mitsuri sandwiching me in the middle on the bed, while Xiao Yue is lying on my chest, unable to move even if I want to...

Kanae is fine, just sleeping while grabbing one of my arms, revealing a sweet smile. I suppose she must be having some beautiful dream?

Xiao Yue is like a mini doll, sleeping quietly on my chest.

It's just Mitsuri...

Holding me tightly like an octopus, her hands are even holding my head and won't let go, giving me two face-washes early in the morning...

And she is still muttering in her sleep from time to time...

"Zero... hee hee... don't move~ I can do it... hee hee~"

"So big... can I eat this?! Hee hee~"

"Zero... no... dame dame~"

Zero:? _? Speaking of which, what kind of dream did she have? Why do I feel strange...

In the dream, Mitsuri is holding a big bowl of noodles to feed Zero, but Zero wants to do it himself and is stopped by Mitsuri.

Finally, the boss made a super-sized three-color rice ball, and Zero picked up the super-sized three-color rice ball to feed Mitsuri...

(???? Is someone imagining some erotic scenes?!)

"It's really pain and happiness coexisting..." Zero smiled helplessly in his heart.

Waking up early in the morning and encountering such an erotic scene, Zero had a strange feeling in his heart, as if something was burning, a bit uncomfortable.

Without disturbing Xiao Yue, Kanae, and Mitsuri, he gently pulled his arm out of Kanae's embrace, arranged Mitsuri's sleeping posture, then picked up Xiao Yue and placed her on Kanae's chest, getting up alone first.

There is still a very important thing to do today, regarding the information about Muzan Kibutsuji, the Upper Moon demons, and the Infinity Castle; he needs to organize it once.

Leaving the room, he was wearing only a white shirt and a pair of shorts.

The length of the white shirt covered the shorts; if you didn't look closely, you would think he was only wearing a white shirt.

Coupled with that exquisite face and long white hair that hadn't been trimmed, it was easy to mistake him for a girl; it was simply a morning temptation...

Reaching out to scratch his head, the restlessness in his heart was slowly suppressed: "What a headache!"

"Zero, up so early?"

Aunt Kui Zhi was busy in the kitchen, saw Zero, and greeted him.

"Yes, Aunt Kui Zhi, there are still some tasks today."

"It's really hard on you, breakfast will be ready soon, go wash up first."

"Aunt Kui Zhi, you actually don't have to get up so early every day, sleeping a bit more is also fine."

"How can that be, you not only saved me and my children but also took us in; the little things I do don't count for anything."

"Alright then, but you also have to take care of your health, don't tire yourself out."

"Don't worry, I won't, hurry up and wash up."

After washing up, Zero finished breakfast with Aunt Kui Zhi and her children, then returned to his room, preparing to start organizing the information.

Kanae and Mitsuri also woke up at this time, saw Zero, and trotted over to leave a light kiss on Zero's face respectively.

Xiao Yue floated in mid-air, looking at the three of them, unable to help but reveal a motherly smile.

"You two little lazybones, hurry up and wash up, then eat something; I have something to tell everyone later. Xiao Yue, you go eat something too, replenish some energy."

"Okay~" x3

After the three left the room, Zero took out the 【Analysis Glasses】 and a notebook from the 【Nano Space】, preparing to record all the information.

It was also fortunate that he turned on the 【Analysis Glasses】 that day to record all the battle records, which saved some effort.

Otherwise, just writing it down by himself would take a long time.

Sitting in front of the table, he turned on the projection mode.

First, he looked at the information of 【Upper Moon One】.

【Name: Kokushibo—Samurai Demon】

【Human Period: Michikatsu Tsugikuni】

【Identity: Twelve Kizuki Upper Moon One】

【Partner: Muzan Kibutsuji】

【Age: 480 years old】

【Younger Brother: Yoriichi Tsugikuni】

【Descendant: Muichiro Tokito】

【Ability: Demon Slayer Mark, Transparent World】

【Breathing Technique: Moon Breathing】

【Weapon: Demon Blade—Void Cry God Gone】

【Personal Information: The strongest Upper Moon demon among the Twelve Kizuki. When he was in the human period, his name was Michikatsu Tsugikuni, the eldest son of the samurai family Tsugikuni family in the Warring States period, and the twin brother of Yoriichi Tsugikuni.】

"It seems my initial guess was indeed correct! Including his Breathing Technique... hehe..."

Phew...

Taking a deep breath, he flipped to the page in the notebook recording 【Muzan Kibutsuji】 and 【Twelve Kizuki】, crossed out the name 【Michikatsu Tsugikuni】 under the 【Upper Moon One】 heading, and wrote 【Kokushibo】.

After recording this, he used the 【Analysis Glasses】 to search for everything related to 【Moon Breathing】.

