The president's wife dragged a demon before Shinji, her face full of flattery. "My lord, this is the demon you asked me to find! It's been lurking in the military, serving as the Demon King's spy."
Shinji glanced at the listless demon on the ground.
Bound by vines woven from wisteria flowers, it had been brought to him by the president's wife's human subordinates.
Nearby, several other demons lay sprawled, restrained by Karin's sealing techniques.
Undoubtedly, these demons had been rooted out from human society by Karin, following various leads. Without exception, they were spies planted by the mysterious figure to help control the world.
Seeing Shinji remain silent, the president's wife grew uneasy.
When she brought the demon from the military, she had been nervous, fearing she'd made the wrong choice and backed the wrong side.
But upon arriving at the cliff and seeing the other restrained demons, her doubts vanished.
In her mind, for someone to uncover so many demons embedded in the upper echelons of human society in such a short time spoke volumes of their strength. Under such circumstances, her betrayal seemed entirely reasonable.
Sweeping his gaze over the demons on the ground, Shinji didn't bother questioning them. Instead, he activated his Rinnegan dojutsu, extracting their souls one by one.
After carefully reviewing their memories, Shinji's eyes lit up—he'd found a lead.
Though these demons hadn't recently been in contact with the mysterious figure, two of them had secretly sent people to track their whereabouts, concluding that the mysterious figure was hiding somewhere, recovering from injuries.
"He really did escape back to the Demon Slayer world…" Shinji let out a breath of relief.
He wasn't afraid of the mysterious figure being alive; he feared they were dead. Now, with confirmation they were still alive, his spirits lifted.
Many of the questions plaguing him still required the mysterious figure to answer.
Moments later, Shinji awakened the demons and casually asked, "If I said the Demon King was hiding somewhere to recover, who can tell me where that might be?"
The Rinnegan dojutsu Shinji wielded could only view memories, not manipulate demons into thinking or analyzing. After confirming none knew the mysterious figure's location, he woke them to inquire about possible hiding spots.
At his question, the demons shook their heads blankly.
Shinji's lips curled into a smirk. Without another word, he activated Amaterasu, igniting the demon on the far right.
"Aaahhh!"
The demon wailed as Amaterasu's black flames consumed it.
The other demons, including the president's wife, watched in horror. This was their first encounter with such a technique. Ordinary flames weren't lethal to demons of their caliber, but the sheer agony of the burning demon suggested these black flames were extraordinary.
Soon, the demon was reduced to a pile of ash under Amaterasu's flames.
Shinji turned to the remaining demons.
Meeting his gaze, they trembled. One stammered, "The lord might be hiding in Mount Yokote!"
Another quickly shouted, "The lord could be in Kyoto!"
"No, the lord's probably in Osaka!"
Shinji watched them with interest. "Give me your reasons."
The demons hurriedly explained.
Shinji fell into thought after hearing them out.
Their reasons varied: some claimed the mysterious figure's base was in Kyoto, others said they'd frequently visited Mount Yokote, and one mentioned recent sightings in Osaka.
At first glance, the reasons seemed plausible, but verifying them was challenging. Kyoto and Osaka were populous cities, and finding a deliberately hidden demon in either would be no small feat.
At that moment, the president's wife mustered her courage and approached Shinji. "I have something to report!"
Shinji glanced at her. "Speak."
She said, "Our newspaper received word that Kyoto and Osaka seem to have suffered some disaster—perhaps a tsunami or earthquake. Over the past few days, all communication from those cities has ceased, and no one sent there has returned."
"What!?" Shinji's expression sharpened.
Cities with populations in the hundreds of thousands didn't lose all contact easily.
The president's wife prostrated herself. "Everything I've said is true—I wouldn't dare deceive you!"
"I'll have to check this out myself," Shinji muttered.
He then activated Amaterasu again, incinerating all the demons except the president's wife.
After dealing with them, he instructed her, "Mobilize your resources. I want to know what's happened in Kyoto and Osaka. Also, investigate if any other places have experienced similar incidents."
"Yes! Yes!" The president's wife nodded hurriedly.
"Dismissed!" Shinji waved.
Glancing fearfully at the ashes on the ground, she scrambled away with her subordinates.
Once she was gone, Shinji vanished with a flicker.
Some time later, he arrived at the outskirts of Kyoto in the Demon Slayer world. Contrary to the bustling city he'd imagined, it was shrouded in darkness, like a dead city.
"Something's definitely wrong," Shinji thought, his guard up.
Instead of rushing in, he circled the city's perimeter, then left for Osaka.
He found Osaka in the same state—lifeless, like a ghost town.
Two cities in such a condition left Shinji puzzled. He couldn't determine which one the mysterious figure was hiding in.
As he pondered, reports came in from Haku, Karin, and the president's wife.
It wasn't just two cities—four had become ghost towns, completely cut off from all communication!
"One-fourth…" Shinji muttered, troubled.
He had witnessed the mysterious figure's escape prowess during the Grass Country battle. If he didn't choose the right city, he risked alerting them, allowing them to slip away again.