Although the so-called Demon Slayer Corps hadn't fully appeared yet, the fact that they had been able to contend with such a monster for over a thousand years made it clear they possessed something extraordinary.
"Demons… a Demon Slayer Corps that's been active for a thousand years? How have I never heard of this?" Tsunade frowned deeply.
By all accounts, the Senju Clan itself had existed for centuries, even close to a millennium. They had been deeply involved in the shinobi world and privy to countless secrets, even shaping many of them.
And yet, they had never once heard of demons.
That alone was strange beyond belief.
Uchiha Itachi shared the same confusion. As a member of the Uchiha Clan, another ancient lineage, he too had never encountered any trace of demons or a Demon Slayer Corps.
And yet, Kaede Kitahara had recorded it in his diary.
That meant it had to be real.
It simply hadn't drawn their attention until now.
Even so, both of them silently resolved to begin investigating this hidden force. No matter what, creatures that devoured humans on a massive scale were clearly not allies.
Then the conversation between Ubuyashiki and Kibutsuji Muzan took a turn that shocked everyone.
This so-called "scumbag boss"… actually came from the same bloodline as Ubuyashiki?
"You may not know this… but you and I share the same origin. You were born over a thousand years ago. By now, our bloodlines have diverged completely."
"Because our clan produced a monster like you, we were cursed. Our children were born frail, dying young. When our clan was on the verge of extinction, a priest gave us guidance: since a demon had emerged from our bloodline, we must devote ourselves to destroying it. Only then would our clan survive. So generation after generation, we married women from priestly families. Our children no longer died so easily."
Ubuyashiki coughed, his frail body trembling.
"But even so… no one in our clan has ever lived past thirty."
A single thought surfaced in everyone's mind.
So demons… were once human?
No wonder they looked like people.
"So the reason this demon has lived for centuries… is because he stole the fortune of his own bloodline?" Jiraiya muttered.
Orochimaru's figure flashed through his mind.
Anyone who pursued immortality would inevitably pay a terrible price.
The only difference was who paid it.
And in this case, the cost was horrifying.
Muzan, however, showed no reaction. He neither acknowledged nor cared about the Ubuyashiki Clan's so-called curse. For centuries, he had lived without ever witnessing any divine punishment. He had slaughtered countless people, yet had never faced retribution.
He did not believe in, nor fear, any such thing.
But when Ubuyashiki calmly deduced that if Muzan died, all demons would perish as well, Muzan's heartbeat quickened ever so slightly.
For the first time, something stirred.
And so, he decided to kill the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps.
Just as he prepared to act, guided by the calls of Kasugai crows, the Hashira scattered across various locations began rushing toward the Ubuyashiki estate.
"Emergency summons! Emergency summons! The Ubuyashiki estate is under attack!"
One by one, powerful figures sprinted toward the scene.
"So those are the Demon Slayer Corps?"
Namikaze Minato watched intently, analyzing them.
They bore no trace of chakra, yet their speed was astonishing—far beyond that of ordinary people. Each of them gave off a presence comparable to a jonin.
As for these so-called breathing techniques, he still couldn't fully grasp them.
He was just about to consider how these Hashira might rescue their endangered leader—
When suddenly, the entire Ubuyashiki estate exploded into dust.
The blast was so violent it made everyone's eyelids twitch.
No one had expected this.
The sheer destructive force was terrifying. It must have taken an enormous number of Explosive Tags to produce such an effect.
Even Minato knew that without using the Flying Thunder God to escape, he would have been reduced to ashes in an instant.
Shinobi, after all, were still human.
"He… used himself as bait?"
In that instant of shock, Minato understood everything.
That explosion had not been Muzan's doing.
It had been Ubuyashiki's.
As the leader who had opposed demons for a thousand years, the moment he revealed his location, the Demon King would inevitably come for him. Anticipating this, Ubuyashiki had buried countless explosives beneath his home, intending to destroy Muzan in a single strike.
This was the definition of a desperate gamble.
He had calculated everything—and sacrificed everything.
As bait, he would die. His wife would die. Even the two women beside him would die.
Such resolve was beyond comprehension.
