"You awake?"
Esdeath's eyelids fluttered slightly, as if stirred by a sound, and she opened her eyes while sitting in the chair.
"Mmm… what time is it?"
"Probably a little past nine in the morning. After you crashed last night, that Ubuyashiki guy took care of everything, said they'd handle the rest. Then this girl insisted on staying because she was worried about your safety. I tried talking her out of it, but no dice, so here we are."
As she spoke, Esdeath tilted her chin toward Eri.
Even though they'd gone on missions together a few times, Esdeath still wasn't exactly "close" with the group, and her way of addressing them felt a bit formal and distant.
Uchiha Hikari didn't mind much, though. She carefully shifted her body, gently pulling her arm out of Eri's embrace.
With that movement, her collar loosened a bit, revealing a glimpse of smooth, fair skin at her shoulder. In the golden morning sunlight, you could faintly make out the delicate curve of her collarbone and the subtle outline of her chest—small enough to fit in one hand.
Esdeath noticed too, stealing a few discreet glances.
Hikari caught those looks but didn't say anything. When she saw Esdeath's faint smirk as she tugged her collar back up, Esdeath chuckled. "Why so nervous? It's not like I haven't seen it before… I helped you change last night, you know. Gotta say, you're not all that different from a boy."
"?"
Hikari tilted her head, a question mark practically forming above her.
Alright, no need to ask who changed her into her sleepwear—Esdeath, apparently. That realization made Hikari relax a little. Compared to anyone else, Esdeath was practically her half-servant, so it made sense she'd take on some "maid-like" duties.
As for the other stuff…
Hikari glanced down at herself, mentally sizing things up and making a rough comparison.
Well, how to put it…
Saying she was "like a boy" was definitely an exaggeration. But compared to someone like Brand, with his chiseled, overtrained pecs, she might actually come up a bit short…
Hikari let out a small sigh, slipped on her sandals, and got out of bed. She grabbed a fresh outfit from the wardrobe and changed.
During this, Esdeath casually stood up, stretching as if it were no big deal. Her eyes, though, flicked toward Hikari's smooth, bare back a few meters away. A faint smile curved her lips, and she murmured under her breath, almost like a dreamy whisper, "A girl, huh… not bad at all."
"…What's not bad?"
Hikari glanced back.
"Nothing."
In the blink of an eye, Esdeath's smirk vanished, replaced by her usual cool, stoic expression. "Go wash up."
The two finished changing and were about to leave the room when Hikari paused. She went back to wake Eri, who was still sleeping beside her, and dragged her along to brush their teeth and freshen up outside.
About twenty minutes later, a cleaned-up Hikari, along with Esdeath and a still-sleepy Eri, stepped into the courtyard of the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.
After a night, the place had been thoroughly cleaned. The broken stones, scattered leaves, bloodstains, and shattered blades from last night's battle were gone. Even the pond water seemed to have been replaced, restoring its usual calm. But the holes in the surrounding walls and the craters in the ground remained, clear scars of the fight.
"Miss Hikari, you're here."
Someone was already standing by the pond—Yoshiya Ubuyashiki.
The leader of the Demon Slayer Corps was feeding the goldfish with a small bag of fish food. Hearing their footsteps, he turned and gave a gentle smile. "I've asked Amane and the others to prepare breakfast. If you don't mind, you're welcome to join. Mr. Brand already ate, but your doors were closed, so I didn't want to disturb you in case you were still resting."
"Thanks for the thought, Mr. Ubuyashiki," Hikari nodded.
Yoshiya smiled softly. "No, I should be thanking you. You've come all the way from your world to help us, and now you've even taken down Muzan, our greatest threat. A few meals are the least we can do."
When Hikari and Bulma first arrived in the Demon Slayer world, some Corps members mistook them for "gods" from the heavens. That misunderstanding was cleared up after Tanjiro returned from training in the Dragon Ball world and explained the Dragon Balls' wishing system.
Well… mostly cleared up.
Tanjiro had mentioned the Cat Sage and the Kami of Earth, actual "gods" living in the heavens. So, in the eyes of others, Hikari, who'd chatted so casually with them, must be someone of equal stature.
Hikari didn't bother correcting the assumption. She simply accepted Yoshiya's thanks and led Esdeath and Eri to the back for breakfast.
Afterward, Yamato and Brand wanted to explore outside.
They'd been in the Demon Slayer world for days but stayed cooped up in the headquarters to avoid tipping off Muzan. Now that the battle was over, with Muzan and the Upper Moons either captured or dead, their curiosity got the better of them.
Eri didn't say anything, but her eager expression said it all.
Mitsuri Kanroji, the Love Hashira, volunteered to be their guide. Seeing her step up, Iguro Obanai, the Serpent Hashira, quietly offered to tag along.
So, Hikari created a shadow clone to join them as they left for the city, while her real self sought out Yoshiya to discuss a new venture: developing the "Hishikari Gold Mine."
