Kars was a genius. He was also a madman.
As the saying goes, on one side of a line is a genius, and on the other, a madman.
For the sake of his own evolution, he slaughtered his entire clan.
Such ruthlessness, such resolve, such a pursuit of the ultimate lifeform—it could almost be called an obsession.
---o---
[Light Curtain Commentary]
[Sasuke Uchiha: "He slaughtered his own clan... That bastard is just like Itachi. Absolutely unforgivable!!"]
[Mai Sakurajima: "That's just too cruel. How is that a genius? He's purely and simply a raving lunatic."]
[Mobius: "Genius? Madman? Heh heh, whichever he may be, his resolve and his will, in my eyes, are incomparably brilliant and dazzling."]
[Wamuu: "Hmph. Lord Kars is not for weaklings like you to judge."]
[The 17-Year-Old Youkai Sage: "How curious. How exactly was the Stone Mask forged? Their clothing looks primitive. What kind of civilization could produce such an object?"]
Here, one couldn't help but comment on the attire of Kars and his two companions.
Although the three were powerfully built with aesthetically pleasing and impactful muscles, if they were to walk down the street dressed like that in Japan's Taisho Era, wouldn't they be arrested as perverts?
They clearly had the ability to create the Stone Mask, and they had lived for so long, so why were their clothes so... simple?
Could it be that this was the fashion the Pillar Men pursued?
Strange. It was simply too strange. But then again, Kars and his companions weren't human, so theoretically, it wouldn't be a problem even if they wore nothing at all...
---o---
[On Screen]
At Muzan Kibutsuji's summons, nearly every demon under his control had gathered in the forests near Asakusa.
They were a dense horde, numbering around a thousand in total. However, the vast majority were mere cannon fodder. The number of demons capable of using Blood Demon Art was less than one hundred.
It couldn't be helped. For all these years, Muzan had expanded his ranks alone, and with the Demon Slayer Corps being so diligent, gathering this many was already impressive.
An army of a thousand demons, plus the elite demons and the six Upper Ranks, was a considerable force in the Taisho Era. Dealing with them would be no simple task.
"Nearly all of them are gathered here. Muzan Kibutsuji is really going all out."
"I wonder if this battle will be the one to finally erase Muzan Kibutsuji from this world for good."
"Hey, did you hear? Oyakata-sama said the target of this battle isn't just Muzan, but also that foreign demon named DIO."
"A foreign demon? Never heard the name. Has he done something unforgivable?"
Within their temporary camp, the Demon Slayer swordsmen were endlessly discussing the coming human-demon war.
Every swordsman who had come here was a survivor of the Final Selection, each harboring an extreme hatred for demons.
Muzan Kibutsuji? If Muzan dared to show his face, these people would risk their lives to fight him to the death.
Unfortunately, the information delivered by the Kasugai Crows mentioned no sign of Muzan or the Upper Ranks, only some very low-level demons. It seemed Muzan had his own methods of concealment.
"Yare yare daze." Perhaps because someone had mentioned DIO, Jotaro Kujo glanced over at the chattering Demon Slayers.
He then walked away. For some unknown reason, there seemed to be many unfriendly gazes directed at him here. Could it be because of the Wind Hashira, Shinazugawa?
Jotaro didn't understand, but he didn't care what others thought of him. As long as his own conscience was clear, that was enough.
The moment Jotaro left, rumors instantly filled the ranks.
"Did you hear? That's the man possessed by an evil spirit. The foreign demon named DIO was brought here by him."
"Right, right! According to Kaigaku, the successor of Thunder Breathing, that man threw a fit at the Hashira Meeting. Not only was he disrespectful to Oyakata-sama, but he even attacked the Hashira."
"The rumor is that the Insect Hashira, Lady Shinobu Kocho, was hypnotized by this man. That's why she started indiscriminately spreading poison at the Butterfly Mansion, nearly killing all the swordsmen recovering there."
As the slander spread, although the Demon Slayers wouldn't say anything to Jotaro's or Oyakata-sama's face, a general wariness toward him grew.