Doing this was just in case; although he had already seen Kokushibo's Moon Breathing, he still maintained a cautious mindset in his heart.

【Searching... Search successful】

"Sure enough, as long as you encounter it, you can record it through the 【Analysis Glasses】 and analyze it... Now let me take a look at this Moon Breathing!"

【Moon Breathing: One of the derivative Breathing Techniques of Sun Breathing, sun and moon shine together, moonlight is bright. It is slightly inferior to Sun Breathing, but more powerful than the five major Breathing Techniques!】

【Divided into sixteen forms in total. The first six forms can be unleashed with a human body, while the subsequent ten forms will cause unimaginable self-injury if unleashed with a human body!】

【Moon Breathing Techniques】

【Moon Breathing. First Form. Dark Moon. Evening Palace】

【Moon Breathing. Second Form. Pearl Flower Moon】

【Moon Breathing. Third Form. Loathsome Moon. Chains】

【Moon Breathing. Fourth Form...】

【Moon Breathing...】

Zero watched all the forms of 【Moon Breathing】 carefully, recorded them, and analyzed the attack patterns of the forms.

The further he looked, the more shocked he became.

Not for anything else, just feeling that for such a Breathing Technique, can the Pillars of the Demon Slayer Corps really handle it?

If it continues like this, I'm afraid even if they all go together, the outcome will likely be a direct wipeout!

"No wonder the information says Kokushibo is the strongest Upper Moon demon of the Twelve Kizuki, sure enough!"

Thinking for a while, recalling Kokushibo's sword, he always felt that the sword was not simple.

Clicking on the projection in the void, he found the appearance of Kokushibo's sword twice before and after, and analyzed it.

【Analyzing... Analysis successful】

【Weapon: Demon Blade—Void Cry God Gone】

【Introduction: This is a demon blade forged by Kokushibo using his own flesh and blood.

The blade, hilt, and grip are all covered with eyes. As it swings, it will produce countless circular moon blades. The size and length of the moon blades will change from time to time, and there is no fixed form.

If the blade is damaged, it can also instantly "grow back" to its original form, and as Kokushibo unleashes his strength, it will evolve into a more alien blade that is longer and has split blades.】

"So that's how it is~"

"No wonder that day in the Infinity Castle when I fought him again, his attacks became very extensive and sharp!"

Then he looked at Kokushibo's personal information again.

【Personal Information: When Kokushibo was a human, his name was Michikatsu Tsugikuni, born in the Warring States period, and was the young master of the samurai family—the Tsugikuni family at that time, and also had a twin brother named Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

In the Warring States period, twins in samurai families were regarded as an ominous sign because they would compete for the position of heir after becoming adults. Therefore, when the two brothers were born, because the younger brother Yoriichi was born with a strange "birthmark" (Demon Slayer Mark), the father even wanted to kill him directly.

However, because of the mother's angry and almost crazy obstruction, the younger brother fortunately saved his life. But according to tradition, the father still decided that Michikatsu Tsugikuni, as the eldest son, would be responsible for inheriting the family business, while Yoriichi had to become a monk at the age of ten...】

"It seems that Yoriichi Tsugikuni's 【Demon Slayer Mark】 is exactly the same as I guessed, it is a 【Congenital Demon Slayer Mark】... hehe, that period was really feudal superstition!"

Then his gaze continued to look at the information on the projection screen.

【As the heir to the family, Michikatsu lived an excellent life from childhood that was vastly different from his younger brother. Seeing Yoriichi often acting on the left side of his mother's body, the young Michikatsu thought that his younger brother had become inseparable from his mother because of the unfair treatment he received, and thus felt pity for Yoriichi.

To comfort his younger brother, Michikatsu then hid it from his father and secretly ran to the small room, no larger than three tatami mats, where Yoriichi lived to play with him.

Later, his father discovered that Michikatsu had violated strict orders and contacted Yoriichi privately, and in a fit of rage, beat Michikatsu severely in public! But Michikatsu did not alienate his younger brother because of this.

Because it was easy for his father to discover if he gave the things he used to Yoriichi, Michikatsu made a flute himself and gave it to his younger brother, and told him, "When you need it, blow it, and your brother will come to help you immediately." After saying this, Michikatsu, who was beaten black and blue by his father, showed his younger brother the most sincere smile.

Because Yoriichi had never smiled since he was born, and Michikatsu had never seen him speak, he once mistakenly thought that Yoriichi was born deaf and mute.

However, all views on Yoriichi were completely overturned at the age of seven...

One day, Michikatsu was practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard, but found Yoriichi watching him in the shade of a tree.

