The process of collecting the Dragon Balls this time went pretty smoothly.
After all, the Red Ribbon Army, which would've been the main antagonist in this operation, had already been taken out early. Among the remaining players, only Kid Goku and Emperor Pilaf had both the motive and ability to gather the Dragon Balls. Goku, being a friendly ally, only cared about the Four-Star Ball his grandpa left him. As for Pilaf? He's more of a comedic nuisance than a real threat.
Speaking of which…
Emperor Pilaf is actually tied to a major plot point—
Three years from now, he's the one who frees Piccolo Daimao from his seal at the bottom of the sea, bringing the demon king back to wreak havoc and indirectly causing the deaths of Master Roshi, Krillin, and others.
Uchiha Hikari had considered dealing with Pilaf preemptively, like she did with the Red Ribbon Army—either taking him out or giving him a full-on brainwash to erase his world-domination ambitions.
But…
After some careful thought, she decided against it.
Piccolo Daimao, while powerful, isn't an unbeatable foe. In the original timeline, Kid Goku managed to defeat him three years later, even if it was with the help of the Ultra Divine Water. This time, with Kami and Karin-sama's early attention and training, there's no reason Goku would lose to Piccolo.
Even if something goes wrong, it's no big deal.
As long as the chat group is still around, Hikari can always bring Esdeath over to back things up.
Besides…
Piccolo Daimao is essentially the embodiment of Kami's evil side, and Kami likely knows his sealed location. Whether to deal with him early and how to do it should be left to Kami himself. If Hikari's interference leads to Goku and his friends missing out on crucial experience, resulting in them being too weak for the Saiyan Saga and getting wiped out by Raditz… well, that'd be a real mess.
While Hikari and Esdeath were out on their mission, Bulma took the "Dragon Ball Intel Manual" that Hikari had handwritten and uploaded to the group chat, along with a curious Kid Goku, to visit the Lookout.
"…So this kid is the 'Child of Destiny' you mentioned for this world?" Kami asked.
"He's got an honest look in his eyes, kinda like Tanjiro," Karin-sama observed. "I'll take him for some training to see what he's made of, both in skill and character."
After that, Bulma, guided by Kami and Mr. Popo, found the Namekian spaceship in the storage room behind the Lookout. She dove right in, buzzing with excitement as she began studying it.
[Bulma: I'd seen it in the manga, but I didn't expect a real Namekian spaceship to look like this… This kind of navigation tech is probably at least thirty to fifty years ahead of Earth! How did the Namekians figure this out? It's incredible!]
[NoName: Thirty to fifty years? Try multiplying that by ten…]
The Dragon Ball manga doesn't mention Kami's age, but considering he came to Earth as a child, grew up, and split off Piccolo Daimao, who was sealed when Master Roshi was still a young martial artist… Kami's got to be at least as old as Roshi, so around 300 or 400 years old. A real ancient relic.
Yup… Namekians definitely live way longer than Earthlings or Saiyans.
And that immortality elixir Roshi drank? It's the real deal. Wonder if there's any more of that lying around…
[Brand: A few hundred years old… That's kinda scary. Doesn't that make him older than you, Hikari?]
[NoName: ?]
After a brief chat about Kami's age, Hikari remembered something else and pinged Bulma in the group.
[NoName: By the way, how's Goku doing?]
[Bulma: Oh, him? He's still with Karin-sama, chasing after some 'Super Holy Water' or something. I overheard Kami and Mr. Popo at lunch talking about putting together a long-term training plan for him to prepare for Piccolo Daimao's potential return. I don't know much about this training stuff, but it should be fine, right?]
[NoName: Hmm… 'Super Holy Water' is whatever, but he'd better not drink the 'Ultra Divine Water.' I'm guessing that stuff might be tied to Goku's heart virus.]
[Bulma: Huh?]
[Bulma: Oh, wait, I remember! That's the stuff Goku drank at Korin Tower after getting beat by Piccolo Daimao the first time, right? I always thought that wasn't exactly safe. Since you're saying the same, Hikari, I'll mention it to Kami and Karin-sama.]
Bulma's always been a people person. Even though she only met Kami and Karin-sama a few days ago, she's already chatting with them like old friends. Hikari just dropped the warning and left it at that.
Then she checked in on Tanjiro's situation.
After her discussion with Kami, Hikari had already shared the Dragon Ball wish plan with the group, so even those who hadn't met Kami, like Kikyo or Minato, were in the loop.
Everyone was already familiar with Tanjiro and the Demon Slayer Corps from casual chats, so no one had any objections to using the Dragon Balls to revive their fallen comrades. In fact, they all offered to help if needed.
When Brand and the others made those offers a few days ago, Tanjiro had politely thanked them, saying he could handle things.
But today…
Something seemed to have changed.
[IronHead: @NoName, Hikari-san, are you there?]
"Hm?"
Hikari was riding the Flying Nimbus with Esdeath, soaring through the sky toward their next destination. Splitting her focus, she kept the Nimbus on course while quickly typing with her thoughts:
[NoName: I'm here. What's up?]
[IronHead: Um… I really hate to keep troubling you, but the Demon Slayer Corps is facing a bit of a problem. We're not sure we can handle it on our own. If you have time, could you come take a look?]
[IronHead: The Oyakata-sama says if you're willing to help, the Corps will offer any reward within our means.]
[NoName: …We'll talk rewards later. What's going on?]
Hikari had personally vouched for Tanjiro's strength.
