Infinite: The Main God Space Starting from Naruto

Chapter 229 Those who want power, come find me.

"What a troublesome guy."

Qiwo stared intently at Dio's last traces until he was certain that the other's body had completely turned to ashes, only then did his tense muscles relax slightly.

Douma stood to the side, a faint smile still on his face: "To be able to push him to this point, Lord Kiwaza's strength is indeed impressive."

Kiwaza ignored Doma's flattery.

He suddenly turned to look at a dark shadow in the corner, his voice icy: "Come out. Have you had enough of hiding here for so long?"

A rustling sound came from the shadows, and a figure no bigger than a mouse slowly emerged.

"Ah, Hantengu-sama," Douma chuckled. "Your ability is quite convenient; it's surprising that your original body was able to survive."

"Lord Doma," Hantengu said tremblingly, his voice filled with obvious reverence, "I've lost most of my power; I'm afraid I'll need to eat a hundred people to recover..."

"Zheng—"

A crisp shamisen note rang out, and suddenly a vermilion wooden door appeared in the air.

"Let's go back." Douma gently unfolded his fan. "Lord Muzan is still waiting for our report."

Kiwaza snorted and followed in Doma's footsteps. Hantengu hesitated for a moment, then quickly followed after him.

The three of them passed through the door, and their figures immediately disappeared from the spot.

After a long time, a few brave residents cautiously confirmed that the monster had left before the others returned one after another.

The scene on the street made everyone gasp – houses collapsed, the ground cracked, smoke was rising from some places, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder.

The townspeople quickly began cleaning up the damaged houses on the streets.

As the sun gradually set in the west, the streets finally regained some order. Weary people began to walk home in twos and threes.

"Tanaka, you should go back and rest too. You've had a hard day." The village chief patted a young man on the shoulder.

"Okay, thank you, village chief." Tanaka forced a smile, feeling as heavy as if his whole body were filled with lead. He leaned against the wall to catch his breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"He was probably scared by those monsters," Tanaka shook his head and was about to leave when he suddenly felt a strange sensation on his back, as if something was wriggling.

"This is..." At that moment, his pupils contracted violently.

A sharp pain shot through his back. He opened his mouth to scream, but the sound stopped abruptly before it could escape his lips.

Before anyone around could react, countless vein-like tentacles suddenly burst forth from Tanaka's body, spreading out like a spider web.

"Run!" someone shouted, and the crowd immediately descended into chaos.

But the blood streaks moved incredibly fast, piercing the bodies of more than a dozen people who couldn't escape in the blink of an eye.

Their bodies withered away at a visible rate, their blood and flesh essence being absorbed frantically.

At the center of the net, a human figure is slowly taking shape.

At first it was just a blurry mass of flesh and blood, but as more and more people absorbed it, the outline became clearer and clearer.

In just a few minutes, the entire street turned into a dead zone, with dozens of desiccated corpses lying haphazardly on the ground.

Dio emerged from the crowd, bent down, and tore a piece of clothing off a corpse and put it on.

He clenched his fist, feeling the power surging within him: "Having absorbed the flesh and blood of so many people, I've finally recovered seventy or eighty percent of my strength. However..."

Recalling the battle just now, he sneered, "Upper Moon Two, Doma. That guy's strength was indeed beyond my expectations."

In his final moments, he attached his brain to the back of a passerby while simultaneously disintegrating his body into countless fragments to escape, using them as bait to attract attention, which is how he survived.

A hint of seriousness flashed in his eyes: "The difference in strength between the Upper Moon demons is too great, it's like a precipitous gap."

If Upper Moon Two Doma is already this powerful, then what about those even higher up?

What level of strength do Muzan Kibutsuji and Upper Moon One possess?

"A direct confrontation would be too risky," Dio calmly analyzed the situation. "We need to find another way to break through."

Just then, he heard hurried footsteps behind him, and the surviving corpse appeared in front of Dio.

"My lord," the leader of the undead knelt on one knee, "we have found a fragment of Lord Purgatory."

These fragments are the remains of Kyojuro Rengoku's body, which had been scattered by Saiwaza earlier. Much of the muscle tissue was crushed, but the skeletal structure remained intact.

"Put it on the ground."

