"Yoriichi Tsugikuni?"
Doma's eyes widened at the sight, but he quickly regained control of himself.
'Now that's a surprise I never thought I'd see,' he thought, analyzing the current situation.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
(Image)
The strongest man in the entire Kimetsu no Yaiba universe, at least according to Doma's opinion from his previous life.
As for the fandom's take? The community remained deeply divided on the matter.
After all, Muzan had evolved tremendously over the centuries.
The more a demon feeds on humans, the stronger it becomes.
That's why Muzan far surpassed the level he had during his encounter with Yoriichi.
Not to mention that he was never shown at 100% of his capabilities in the manga, since Tamayo had severely poisoned him.
Yet Doma still considered Kokushibo's brother to be the strongest.
He had no canonical proof in his memories to fully support or completely refute this view, but it was a conviction deeply etched into Muzan's cells.
Trauma? Maybe, but Doma saw it as Muzan's survival instinct.
'Why has he appeared? Normally, he only manifests near Tanjiro…'
Unfortunately, the more he thought about it, the more questions flooded his mind.
Doma's perception of time far exceeded that of an ordinary being, but it wasn't enough to satisfy his curiosity or solve this mystery through mere reflection.
His only clue lay in the twisted causality triggered by his Fate Breaker trait, which had probably caused a butterfly effect strong enough to draw the attention of the legendary former demon slayer.
In short, Yoriichi Tsugikuni had taken an interest in his demonic brother and tried to speak to him because of Doma's abnormal existence.
"Doma? Why are you reacting like that to the sight of this wandering spirit?" asked Hlökk, slightly confused as she observed the demon's reaction.
"This isn't just any wandering spirit, my dear Hlökk, but the greatest swordsman the world has ever known," murmured Doma in a low voice.
Muichiro Tokito.
That kid hadn't even been born yet, or was still just a baby. Yet Doma was already conducting intensive research on him and his surroundings.
Why? Because he saw a monster of talent in him.
Since Yoriichi's death, no one had ever reached his level or fully mastered his legacy, aka the Breath of the Sun.
Deep down, Doma hoped that Muichiro could succeed with the right "education."
But now, events were different.
Yoriichi was here.
Doma now saw another path to increase his overall strength through the wandering spirit.
'If I can read his memories, then I could learn the Breath of the Sun without being limited by a lack of talent,' he thought to himself.
The idea sounded good on paper, but he was still a demon, and Yoriichi was a demon slayer.
Even if this soft-hearted man harbored no particular grudge against demons, he considered their very existence a problem in itself.
The chances of gaining his approval were slim.
Doma would have to resort to trickery, just as he had done with Tamayo.
That's why a plan was starting to form in Doma's mind, but Hlökk's voice rang out again.
"If he's that skilled, my big sister would have heard of him, right? Aren't you exaggerating a bit?" she said, not hiding her skepticism.
Listening to the valkyrie's words, Doma remembered that Hlökk thought she was in her version of the human world.
'Damn, I forgot to explain to her when we got back to the monastery that I live in a different version of Earth,' he thought, before instinctively putting on a fake apologetic expression.
"It's a bit complicated to explain right now, but I'll do it after all this mess, ok~?" he said, crossing his fingers and flashing an innocent smile.
He didn't want an annoying voice in his head. So he pushed the problem onto future Doma.
As for censorship with the Paradise of Vanity? Doma was against the practice of silencing a woman without a kiss.
"Hmm… ok, I'll wait," she replied, but her voice betrayed a slight mistrust.
An inevitable reaction.
Doma had hidden certain information from Hlökk, and she had sensed it through their link.
It was something Doma had deliberately left intact, judging it unnecessary to hide for now.
"Blood Demon Art: Third Form - Detestable Moon, Chains!"
The hands of Doma's Buddha unleashed themselves within the Infinity Castle against Kokushibo's small silhouette.
The Upper Moon performed two extremely wide crescent-shaped slashes directly in front of him, and this attack released a storm of smaller crescent-moon-shaped blades.
Kokushibo's intent was clear in Doma's eyes: the Upper Moon wanted to deflect the Buddha's fist attack while counterattacking simultaneously.
"A pitiful idea…"
The lotus flower on which Doma was sitting closed immediately after Kokushibo's attack.
The surroundings were stunned by the new large-scale offensive from the First Upper Moon, but the state of the Buddha statue caused even deeper despair after the demon's assault.
The ice structure remained intact and immediately retaliated, striking the swordsman's location with a terrifying blast of ice.
If the ice priestesses could freeze the surroundings in seconds, the ice Buddha unleashed a full-blown blizzard across the entire battlefield in a single blow.