These words all came from the mouth of Kaigaku, the successor of Thunder Breathing. Compared to Kaigaku, a successor to one of the five main Breathing Styles, Jotaro, an outsider, was naturally not trusted.
Moreover, the collectivist nature of the Japanese people inherently led them to ostracize mavericks. Jotaro's uniqueness had inadvertently led to his isolation within the Demon Slayer Corps.
"Jotaro-san, there you are. I've been looking all over for you..." With a gentle smile, Shinobu Kocho's small figure appeared before Jotaro Kujo.
Although the entire Demon Slayer Corps now held a certain prejudice against Jotaro, in Shinobu's eyes, he was the savior of her and everyone at the Butterfly Mansion.
During his few days there, she had more or less figured out his personality. Without a doubt, Jotaro Kujo was a good person.
"What are you doing here, woman?" Jotaro looked down at Shinobu, knowing that trouble had found him again.
That impolite form of address again. A vein was about to pop on Shinobu's forehead, but remembering that this was just his personality, and that she was the one asking for a favor, she took a deep breath.
"Jotaro-san... there is something I must ask you to help me with, no matter what."
"Hm?" As expected. This woman was driven by an obsession. She could have stayed safely in the rear but had insisted on coming to the front lines, even lying about the state of her injuries.
"Do you want me to kill a certain demon?"
He remembered someone at the Butterfly Mansion mentioning that Shinobu had not been the Insect Hashira for long. Before her, the master of the mansion was the Flower Hashira, Kanae Kocho—her older sister.
In that case, Shinobu's reason for seeking him out was already clear.
Hearing this, Shinobu froze for a moment, the smile on her face wavering. The fury she held for demons could no longer be concealed.
"That's right, Jotaro-san. That demon... I must be the one to kill that demon with my own hands!"
Shinobu's expression was slipping. The fire in her eyes was completely undisguised.
As a woman with a petite frame, her physical strength was too weak. The wisteria poison was effective against the Lower Ranks, but its utility against the Upper Ranks was limited.
And that was to say nothing of DIO. The vampires created from his blood were completely immune to wisteria poison.
She hadn't tried a Nichirin Blade on them, but she imagined they would be much harder to kill than demons.
Under these circumstances, Shinobu felt hopeless. Her injuries hadn't fully healed, and she stood no chance against her nemesis or a vampire.
Yet, she desperately wanted to avenge her sister by killing the demon responsible for her death.
Caught in this conflict, she had sought out Jotaro Kujo. The main reason was not his immense power, but because Shinobu trusted her savior.
Although her fellow Hashira were also trustworthy, such a request would be difficult for them. But Jotaro Kujo could do it.
In the dead of night, Jotaro Kujo gazed into Shinobu's hate-filled eyes.
The bone-deep hatred was enough to send a chill down one's spine. It was hard to imagine that this woman had been so gentle just moments before.
---o---
[Light Curtain Commentary]
[Eren Yeager: "She lost her family to demons? Just like the people who lost their homes and families to the Titans. That's why she became a Hashira, why she keeps getting stronger to slay demons."]
[The 17-Year-Old Youkai Sage: "War and hatred. Humans can never seem to escape these things."]
[Utaha Kasumigaoka: "Will Jotaro Kujo agree? His goal has always been DIO. It seems unlikely he would agree to Shinobu's request."]
[Eriri Spencer Sawamura: "Who says? I think he'll agree. He just has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. Shinobu's request isn't excessive or against his principles. In this situation, he'll definitely agree."]
[Elysia: "That's right. After all, who could refuse the request of a beautiful girl?"]
[Jotaro Kujo: "Yare yare daze... You people are really something else. That's not my character archetype..."]
---o---
[On Screen]
Faced with Shinobu's request, Jotaro Kujo fell into thought for a moment.
Just as he was about to give his answer, the unexpected happened.
Giant aquatic creatures began to pour into the Demon Slayer camp. Before the night watchmen could react, they charged into the tents and began to slaughter the sleeping Demon Slayers.
