"Your… Your Excellency!?"
The cabinet members, including Prime Minister Kametaro, stared in disbelief. A moment later, a look of pure shock spread across the Prime Minister's face as realization dawned.
"You… you're the true mastermind behind the demons," he stammered, his voice trembling slightly. "You're the Demon King… Muzan Kibutsuji!"
As a long-time supporter of the Demon Slayer Corps, the Ubuyashiki family had not only trained demon slayers but had also shared crucial information about demons with the government. Kagaya Ubuyashiki believed that the fight against demons was not just for the Corps, but for everyone in the nation. This was one of his most important goals.
Because of this, the highest-ranking officials in the land, including the cabinet, were well-informed about the existence of demons and their leader. However, the recent demon attacks and the political assassinations had happened at almost the same time. To make matters worse, the Nichirin Swords of the Demon Slayer Corps were found at the scenes of the crimes.
This led Prime Minister Kametaro, his cabinet, and the other powerful factions to a single, terrible conclusion: the Demon Slayer Corps was working with the demons.
But now, seeing the man who called himself Tsukihiko standing before him, the Prime Minister understood that all his assumptions had been wrong. The truth was far more horrifying. This man, the leader of the demons, Muzan Kibutsuji, had been pulling the strings from the very beginning, trapping everyone in his elaborate scheme.
It wasn't just the Ubuyashiki family and the Demon Slayer Corps who were his puppets. Even the highest officials of the government were being manipulated within his grand design. It was clear that Muzan saw everyone as his enemy—the Demon Slayers, the government, and every other faction in the land. The sheer scale of his ambition and the terrifying precision of his methods were unlike anything the Prime Minister had ever encountered.
...
"It seems you've figured it all out," Tsukihiko said, his voice smooth and calm. He had been watching the Prime Minister closely, observing every flicker of emotion on his face. He could see the exact moment the man understood everything. "As expected of the first Prime Minister of the Taisho era, Kametaro."
He wasn't bothered by this revelation. At this point, even if they knew the truth, it didn't matter. Whether it was the cabinet or the Ubuyashiki family, their chances of turning the situation around were practically zero. Even if the Imperial Family or the Divine Priestess clan supporting Kagaya had some hidden trump cards, Tsukihiko paid them no mind.
To use those cards, they first had to survive the current crisis. If they couldn't even manage that, then any future plans were completely meaningless.
...
Hoo. Prime Minister Kametaro let out a long, slow breath, and the panic on his face was replaced by a calm mask. However, the slight tremor in his hands revealed that he was not nearly as composed as he appeared. In front of a being like Muzan Kibutsuji, his high-ranking position meant nothing. He was just a man, and a fragile one at that. He knew that if it weren't for his title as Prime Minister, he would likely already be dead.
"Muzan Kibutsuji," Kametaro said, a faint, defiant smile touching his lips. "Do you… do you really think you've already won?"
Thump. Thump.
As soon as he spoke, figures in traditional samurai attire seemed to melt out of the shadows. One by one, they took up positions around the room, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords.
"Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, reporting for duty!" one announced, his voice sharp.
"Shinto Munen-ryu, reporting for duty!" another followed.
"Hokushin Itto-ryu, reporting for duty!"
In just a few moments, more than a dozen men had appeared. They were the masters of the most famous sword styles in the country—true masters of the blade. These men were Prime Minister Kametaro's secret weapon, his strongest trump card meant to be used against the Demon Slayer Corps if they ever became a threat. But now, faced with the terrifying power of Muzan Kibutsuji, he had no choice but to reveal them early.
"Is that so?" The smile on Tsukihiko's lips widened. "It seems things are getting more and more interesting."
...
At the same time, at the Ubuyashiki estate.
"What!? The high-ranking officials were attacked inside the cabinet's main building? And it was the work of the Twelve Kizuki!"
Kagaya Ubuyashiki, who had just felt a wave of relief at the news of support from the Divine Priestess clan, felt a sharp pain in his chest, and he fought the urge to vomit blood. The recent demon attacks and assassinations, all secretly orchestrated by Muzan, had already done immense damage to the reputation of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Even though Kagaya had allies within the government, they had all chosen to remain silent this time. The fact that the Demon Slayer Corps was a private army, loyal only to the Ubuyashiki family and not the Emperor, had always been a source of tension. In the eyes of the government, they were an unpredictable and dangerous force. Some officials might have understood that Kagaya, with his family's curse, was no threat to the throne, but fear often overshadowed logic.
The Demon Slayer Corps was a sword in Kagaya's hand. Whether that sword was used to kill demons or men was ultimately his decision. But Kagaya had never imagined that Muzan would be so bold as to directly attack the government and the Imperial Family. It was now terrifyingly clear that Muzan's goal was not just the destruction of the Demon Slayer Corps, but control over the entire nation.
Even as his sworn enemy, Kagaya couldn't help but feel a chill of fear at the sheer audacity of Muzan's plan.
"However, the cabinet and the Imperial Family are not so easy to kill," he murmured, taking a slow breath to calm himself. "The cabinet is protected by the country's most ancient sword styles, and the Imperial Family is guarded by true yin-yang masters from the Edo period. For Muzan Kibutsuji to attack them now… it isn't his smartest move."
But just as he started to feel a glimmer of hope, his wife, Amane, spoke again, her voice steady but grim as she delivered the latest intelligence.
"According to our sources, three of our own have appeared on a public train: the former Water Hashira, Sakonji Urokodaki; the current Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka; and… the Serpent Hashira, Obanai Iguro."
Kagaya's head snapped up.
"The problem is," Amane continued, her eyes fixed on her husband's pale face, "they seem to be under some kind of illusion. They're causing chaos on the train, and it's already forced the official army to respond. But that's not the worst part. The six Hashira we dispatched were ambushed by the government's enforcement teams. They're using firearms and cannons. It's clear they intend to kill all six of our Hashira on the spot."
Pfft!
As Amane finished speaking, Kagaya choked, and a spray of blood erupted from his mouth, staining the floor in front of him. His face, already disfigured by his family's curse, twisted in an expression of pure agony.
Muzan's strategy was now horribly clear. This tactic of using another's hand to kill—of turning the government's own army against the Demon Slayer Corps—was more than just cruel. It was diabolical.
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