"You've come to me for cooperation, so it must be to defeat Muzan, right?"
Tamayo looked at Qingshui.
"That's right. This is our best chance yet to defeat Muzan, and we need your help, Miss Tamayo, to increase our chances of success as much as possible."
Qingshui replied to Tamayo.
Tamayo, however, shook her head.
"No, the best chance to defeat Muzan was actually four hundred years ago. I was there at the time, but unfortunately, it ultimately fell short."
"Was that during the era of the first Swordsman? According to the Demon Slayer Corps' records, the Hashira of that generation almost completely annihilated Muzan's Twelve Kizuki, striking fear into him and causing him to seclude himself for decades. It was the greatest victory against Demons in human history."
Amane's eyes lit up as she asked.
"Indeed. Among the swordsmen of that generation, there was a progenitor of Breathing Styles named Tsugikuni Yoriichi. He was the strongest Hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps for hundreds of years. Most of the Upper Rank Demons at the time died by his hand, and he severely wounded Muzan, even nearly killing him. It was then that I broke free from Muzan's control. Unfortunately, Muzan has the ability to split himself, and he ultimately escaped."
Tamayo sighed, recalling the scene from four hundred years ago, and continued, "I've been studying Demon blood for centuries, and from Muzan's blood, I've developed a poison that can prevent him from splitting. However, it can only be effective once. If you fail to kill him, then after he decomposes the poison, he will evolve resistance to it with his abilities. If you want to defeat Muzan, you must convince me that you possess the same ability to kill Muzan as that swordsman from four hundred years ago."
Qingshui spoke up, "How do you wish to test us, Miss Tamayo? With all due respect, while your abilities are not bad, you…"
Qingshui shook his head slightly.
Both of their abilities leaned towards illusion, and while their physical condition was decent among Demons, it wasn't enough to compare to the Twelve Kizuki.
Under his hand, they probably wouldn't last a single blow.
Tamayo also frowned slightly, looking a bit troubled.
Seeing this, Yushiro immediately couldn't hold back:
"Hey! Don't think you can be disrespectful to Miss Tamayo just because you're the head of the Demon Slayer Corps! I warn you, if you dare to…"
"That's enough, Yushiro."
Tamayo gently placed a hand on Yushiro's shoulder.
"I apologize, Yushiro just has that kind of personality."
As soon as Tamayo touched him, Yushiro's face instantly flushed, his eyes glazed over, and he seemed to float.
"Hehehe… Lady Tamayo… so gentle… so beautiful…"
Yushiro could barely hide the infatuated expression on his face.
"However, I think how you prove your abilities is up to you, not us."
Tamayo added.
"Mm-hmm! Lady Tamayo is right!"
Yushiro nodded repeatedly.
"Ahem."
Qingshui gave a tactical cough and turned his gaze to Murata.
Bragging yourself would seem insincere.
At this point, it was time for his subordinate to step up.
Murata immediately understood, stepped forward, placed one hand over his chest, bowed, and pointed one hand towards Qingshui.
"Miss Tamayo, I think I should reintroduce Lord Uesugi to you."
"At sixteen, he defeated a Demon with his bare hands, without having mastered a Breathing Style."
"He mastered a Breathing Style after only two observations and achieved Constant Breathing in two months, reaching the strength of a Class-A Swordsman."
"Subsequently, he created new Breathing Styles and then successively killed Lower Rank Three, Upper Rank Five, and Upper Rank Two. Two of those Upper Rank Demons were killed consecutively in a single night."
"At eighteen, he invented multiple weapons specifically designed for Demons, and after the Ubuyashiki Clan experienced turmoil, he gained the Master's approval and became the acting head of the Demon Slayer Corps."
Qingshui feigned embarrassment, rubbing his nose.
He was actually quite thick-skinned, but at a time like this, he still had to pretend to be modest.
Tamayo's gaze towards Qingshui immediately changed.
"You killed two Upper Rank Demons? And in one night?"
Qingshui nodded, then drew his Nichirin Blade.
"Lady Tamayo!"
Yushiro immediately spread his arms, blocking Tamayo, his face wary.
Qingshui, however, swung his blade skyward, unleashing a magnificent sword energy, then spun the blade gracefully, holding the Nichirin Blade in front of him.
"Miss Tamayo, you should have seen a Nichirin Blade like this before."
Tamayo looked at the crimson blade, glided forward, and touched the sharp edge with her finger.
"No! Lady Tamayo's precious body! How can it be harmed by this broken sword!"
Yushiro bit his finger, looking at Tamayo's finger with a pained expression.
A drop of blood emerged, which Tamayo wiped away. She observed the slowly healing wound on her finger and nodded.
"Just like the person I saw four centuries ago, your grip strength is powerful enough to raise the temperature of your blade, slowing down a Demon's wound regeneration. And your ability to perceive us through Yushiro's Blood Demon Art… I now believe you have the capability to kill an Upper Rank, comparable to the first generation of swordsmen. In fact, among everyone I've met, you are the closest to him."
Tamayo retracted her finger and gave Qingshui a deep look.
"But it's still not enough. I've personally witnessed the power of Muzan and Tsugikuni Yoriichi. Though you are strong, there's still a significant gap between you and them."
In her opinion, no matter how strong Qingshui was, he was probably only on par with the swordsmen who activated the 'three conditions' during the era of the first generation of swordsmen, not to mention Qingshui didn't even have a Demon Slayer Mark.
They were certainly powerful, but definitely not as strong as Muzan.
Tsugikuni Michikatsu also activated the 'three conditions' before becoming Kokushibo, but there was still an enormous gap between him and Tsugikuni Yoriichi.
It's said that later Tanjiro in the original timeline had the 'three conditions' and mastered Sun Breathing, essentially getting a 'Yoriichi experience card.' But without the assistance of other Hashira, it would have been difficult for him to withstand Muzan and hold him off until dawn.
And at that time, Muzan had already been significantly weakened by the poisons from Tamayo and Kocho Shinobu. This shows that a full-strength Muzan was stronger than Tanjiro at that point.
Yet, even at his peak, Yoriichi nearly instantly killed Muzan, beheading him in one strike, which scared Muzan so much he split into over 1,800 pieces. Yoriichi then instantly cut those 1,800 pieces down to just over 300. Centuries later, these wounds were still on Muzan, assisting Tanjiro.
"This isn't all of me, and I'm not all of the Demon Slayer Corps either," Qingshui said to Tamayo.
"Currently, there are two other people in the Demon Slayer Corps like me who can directly wield a Red Blade. They, along with some of the Hashira, have also mastered the perception method I just used. And there are two swordsmen who have inherited Tsugikuni Yoriichi's Breathing Style.
Furthermore, I've invented a method for ordinary swordsmen to turn their Nichirin Blades into Red Blades, and I've created electric lamps that emit light close to sunlight, turning them into weapons.
Is that enough?"
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