The corpse-like man immediately did as instructed. Dio knelt down and reassembled the fragments according to human anatomy.

Dio stared at the fragments for a while, then bit his finger and let the blood drip onto them.

The blood writhed like a living thing, seeping into the fragments. The fragments began to reconnect, and the flesh writhed and healed.

Soon, Kyojuro Rengoku's form reformed. He opened his eyes and immediately knelt on one knee: "Master, I'm sorry to have disappointed you."

"Get up." Dio waved his hand. "Kioza's strength exceeded expectations; this is not your fault."

A zombie stepped forward: "Master, should we temporarily scale back our operations? After all, Muzan Kibutsuji has already noticed us."

"Contract?" Dio sneered. "No, quite the opposite, we're going to act with even greater fanfare."

"But...the battle before..." The corpse-man's voice grew softer and softer.

Dio suddenly turned and grabbed the corpse by the neck. His fingers slowly tightened: "Did you think I was asking for your opinion?"

With a "crack," the corpse's neck was crushed.

Dio casually tossed the corpse to the ground, a cruel smile spreading across his face: "Also, I want you to spread the word—any human who desires power can come to me."

He stretched out his hand, palm up, and slowly clenched his fist: "If you want to break free from the shackles of weakness, if you want to transcend the limits of mortals, if you want to obtain the power of immortality, you can all come to me."

"I want you to split up and create an even bigger commotion."

"Attack towns, massacre villages, do anything that will attract attention," Dio's voice echoed through the silent streets. "To draw the remaining Demon Slayer Corps members to chase us."

"I want them to come to me of their own accord," Dio said, a glint of gold in his eyes, "instead of hiding in the shadows like rats. When they can't wait any longer and rush out, that's when we'll close the net."

........................

At the Demon Slayer Corps' secret base, the remaining Pillars reunited.

In the hall, Himejima Gyomei sat cross-legged in a corner, with Kanroji Mitsuri and Iguro Obanai sitting to one side. Tokito Muichiro leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

No one spoke; the heavy atmosphere was suffocating, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the jade pendant in the center of the table.

That's the token of the Ubuyashiki family.

Sanemi Shinazugawa was the last to enter, and he slammed his sword down on the ground with a loud clang.

"Tell me, what exactly happened?" Sanemi Shinazugawa crossed his arms and stared intently at Tanjiro.

Tanjiro took a deep breath: "My lord... stayed behind to cover our retreat. The entire council chamber was destroyed by artillery fire."

Sanemi Shinazugawa's gaze grew colder, and his knuckles cracked.

Tanjiro continued, "I wanted to move the beam, but my lord refused. He handed me the Ubuyashiki family's token, saying it was an order."

"Bang!"

Sanemi Shinazugawa kicked over the table in front of him, sending wood chips flying. He rushed to Tanjiro and grabbed him by the collar.

"You just watched your lord die like that?" Shinazugawa Sanemi gritted his teeth. "As the Flame Pillar, you couldn't even protect your lord?"

Tanjiro did not resist, letting Sanemi Shinazugawa grab his collar.

"Bang!"

Sanemi Shinazugawa punched Tanjiro in the face, causing Tanjiro to stagger back two steps, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

"Sanemi!" Himejima shouted in a low voice.

"Shut up, all of you!" Shinazugawa Sanemi turned and glared at the others. "Our lord is dead! Aren't you angry?"

Giyu Tomioka silently stepped between Tanjiro and Sanemi Shinazugawa: "You know the situation back then."

Sanemi Shinazugawa turned and roared, veins bulging on his neck, "If I were there, I would never abandon my lord!"

Just as Giyu Tomioka was about to step forward to stop him, Tanjiro raised his hand to stop him.

Tanjiro raised his head, looking directly into Shinazugawa Sanemi's eyes. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "I'm sorry, I truly failed to protect my lord. If you want me to commit seppuku, I can do it now. But..."

"But before that, I must fulfill my lord's last wish—to utterly annihilate all the demons!"

Sanemi Shinazugawa's fist froze in mid-air as he looked into Tanjiro's eyes, his chest heaving violently, but he never struck.

He released his grip, turned around, and punched the wall, sending shards of stone flying.

"Damn it! Damn it!" he growled, his voice filled with uncontrollable grief, "Why did this happen?"

