Chapter 60 60: Creating a Diversion

Inside the sword, Asuramaru's lips curled in faint satisfaction.

Good.

For once, Tanjiro had not asked for his opinion first.

In the outside world, Gyomei Himejima stood silently for a moment after hearing Tanjiro's offer. His blind eyes remained closed, yet the tears streaming down his face seemed even clearer in the morning light.

This child truly is kind.

The thought settled in Gyomei's heart with quiet certainty.

Still, he gently shook his head.

"There is no need." His deep voice was calm, heavy, and serene. "I have long since grown accustomed to a world without light."

He dismissed it with a simple sentence.

For Gyomei, whether he possessed sight or not had ceased to matter long ago. The darkness was no longer a prison. It was simply the world he had learned to walk through.

Tanjiro lowered his gaze, unable to hide the regret on his face.

"I see…"

He did not press further.

The two left the room together and headed out of the Butterfly Mansion.

Only after their figures had disappeared beyond the entrance did two heads slowly poke out from around a corner.

Zenitsu's face was pale as he stared after Gyomei's enormous back. His body trembled as if he had just survived a disaster.

"Thank goodness I ran today," he whispered, clutching his chest. "If that man punched me even once, I'm pretty sure I'd go straight to the afterlife. No detours. No second chances. Just dead."

Beside him, Inosuke did not immediately argue.

For once, even he had no desire to rush over and be beaten.

He wanted to become stronger.

He did not want to spend every morning being folded into the dirt by a different Hashira.

After the last few days, the two of them had reached a grim understanding.

Every day was a beating.

Every Hashira had a different flavor of pain.

And somehow, Tanjiro was the main dish while they were the side plates.

Who could endure that?

Meanwhile, on the plain beyond the Butterfly Mansion, Tanjiro and Gyomei had already begun.

This spar was different from all the previous ones.

For the first time, Tanjiro felt his strength being suppressed from the very beginning.

Gyomei Himejima wielded a spiked flail and an axe connected by a long chain. In his massive hands, the weapon did not feel cumbersome at all. It moved with dreadful precision, the chain singing through the air while the axe and flail crashed down with the force of falling boulders.

Every strike carried weight.

Every movement sealed off escape routes.

Tanjiro's flames surged, his water flowed, and his feet constantly shifted across the torn-up earth, but Gyomei's pressure never loosened.

The Stone Hashira was blind, yet he saw through Tanjiro's movements more sharply than anyone else.

When Tanjiro advanced, Gyomei's chain was already there.

When Tanjiro retreated, the flail had already smashed into the ground behind him.

When Tanjiro tried to switch between Water Breathing and Hinokami Kagura, Gyomei's axe would fall at the exact moment his breathing changed, forcing him to correct himself under pressure.

It was suffocating.

It was brutal.

And it was exactly what Tanjiro needed.

By the time the spar ended, his entire body ached. His breathing remained steady only because of the foundation he had built through Total Concentration: Constant, and even then, his limbs felt heavy.

Yet his eyes were brighter than before.

That single fight had sharpened him more than ordinary training ever could.

When Tanjiro returned to the Butterfly Mansion, he found Zenitsu and Inosuke training desperately in the courtyard.

Zenitsu was practicing his breathing with a bitter expression, muttering complaints under his breath. Inosuke was swinging his twin swords with reckless energy, as if trying to cut his own frustration in half.

After this period of training, both of them had improved considerably. Their Breathing Styles had become more stable, and they could now maintain Total Concentration Breathing for far longer than before.

When they saw Tanjiro return, however, both of them stiffened.

Zenitsu looked away first, guilt written across his face.

"Tanjiro… about this morning…"

Before he could finish, Tanjiro smiled.

"It's alright."

Those two simple words made Zenitsu look even more ashamed.

Even Inosuke fell silent for once.

Tanjiro did not blame them. He simply joined them in the courtyard, and the three trained together until dusk painted the sky in deep orange.

Only then did Tanjiro leave the Butterfly Mansion alone and head deeper into headquarters.

When he arrived outside the manor, he saw Sanemi Shinazugawa standing guard.

The Wind Hashira's scarred face was as fierce as ever, his posture sharp and impatient even while standing still.

Tanjiro hurried forward and bowed respectfully.

"Mr. Sanemi."

Sanemi's eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing here?"

Tanjiro had expected the question. He answered honestly.

