After a brief exchange with the Master, Kairo Retsu and Kazuma Satou gathered at the Palico in charge of supply crates to restock their gear.
The essential Recovery Potions had already been replenished. Who knew how many bottles they'd go through during the assault on Muzan?
They also restocked things like Pitfall Traps and Large Barrel Bombs.
"Now we just wait for Nakime to be dealt with—or for her to be brought under control," Kairo said, sitting down across from the Master and his two daughters after finishing his preparations. "You know… the more I think about Nakime's situation, the more I can't help but laugh."
"Huh?" Kazuma blinked, not following. While packing his backpack, he took a seat at the table. "What's so funny about Nakime?"
"...?" The Master and his two daughters looked at Kairo with puzzled expressions as if awaiting an explanation.
Kairo glanced at the hand-drawn map made by the Master and his sisters and pointed to the area where Naofumi Iwatani was holding off Muzan solo.
"So long as Naofumi doesn't run out of bullets, and given his abilities, it won't be a problem for him to stall Muzan alone. Plus, all the other Upper Moons have already been eliminated."
He couldn't hold in his grin. "Which means… with the Demon Slayer Corps mostly intact, we can send the whole squad to deal with Nakime."
"Let Nakime enjoy the same treatment we give Muzan." Kairo finally laughed. "Actually, she's probably got it even worse now—since there's also a Joseph with Hamon on our side."
"Now that you put it that way, Nakime's situation really is tragic." Kazuma recalled her original fate in the story.
The most dutiful among the Upper Moons:
Upper Rank Six was soloed,
Upper Rank Five didn't even get a replacement,
Upper Rank Three was called back to hell by his wife,
Upper Rank Two died from poison after eating Shinobu,
Upper Rank One died of sheer ugliness,
And Muzan himself was just a tyrant in his own lair.
And Nakime? After being mind-controlled by Yushiro, she got headshotted by Muzan…
And now, she had to face an almost completely unscathed Demon Slayer Corps.
"Tragic! Absolutely tragic!" Kazuma couldn't help but lament on Nakime's behalf.
"Master, with this many people, we should be able to deal with Nakime just fine. With Yushiro and Tamayo's help, we might even be able to reverse-control the Infinity Castle before Muzan notices."
Kairo's expression turned serious as he addressed the Master. "We can't have the final battle take place inside the Infinity Castle. We need a proper… 'home field.' You get what I mean."
He sat upright before the Master. "While Muzan is being stalled and Nakime is being subdued, we need to make preparations. As for the location…"
"You will choose."
Kairo spoke with confidence. "A place where we can ambush Muzan. Lots of sunlight. Good for setting traps. Ideally… no obstructions whatsoever."
"I understand."
The Master wracked his brain for a suitable location, then suddenly stood up and hurried to a nearby chest, rummaging through it until he pulled out a map. He stumbled back and pointed to a spot on the map with excitement.
"Here! This is a relatively flat valley where sunlight won't be blocked by the terrain. The only issue is that there are a lot of trees growing there…"
The Master was breathless with excitement but continued, "We can use explosives! There's still time—if we use enough, we can clear all the trees and eliminate anything that could cast a shadow…"
"No need to panic. Just having a location is enough."
Kairo took the map and patted the Master reassuringly on the back. "As for everything else, leave it to our Gathering Hub."
"But with just the two of you, the timing…" The Master looked worried, glancing between Kairo and Kazuma.
But Kairo simply wagged a finger.
"Wrong, wrong, wrong!!!!"
"It's not the two of us!!!" Kairo exclaimed, radiating energy, passion, and confidence.
"It's our Gathering Hub!!!"
"Say it with me!" Kairo stood up and raised both hands toward the sky.
"Palicoes can do everything!!!"
"...Huh?" The Master was stunned by Kairo's outburst.
Before he could make sense of what was happening, Kazuma also jumped up, mimicking Kairo's pose and shouting toward the heavens:
"Palicoes can do everything!!!"
"You too! Come on, say it with us!" Kairo urged the Master with absolute confidence.
"Palicoes can do everything!!!"
"P-Palicoes can… do everything?" the Master repeated cautiously, unsure of what was going on.
And in the very next moment—
A black Palico wearing leather armor, wielding a hammer, with a turban wrapped around its head and thick black-rimmed glasses, appeared in the room without warning.
The Flame Hashira on guard nearby? He didn't even flinch anymore. He was desensitized to this by now.
"Guildmaster, the Engineering Team reports in."
The black Palico adjusted its glasses.
"I'm Ajay, head of Engineering. Where would you like the installation of the large-scale trap apparatus?"
"Ohhh! Right here!" Kairo handed Ajay the map and smiled. "We'll be counting on you guys."
"It's no trouble at all. This sort of thing—how could we possibly let you Hunters worry about it?"
Ajay replied, speaking in a tone eerily similar to Granny Felyne.
"We'll begin setting up the traps, mechanisms, and barricades right away."
After returning the map to Kairo, Ajay promptly vanished into the corner—presumably to begin preparations for the final battle.
"See? The battlefield's taken care of!" Kairo turned with pride to the Master.
"Told you—Palicoes can do everything!"
"Guildmaster… you all…" The Master carefully chose his words, finally saying:
"You're truly… unbelievable."
"Exactly." Kairo replied, hands on his hips.
"That's what we Hunters are like! That's the power of adult-level mystery!"
"That's not how it works!! Don't teach the kids weird stuff, you idiot!"
Kazuma yelled from the side.
"Silence! You—some lowly first-wave Hunter—dare question me, the most senior among us?! You've got guts! This is mutiny! MUTINY!"
"You only became a Hunter a few days earlier than us, you bastard!!"
"Even a minute counts!"
Translator's Notes:This is the final chapter of the mass release. Starting tomorrow, we will return to our regular schedule of one chapter per day.