But just at this moment, Yoriichi suddenly spoke: "Is brother's wish to become the strongest samurai in this country? Then, I will become the second strongest samurai in this country!"

The younger brother suddenly spoke fluently, and Michikatsu, who was incomparably surprised by this, was stunned in place.

But afterward, Michikatsu, who reacted to the situation, carefully thought about what his younger brother had just said and felt it was ridiculous!

Clearly, he would be sent to a temple to be a monk after the age of ten, and he was always sticking to his mother "acting like a spoiled child." This kind of cowardly person could never become a samurai.

Then, Yoriichi smiled for the first time, but Michikatsu felt inexplicably disgusted by the smile his younger brother showed. After that, every time Michikatsu practiced swordsmanship, Yoriichi would watch from the sidelines...】

Seeing this, Zero fell into deep thought...

"It must be because Yoriichi often watched Michikatsu practice swordsmanship, and under some factors after this, he showed unparalleled talent, which led their father to change his view of Yoriichi, and also indirectly led Michikatsu to bury one of the roots of jealousy!"

Therefore, he continued to look down at the information of Kokushibo when he was in the human period.

【One day, Yoriichi suddenly requested the subordinate of his father, who was responsible for training Michikatsu, to teach him swordsmanship.

Therefore, the subordinate jokingly gave Yoriichi a bamboo sword, and after verbally teaching Yoriichi some basic techniques of swordsmanship, he asked Yoriichi to attack him.

However, everything started to change here! Yoriichi, who swung his sword for the first time, used only four strikes to easily knock down the subordinate that even Michikatsu had never defeated.

Michikatsu, who witnessed all this with his own eyes, finally discovered that the younger brother he had been sympathizing with was a genius.

But since then, Yoriichi never expressed his desire to become a samurai again. Michikatsu learned from Yoriichi that the reason he didn't want to become a samurai was because he didn't like the feeling of beating others.

However, Michikatsu always wanted to know the secret of his younger brother's great strength.

Finally, under his constant questioning, Yoriichi said something that Michikatsu couldn't understand at all: when facing the opponent's attack, his lungs would move violently, and at this time, he just needed to see the various physiological signs in the opponent's body.

After understanding it after a period of time, Michikatsu finally realized that in Yoriichi's eyes, all living things were transparent!

His innate talent was far above his own, and his physical ability was enough to withstand all this; he was truly a "person favored by the gods."

Michikatsu, who had always had the ideal of becoming a great samurai, felt a huge sense of powerlessness about this... although his talent was also quite good, he could make continuous progress as long as he worked hard.

But the achievements brought by these efforts were like a tortoise's pace in front of his younger brother, who was the true chosen one, and had no comparability at all.

Thinking of this, Michikatsu began to complain about the unfairness of heaven! Why didn't heaven give such talent to those who needed it?!

At the same time, Michikatsu also began to foresee his future destiny! His status with his younger brother would definitely be completely reversed: Yoriichi, whose talent was far above his own, would definitely be valued by his father and inherit the family business; while he would be driven into that small room no larger than three tatami mats, silently waiting for the age of ten to be sent to the temple, and from then on, he would never be able to become the samurai he dreamed of...】

"Sure enough, Yoriichi is the chosen one in this world, with a congenital Demon Slayer Mark and a Transparent World. It seems that it was from this moment that the jealousy in Michikatsu's heart began to take root and sprout!"

"It's really making a fool of people..."

【One day after this, Yoriichi suddenly ran to knock on the door of Michikatsu's bedroom and sadly told Michikatsu the bad news of his mother's death.

Before Michikatsu could react, and even before he had time to feel sad about it, Yoriichi immediately told Michikatsu that he would go to become a monk immediately, and that he would cherish the flute Michikatsu gave him just as he treated his brother himself.

Afterward, Michikatsu watched his younger brother smile while touching the flute.

He couldn't understand why his younger brother would cherish a broken flute that couldn't even blow the right notes? But Michikatsu didn't say a word, watching Yoriichi, who was happy about it, and Michikatsu's heart was filled with unpleasantness toward his younger brother.

After Yoriichi left home, Michikatsu learned from the diary left by his mother before she died that his mother had gradually lost sensation in the left half of her body due to illness several years ago.

Just at this moment, Michikatsu suddenly recalled Yoriichi's action of always leaning on the left side of his mother's body, and suddenly realized! It turned out that Yoriichi had actually known about his mother's physical condition for a long time, and sticking to his mother's side in the past was never to act like a spoiled child, but to support his mother, whose body was weak.

Suddenly discovering that he was completely incomparable to Yoriichi from beginning to end, Michikatsu felt a deep-seated jealousy toward Yoriichi in his heart.

