Chapter 52: Uzui Tengen: What a Shame He's a Man

Arriving at his own room.

Zero took out two 【Analysis Glasses】, connected the data information together, then hung them on the left and right sides of the ceiling respectively, tilted downward at a 45° angle.

This way, he could later activate the virtual projection, making it immersive, allowing him to more fully understand the situation he had encountered at the time.

After finishing these preparations, he took out the papers he had written in advance about the 【Upper Rank Moons of the Twelve Kizuki】 and reviewed them once more, confirming there were no omissions before finally setting his mind at ease.

Click!

The sound of a doorknob turning came from the doorway.

The one who opened the door was Hanako, and behind her, Xiang Nai Hui, Xiao Xiao Mili, and Aunt Kui Zhi walked in carrying plates of pastries and tea.

"Set them down here."

Zero pointed to two low tables joined together off to the side and said.

"Aunt Kui Zhi, thank you for your hard work."

"It's nothing, this doesn't count for much."

Aunt Kui Zhi also knew that Zero had important matters to discuss shortly, and that others would be coming, so she took Hanako and left the room.

"Xiang Nai Hui, Xiao Xiao Mili, thank you both for your hard work as well."

"Not at all." The two women replied in unison.

Coming before Zero, they closed their eyes.

Seeing this, Zero smiled somewhat helplessly, and gently placed a light kiss on each of their lips.

Only then did the two women sit down contentedly on the carpet, waiting for the others to arrive.

Zero, meanwhile, sat on the bed, sketching portraits of the Upper Rank Moons of the Twelve Kizuki in his notebook...

Time passed slowly. After waiting for over an hour, Ubuyashiki Yoya arrived first, bringing his Lady Ubuyashiki Ubuyashiki Tianyin and his daughter Ubuyashiki Nichika.

And Xiao Bai Yue, sitting on Ubuyashiki Ubuyashiki Tianyin's shoulder, was also there.

"Master."

Xiang Nai Hui and Xiao Xiao Mili, seeing this, immediately rose and half-knelt to show their respect.

"There's no need for such formality." Ubuyashiki Yoya said, then his gaze turned to Zero, and he said: "Zero, thank you for everything you have done for the Demon Slayer Corps."

"It's my duty. Please, have a seat first. Once everyone arrives, I will share the intelligence gathered this time with everyone."

"That would be excellent."

Shortly after, including the former Flame Hashira, the remaining eight Hashira all arrived at Zero's residence and gathered inside Zero's room.

Uzui Tengen saw Zero wearing casual clothes, smiled knowingly: "Yo! How flashy! Hahahaha!"

"You're not bad yourself, Uzui Tengen."

"Hahaha, that's right! The flashy me is the flashy God of Festivals!"

Looking at Zero sitting on the bed like this, for some reason it felt stranger the more he looked?!

As for what exactly was strange, Tengen couldn't say.

Even Uzui Tengen felt—had Zero's gender been swapped?

The more he looked, the more he resembled a girl.

"What a shame he's a man..." Uzui Tengen said this without thinking, blurting it out directly, as if with a hint of regret.

"Uh..."

Everyone in the room heard this line, and the atmosphere instantly fell into an awkward state...

Zero helplessly covered his forehead, feeling a bit socially dead, thinking: "That was a misstep... I was so focused on organizing the intelligence that I forgot to change my clothes!"

"Pfft..." Ubuyashiki Ubuyashiki Tianyin turned her face away, covering her mouth as she laughed lightly, the memory of Zero once turning into a small child surfacing in her mind.

Looking back on it now, it seemed like it happened just yesterday.

"Pfft~ No, can't laugh! Dame! Dame dame!" Xiao Xiao Mili lowered her head, nearly unable to hold it in, her face almost pressing against her own chest.

Xiang Nai Hui was fine, merely smiling slightly.

But the look she cast toward Uzui Tengen seemed somewhat puzzled.

She thought: Could it be that Mr. Tengen is a...

"Tengen, you wouldn't happen to be a... gay, would you?" The one who said this was Xiao Bai Yue.

"Gay? What does that mean?" Uzui Tengen asked somewhat puzzled, he had never heard such a strange term before.

"Gay means: you wouldn't happen to be homosexual, would you? The kind who only likes boys..." Xiao Bai Yue said with a mischievous grin.

Everyone: (⊙_⊙)

Uzui Tengen: ∑(ò_ó??)??

The atmosphere in the room became awkward once more, and the remaining male Hashira looked at Uzui Tengen and silently shifted to one side.

Even Xiang Nai Hui quietly came to the bedside, shielding Zero behind her.

"N-no no no... don't misunderstand! How could the flashy me possibly have such an un-flashy personality! I have three flashy wives! How could I possibly like boys?!"

