I, Uchiha Hikaru, have joined the chat group.

Chapter 234 Soul Encounter

In the following week.

While continuing to send people to collect the corpses of those they wanted to resurrect, the Demon Slayer Corps also began making arrangements for their plan to lure the enemy out.

These were all done by Kagaya Ubuyashiki.

Due to his special status, Uchiha Hikaru should not reveal himself too early to avoid arousing Muzan's suspicion.

So, after telling Tanjiro to "tag me in the group if anything happens," she immediately activated "Shangri-La" and took Esdeath to the Kyushu region, which was thousands of miles away.

After we arrived at our destination...

With two maps in hand—one given to him by Kagaya Ubuyashiki, and the other a map of modern Japan brought from the Dragon Clan world—Hikaru Uchiha began to search the land.

"...According to the map, it should be in this area."

After some exploration and comparison.

Uchiha Hikaru found a sparsely populated mountainous area.

On modern maps, this is "Hishikari-cho," a small town with a considerable population.

At this time, however, this place is still a wasteland, with only a few villages spanning dozens of miles. But precisely because it is sparsely populated, the scenery here is quite nice, and there is no trace of "ghosts." Even if a commotion is made, there is no need to worry about Muzan's side noticing.

present.

Uchiha Hikaru took out the "World Encyclopedia: Longo Longo" from the capsule and tried to infuse it with a wisp of spiritual power.

A subtle aura surged forth.

The beastly eye on the cover of the "World Encyclopedia" rotated slightly, and then a very obvious spiritual energy emanated from the pupil, spreading in all directions like a misty drizzle. After a moment, some images began to appear in the blank spaces of the pages, gradually becoming clearer, accompanied by very small text descriptions.

Uchiha Hikaru channeled her spiritual energy again, and the tiny, mosquito-like characters slowly became clearer, imprinted in her mind:

"Unknown location 1".

Landform features: ...

Species distribution: ...

... "

The content, less than half a page, was densely packed with thousands of words, recording the underground mineral deposits, water systems, human villages, and the distribution of flora and fauna within a radius of dozens of miles—almost a real-time generated encyclopedia. Furthermore, based on Uchiha Hikari's experiments, she could even manually name the "unknown" information within the text using her mental power—

For example, changing "Unknown Location 1" to "Hyaluraki Mine". And those birds and beasts that the "Encyclopedia of the World" doesn't recognize...

It can even manually complete information such as terrain features.

"...It's quite convenient."

Uchiha Hikaru spent some time figuring out how to use the thing, and a smile appeared on his face.

She originally didn't want to use the "World Encyclopedia" casually, since the pages of this Imperial Arm were extremely precious and shouldn't be wasted.

But you have to try it to know how to use it. With 200 tons of gold, wasting it is simply a waste.

"Based on the current situation, if we were to record an entire island the size of Japan in a 'World Encyclopedia,' it would probably take three pages..."

"If we scanned the entire Earth, we could roughly fill the remaining half of the 'Complete Book'..."

"However, unnecessary information can be erased with mental power or simplified manually."

Overall, it's not bad.

Now that the location of the gold mine has been determined, we can negotiate with Kagaya Ubuyashiki when we get back.

As for the question of how to mine...

Partnering with the Ubuyashiki clan is a good option, as they have considerable influence here and are trustworthy. Alternatively, finding a local Kyushu conglomerate and controlling them with "Yasen-no-Hō" would also work.

After making up my mind.

Uchiha Hikaru carefully put away the map with circles drawn on it, then stretched lazily and said, "Let's go, Ai."

"...Where to?"

"Since we're already here, let's take a look around the area."

Uchiha Hikaru looked up in one direction: "I heard there's a 'Yunoo Waterfall' over there, it's quite spectacular, let's go check it out. And then try some local delicacies..."

"oh."

Esdeath nodded nonchalantly, waiting for her to lead the way.

As he turned around, Uchiha Hikaru suddenly paused and cast his gaze toward the direction where the sun was setting.

At this time, the country that is geographically close to Japan... should have just ended its feudal imperial system, right?

If there is a chance...

We could consider going over to take a look and see if there's anything we can do.

