Demon Slayer: Starting with the Kingdom

Nowadays, every time the Demon Slayer Corps sees their master, they have to bow their heads and kneel in unison.

In this tiny island nation, do you, the Ubuyashiki family, consider yourselves more noble than the Emperor in the palace?

Please, this is a new era. Under the law, everyone is equal, and everyone has the dignity of being a human being.

The hierarchical relationships of feudal etiquette should be abolished. It should be understood that equal relationships are far more effective in uniting people's hearts than these hierarchical systems... That's how it is.

"Father, these are the various reform measures proposed by Miss Tsugikuni for our Demon Slayer Corps."

After the final swordsman selection at Fujikasayama, the young Kagaya Ubuyashiki immediately returned to the mansion and relayed to his lord father what Mitsuha had told him.

The Demon Slayer Corps leader is now nearly twenty years old. Due to the curse, his face is covered with ugly scars, and his whole body exudes a chilling aura of death.

According to the Ubuyashiki family's past experience, he will die from the curse in two or three years at most.

"Yaozai, what do you think of what she said?"

After listening quietly to Kagaya Ubuyashiki's account, the Demon Slayer Corps leader did not rush to express his opinion. Instead, he asked his child for his thoughts.

"Father, I think... I think she's absolutely right!"

Recalling the fear of death and the relief of surviving on the faces of the prospective swordsmen rescued by Mitsuha on Mount Fujikasa.

After a brief hesitation, Kagaya Ubuyashiki revealed his true feelings.

"To this day, there are still many things that our Demon Slayer Corps needs to change, whether it's the training system or the selection system."

Many things from the past are no longer applicable; maintaining them will only hinder the Demon Slayer Corps' development!

Clenching his tiny fist, young Ubuyashiki Kagaya lowered his head and said, word by word:

"Moreover, in the past two hundred years, we demon hunters have never had a single successful victory in slaying an Upper Moon demon."

This is enough to show that, at least in the past two hundred years, our Demon Slayer Corps has been left far behind by the Twelve Demon Moons!

If we don't make some changes, we'll only fall further and further behind!

"They're only Upper Moon demons now, but in a few hundred years, our swordsmen might not even be able to defeat Lower Moon demons!"

"In that case, Kagaya, do as you wish."

Completely surprised that his father could be persuaded so easily, Kagaya Ubuyashiki looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with astonishment.

Meeting his son's gaze, Lord Ubuyashiki simply smiled calmly:

"You're right. Nowadays, the Demon Slayer Corps is finding it increasingly difficult to threaten the Twelve Demon Moons."

I think we have indeed reached a point where we must make changes.

The appearance of this descendant of the Initial Breathing Swordsman may be a sign, a warning from the gods.

Kagaya, your father doesn't have much time left, but you are still young. The descendant of that initial breathing technique swordsman is also still young.

"The future of the Demon Slayer Corps rests on your shoulders."

"Yes, Father, I understand. I will certainly not let you down..."

Thus, driven by the Ubuyashiki family and following Mitsuha's earlier suggestion, the Demon Slayer Corps officially began a sweeping internal reform.

Old, unreasonable systems were abolished one by one, and new systems began to be established.

But all of this has little to do with Mitsuha right now.

After completing the final selection at Fujikasane Mountain, she soon received her first demon slayer mission with her new companion, Rengoku Makijuro.

That's right, with Makijuro.

Mitsuha was somewhat surprised that Ubuyashiki would assign Makijuro as her teammate.

She had assumed that, given her previous performance, Ubuyashiki would choose to let her go solo rather than assign her teammates.

Even if arrangements are to be made, a stronger teammate should be chosen instead of a burden like Makijuro.

Yes, in Mitsuha's eyes, Makijuro is no different from a burden.

Although this young man seems quite talented, with proper training, he could probably develop some strength in the future.

But this still doesn't change the fact that Makijuro is currently a burden.

If he were to team up with Mitsuha now, not only would he be unable to provide her with any assistance in battle, but Mitsuha would likely have to devote even more energy to protecting him...

Something unusual must be going on. Ubuyashiki's arrangement clearly has only one purpose—

He hoped that she, a descendant of a highly talented swordsman using the Initial Breathing Technique, could give Makijuro some pointers in battle.

A natural result.

After all, the Rengoku clan has followed the Ubuyashiki clan for generations, and the two clans have undergone many common trials over the past thousand years. Mitsuha alone remembers entrusting her child to someone at least twice.

If the Ubuyashiki clan were to create a ranking of their most trusted demon slayers, the Rengoku clan would undoubtedly be at the top.

Given such loyal confidants, the Ubuyashiki clan would certainly want their strength to increase given the opportunity...

Mitsuha could only sigh helplessly at this.

It seems that whether she's a human or a ghost, she can't escape this fate of raising a child...

Chapter 136 Even Being a Ghost Requires Talent

"Maki Juro, adjust your breathing."

"Pay attention to its tail. Turn your head. You need to use your brain in battle. Don't be a muscle-bound brute."

"Yes Yes!"

"I've already told you, don't always rush to use your Flame Breathing technique."

This move has a very long wind-up and consumes a lot of stamina. It's meant to be a final, deadly attack, not something you can use as a basic attack.

"Understood!"

"Don't just stand there! Quickly move on to the fourth move!"

At the critical moment, Mitsuha, who had been standing aside giving advice, finally drew her sword.

