The Fate of the Nation 1

The first breath, the strongest swordsman, the legendary demon slayer.

This is a record of Yoriichi Tsugikuni by the successive Flame Pillars—

The heavy autumn air weighed down the old maple trees in the courtyard, causing them to hunch over.

Withered yellow leaves twirl down, covering the bluestone slabs, making a crisp, lifeless sound when stepped on.

In the corner of the courtyard, on a sword rack, lay a Nichirin sword with a crimson scabbard, its flame pattern on the tsuba (handguard) dull and lifeless.

This is the dojo of the Rengoku family, and also a place where prisoners are temporarily held.

The door was gently pulled open, letting in a blast of cool air.

The towering figure of Flame Pillar Eijuro Rengoku appeared under the eaves, carrying a small, plain earthenware wine jug in one hand and two equally unadorned earthenware cups in the other.

He sat silently beside a quiet man, his thick eyebrows furrowed, a hint of worry in his golden-red eyes.

"Lord Yoriichi, would you like some wine?" He handed the glass to the other man and said softly.

The man beside her wore a red outer shirt, had long, dark red hair in a high ponytail, and red markings on his face that looked like flames covering half of his face. He exuded a rock-solid steadiness.

He took the glass and nodded to Eijuro, saying, "Thank you."

Even today, as the Demon Slayer Corps is about to pronounce his sentence, his eyes, which seem to pierce through the netherworld and reflect sunlight, remain clear and calm, devoid of sorrow or joy.

He is Yoriichi Tsugikuni, the strongest swordsman in the world.

"The other Pillars and the elders of Ubuyashiki have some grievances against you..." Eijuro picked up his sake cup but didn't drink, only staring at the liquid inside as he murmured, "Regarding Muzan's failure to be defeated, the release of demons, and..."

Eishiro did not continue talking about that most terrible crime.

Yoriichi Tsugikuni's older brother, the powerful swordsman Tsugikuni Kokukatsu whom he recruited into the Demon Slayer Corps—killed the current lord and defected with the head of Ubuyashiki!

Yoriichi did not respond to him.

The Flame Pillar took a anxious swig of sake. He was quite frustrated, wondering what kind of punishment this selfless swordsman who had taught everyone the breathing techniques would face. "Lord Yoriichi! I want to know, just what kind of monster is Muzan Kibutsuji?"

"Is it possible that even your sword cannot kill him?"

Upon hearing this name, Yoriichi silently took a sip of his drink, his gaze vacant as he stared at the fallen leaves swept by the wind, his eyes seemingly piercing through the desolation before him, looking towards a more distant and darker place.

"Muzan..." he uttered the name, his voice carrying a chilling coldness: "I met him in a bamboo forest outside Kyoto..."

In the depths of a vast bamboo forest on the outskirts of Kyoto in late autumn.

The tall, green bamboos intertwine to form a forest, and the bamboo leaves gather into a dense dome, filtering the sunlight into a dark and deep green sea.

At that time, I was walking there alone.

Sudden.

A thick, cold malice, without warning, emanated from the depths of the bamboo forest and instantly entered my senses.

I have long since entered a realm of transparency, where I can easily detect even the slightest movement in the mortal world, let alone such a repulsive aura.

Deep within the dark, layered bamboo forest, where the depths seemed bottomless, stood a person.

Although the man had the appearance of a human male, I could clearly see that he had five brains and seven hearts, and exuded a nauseating aura.

Beneath the handsome exterior writhes an evil and ferocious soul, as if it wants to devour all other life.

I knew his identity from the very first meeting—Kibutsuji Muzan.

At the same time, I have never felt so strongly that I was born into this world just to defeat this guy in front of me.

When I placed my hand on the knife at my waist, the other person noticed me.

He didn't try to hide himself. If you look closely, you can see that there is a woman with the same appearance as him, who is also a demon.

Muzan stood there, elegant, with a cat-and-mouse smile on his lips.

"To be honest, I'm getting a little tired of your Demon Slayer Corps' breathing techniques and swordsmanship." He said.

Then, his figure suddenly blurred in place.

Immediately following a loud bang, a cloud of smoke suddenly exploded where he had been standing, causing the surrounding bamboo poles to shake violently and bamboo leaves to fall like a torrential rain!

In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of me, his speed almost exceeding the limits of human vision!