From his performance at the Budokai, he's already at Hashira-level power. He could take down any demon below Upper Moon Three solo, and even hold his own against the stronger ones. Plus, with Kyojuro Rengoku, Tengen Uzui, and others still alive and in fighting shape, they should be able to handle even Upper Moon One or Two.
For a Demon Slayer Corps this stacked to feel overwhelmed…
Could it be Muzan himself making a move?
As if confirming Hikari's suspicions, Tanjiro continued:
[IronHead: After I told Oyakata-sama about the Dragon Ball revival plan, the Corps sent out teams across the country to collect the bodies of those who died in the past three years. But the operation was a bit too big, and it seems the Twelve Kizuki caught wind of it. They've launched several attacks, nearly killing Rengoku-san and others. Thankfully, the Senzu Beans you left us prevented any major losses.]
[IronHead: According to Oyakata-sama's prediction, the Upper Moons might have tracked down our headquarters' location because of this. And… even Muzan himself might show up.]
[NoName: Oh?]
Muzan's finally making a personal appearance?
Hikari's eyes lit up.
She'd had her sights set on him for a while now.
As the lifelong enemy of the Demon Slayer Corps and the origin of all demons, Muzan's physical strength is on a whole different level from regular demons. Aside from his weakness to sunlight, he's practically the perfect immortal being, capable of freely changing his form and even gender. He's basically the ideal test subject and human punching bag!
Yup.
For a villain as irredeemable and unkillable as Muzan Kibutsuji, the best fate is to be locked in a lab as a test subject or used to try out new techniques.
He won't die no matter what you throw at him.
Hikari hadn't gone after Muzan before because she didn't know how to access his Infinity Castle. But now… if he's coming out on his own, this is the perfect chance to capture him. Miss this, and who knows how many years it'll be before another opportunity comes up.
[NoName: …Got it. I've got a few things to wrap up here, but I'll head over later tonight.]
[LittleMonster: Eri wants to go too!]
[DemonPrincess: Me too!]
"…Hm?"
Hikari raised an eyebrow.
These past few days, Eri and Yamato hadn't joined her in the Dragon Ball hunt or gone to the Lookout with Bulma. Instead, they stayed in West City, helping Dr. Brief with medical experiments.
By "helping," that meant being test subjects.
Hikari had previously asked Dr. Brief to develop a bloodline suppressant for Eri, though the drug was still in the prototype stage and needed refinement. Having Eri herself cooperate would speed things up. As for Yamato, while she didn't have any "bloodline disease," her unique lineage and the gene-altering Devil Fruit she'd eaten made her a valuable research subject too. So, Hikari and Bulma had convinced her to undergo a full checkup.
But those tests were, admittedly, a bit dull, and it seemed Eri and Yamato were getting restless.
[NoName: You two should stick to Dr. Brief's schedule for now. I'll check things out with Tanjiro first, and if I need you, I'll call you in the group.]
[NoName: Be good.]
While calming Eri and Yamato in the chat, Hikari turned to Esdeath beside her.
"Hey, Esdeath, wanna check out another world?"
"Another world? One of your friends' worlds again?"
Once was unfamiliar, twice was routine.
Esdeath had already traveled to several worlds with Hikari, especially during the Budokai, where she'd interacted with Eri, Yamato, and others. The concept of "countless worlds" wasn't new to her anymore. To her, it didn't matter where they went, as long as there were strong opponents to fight.
Hikari didn't beat around the bush: "Tanjiro's world."
"That kid with the hard forehead…" Esdeath tilted her head, vaguely recalling him. "When are we going?"
"…We've got one last Dragon Ball to find. Should be done by this afternoon. Probably head over tomorrow morning."
Hikari made her decision.
…
That afternoon, Hikari found the seventh Dragon Ball near Penguin Village in the north. She then took the Flying Nimbus to Korin Tower, made her way to the Lookout, and handed all the Dragon Balls to Kami.
"…You collected them this fast?" Kami asked, visibly surprised.
As the creator of the Dragon Balls, he'd observed others who pursued them. In his experience, even the luckiest took months to gather all seven from around the world, with most needing years or even decades.
Hikari, though? She did it in about a week. Talk about efficiency.
She just waved the Dragon Radar in her hand, crediting it to the power of tech.
Kami didn't press further.
With that, Hikari said her goodbyes to Kami, checked in on Bulma (who was engrossed in studying the spaceship), and then, with Esdeath, sent a request to Tanjiro.
[NoName requests to join IronHead's world]
…
A flash of white light later, Hikari's figure appeared in the courtyard of the Demon Slayer Corps' headquarters. Waiting there were Tanjiro and Ubuyashiki Kagaya.
"Hikari-san, you're here," Kagaya said with a slight bow in greeting.
Hikari nodded back. "Good to see you again, Ubuyashiki-san."
Compared to her last visit, the Demon Slayer Corps' leader looked noticeably worse.
His eyes were nearly blind, half his face was covered in gruesome cracks, and his entire body seemed as fragile as a porcelain vase about to shatter, only held upright by his two daughters supporting him. Yet his voice remained gentle and steady—you'd never guess he was on death's door just by listening.
"…Muzan's curse has gotten this bad?" Hikari asked.
Kagaya smiled faintly. "An old ailment. I've been prepared for this since I became the head of the family. That's why, in my remaining time, I want to eliminate Muzan, the source of this calamity…" He coughed weakly before turning his gaze to Esdeath behind Hikari. "And this is…?"
"Esdeath, my friend," Hikari said casually, then cleared her throat and glanced at the house a few meters away. "Let's talk inside."