"Hey! Hey! This is Guildmaster Channel! Can all Hunters hear me? Can all Hunters hear me?"
At this moment, Kairo Retsu, being carted away by a Felyne, lay bored on the cart and livestreamed through the squad's comms: "I'm currently on a Felyne Cart! The cart is now phasing through the Infinity Castle terrain and space itself—I seriously have no idea where I'm being taken!"
"You bastard! You may be enjoying the Felyne Cart ride, but I'm the one left behind explaining everything to the Demon Slayer Corps, damn it!" Kazuma Satou shouted at Kairo over the comm channel.
"You died AGAIN?" Naofumi Iwatani chimed in, sipping a potion with an exasperated sigh. "So, when you cart in the Infinity Castle… where the hell does it send you?"
"I dunno! Right now, this rainbow-colored cat's dragging me at full speed!" Kairo replied helplessly. "Guess I'll find out what this so-called temporary camp actually is…"
As Kairo spoke, the prismatic-glowing Felyne had already left the Infinity Castle, hauling him into a wide courtyard. It then flipped him off the cart in one motion before vanishing into thin air.
Kairo clambered to his feet—only to meet the hostile glares of—
The former Flame Hashira and Tengen Uzui.
"Who goes there?!"
Tengen Uzui had already gripped his Nichirin Blades with one hand, staring down Kairo with fierce vigilance.
He and the previous Flame Hashira were currently protecting Kiriya Ubuyashiki—the sole son of Kagaya Ubuyashiki—and his two sisters, the central hub of the Demon Slayer Corps' crow intelligence network. Naturally, seeing a rainbow cat dragging a stretcher into their courtyard and dumping a man out was cause for alarm.
"Tengen Uzui? And… Flame Hashira's old man?" Kairo locked eyes with the two and realized something. "So this is the temporary camp? The location of the Demon Slayer Corps' young master?"
"That cat just now—was that some kind of Blood Demon Art?" the former Flame Hashira said as he assumed a combat stance.
Inside the residence, Kiriya Ubuyashiki quickly recognized Kairo and called out to stop them. "Stand down! He's the one helping the Demon Slayer Corps… the Hunters' Guildmaster!"
"Ohhh! Glad someone can recognize me!" Kairo put his hands on his hips triumphantly. "That's right! I'm the Guildmaster!"
"Him? But… we just received word he and Tanjiro's group defeated Upper Rank Three. How did he get here so fast?" Uzui questioned in disbelief.
"That's the Felyne Cart, you three-wife freak!!" Kairo snapped back. "I'm going back into the Infinity Castle soon… Anyway, what's the situation now?"
The room's sliding doors opened, and Kiriya began explaining to Kairo. "Thanks to Naofumi Iwatani's support, there haven't been too many casualties inside the Infinity Castle. However, we still haven't located Muzan…"
"As for the Upper Ranks… Two, Three, and Six have been slain. The Serpent and Love Hashira are currently engaging Upper Rank Four," he reported succinctly.
"That's great news!"
Kairo clenched his fist in excitement. "Wait, Upper Rank Six's gone too? That coward Kaigaku went out with zero presence! Weakest of the bunch, as expected!"
"Young Master! You've got the crow network, so you should be able to relay messages to the Demon Slayer Corps members, right?" Kairo continued. "Muzan won't be under the drug's effects for much longer—don't let ordinary corps members get near him."
"I understand. Ordinary members… would likely become Muzan's fodder. However…" Kiriya hesitated, but Kairo stomped across the tatami with his shoes still on and declared:
"That's why we need to preserve as much fighting strength as possible! We're going to swarm and crush Muzan!!!"
"Which is why I'm borrowing someone!" Kairo clapped his hands. "I'm taking the Sound Hashira! The former Flame Hashira should be enough to guard you!"
"Tengen Uzui? But his arm—" Kiriya began to protest, but Uzui interrupted him and stepped forward.
"I understand. If it's for eliminating Muzan, then what's a missing eye and arm? I can still fight!"
"Bull! Who wants a disabled teammate!" Kairo leapt at Uzui without hesitation. "Drink the potion!!"
"Wha—"
Caught off guard, Uzui was pinned by Kairo and had green liquid poured into his mouth. His missing eye and arm immediately began to itch.
Kairo casually tossed the empty potion bottle aside and said, "I'm not doing this to play hero. I have zero interest in soloing Upper Ranks or Muzan…"
"A true Hunter fires a Signal Flare into the sky—gathers a horde of muscleheads—and mobs the target to death!!!"
"As long as there's no player cap, even a Black Dragon can be kicked to death!!" Kairo said proudly. "That's the Hunter Way!!"
Tengen Uzui stared in shock at his restored arm and newly functional eye. But he instantly understood—this wasn't the time to get emotional. Without hesitation, he went to change into his gear and grab his full equipment.
"But Guildmaster," Kiriya asked nervously, "how do you plan to return to the Infinity Castle? It should still be under the control of the demons."
Kairo puffed up with pride. "As long as the wyvern flies true, there's nowhere a Hunter can't go!"
Then he raised a single finger. "But first, one more thing."
"If this is a temporary camp…" Kairo scanned the room expectantly. "Then it should have that, right?"
As he looked around, both the former Flame Hashira and Kiriya gave him puzzled looks—until…
A Felyne wearing a backpack suddenly popped into the room. "Nya! Guildmaster! Were you looking for the Supply Box? I brought it, nya!"
"You actually had one!?" Kairo beamed with excitement.
"The… the cat talked!" Kiriya's younger sisters exclaimed in shock.
"I see, I see… Even here at the temporary camp, I can change equipment and resupply…" Kairo muttered to himself as he immediately began swapping gear right in the middle of the room.
"Behold! The Long Sword Style—Kairo Retsu, now making his debut!!!!"