Iguro Obanai stood silently on the ruins; Uzui Tengen wasn't unable to understand his thoughts.
It was simply too despair-inducing.
Iguro Obanai belatedly asked, "Speaking of which, didn't you say just now that you lost a lot of blood?"
As he spoke, his strange heterochromatic eyes scrutinized Uzui Tengen from head to toe.
He certainly had a lot of bloodstains on him, and a large amount of blood had flowed from his waist, but... the person showed no signs of serious injury whatsoever.
He only had some minor superficial scrapes, the kind that might heal on the way to the hospital.
The kind where he wouldn't even make it through the front door of the Butterfly Mansion before Kochou Shinobu would toss him out, person and stretcher alike.
And this is what he called massive bleeding?
"Ah, you mean this, this is..." Uzui Tengen stopped mid-sentence, suddenly remembering that others seemed unaware of this matter.
He could understand that demons, while able to survive decapitation themselves, couldn't regenerate the severed limbs of others.
If this secret got out, wouldn't things explode?
Did this count as Miss Mizuki's secret?
Thinking this, Uzui Tengen changed his statement: "Ask Miss Mizuki about this; I don't know how to explain it."
Iguro Obanai stared at him expressionlessly for a few seconds before shifting his gaze: "Forget it, I'm not interested."
"No one's still holding a grudge, are they?" Uzui Tengen laughed, reaching out to pat Iguro Obanai's back, only for the latter to easily dodge.
Uzui Tengen pouted, "How petty. I just called you gloomy, is that really necessary?"
Gloomy little brat~
The veins popped on Iguro Obanai's cheek: "You bastard certainly remember that clearly."
Uzui Tengen chuckled awkwardly: "Well, didn't you say you were going to teach us how to activate that Demon Slayer Mark?"
"Of course I care about that."
Iguro Obanai paused: "Demon Slayer Mark? Do you really think that thing is useful?"
"Do I need to think about it?" Uzui Tengen shrugged indifferently. "If you had gone through what I went through today, you would definitely choose to believe in a method of growing stronger like this."
"Besides, even if you don't believe others, don't you believe Kochou and Kyoujurou?"
Iguro Obanai frowned slightly.
Compared to the newcomers like Tanjirou, even though they had earned the title of Pillar and activated the so-called Demon Slayer Mark, the fact remained that he carried a demon with him. Although he couldn't argue against it due to Oyakata-sama's approval, he certainly wouldn't say he completely trusted them.
But Kochou Shinobu and Rengoku Kyojuro were different.
They were companions worthy of trusting your back to.
Both of them had currently activated the Demon Slayer Mark and attested to a significant increase in strength. Coupled with Oyakata-sama's endorsement, he truly had no way to refute it.
However... Iguro Obanai secretly glanced at Uzui Tengen.
This guy really must have been hit hard.
To actually say something like that.
Growing stronger?
If he could become stronger and contribute to killing Muzan, then not living past twenty-five truly wasn't much of a price.
For a piece of trash like him, being able to help others—such a small matter was irrelevant.
For some reason, the image of the girl with the strange hair color subconsciously appeared in his mind.
Could he help her too?
...Seeing that the group didn't say much after returning from the neighboring area, Mizuki let out a breath and perfunctorily stuffed Nezuko into the box.
Nezuko looked blankly at her sister, wondering why she was suddenly dismissed when they had been playing so nicely just moments ago.
In fact, Mizuki was overthinking things.
No one would blame her for the extensive damage caused.
This was never meant to be a feel-good script.
No one dying... that was impossible... When facing demons, especially the so-called Twelve Demon Moons, even if it meant having to sacrifice themselves or harm the interests of ordinary people, they would not hesitate to cut off the demon's head.
This was done so that more people would not suffer harm from the demons.
If they had to choose between one person and dozens or even hundreds of people, even a child could make that choice.
Furthermore, when the battle with Kokushibou fully erupted, most of the surrounding residents had already fled, so the damage was mainly limited to collapsed houses.
With the Ubuyashiki Clan's near-instinctive money-making ability, this level of compensation was merely a drop in the bucket... Thanks to the efforts of the Demon Slayer Corps' Logistics Unit, the subsequent comfort and reconstruction work proceeded smoothly.
Mizuki, meanwhile, returned to the Butterfly Mansion along with Tanjirou and the others.
The Butterfly Mansion served as their current base; aside from missions, they were essentially permanent residents here.
As they approached the Butterfly Mansion, a flamboyant figure was conspicuously standing at the entrance.
A colorful haori radiated a faint glow under the sunlight, and upon seeing the group, Kochou Shinobu couldn't restrain herself and rushed over.
"Mizuki!"
"Shinobu."
"Are you hurt?" Kochou Shinobu pulled Mizuki's arm up, looking her over carefully.
She had already heard from Oyakata-sama about the encounter with Upper Rank One and Upper Rank Six.
Others might not know, but Kochou Shinobu was perfectly aware that Upper Rank One, Kokushibou, was Mizuki's older brother.
Appearing suddenly in the Entertainment District, how could that not make her worry?
If the matter hadn't already concluded, she might have rushed there overnight.
Thinking this, she looked at Tanjirou with a somewhat complex expression.
Was Mizuki's stepson truly alright?
He felt like a harbinger of disaster.
Lower Ranks were one thing, but he kept running into Upper Ranks, who were usually impossible to encounter.
Even Muzan had been encountered by him.
She felt that if this continued, something bad would happen eventually.
Behind the group, Uzui Tengen, who was being helped by his three wives, saw Kochou Shinobu's worried expression and couldn't help but twitch his mouth slightly.
"This woman is a demon. Where exactly are you trying to find injuries on her?"
"You should worry about the others instead."
Hearing this, the worry instantly vanished from Kochou Shinobu's face, and she turned expressionlessly to look at Uzui Tengen.
"Aren't you perfectly alive and well?"
"Are you injured anywhere?"
Kochou Shinobu said this while scanning him up and down.
Uzui Tengen's mouth twitched: "Isn't that your job as a doctor?"
"My apologies, it says at the door: Uzui Tengen and dogs are not allowed entry."
Uzui Tengen instantly blew up: "Where does it say that!!!"
Kochou Shinobu was expressionless: "I'll hang it up shortly. Do you have a problem with that?"
"...No." Remembering that the Butterfly Mansion belonged to her, he truly couldn't argue back.
Forget it, just endure it.
After all, he might need to ask her for medical help later; it's best not to offend a doctor.
Neither of these two women is nice.
Sure enough, his wives are the best.
Thinking this, Uzui Tengen hugged his three wives a little tighter.
Behind them, Zenitsu ground his teeth, veins popping up all over his dark face.
"How envious... Why does this guy get to have it all..."
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