Kanroji Mitsuri wiped away her tears: "Tanji-kun, this isn't your fault. We all know you've done your best."

Sanemi Shinazugawa took a deep breath, slowly turned around, stared at Tanjiro for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "Remember what you said today. If you can't do it..."

"If you can't do it, then come and kill me." Tanjiro stared directly into Sanemi Shinazugawa's eyes.

Sanemi Shinazugawa stared at Tanjiro for a few seconds, then suddenly grabbed him by the collar.

But this time it wasn't to hit him, but to pull him closer: "If you want to die, go ahead, but before that, I'll die on the battlefield first."

He released his grip, strode back to the table, and glanced at the assembled pillars: "Now, tell me the situation. How much fighting strength do we have left?"

"We still have seven pillars present," Yoshiyuki Tomioka said calmly. "Including the members in various locations, we have about eight hundred people, but they are scattered throughout the country."

"Where are our enemies?" A deep voice from Himejima Gyomei rang out.

"Besides Dio himself, there's also Mr. Rengoku, whom he resurrected." Tanjiro clenched his fist. "Furthermore, according to intelligence, he has transformed a large number of dead swordsmen into corpse-people."

"A resurrected swordsman," Obanai Iguro frowned. "Hiss. Even a dead swordsman, if he retains his swordsmanship from his lifetime, is a considerable threat."

"Leave Purgatory to me." Himejima Gyoumei stood up, his prayer beads clinking crisply. "Amitabha, in his current state, I'm confident I can subdue him."

"That guy named Dio isn't that strong." Shinazugawa Sanemi crossed his arms, his voice filled with obvious disdain. "He relies on nothing more than those weird abilities and underhanded methods."

"Then let's split up." Tanjiro stood up. "Each of you is responsible for your own area. If you find Dio or Mr. Rengoku, notify the others immediately."

Everyone got up and left.

After the meeting, Tanjiro did not go to rest immediately, but went to Tamayo's residence.

This is a villa hidden in the mountains and forests. A few days ago, he brought some blood and flesh samples of the undead.

Yushiro opened the door and frowned when he saw Tanjiro: "You rascal, are you bothering Lady Tamayo again?"

"Sorry to bother you." Tanjiro scratched his head sheepishly.

Inside the room, Tamayo sat intently in front of a microscope, observing something. She was dressed in an elegant kimono, her black hair was tied up, and the patterns on her neck were faintly visible.

"Is there any progress in the research?" Tanjiro asked as he approached.

Tamayo straightened up: "I extracted a special blood component from a corpse. This should be Dio's blood essence."

"Does that mean we can find a way to deal with it?" Tanjiro's eyes lit up.

She pointed to the microscope: "The structure of this blood is very special, unlike anything I've ever seen in any living organism. I'm trying to develop a targeted toxin, but I'm afraid it will take more time."

"I'm sorry, I can't be of much help in the short term," Tamayo said softly. "But one thing is certain: his power is completely different from Muzan Kibutsuji's. He might be another kind of being we don't yet understand."

"But this situation cannot be considered a resurrection. Just as a rotting corpse cannot become alive again, a dead life cannot truly be revived," Tamayo explained. "These corpse-living beings will eventually collapse; it's just a matter of time."

"That Mr. Purgatory"

"If he were truly resurrected by this power, then his current state must be incredibly painful," Tamayo said with pity. "For him, perhaps a clean break is the best relief."

With a bang, a crow crashed in through the window and landed on the table, flapping its wings.

"Tanjiro! Tanjiro!" the crow cried urgently. "Chaos has broken out in the southern town! The dead have risen from the dead! The living have turned into monsters! Dio has announced in the center of the town that anyone who goes to him can gain superhuman power!"

Tanjiro suddenly stood up: "The exact location?"

"The capital's square! Lots of people are heading that way!" the crow continued its report. "Now the streets are teeming with undead!"

Yushiro frowned: "Those foolish humans actually believe such nonsense."

"No need." Tanjiro shook his head. "Time is of the essence, I'll be going now."

He strode to the door, then glanced back at Zhu Shi: "Please continue your research. If you discover anything..."

"I'll have Yushiro's cat inform you." Tamayo nodded. "Be careful."

(End of this chapter)