His right hand was outstretched, his fingernails gleaming like obsidian in the dim light, as he reached straight for my head.

I dodged quickly, the bamboo forest behind me being sliced ​​into pieces by his mutated demonic claws...

"To be honest, this is the first time I've encountered an enemy like this since I was born... This is the first time I've felt the joy of battle..." Yoriichi recalled Hidejuro.

"And then what happened?" Eishiro asked nervously, gripping his sake glass and pressing for details about Yoriichi's fate.

"Later... I used the strongest sword technique I could muster on him..."

"The thirteenth form of Sun Breathing..."

*Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!*

Muzan's mocking crimson pupils froze, instantly enveloped in unbelievable horror!

Too fast! So fast that there wasn't even time for fear or the thought of running away!!

In just a moment, accompanied by the sizzling sound of a hot knife cutting butter, Muzan's body was cleaved into several pieces by Yoriichi Tsugikuni!

For over a hundred years, let alone cutting Muzan into pieces... no one has even been able to hurt him!

Even more terrifying, the dazzling, shimmering light of the sun-shaped blade actually halted the regeneration of his limbs!

Yoriichi Tsugikuni's Nichirin Blade resembled burning steel, blazing and dazzling... The ugly markings on his face seemed to come alive at this moment, transforming into clusters of flowing flames.

Yoriichi Tsugikuni walked towards Muzan, his gaze coldly judging the progenitor of all demons:

"What are you living for?"

"What's so interesting about killing?"

"What do you value life?"

"Heh...heh..." Muzan's lips moved with difficulty, emitting unintelligible gasps, his gaze fixed venomously on Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

No! I can't die! I can't die here! I am perfect! I am the eternal and indestructible King of Demons!

The instinct for survival overwhelmed everything! Muzan's scarlet eyes, filled with fear, hatred, anger, and cowardice, erupted with a reckless and insane light!

"Ughh ...

A terrifying, inhuman scream suddenly burst from his mouth!

The sound was extremely shrill, like the howling of ten thousand ghosts in hell, causing countless bamboo leaves to fall wildly again!

Bang! ! !

Then, without warning, Muzan's body suddenly exploded! Instantly splitting into more than 1,800 tiny pieces of flesh!

They frantically and desperately burst forth and fled in all directions, up, down, left, and right, through every possible crevice in the bamboo forest!

Each of these chunks of meat was enveloped in a layer of writhing black ghostly energy, like a black meteor shower bursting out in the bamboo forest!

This is Muzan's last trump card for survival.

It is the ultimate evil method that abandons all dignity and all forms, seeking only a sliver of hope!

Yoriichi Tsugikuni's reaction was incredibly fast. Almost at the same moment Muzan split apart, he swung his Nichirin Blade, trying his best to keep the demon alive!

boom--!!

The endless flames and sword light resembled a golden crow spreading its wings after descending to the mortal world!

The golden-red flames that could incinerate everything roared and spun around Yoriichi, weaving into a net of flames that instantly enveloped most of the flesh and blood fragments that Muzan had split apart and fled!

*Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!*

A series of crackling sounds filled the air, and a strong, suffocating smell of burning filled the atmosphere.

Countless chunks of flesh shrouded in black mist emitted a shrill shriek amidst the dazzling light of the blade, and were instantly incinerated into wisps of drifting black smoke!

The black smoke twisted and turned, like countless agonizing, howling faces, struggling to dissipate in the flames...

"Even so, I only managed to kill about 1,500 pieces of flesh... and Muzan still managed to escape..."

"That's it. I'm sorry to have disappointed everyone..."

In the courtyard, Yoriichi's voice calmly fell to its last syllable.

He picked up the sake glass in front of him, downed the slightly chilled sake in one gulp, and stared blankly at the horizon once more.

The sake cup in Rengoku Eijuro's hand had already tilted, and the sake had spilled onto his hakama pants at the knees, but he was completely unaware of it.

He froze on the spot, frozen by an invisible chill.

"Even you, sir... couldn't kill him...?"

...As time passed, these conversations and memories were recorded by Eijuro and passed down from generation to generation, eventually appearing before Asuka and Kyojuro.

Asuka read the entire story with a furrowed brow. He didn't care about the people's self-pity; he only noticed two things.

Will Yoriichi Tsugikuni's sword also catch fire...?

And he also has freckles on his face...