Shinji released his dojutsu, lowering the unconscious president's wife, a flicker of doubt in his eyes.
Through soul extraction, he had thoroughly reviewed her memories. As expected, she was indeed a pawn placed in human society by the mysterious figure, tasked with controlling the newspaper agency to suppress any mention of demons.
Moreover, according to her memories, she was not the only demon embedded in the upper echelons of human society.
However, whether due to the mysterious figure's cautious nature or to prevent their subordinates from colluding, the president's wife had no knowledge of the other hidden demons' identities.
Naturally, what puzzled Shinji wasn't this, but the surprising discovery that the president's wife hadn't been in contact with the mysterious figure for months.
Calculating the timeline, it coincided precisely with the mysterious figure's defeat and escape from the Grass Country battle.
"Could the mysterious figure not have returned…?" Shinji's expression darkened.
Given her significant role under the mysterious figure, it was unlikely they would go so long without contacting her if they had successfully returned to the Demon Slayer world.
This led Shinji to a troubling hypothesis: perhaps something had gone wrong, and the mysterious figure hadn't made it back from the Grass Country battle.
"If that's the case, this is problematic!" Shinji's face grew even grimmer.
He was counting on capturing the mysterious figure to uncover their purpose for invading the shinobi world and find a way to save it.
If the mysterious figure was already dead, his plans would fall apart.
With a shift in thought, Shinji glanced at the president's wife on the ground.
He couldn't yet be certain whether the mysterious figure had returned to the Demon Slayer world. They might be recovering from injuries or scheming something else, leaving no time to contact her. It wasn't an impossibility.
Thus, this president's wife still had her uses!
After a while, the president's wife, whose soul had been extracted, slowly regained consciousness. Her body shrank back as she looked at Shinji, trembling in fear.
Shinji ignored her, gazing toward the horizon. "It's almost dawn."
The president's wife hurriedly looked toward the direction of the sunrise, her face filled with terror.
Only then did Shinji slowly turn his gaze back. "Live or die? The choice is yours."
The president's wife, cowering, stammered, "W-What do you want me to do?"
Shinji replied calmly, "There are plenty of demons hiding in human society, aren't there? Your task is simple: use your resources to track them down for me, one by one."
"This…" The president's wife hesitated.
Doing so would mean betraying the mysterious figure. Thinking of their immense power and ruthlessness, she struggled to make a decision.
Shinji didn't press her. Time was ticking, and soon the first rays of dawn would bathe the earth.
The president's wife clearly realized her predicament.
Betraying the mysterious figure carried unpredictable consequences, but defying Shinji would mean turning to ash at sunrise. After weighing her options, she nodded. "I'm willing to serve you!"
"Five days. I'm giving you five days. If you can uncover the other demons hiding in the upper ranks of human society, you can keep living." Shinji paused, then added, "Of course, you could try to escape."
"I wouldn't dare!" The president's wife buried her glamorous face low.
"Get out!" Shinji waved dismissively.
The president's wife, as if granted amnesty, fled toward the city at top speed. She had to reach a safe place before sunrise, or the sunlight would reduce her to ashes.
As she fled, she gradually calmed down.
With the mysterious figure, the Demon King, and the Twelve Kizuki missing for so long, she had already harbored various suspicions.
After being captured by Shinji, she realized the mysterious figure, as the Demon King, must have clashed with some opposing force and likely suffered a major setback. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been absent for so long.
"They want me to track down the other demons, probably to gather clues and follow them to find that lord!" Her heart sank as she thought to herself, "What choice do I have?"
If the Demon King's ship was sinking, she wouldn't hesitate to jump ship early.
However, Shinji's mysterious demeanor made it hard for her to gauge his background or predict who would ultimately triumph in a conflict between him and the Demon King.
With no option to sit on the sidelines, she had to find a scapegoat demon within five days, or she would be the one to die.
"I'll have to find one or two demons to deal with this trouble for now!" she resolved quietly.
As for escaping, the thought had crossed her mind but was quickly dismissed. If Shinji dared to let her go, he clearly wasn't afraid of her running.
...
Sagiri Mountain.
"Ha!"
"Hey!"
Amid a chorus of shouts, the Demon Slayer Corps trainees swung their Nichirin Blades, striking the large, round boulder before them time and again.
Yet no matter how they hacked, the boulder remained unmoved.
Haku watched from a distance, his expression solemn.
During his days training on Sagiri Mountain, he had gradually integrated with the trainees. Learning that these humans, without chakra, relied solely on Breathing Styles and their Nichirin Blades to fight powerful demons, he felt a quiet respect welling up within him.
So, despite the trainees' clumsy appearance as they struck the boulder, he harbored no mockery or scorn.
At that moment, footsteps approached from behind.
Haku turned to see Urokodaki Sakonji tossing him a sheathed Nichirin Blade.
Catching it, Haku looked at Urokodaki. "Teacher, this is…?"
Urokodaki Sakonji said, "This is a Nichirin Blade rushed over from the Swordsmith Village, custom-made for you!"
"My Nichirin Blade?" Haku was momentarily stunned.
Clang.
With a crisp sound, he drew the Nichirin Blade from its sheath.
Gazing at the blade, which glowed with a faint blue hue, he murmured, "So this is the Nichirin Blade that can slay demons…"
Urokodaki Sakonji pointed to the largest round boulder in the distance. "Though I've already acknowledged you, rules are rules. Only by splitting that boulder will you officially graduate!"
Whoosh.
Haku exhaled softly, silently channeling Water Breathing. His body became a blur, flashing past the boulder.
In the astonished gazes of the onlookers, the boulder split cleanly in two.
Haku sheathed his blade.