A burst of fiery flames flashed across the dark hall, and with a single slash, she effortlessly beheaded the half-human, half-snake demon that had been giving Makijuro such a hard time.

Sheathing her sword and confirming that the snake demon's body had disintegrated, Mitsuha turned to look at Makijuro, who was sitting on the ground, and reached out her hand to him.

"How's it going? Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, I've dragged you down..."

Holding Mitsuha's hand, Makijuro stood up, his face full of apology.

To this, Mitsuha simply smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and encouraged him:

"It's alright, it's alright. You've done quite well to be able to do this much when facing a demon that has lived for over three hundred years."

"What? More than three hundred years?!"

Seeing Makijuro's shock, Mitsuha simply nodded slightly.

“Yes, I just saw it in this family's genealogy. This snake demon came to this family at least three hundred years ago…”

That's right, the snake demon that was just instantly killed by Mitsuha's sword was so ancient that it was almost as old as Upper Moon Three Akaza.

The reason Mitsuha was able to defeat it so easily with a single strike was not because her body was abnormally strong.

Simply because this snake demon is utterly useless except for living a long time.

It's quite cruel, really, because even becoming a ghost requires talent.

In this world, there are only a very few exceptionally talented demons like Douma who can rise to the Upper Moon in just a few decades.

Most of the rest were like this snake demon, pitiful ghosts who, even if they ate to their hearts' content, could never become any stronger.

Although he is almost the same age as Akaza, his strength is not even up to the level of a Lower Moon demon.

They have only managed to survive until now by hiding in this small human family and relying on the food provided by these humans...

In a sense, this snake demon is quite clever.

Unlike the evil spirits of the past that always stayed away from human society and hid in the mountains and forests.

From the very beginning, this snake demon had chosen a suitable human family and made a deal with them to murder passing travelers and share the spoils.

Through this transaction, a virtuous cycle was established between the snake demon and the family.

One of them tried every means to attract lone travelers passing by, intending to use them as food for the snake demon.

After they had eaten their fill, one of them would give away all the money the travelers carried to satisfy the material needs of his family members and maintain their desire for a life of luxury.

Under this symbiotic relationship, the snake demon survived for more than three hundred years under the cover of this family, far exceeding the lifespan of ordinary evil spirits.

This family, relying on the snake demon, enjoyed three hundred years of wealth and honor without lifting a finger.

Neither party was forced into this relationship; both were acting voluntarily and both wanted to continue this symbiotic relationship.

To be honest, in Mitsuha's opinion, this symbiotic relationship actually has some merit...

Both sides stand on the position of both the keeper and the kept, and benefit each other.

If in the future, demons truly can never overcome their flaws, then perhaps it's a good idea to have them try to hide in human society in a similar way...

It's such a pity. Such a good example of observation. If the Demon Slayer Corps hadn't actually noticed the existence of this snake demon this time, Mitsuha would have liked to keep it and this family together for a while longer...

"Alright, now that the evil spirits are dealt with, it's time to take care of the aftermath."

As she spoke, Mitsuha stepped forward and pushed open the main door of the hall.

Outside the door, a group of women of varying ages, dressed in luxurious clothes, stood guard nervously, each holding a knife, fork, stick, or other weapon.

Upon seeing Mitsuha and Makijuro push open the door and see the enormous, disintegrated body of the snake demon in the hall, the women screamed and retreated, kneeling on the ground as if they had lost their parents.

The fierce expressions on their faces were replaced by expressions of extreme terror.

"Ah! My divine being!"

"My Lord! My Lord is dead!"

"They killed the God!"

Without a doubt, the god they spoke of was that snake demon.

This is a matrilineal family that only gives birth to female infants. Over the past three hundred years of protection, they have come to regard the snake demon as a deity.

It's worth mentioning that in the corridor behind this group of women, there was a little boy who was only three or four years old.

The boy was born with heterochromia, with a green left eye and a gold right eye. He had long hair and was quite handsome.

If Mitsuha remembered correctly, she had seen this little boy's name in the family's genealogy before—

Obanai Iguro.

It is said that he is the only male infant born in this matrilineal family in more than three hundred years.

Unlike the women, Obanai Iguro did not show any sadness or grief over the death of the snake demon, nor did he hold any weapons in his hands.

Moreover, the look in his eyes as he gazed at Mitsuha and Makijuro was filled with gratitude.

This is normal, after all, as the only male infant in the family for three hundred years, Obanai Iguro has never enjoyed any of the family's wealth and honor.

From the moment he was born, he was designated by the serpent demon as a sacrifice, to be devoured by the serpent demon once he grew up.

The arrival of Mitsuha and the other two saved his life.

"Maki Juro, what do you plan to do with these people?"

Mitsuha glanced at Obanai Iguro, gave him a faint smile, and then looked away, turning to Makijuro beside her and asking curiously.

She was genuinely curious about how demon hunters had dealt with humans who had ties to demons in the past.

To this, Makijuro merely glanced at the weeping women before him, and after confirming that none of them were injured, replied indifferently:

"Now that the evil spirits have been eliminated, it is time for us to leave."

"Our lord has said that demon hunters are only responsible for slaying evil spirits; we are not allowed to interfere in anything else."

"Huh? Is this really okay?"

Mitsuha was clearly surprised by his answer.

"Maki Juro, these people have blood on their hands, you know."

Even if we ignore the past three hundred years and only consider the last one or two decades, that still amounts to dozens of lives lost.