Uzui Tengen explained in a panic, almost calling his three wives over to prove himself.

"Xiao Bai Yue, don't say things like that in the future, it's very easy to cause misunderstandings!" Zero said, his gaze turning to Xiao Bai Yue.

"Oh, got it, Brother, hehe~" Xiao Bai Yue said without a care, looking as if she'd dare to do it again next time.

Seeing this, Zero could only let out a slight sigh.

This child Xiao Bai Yue was getting more and more mischievous, he really didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing...

(Ahem, the author absolutely does not envy Uzui Tengen for having three wives! That's why I'm doing this mischievous gag! Absolutely not, I believe every single one of you reading this thinks the same way!)

"Alright, children, let the Hashira meeting proceed here. Zero, I'll trouble you to take it from here."

Ubuyashiki Yoya spoke up, dissolving the awkwardness in the room.

The little interlude that had just occurred was simply turned past like that.

Only then did everyone remember the purpose for which Zero had gathered them here.

So they split into two rows and sat down properly on the carpet.

The soft, comfortable feel transmitted from the carpet, combined with the room's unique fragrance, made everyone very relaxed.

Seeing that everyone was ready, Zero also stepped down from the bed, closed the window, drew the curtains, and finally turned off the lights as well.

Instantly, the room was pitch-black, and before them floated a suspended projection screen.

Zero sat down in front of everyone, then tapped twice on the projection screen in the void.

Beep— Beep—

After the two "Beep— Beep—" sounds,

The scene within the room suddenly changed.

The 【Analysis Glasses】 projected other images once more.

A relatively open forest path appeared all around, and not far away, a demon with six eyes on his face and a katana tucked at his waist slowly walked over.

"Don't worry, everyone. This is only a projection. Everything you see next is the entire course of my battle that day."

Hearing this, everyone finally relaxed.

But at the same time, they were also very curious — how exactly had Zero accomplished all of this?

Where had all those strange things come from?

Even so, one could still feel the oppressive pressure brought by that six-eyed samurai demon from within the projection.

They also saw the number on the pair of eyes in the middle:

Upper Rank — One!

"So this guy is Upper Rank One? Even though it's only an illusion, this oppressive pressure is still this intense…" Shinazugawa Sanemi thought to himself.

He even knew very clearly that if he faced it alone, the outcome would likely be only death!

But weren't the rest of them in the same boat?

Himejima Gyomei, through the sound and with the explanation of Ubuyashiki Nika, felt as though he were truly there, facing Upper Rank One alone.

Next, they saw Zero take the initiative to attack Upper Rank One.

However, Upper Rank One showed no sign of making a move, merely standing there as countless blade energies burst from his body and rushed over swiftly…

Every person present thought those blade energies were about to slash them to death, cold sweat streaming down!

It was only when the blade energies passed through their bodies that they came back to their senses — this was only the projection Zero had mentioned.

But that feeling was as if it were real…

The battle within the projection continued.

But as time went on, everyone realized something was increasingly off — this samurai demon… actually knew a Breathing Technique!

And it was a Breathing Technique they had never seen before!

Seeing that they had finally noticed this issue, Zero tapped the projection in the void once, and the image paused.

He then tapped 【Upper Rank One】, enlarging it, displaying it from every angle without any blind spots, and said: "As you can see, this is Upper Rank One among the Twelve Demon Moons. His name is 【Hei Si Mou】!"

"Based on my past speculation and investigation, it has now been confirmed — he was a swordsman of the Origin Breathing Technique during the Warring States period, and the Breathing Technique he uses is called 【Moon Breathing】!"

"【Moon Breathing】 is a branch derived from 【Sun Breathing】. It is not among the Five Great Breathing Techniques, but it is even stronger than them — one could say it is second only to 【Sun Breathing】!"

Hearing Zero's explanation, everyone understood the situation, but at the same time, they had a feeling inside — even if all the Pillars attacked together, they probably still wouldn't be able to defeat him!

Of course, except for Zero.

Tokito Muichiro looked at 【Upper Rank One】 in the projection, and a sense of familiarity kept stirring in his heart, as if he had seen him somewhere before?

Or to put it another way, there was some kind of connection between him and his own bloodline!

So he opened his mouth and said: "Why do I feel… a very familiar sense with him?"

Zero knew he would definitely ask this, and answered: "That is because… he is your ancestor!"

"!!!"

Hearing Zero's answer, a look of shock appeared on Tokito Muichiro's face!

This was the first time he had shown such an expression!

