Chapter 176 — Meeting Akaza Again
Ren had originally planned to return to the train.
Logically speaking, something like this shouldn't have required a Hashira-level fighter like him to personally handle.
But Ren had a more important task.
Inside one of the train cars—
Ren's true body sat in a seat with his eyes closed, seemingly meditating.
At this moment, Ren's consciousness had already entered his Memory Palace.
It was recording some of the key points he had learned from Destructive Death.
Suddenly—
A heavy thud came from the roof of the train.
Ren abruptly opened his eyes.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"You're here?"
"You knew I would come?"
A figure suddenly appeared inside the train car, seemingly materializing out of thin air.
He sat four seats away from Ren.
"Of course I knew."
Ren smiled faintly.
"Akaza, you're free."
Ren had already sensed his arrival.
He should have been the only passenger on the train.
With Ren's terrifying perception, even if Muzan himself came, Ren would be able to detect him clearly.
That's right.
The person who had arrived was Akaza.
At this moment, Akaza's expression was filled with confusion.
He didn't know whether Ren was on the train, but his instincts told him that Ren was here.
And as it turned out, Akaza's guess had been correct.
Ren had specifically stayed behind for Akaza.
During their previous battle—
Ren had already noticed something.
Akaza had been attempting to break through into the Supreme Realm.
According to the original story, Akaza should only have achieved that breakthrough during the Infinity Castle arc.
It was at that time that Akaza broke into the Supreme Realm.
Even after being decapitated, he would no longer die.
Instead, he would rapidly regenerate in an extremely short period of time!
Although Ren didn't know why that phenomenon had happened earlier this time, he hadn't stopped him.
"It seems you've witnessed some unique memories."
Ren looked at Akaza.
No.
He should be called Hakuji now.
The moment Akaza saw the memories of his own death, he had become Hakuji once again.
Akaza calmly walked over to Ren, chose a seat, and slowly sat down.
Akaza asked doubtfully,
"You know everything about my transformation?"
"No. I don't. Why don't you tell me?"
Ren smiled faintly, then quietly moved a little closer to him.
The scene was extremely strange.
Not long ago, the two of them had been enemies fighting to the death.
Now, they looked like old friends who hadn't seen each other in many years.
The contrast made Akaza feel somewhat strange, but he could understand it.
After all, he couldn't see through Ren's strength.
Nor did he know what Ren's objective was.
"I saw my memories from the past."
A trace of reminiscence flashed through Akaza's eyes.
Ren nodded.
"Mm. And then?"
Akaza continued,
"I don't know how long ago it was. It seemed to be during the Edo period."
"I saw a dojo, a pitiful little boy, and a sick girl."
Ren chuckled.
"That sounds like a love story."
"Perhaps."
The corners of Akaza's mouth lifted slightly.
"I remember the girl's name was Koyuki. She was the one who pulled me out of hell."
Hearing this, Ren lowered his head and fell into thought.
In the Infinity Castle, Koyuki's appearance had prevented Akaza from continuing his regeneration.
In reality, it had ended Hakuji's life as a demon.
So, if Akaza could survive this time, perhaps...
Ren suddenly had a guess.
Akaza slowly recalled the past.
"I remembered everything. I remembered everything from when I was human."
"When I was young, my family was very poor. My mother died early, and my father was seriously ill. In order to buy medicine for my father, I became a thief."
"I was caught often. Some people would brand tattoos onto me as punishment, but I didn't care."
"Because before they caught me, I'd already sold whatever I'd stolen and bought medicine for my father. Even if they caught me, what could they do to me?"
Ren nodded.
"Looks like you had a reason for becoming bad."
Akaza:
"???"
Akaza's emotions became somewhat tangled.
However, he quickly calmed himself and continued.
"Later, because of my theft, my father didn't want to become a burden to me, so he committed suicide."
At this point, Akaza remained silent for a long time.
He seemed to be immersed in those painful memories.
Indeed.
Aside from that rotten seed, Douma, every demon had experienced suffering in their past.
And the Akaza standing before Ren now clearly needed some comfort.
"So your father died, and that's why you chose to fall into darkness?"
"No... actually, that's not it."
Although Akaza didn't quite understand what Ren meant by "darkness," he knew the answer.
"There isn't much worth mentioning about what happened in between. But later, I entered a dojo, where I met my benefactor."
"His name was Keizo."
"He saw my talent for martial arts. He was even amazed that I could defeat people with my bare hands."
"So Keizo beat me up and forcibly brought me back to the dojo he ran—the Soryu Dojo."
"After arriving at the Soryu Dojo, I discovered that I was his only student, while my master had to work outside the dojo to keep it running."
"My master asked me to help take care of his sick daughter, Koyuki."
"So I decided to stay and look after his daughter, Koyuki."
"However, without realizing it, I ended up winning Koyuki's heart!"
Ren clapped his hands.
"Wait. Why do I always feel like you..."
"What?"
Akaza looked at Ren blankly, not understanding why he had suddenly interrupted him.
Ren pursed his lips.
His goal was to tame Akaza, not provide him with psychological counseling.
Ren simply said,
"Get to the point."
Akaza fell silent for a moment before speaking softly.
"While I was taking care of Koyuki, the son of the kenjutsu dojo master—the man who was in love with Koyuki—secretly took her away."
"However, Koyuki's asthma suddenly flared up. He became frightened and abandoned her before running away."
"In the end, I found her and saved her."
"When Master Keizo learned what had happened, he became furious and challenged the kenjutsu dojo."
"I defeated nine opponents in succession and declared that they were forbidden from approaching Koyuki."
"But the son of the kenjutsu dojo master went mad with rage and charged at me with a real sword!"
"Of course! I used my strongest technique and broke the sword into two!"
"My master was impressed by my superb skills and reprimanded his son for his rude behavior."
"When I was eighteen, Master Keizo suggested that I take over the dojo and marry his daughter, Koyuki."
"To be honest, I was surprised. But I remembered my father's dying wish, so I agreed."
"Ren, have you ever liked a girl?"
Ren frowned.
He clearly didn't want to engage with him.
Akaza didn't wait for Ren's answer and continued talking to himself.
"I took Koyuki to see the fireworks she had longed to watch ever since she was a child."