"Asuramaru said I have mostly mastered my Breathing Styles now. He wants me to leave headquarters and hunt demons."

Sanemi's expression shifted slightly.

He did not object immediately.

With Tanjiro's current strength, going out to fight demons was not unreasonable. In fact, it was probably necessary.

"Wait here," Sanemi said. "I'll report to the Master myself."

He turned and entered the manor.

Tanjiro remained outside, standing quietly beneath the fading light. After a moment, he could not help asking in his heart, "Asuramaru, do you think Oyakata-sama will agree?"

"He will."

Asuramaru answered immediately.

Then his tone cooled.

"And stop asking me about every little thing."

Tanjiro rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed.

"Sorry…"

A short while later, Sanemi reappeared.

"Come with me," he said, his expression solemn. "The Master wants to see you."

"Yes."

Tanjiro quickly followed.

They crossed the courtyard, but this time they did not stop there. Sanemi led him straight into the manor, through the quiet wooden corridors, until they arrived before a brightly lit door.

Sanemi knelt outside and spoke with rare respect.

"Master, I have brought Tanjiro."

"Come in."

Kagaya Ubuyashiki's gentle voice came from within.

Compared to before, when illness had weighed heavily on every breath, his voice now sounded much clearer and stronger.

Sanemi slid the door open.

The two entered one after the other.

Inside, candlelight filled the room with a warm glow. In front of a screen sat Kagaya Ubuyashiki, dressed plainly. His restored eyes were calm and kind, and his smile carried the same quiet strength as always.

"Tanjiro. Sanemi. Please sit."

The two sat on the tatami across from him.

Kagaya's gaze rested first on Tanjiro's face, then on Asuramaru at his waist.

"Tanjiro," he said gently, "have you truly thought this through? You want to leave headquarters and hunt demons?"

Tanjiro met his eyes.

"Yes."

Kagaya did not immediately agree.

"Recently, incidents of demons harming people have become more frequent. I suspect many of them may be bait released by Muzan Kibutsuji. His purpose is likely to locate you, then kill you."

His voice remained soft, but the weight of his words filled the room.

"And if that is the case, there is a chance that more than one Upper Rank may appear."

Tanjiro's expression tightened.

An Upper Rank.

Even one was enough to endanger a Hashira.

More than one meant death could arrive before anyone had time to react.

Kagaya was not trying to frighten him. He was simply telling him the truth.

Even with his current strength, even with Asuramaru, leaving headquarters carried a real risk.

But Tanjiro did not hesitate.

"Oyakata-sama, I trust Asuramaru's judgment."

Sanemi's patience snapped at once.

He stood, voice sharp.

"If that's what the Master suspects, then you absolutely cannot leave headquarters! We can't afford to lose you!"

His reaction was forceful, but not unreasonable.

Tanjiro was no longer merely a promising swordsman. He was the person connected to Asuramaru, the one hope that might overturn the thousand-year war against Muzan.

Losing him was not a risk the Demon Slayer Corps could easily bear.

Kagaya, however, handled the matter far more calmly.

"Then," he said, turning his gaze toward the sword at Tanjiro's waist, "why don't we ask Mr. Asuramaru for his opinion first? I wonder if he would be willing to meet with us?"

The moment his words fell, the sword at Tanjiro's waist shifted.

A sliver of the scabbard opened.

Black smoke spilled out, curling through the candlelit room like ink dropped into water. The mist gathered and condensed, forming a delicate figure before their eyes.

Asuramaru appeared lightly, touching down on his toes.

His crimson eyes swept over the three people in the room.

He had already prepared his answer.

"If Tanjiro wants to become stronger now," Asuramaru said calmly, "ordinary training is too slow. Only fierce battles and the slaughter of demons can make him improve rapidly."

No one in the room denied it.

Kagaya understood.

Sanemi understood as well.

What truly mattered was Tanjiro's safety.

Asuramaru continued, his tone even.

"As far as I know, Muzan cannot monitor every demon at all times. And most demons do not actually know what Tanjiro looks like."

His gaze shifted slightly toward Tanjiro's ears.

"At most, they know certain characteristics. For example, those very conspicuous Hanafuda earrings."

Kagaya's eyes sharpened with immediate understanding.

"You mean we should create a diversion."

Asuramaru's lips curved faintly.

"As long as enough false information is spread…"

Kagaya completed the thought.

"…then it will become extremely difficult for Muzan to determine Tanjiro's true location."

.....

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