From then on, the friendship between the two brothers was separated far away because of this cliff called talent...】

Seeing this, Zero began to mock Kokushibo in his heart again: "What a pitiful and sad Michikatsu, hehe... a heart full of jealousy, no wonder I was so angry when I said this that day!"

"I think it's most appropriate to call you a six-eyed lemon spirit when I meet you, Kokushibo, in the future!"

Mocking Kokushibo, he continued to look down.

【Later, his father learned of Yoriichi's talent, so he regretted his decision and sent someone to the temple to bring Yoriichi back.

However, the feedback received was that Yoriichi had not gone to the temple at all. The younger brother that Michikatsu had always hated had lost all news...】

【After this, more than ten years passed. At this time, Michikatsu had already inherited the family business of the Tsugikuni family and married and had children. Life was leisurely, but for some reason, he always felt boring, as if the passage of time had slowed down.】

【One day, Michikatsu led his troops to go on an expedition. Just when the troops were camping in the forest, they unexpectedly encountered an attack by evil demons, and finally, except for Michikatsu himself, the entire army was wiped out.】

【Just when he was about to be killed by the evil demon, something Michikatsu never dreamed of happened! Yoriichi, who had grown into an adult, suddenly appeared to save him and easily beheaded the demon.】

【Michikatsu, who was stunned in place by Yoriichi's strength, received his younger brother's incomparably calm apology.】

【Seeing his younger brother, whose strength had reached the realm of perfection, the disgust and jealousy toward his younger brother in Michikatsu's heart were all rekindled.】

【Later, in order to obtain the power that Yoriichi possessed, Michikatsu did not hesitate to choose to abandon his family, wife, and children, became a demon hunter like Yoriichi, and participated in the siege of the Demon Slayer Corps against the ancestor of demons—Muzan Kibutsuji, together with his younger brother.】

【Afterward, when Yoriichi taught the Breathing Technique to the rest of the members of the Demon Slayer Corps, Michikatsu, because he could not withstand the power of the sun and could not master Sun Breathing, had to use the degraded Moon Breathing.】

【Although he was very unwilling, with the continuous improvement of his ability to use Breathing Techniques, Michikatsu finally awakened the same Demon Slayer Mark as Yoriichi. His strength greatly increased, and he began to think about whether he could surpass Yoriichi if he continued to hone himself...】

"Hmm? This is..." Seeing this, Zero hurriedly opened his notebook and flipped to the page recording 【Yoriichi Tsugikuni】 to compare it carefully.

"Yoriichi was going to be sent to be a monk at the age of ten, but he didn't go... If I guessed correctly, Yoriichi at that time met his other half when he left for a distant place..."

"In this way, plus my previous guesses, it matches up!"

Thinking through all this, his gaze looked at the information on the projection screen again.

【With the passage of time, Michikatsu suddenly discovered that the partners who awakened the Demon Slayer Mark died one after another, and finally realized the fact that those who awakened the Demon Slayer Mark would definitely not live past the age of 25.】

【He himself was about to turn 25, and Michikatsu realized that he could no longer have time to continue honing his swordsmanship, and felt deeply confused about this.】

【Not long after, Michikatsu encountered Muzan directly during a pursuit of Muzan.】

【In the process of fighting Muzan alone, Michikatsu's worries were seen through by Muzan.】

【Facing Muzan's proposal to become a demon in exchange for infinite years to hone his swordsmanship, influenced by the deep-seated jealousy toward his younger brother in his heart.】

【Michikatsu finally failed to withstand the temptation, drank his blood, and spent three full days transforming into a demon of the sword, becoming the first Upper Moon—Kokushibo...】

【Later, the Tsugikuni family declined after he became a demon, and his descendants were forced to hide in the mountains to avoid being hunted down by others, and changed their surname to Tokito, making a living by logging for generations.】

The information ended here. Zero finished reading this information, his brows wrinkled slightly, and he became more and more disgusted with Kokushibo in his heart!

If his descendant, the Mist Pillar—Muichiro Tokito, knew about this, what would he think?

The decline of the Tsugikuni family was caused by Michikatsu himself...

Abandoning his family, and even abandoning his wife and children!

Just because he was jealous of his younger brother Yoriichi!

In order to surpass him, he even didn't hesitate to become a demon... heh... Michikatsu, no, it's Kokushibo now, he is simply a joke!】

Opening the page of 【Michikatsu Tsugikuni】 in the notebook, he thought for a while and wrote 【The Tsugikuni family declined, Michikatsu destroyed it with one hand.】 in the lower right corner.

Thinking about it, he wrote the three words 【Lemon Spirit】 under the name 【Michikatsu Tsugikuni】.

Afterward, he took out a few sheets of white paper and recorded some of the more important information on them.

After doing all this, he began to search for information on other Upper Moon demons.