Four of the five Pillars were down.
Aoki landed and looked at the only one still standing, Kanae.
Kanae looked serious, in a defensive stance.
Aoki smiled.
"Let's stop here for today!"
Kanae paused, then slowly put away her sword.
She could still fight, but there was no need.
This wasn't a fight to the death.
The other Pillars stood up, looking grim.
Their injuries weren't serious. They hadn't completely lost their ability to fight.
But everyone knew Aoki had held back.
In a real fight to the death, even if they could unleash more power, at least half of them would die.
Five-on-one, they lost.
And they lost badly.
It was embarrassing.
Aoki was calm.
He had expected this result when he realized he was Gyomei's weakness.
Kokushibo, facing Gyomei with the Mark, Red Nichirin Sword, and Transparent World, plus Muichiro Tokito with the Mark and Red Nichirin Sword and briefly entering the Transparent World, plus Sanemi with the Mark and Red Nichirin Sword, plus Genya Shinazugawa, who was surprisingly effective, still killed Muichiro and Genya and pushed Gyomei and Sanemi to the brink many times.
He was facing five basic Pillars, not a death match. The strongest was his weakness. If he couldn't win easily, he should kill himself.
Tap tap tap.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki, supported by Amane Ubuyashiki, walked over.
He looked calm, as if nothing had happened. He said gently, "Mr. Aomura, how do the Upper Moons compare to your strength?"
Aoki had thought about this. "My current strength is about the same as Upper Moon One!"
Kanae perked up. "Mr. Aomura, how do you think our strength compares to the Upper Moons?"
Aoki said, "One-on-one, you can't beat any Upper Moon!"
The Pillars were silent.
They were confident and didn't want to accept this, but after their crushing defeat, they couldn't argue.
Kanae had fought Upper Moon Two and knew the Upper Moons' strength better than the others. She accepted this answer more easily.
"What about Muzan?"
Everyone forgot everything else and looked at Aoki intently.
Pride and confidence didn't matter in the face of "Muzan."
Even Kagaya Ubuyashiki looked eager.
They saw Muzan as their enemy, but they knew little about him.
Any information was valuable.
"Muzan?"
Aoki smiled. "If you all fought him, Muzan could easily defeat you without using even a tenth of his power!"
He didn't know how strong Muzan was.
But even after aging for thousands of years, Muzan could quickly push the Pillars, who had Marks and Red Nichirin Swords, to the brink of death.
These basic Pillars couldn't threaten Muzan, even together.
The silence deepened. The yard was quiet.
After a while, Kagaya Ubuyashiki recovered first. His voice was calm and firm. "The gap is so big, but I believe if we keep trying, we can defeat Muzan someday!"
"That's right. Muzan must die!" Aoki nodded, his voice full of killing intent.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki smiled. "Mr. Aomura, we have a common goal. We should help each other."
"Of course."
Aoki agreed readily.
That was his goal. There was no hesitation.
The Pillars were silent. No one objected. They had discussed this and agreed.
Aoki noticed the Pillars' hostility had decreased after the spar.
Was this a case of fighting making friends?
Nothing was more convincing than facts.
If he had been evil, the Demon Slayer Corps would have suffered heavy losses. Kagaya Ubuyashiki would be dead.
Aoki and Kagaya Ubuyashiki discussed the details of their cooperation.
The Demon Slayer Corps would provide information, and Aoki would handle the demons. He would be a special, unofficial member of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Aoki shared some information he had.
"About Upper Moon Two, he's the leader of the Eternal Paradise Cult. It's a small cult with about 250 members..."
The Pillars were very interested.
Aoki said they couldn't beat an Upper Moon one-on-one, but that didn't matter. They could gang up on him.
They didn't need to be honorable with demons.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki said, "The Eternal Paradise Cult? That's a very important lead. We'll investigate immediately and tell you what we find."
Aoki nodded, pleased.
He wanted to use the Demon Slayer Corps' information network to find prey. That was his goal.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki asked, "Anything else, Mr. Aomura?"
Aoki thought. "One more thing. I want the Demon Slayer Corps to help me find a charcoal seller named Tanjirou Kamado.
He's about 12 years old, with dark red hair and red eyes. He has a scar on his left forehead and always wears a green checkered haori."
He should use the Demon Slayer Corps' power.
He wasn't afraid they would find anything.
Tanjirou was just a charcoal seller. No one would guess he had the talent to become the strongest demon, had seen the Blue Spider Lily, and knew Sun Breathing.
Kagaya Ubuyashiki asked, "Tanjirou Kamado? Mr. Aomura, is he your relative?"
The Pillars listened closely.
They knew a lot about Aoki after he became a demon, but nothing about his life before.
This might be a chance to learn more.
Aoki shook his head. "No! I just want to ask him about something."
They knew something was strange, but they were working together. If Aoki didn't want to say, they couldn't force him.
But it was okay.
If they found Tanjirou, they could investigate him first.
That wouldn't break their agreement.
"The Kamado family lives in the mountains, selling charcoal. He's the oldest child, with five younger siblings. His father might be dead..."
Aoki described Tanjirou, then looked at Giyu. "The Kamado family might live in your area!"
Giyu paused, then nodded. "Okay!"
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