"Aargh!!"
"Enemy attack! It's a Blood Demon Art!"
"Form a defense, quickly!"
In an instant, the Demon Slayer camp was thrown into chaos. One could say the Final Selection was effective, but its effect wasn't absolute.
Looking at the current pandemonium, these swordsmen hardly looked like warriors who had survived such a trial.
The sudden attack meant that Muzan Kibutsuji had already discovered them and had sent demons to hunt them down.
"Yare yare!" Killing people right in front of him—was this not a direct slight to him, Jotaro Kujo?
Witnessing the scene, Jotaro couldn't help but clench his fists. Star Platinum materialized around him, and he was about to launch himself toward the enemy.
"Wait, Jotaro-san! Now is not the time for you to act!"
At the critical moment, Shinobu suddenly interrupted Jotaro's movement, blocking his path.
Jotaro was confused. "Woman, what is the meaning of this?" he asked.
The attacker may not have been DIO, but they were undoubtedly beings Jotaro detested.
Those Demon Slayers were being toyed with like birds in a cage, their lives in danger at any moment.
"Jotaro-san, although the power of your evil spirit, your Stand, is great, please do not underestimate the Demon Slayer Corps."
Shinobu said with a smile, then looked toward the various aquatic creatures in the distance. They were indeed created by a Blood Demon Art.
And judging by the scale and size, the attacker must be an Upper Rank. She just didn't know which one.
After all, the Demon Slayer Corps had almost no intelligence on the Upper Ranks after all these years.
"It's a good thing they've come here. The Upper Ranks we've been searching for for so long have finally shown themselves."
"Whatever Muzan Kibutsuji is thinking, to believe he could take on the Demon Slayer Corps with just one Upper Rank, he is severely underestimating us."
Shinobu spoke, then fixed her gaze on Jotaro. "Please watch carefully, Jotaro-san. The Demon Slayer Corps... is not as weak as you might think. Even without supernatural powers, the Demon Slayer Corps can defeat them."
As Shinobu's voice fell, several figures shot toward the site of the attack in an instant.
"The Hashira... The Hashira are here!"
With the shouts of the regular slayers, several figures landed on the ground. In the next moment, the morale of the Demon Slayer Corps skyrocketed. It was clear the Hashira were an incredibly influential presence within the Corps.
The Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku; the Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito; and the Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji.
The strength of the Hashira was indeed on a different level from ordinary slayers. With their arrival, the tide of battle immediately turned into a one-sided slaughter.
The bizarre aquatic creatures were routed. They were either severed by the Flame Hashira's blazing slashes, silently bisected by the Mist Hashira, or diced into fragments by the Love Hashira's whip-like sword.
Unlike the battles between Stand users, their power came from their Breathing Styles and their own formidable sword skills.
"How was that, Jotaro-san? The Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps didn't disappoint you, did they?" Shinobu said to Jotaro.
The initial chaos was short-lived, swiftly quelled under the leadership of the Hashira. The creatures formed by the Blood Demon Art were almost laughably fragile before them.
"Yare yare daze." He said nothing more. To be able to hone one's strength and sword skills to such a degree through that strange breathing method was indeed admirable.
"However..." Shinobu frowned. "Those aquatic creatures were formed by a Blood Demon Art. So where is the demon who cast it?"
Even an Upper Rank couldn't possibly take on nine Hashira. Could it be... this Upper Rank was merely controlling their Blood Demon Art from a distance, and wasn't actually present?
As Shinobu pondered, Jotaro's gaze shifted away from her. And then... a strange pot entered his field of vision.
Strange... was that pot there before?
Just as Jotaro was thinking, a hideously ugly old man slowly crawled out from behind the pot. His body trembled incessantly, as if he might collapse from fright at any moment...
---o---
Author's Note:
PS: For the backstories of the Upper Ranks and Hashira, unimportant ones will be skipped or mentioned briefly, like Hantengu, the Mist Hashira, and the Love Hashira.