……

After staying in the Hishikari region for two days, Uchiha Hikaru returned to the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters.

At this time, the headquarters courtyard was already filled with corpses.

Most of the bodies were incomplete, with wounds from before death visible on the bones; others had been worn away and decayed over the long years buried underground, at which point only a rough outline could be seen.

"Miss Hikari, you're back."

"These are the people we've gathered so far. Most of them are members of the Demon Slayer Corps and their relatives, and a small number are outsiders... The personnel list is being compiled, and I'll show it to you later."

At this moment, Tanjiro was directing the members of "Kakuna" to clean the dust off the corpses and then seal them up in a simple way. Kamado Aoi, Nezuko, and others were also busy working nearby.

Speaking of which...

The Kamado family has been reborn through the impure world for some time now.

For the past six months, they have almost always stayed at the Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, helping with simple physical tasks and occasionally taking care of the wounded when the Butterfly Mansion is short-handed. Because their bodies are made of Edo Tensei (impure spirits), they do not experience hunger or fatigue, and their stamina recovers extremely quickly, making them veritable perpetual motion machines in human form.

—That is precisely why, if their existence were discovered by outsiders, it could cause considerable trouble.

"Hello, Hikari-neechan."

Mizuko followed her older brother to the front and greeted Uchiha Hikaru in somewhat broken English.

"Huh, Nezuko can talk now?"

"Yes, thanks to the medicine developed by Ms. Tamayo and Ms. Shinobu, Nezuko is no longer afraid of sunlight and can think and speak like a normal human, although her reactions are still a little slower than humans..."

Tanjiro responded.

Uchiha Hikaru understood.

then.

Tanjiro seemed to hesitate for a moment, then lowered his voice and spoke again, "Um... Miss Hikari, according to that deity, resurrecting the dead requires not only their physical bodies but also their souls. Do you have any methods for this?"

"Well..."

There are two methods.

The first option is to do what Kamado Aoi and the others did: first, resurrect them using the Impure World Reincarnation technique, and then place the impure body and the original corpse together. But the problem is... even if you use demons as sacrifices, you probably can't catch that many demons in a short time.

Secondly, it's simple.

"Kikyo's Soul-Collecting Insects should be able to collect souls, right? I can just have Kikyo come over and take a look."

……

Starting the next day.

People began to travel to the Demon Slayer world through Tanjiro.

The first to arrive were, of course, Yamato and Erii.

The two of them had been with Dr. Brief for a week or two, completed all the necessary tests, and had more than a dozen blood samples drawn. They didn't have much to do these past few days, so they came over early to check in.

Erii was alright; aside from being pretty and not being able to speak, there wasn't anything particularly noteworthy about her. Her long red hair wasn't uncommon in the Demon Slayer world; even if the Demon Slayer Corps saw it, they would just assume it was from eating too many tomatoes or watermelons.

Hmm... It sounds a bit far-fetched, but Mitsuri Kanroji's gradient pink hair is from eating too many cherry blossom mochi; and Kyojuro Rengoku's golden-red hair is from his ancestors eating too many shrimp...

It's all very mysterious.

In comparison, Yamato is much more eye-catching.

At 2.6 meters tall, she is quite astonishing in the Demon Slayer world. Even the 2.2-meter-tall Stone Pillar Gyomei Himejima looks like a child next to her.

As for strength...

On the afternoon of his arrival, Yamato accepted the invitation of several Pillars and had a short sparring session with them.

As a result, two of the Pillars were accidentally injured, suffering comminuted fractures in both arms. He also used Armament Haki to break several Nichirin Blades with his bare hands... In the end, Uchiha Hikaru had to step in and treat them with Healing Palm Technique, and then took out a few laser swords as compensation.

—These things were made by Bulma, of course.

After leaving the Demon Slayer world last time, Bulma didn't completely abandon the creation of the "lightsaber." Progress was slowed by other matters, such as searching for the Shikon Jewel. This time, upon hearing that the Demon Slayer Corps wanted to wage war against Muzan, she quickly crafted several weapons and sent them over. Uchiha Hikaru took this opportunity to deliver them to Shinazugawa Sanemi and the others.