"…Wait, Miss Hikari, you found a gold mine in Kyushu?" Yoshiya blinked in surprise before calming down. "No problem. I can help you secure ownership of the mine and handle the mining operations. Consider it a small token of gratitude for you, Kikyo, and Miss Eri."
Despite his offer, Hikari insisted on an 80-20 split—80% for her, 20% for the Ubuyashiki family.
Favors were one thing, but business was business.
Mining gold wasn't cheap. It required manpower, equipment, and a complex process to refine the ore into pure gold—not just a matter of tossing it in a fire. If she was going to have people work for her, they deserved fair compensation.
"By the way…" Hikari mused, "doesn't the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, use his Sand Release to mine gold?"
The father of Gaara from Naruto wasn't exactly known for his brilliance. His list of bad decisions was long: sending assassins after his own son, indirectly causing his brother-in-law Yashamaru's death, betraying the war hero Scorch Release Pakura to the Hidden Mist Village… and then dying quietly at Orochimaru's hands. A textbook case of someone with zero self-awareness.
Being a Kage might've been a stretch for him, but as a gold miner? Probably perfect.
Hikari made a mental note to swing by the Hidden Sand Village next time she was in the Naruto world.
---
In the meantime, Yoshiya began arranging to acquire the Hishikari Gold Mine while sending the Demon Slayer Corps to hunt down the remaining demons. With Muzan still alive, most of the weaker demons were too, but none were stronger than Lower Moon level. For the fully intact Corps, wiping them out was just a matter of time.
During this period, Hikari did two things.
First, she had a heartfelt talk with Miss Tamayo.
Tamayo was one of the first people Hikari met in this world. Back then, Tamayo thought she was just an unusually strong human kid. But after hearing rumors from the Corps and witnessing Hikari's "Blazing Eyes, Burning Hair" form, Tamayo genuinely believed she was the reincarnation of Yoriichi Tsugikuni, treating her with almost reverent respect.
The misunderstanding made Hikari chuckle, but she didn't bother correcting it. Instead, she asked about Tamayo's future plans.
"If you don't have anywhere else to go, how about working with me?"
"Miss… Yoriichi—er, Miss Hikari, what do you mean?"
"As you've seen, I spared Muzan's life to study his body and uncover the secrets of demons—their healing abilities, how they alter cells and genes, and whether we can use that to advance human medicine. You've been researching this for centuries. Interested in taking it further?"
Tamayo hesitated.
She'd always despised Muzan's power, focusing her research on weakening it, stripping it away, or turning demons back into humans. Using demon abilities to advance medicine was a path she'd never considered.
Or rather, she hadn't dared to.
With Muzan looming like a sword over her head, Tamayo had spent all her energy hiding from him. Thinking beyond that was a luxury she couldn't afford.
But now…
"I'll think it over carefully and give you an answer," Tamayo replied earnestly, then glanced at Hikari's long, dark hair. "Um… are you really not connected to Yoriichi? Your 'Sun Breathing'…"
"Just a coincidence."
Reincarnation was a thing in the Demon Slayer world—several fallen Hashira were reborn in the modern era by the story's end. But Yoriichi seemed to be an exception; there was no clear evidence he'd been reincarnated.
Hikari stretched and stood up. "I'll be here a few more days. Let me know when you decide. If you're in, Yushiro and Chachamaru are welcome to join. If not, no pressure."
"Alright, I'll let you know soon," Tamayo nodded.
After that, Hikari turned her attention to Muzan Kibutsuji. She spent an entire day using her "Yasakanotsume" technique to comb through his memories, then casually mentioned "Infinity Castle" and "the Twelve Moons' stragglers" in front of him.
At first, Muzan tried to hide Narume's existence, hoping to keep her as an escape card. But Hikari cut through that quickly.
"You can try escaping, but you get one shot. Fail, and I'll make you feel what it's like to be trapped in an endless hell—just like what you did to those humans. Guess how many swings it'd take to kill you? More than one?"
As it turned out, Muzan was a coward through and through.
After less than a minute of hesitation, he sold out Narume, offering up Infinity Castle on a platter in exchange for his life.
"…If you were a soldier, you'd be a traitor in a heartbeat," Hikari muttered, a bit dumbfounded.
She'd been to plenty of worlds and seen countless powerful beings, but someone like Muzan—with near-invincible power and zero backbone—was rare. Well, maybe Herzog from Dragon Raja and Naraku from Inuyasha came close.
Still, Muzan's cowardice made things easier. No need to scheme to keep him in line.
Hikari temporarily lifted the seal on Muzan and told him to summon Narume. She wasn't worried about him escaping—Tamayo's drugs had stripped him of his self-destruct ability, and if he tried running in his real body… well, it'd come down to whose blade was faster.
With Muzan's command, the air behind him rippled. A small vortex appeared, and from it emerged a woman in a gray-brown kimono, her hair covering half her face, holding a biwa. She bowed humbly.
"Lord Muzan."
"No need to call me that anymore," Muzan said, swallowing hard and pointing. "From now on, you serve Miss Uchiha Hikari. Whatever she asks, you do."
Narume: "?"