"I know this is hard for you to believe, but according to my investigation, this guy… is indeed your ancestor! His name during his human days was Kokushibo Tsugikuni — wait, no — his human name was Tsugikuni Iwamori, the founder of the Origin Breathing Technique 【Sun Breathing】, and the older brother of Tsugikuni Yoriichi."

"During the Warring States period, due to some special reason, he became a demon! From then on, the Tsugikuni family also declined because of this!"

"And his descendants, because of the family's decline and the stain of their ancestor becoming a demon, saw the surname Tsugikuni disappear from that era, changing it to the Tokito surname and going into seclusion!"

"Muichiro, I know this matter may be… somewhat hard for you to accept, but the fact is indeed so!"

Tokito Muichiro's heart was full of bitterness — he never expected that his ancestor was indeed a swordsman of the Origin Breathing Technique, only not the founder of 【Sun Breathing】.

But he had become a demon, and had even lived all the way to the present!

He was still the strongest Upper Rank demon among the Twelve Demon Moons — the only one who knew a Breathing Technique!

Even so, Tokito Muichiro still quickly calmed himself down through his own innate qualities.

Seeing this, Zero couldn't help but sigh inwardly: Truly worthy of being a genius who has held a blade for less than two months! His mental fortitude is really strong.

"Even so, even if I am his descendant, hundreds of years have already passed. His bloodline and cells must have already vanished! The current him… is simply not fit to be my ancestor!" Tokito Muichiro said firmly.

Zero merely smiled faintly, said nothing, and continued tapping the projection screen to play the next battle footage…

The battle between Upper Rank One Hei Si Mou and Zero grew increasingly fierce, until in the end, Hei Si Mou actually fell at a disadvantage!

'You… are clearly very strong, yet so cautious… why exactly?'

'Sometimes, being overly cautious isn't necessarily a bad thing! At least… it can give me more chances of survival!'

In the projection, the conversation between the two fell clearly into the ears of every person in the room.

And when they saw the next scene of Hei Si Mou, their hearts suddenly clenched!

They saw Hei Si Mou continuously activating combat techniques to attack Zero, and Zero also swung his scythe in succession to interrupt these attacks.

At that very moment, the blade of the Sun Wheel Scythe in Zero's hand turned an incandescent red.

Bright Blade Manifests!

Hei Si Mou saw that Bright Blade, his body seeming to tremble slightly, muttering "Yoriichi" from his lips, then becoming incomparably furious...

In the process, Zero kicked the grip of the Sun Wheel Scythe, leaping into mid-air to catch the Sun Wheel Scythe, and brought it down in a swift slash! Hei Si Mou also raised the weapon in his hand to block...

"Hei Si Mou... no, I should call you Kokushibo Tsugikuni Iwazuki—you really are pitiful!"

"Shut... your mouth!"

He drew the gun holstered on his leg and fired a shot at Hei Si Mou's head, sending him into a brief paralysis...

Just when everyone thought Zero was about to slay Upper Moon One, an unexpected turn occurred.

On the projection screen, a strange koto note sounded, and a wooden door instantly opened beneath the feet of both Hei Si Mou and Zero.

One human and one demon thus dropped straight down!

Xiang Nai Hui tightly clutched her own collar, watching the projection screen in nervous tension.

Xiao Xiao Mili was the same.

Zero jammed the Sun Wheel Scythe into the doorway of the wooden door to keep himself from falling, but to his surprise, two wooden walls appeared on his left and right, rushing in to slam together!

And Zero also let go of the Sun Wheel Scythe in his hand, dropping straight down...

The footage ends here for the time being.

Ubuyashiki Koyuki also already understood why, on that day, the swordsmen had followed the location relayed by the Kasugai Crow to search for Zero's traces, yet found no sign of him.

It turned out that was because Zero had fallen into the world behind that wooden door, so at the scene they only found his weapon and a tattered cloak with hood...

And that pool of blood was not Zero's at all—it was the blood of Hei Si Mou, wounded by Zero!

At first they had thought it was what was left after Zero had been devoured by the evil demon...

Immediately after, the projection screen once again rendered the room's scene into other imagery.

All around were houses crisscrossed chaotically, some right-side up, some upside down.

Looking at it gave one the illusion of seemingly standing on the floor, when in fact one was standing on the ceiling!

If Kibutsuji Muzan were to see this, he would absolutely exclaim: Isn't this exactly the scene inside the Infinity Castle?!

However, what they saw next was a man, and beside him a woman kneeling on a cushion, a shamisen cradled in her arms, her eyes hidden behind blunt bangs.

Then Zero clicked to pause the image, and virtually enlarged the picture of that man, displaying it to everyone from every angle with no blind spots.

"This person is the Demon King—Kibutsuji Muzan!"

"What?! He is Kibutsuji Muzan!"