The others quickly realized it as well.
This had been a trap.
A trap meant to annihilate the Demon King in one blow.
Had they been caught in it, they would have likely perished without even having time to react, let alone use any jutsu.
After all, who would suspect that a man on the brink of death would prepare something so ruthless?
The Hashira could only watch from afar as a mushroom cloud rose into the sky, their faces filled with disbelief.
Was that the end of it?
Everyone stared at the screen.
Based on Kaede's earlier diary entries, it couldn't possibly end so easily.
And then they saw it.
Muzan's body, blown apart into a grotesque, bullfrog-like shape, writhing within the flames—
Still alive.
Even more terrifying, his severed limbs began regenerating, piece by piece, as he roared in the darkness.
"Ubuyashiki!"
Only then did he fully grasp it.
Ubuyashiki had been willing to sacrifice his entire family just to trap him—blowing his own wife and children to ashes.
Judging such a man by ordinary human standards had been naïve.
This was no ordinary human.
Muzan had anticipated a trap.
But not one this extreme.
For those watching the diary, what followed was even more horrifying.
Even after such a devastating explosion, Muzan continued to regenerate.
He simply would not die.
How could something like this ever be defeated?
Even Tsunade, who took pride in her Yin Seal, realized it was insignificant in comparison.
It didn't take long before Muzan had largely reformed his body.
He also realized that Ubuyashiki's preparations hadn't ended with the explosion.
Something else was coming.
Suddenly, flesh-like seeds floating in the air transformed into iron thorns, piercing through Muzan and pinning him in place.
Even when his head was skewered clean through, he still did not die.
It was monstrous beyond reason.
In terms of raw combat strength, he might not have seemed overwhelming, but his regenerative ability was something even Konoha's most experienced shinobi had never encountered.
Muzan struggled to understand what was happening—
When Tamayo suddenly appeared before him, using an invisibility-based Blood Demon Art.
In that instant, he unknowingly absorbed a drug she had created—one that could turn demons back into humans.
From their brief exchange, everyone learned that demons possessed abilities known as Blood Demon Arts.
These abilities were clearly their greatest strength.
And worse still, once turned into demons, they would devour even their loved ones—countless lives—just to survive.
At that moment, the Stone Hashira, Himejima Gyomei, charged forward, swinging a massive flail like a spinning helicopter.
With a single strike, he smashed Muzan's head apart.
The damage was even more severe than the explosion—
And yet, in the next instant, Muzan regenerated once more, a new head forming.
"We have to trap him somewhere sunlight can reach and hold him there until dawn."
Gyomei's words answered a crucial question.
Demons truly feared sunlight.
And the key to overcoming that weakness likely lay in the Blue Spider Lily mentioned in Kaede's diary.
Yet that flower bloomed in daylight—meaning demons had been unable to find it for a thousand years.
"Blue Spider Lily…"
Tsunade silently committed the name to memory, already planning to mobilize people to search for it.
Creatures like this could not be allowed to exist.
If that flower could benefit demons, it had to be destroyed before it fell into their hands.
By now, the other Hashira had arrived.
Seeing the estate reduced to ashes, they froze for a moment before rage overtook them.
They assumed Muzan had committed some unforgivable act against their leader.
After only a brief hesitation, they all launched into action.
"Breath of Mist, Fourth Form!"
"Breath of Insect, Dance of the Butterfly!"
"Breath of Serpent, First Form!"
"Breath of Love, Fifth Form!"
"Breath of Water, Third Form!"
"Breath of Wind, Seventh Form!"
"Hinokami Kagura, Solar Halo Dragon Dance!"
From every direction, the Hashira unleashed their breathing techniques and charged at Muzan.
Just as they were about to strike—
The ground beneath them vanished.
In an instant, they fell into the Infinity Castle.
At the same time, Demon Slayer Corps members who hadn't yet received the signal also dropped into the same space.
"A space-time ninjutsu?"
Minato was momentarily taken aback before shaking his head.
"No… this isn't ninjutsu. It's a space-time Blood Demon Art… right?"
He recalled Tamayo's earlier words.
That power…
Belonged to demons.