Everyone thought Kokushibo had been annihilated. Even Doma believed he had reduced him to ice dust after taking the full brunt of his creation's blast.
Yet what was unfolding before everyone's eyes contradicted that conclusion.
Kokushibo's silhouette tried to stand up, but without success.
His body's cells were struggling to withstand the necrotic effect of the cold, which was destroying him even faster.
Normally, an ordinary demon could recover from an attack without a Nichirin blade or wisteria flowers. However, Doma had the blood of a divine being in him.
All supernatural demon arts are based on the flesh and blood of these creatures, so his attack didn't just strike Kokushibo physically.
The Upper Moon's soul was also severely damaged!
"A-am I going to lose? Can I… cough really not be the strongest?" muttered the demon as he stared at the ground.
Beneath him, Kokushibo caught sight of his reflection on the ice.
A battered and dying monster that evoked to everyone the image of an insect writhing on the ground.
A disgusting scene.
The demon's heart was filled with various feelings he never thought he would experience after his defeat against the old man his little brother (Yoriichi) had become.
"Brother, haven't you done enough?"
As he drifted in a trance between life and death, Yoriichi's voice finally reached him.
At that moment, Kokushibo… no, Michikatsu lifted his head and did not see the fearsome swordsman from his memories.
There was a little boy holding a flute.
(Image)
"Can't you just love someone without envy? Can't you just turn your back on this path?" Yoriichi's gentle eyes alternated between the flute in his hands and the katana in his brother's arm at the mention of paths.
"You!!!! You're dead and buried!" roared the former human after hearing his brother's manifestation.
Yet the little boy smiled even more in the face of his only direct family's anger.
It was a smile as bright as the sun, but tinged with sadness.
"Yes, and so what? But you're still here, aren't you? So please. Stop carrying everything yourself and hand your burden over to your companions," he said, stepping closer before grabbing Michikatsu's face with his two small hands.
"You are not the servant of your envy nor of Muzan Kibutsuji, since the identity of Kokushibo is false! You are my kind brother Michikatsu Tsugikuni." With the last sentence, Yoriichi pulled the samurai into a hug.
"Go ahead, stop fighting but save yourself and your friend from his thirst for power," he murmured before disappearing.
Michikatsu did not respond to Yoriichi before or after the hug, for he had realized the truth and understood the reason for his failure in that instant.
'Yes, I was too impulsive,' he thought as he loosened his grip on his katana.
"Little brother… I may never join you up there, but I will no longer let myself be devoured by this path," he told himself, as an aura of absolute resolve surrounded him.
From an external point of view, nothing was happening, except that Kokushibo's insane regeneration continued to evolve at an incredible speed.
Finally, the impossible became reality. Kokushibo had overcome the terrifying cold of the ice Buddha.
"Kokushibo… are you really going to let go of your grudge? Are you really going to listen to Yoriichi now? Damn it, you've hated him for centuries…" muttered Doma as he observed the area where the cold seemed densest.
Doma had devoured Kokushibo's arm during their very first training session, which now allowed him to use his second Blood Demon Art to read his opponent's thoughts and mental world.
At that moment, he sensed Yoriichi's intervention in Kokushibo's mental world.
You didn't need to be a genius to connect this intervention to the Upper Moon's sudden aura of resolve and the evolution of his regeneration, which was becoming even more insane.
The only downside for Doma here was that he hadn't been able to hear the conversation.
"I understand the shortness of breath better now," murmured Kokushibo, as his katana lengthened, revealing seven curved blades along its main blade.
"I was neither at peace nor aware of the very essence of what it means to wield a blade against an opponent," he continued in a calm voice.
"I simply have to cut through any obstacle, but it must not be done for selfish reasons… That's your secret, isn't it… Yoriichi?" After these words, Kokushibo passed his katana in front of his eyes.
The bare-chested man observed his reflection a second time, but this time… no disgust.
Just peace.
"Doma, this fight is meaningless in its essence, but only the strongest will be able to defeat Muzan and put an end to this madness." The Upper Moon began to emit an intense battle aura.
"Come to me, my friend."
***
Author's Note: Good news for the Patr*eon members.
Your favorite author has finally overcome writer's block (yeah, that's why I was barely posting anything since my recovery, lol… Sorry for my incompetence, but I really wasn't satisfied with what I'd written).
I'll be posting a few chapters today.
And honestly, don't be too mad at me for the outcome of the relationship between Kokushibo and Doma ;)
Little bonus note: thank you to the readers who supported this work, and especially to the Patr*eon members.
I had almost lost the motivation to keep writing it when I saw it decline during my recovery period…
Yeah, I'm a sensitive guy.