Yamato, on the other hand, kept his head down, looking apologetic.

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect you guys to be so weak. If I had known, I wouldn't have used 'Ryuo'..."

"..."

The injured Shinazugawa and the others weren't too angry, but rather surprised by Yamato's strength: "Hikari-san's friends are indeed inexplicably strong..."

Some even recalled the speculation surrounding Uchiha Hikaru's identity: "So, Tanjiro really was taken to the Heavenly Realm for training?"

"Um……"

In a sense, this statement is not wrong.

Tanjiro went to Korin Tower, which truly deserves to be called "heaven." Theoretically, once Muzan's affair is over, the other Pillars can also go there to train for a while. Although they may not be able to train to a certain level, the method of using "ki" to eliminate the life-shortening side effects of the Demon Slayer Mark is still worth learning.

Next, Kikyo arrives in the Demon Slayer world.

Before coming here, Kikyo had already heard Uchiha Hikaru talk about "collecting souls" in the group, so after arriving, she first checked the situation in this regard.

"How is it?"

"...The separation between the living and the dead in this world seems to be looser than in my place, Bulma's place, and your place, Hikaru's place. In fact, many of the dead linger around the relatives and friends they cared about in life. There are several in this courtyard alone."

As Kikyo spoke, she began to manipulate the Soul-Soul Insects.

Under her instructions, Uchiha Hikaru also caught sight of humanoid silhouettes, which gradually became clearer as the Soul Worms made contact with them.

Even the Demon Slayer Corps members present could vaguely see these outlines.

Tokito Muichiro's eyes widened slightly as his gaze locked onto a figure that looked almost exactly like himself:

"It's my brother..."

Sanemi Shinazugawa and Shinobu Kocho both looked at the same figure:

"Kanae..."

Also, Tanjiro and Giyu Tomioka:

"...Senior Brother Sabito, Senior Sister Makomo?"

Yuichiro Tokito, Kanae Kocho, Sabito, Ruka Rengoku... these spirits who had appeared in the original work were all standing in this courtyard, either silently gazing at Muichiro and the others present, or sharing their innermost feelings.

Of course, not everyone here had their bodies collected.

For example, Sabito and Makomo have been dead for more than three years, and their bodies were eaten by the Hand Demon, leaving no trace. It is impossible for them to be resurrected.

Kyojuro's mother, Rengoku Ruka, passed away nearly ten years ago, so she also does not meet the conditions for resurrection.

However, because their souls had not been reincarnated, they were all gathered together by Kikyo using the Soul-Binding Insects. At this moment, she was looking at her son, brother, and lover with tenderness, wiping away their tears with her palm and smiling.

This scene of familial affection made Erii and Yamato feel a little sad.

Uchiha Hikaru pursed his lips, tilted his head slightly, and began to ponder Kikyo's judgment:

The varying degrees of looseness between Yin and Yang in different worlds may be related to their corresponding cycles of reincarnation.

Both the Naruto world and the Dragon Ball world have dedicated Pure Land spaces and corresponding administrators—the Sage of Six Paths in the former and King Yemma in the latter. Whether it's reincarnation or returning to the world of the living, a certain order is required. The Inuyasha world is similar. Although there has never been a master of the underworld, one needs to use a special technique like "Meido Zangetsuha" or special items like "Meido Stone" or "Iron Chicken Blood" to get there.

While the Demon Slayer world has a reincarnation mechanism, it is likely operating spontaneously and lacks a true administrator, which is why the boundaries are relatively loose and blurred.

In that case...

"The world of cursed arts must be like this too, right?"

After all, the cursed spirits there fly around everywhere, and many people have seen the spirits of their relatives and friends after they died, such as a prison guard who was cut in two.

As for Miko...

There's nothing more to say.

After all, the Yin-Yang order there is completely chaotic, and even the mechanism of reincarnation may be disrupted, which is why a huge number of ghosts and monsters remain in the human world.

"Come to think of it, it seems like it's been a while since I've been to Miko's place..."

"If I have time later, I'll go over and have a meal there."

(End of this chapter)