*Chapter 277: What? Only three left?*

Yoriichi Tsugikuni had already come to terms with the actions of these people; he watched their deeds closely. Though they were not committing evil, their capture of young girls was something they could only turn a blind eye to.

This was simply how the world was now, and there was no way they could save everyone.

After the demons were all slain, the members of the Demon Slayer Corps would return to their normal lives.

Yoriichi Tsugikuni could not keep these people bound to him forever! His family’s mission would soon come to an end.

“I understand! I will pass the message along later!”

“But, should we have their doctor take a look at you, my lord? Their doctors are said to be incredibly skilled, capable of curing any disease,” Shinobu Kocho asked, unable to hold back.

After all, every generation of the Tsugikuni family had passed away young. Given their lord’s current state, it was clear that his time was drawing near.

If they could get help from that group, perhaps Yoriichi Tsugikuni’s condition could be alleviated.

Right now, Yoriichi's condition was extremely unstable! She only hoped he would live to see the moment Muzan was finally slain.

“No need! I can hold on for a bit longer! My lifelong dream is within reach,” Yoriichi Tsugikuni shook his head, declining Shinobu’s offer.

He cared little for these things. The only thing that mattered was Muzan Kibutsuji’s fate.

All across the land, demons were gathering in one place. The demons that had once been scattered across the country had dwindled in number.

Among the Upper and Lower Moons who once stood tall, only three remained.

The rest, everyone assumed, had either been slain by the Hashira or captured.

Kakashi’s suspicions were spot on.

With the loss of the Lower Moons and three Upper Moons, Muzan had no choice but to call a meeting with his subordinates.

If things continued like this, his base might soon be overrun.

The Twelve Kizuki no longer numbered twelve—there were only three left.

A shadow of its former strength!

He had to figure out how to reinforce his forces immediately.

"Why are there so few of you?" Muzan Kibutsuji asked with a frown. The numbers were pitiful.

It was laughably small!

Once, his demons had been spread across the entire country.

Now, there were maybe a hundred left before him.

What kind of nightmare was this?

Where was his millennium of effort?

Even after all the battles with the Demon Slayer Corps, he had always held the upper hand.

But in just two weeks, it felt like he had been thrust back to a thousand years ago!

Back to being almost entirely alone.

It was like a bad dream.

"Everyone is after us now, even ordinary people are being rewarded for giving out information."

“My lord, why don’t we slaughter the Demon Slayer Corps? They’ve gone too far in humiliating us!” a demon wailed miserably.

They wanted revenge, but couldn’t even defeat the ordinary Hashira. How were they supposed to exact vengeance?

The Lower Moons were nearly guaranteed to die against the Hashira, and these demons didn’t stand a chance either.

Their only hope was Muzan Kibutsuji.

“Are you ordering me around?”

Muzan’s eyes glowed with a sinister light.

A red flash flickered, and his oppressive aura crushed the demon that had spoken.

Muzan’s mood had already been bad enough.

Now, someone had touched his sore spot!

“Splatter!”

A massive hand broke through the demon’s chest.

“Crack!”

With one swift movement, Muzan crushed the demon before him into pieces.

The body crumpled to the ground, the demon’s eyes wide with confusion.

All he wanted was revenge against the Demon Slayer Corps!

But why…

“And what about the rest of you?”

Muzan's eyes gleamed with a crimson light as he gazed at the remaining demons.

The other demons bowed in submission, not daring to show any emotion.

Muzan, uninterested in their thoughts, wore a sullen expression.

Those who remained were useless.

None of them could serve any purpose.

His gaze shifted to the last three Upper Moons, feeling an ache in his heart.

A millennium of planning.

All for nothing!

Once, there had been twelve Kizuki. Now, only three remained.

Just three.

“Nakime, you will now take over the position of Upper Moon One.”

Muzan had been thinking deeply, trying to figure out how to replenish the Upper Moon ranks.

He had reached a point where there was no one left to use.

The remaining demons lacked the qualifications, so he had to turn to the reserves.

Nakime, the one who could control the Infinity Castle, was his best option.

In the Infinity Castle, Nakime’s power was nearly unbeatable.

“Muzan-sama, someone is here,” Nakime suddenly said, looking toward the entrance.

She saw several figures carrying strange objects, though it was unclear what they were doing.

Muzan’s face changed drastically. He had been cautious for a thousand years, but at this moment, he had let his guard down.

They had been tracked down to his stronghold.

The Infinity Castle—his very foundation—had been compromised!

"I didn't expect to be followed."

"You idiots were being followed and didn’t even know it."

Muzan’s face darkened as he growled at the demons kneeling before him.

These guys weren’t using their brains at all. They let someone follow them.

He had been so careful all these years, and now it had all come crashing down.

"They can’t get in! But just to be safe, let’s take care of those guys outside first."

Muzan took a deep breath. At the very least, they should eliminate the people outside.

Only after that would things make more sense.

"I'll handle it."

Doma pulled out a fan, covering his face as he headed outside.

But after only a few steps, the figures outside vanished like phantoms.

More followed right after!

Three, five, ten, twenty!

In just a few seconds, over fifty people had gathered outside the Infinity Castle.

A golden figure darted about, flashing from one person to the next, bringing them all over.

Until a white-haired man stood at the front of the group.

"So, this is their hideout? Looks like they didn’t prepare at all."

"I thought at least this demon progenitor would be smarter, but he revealed himself so easily."

Kakashi had one hand in his pocket, gazing at the building in front of him.

He wasn’t yet familiar with the interior structure.

These demons had blood arts.

Some could even manipulate space.

So, Kakashi thought it best to remain cautious.

"Teams of four! Use ninjutsu to clear the way!"

Kakashi waved his hand.

"Fire Style, Fireball Jutsu."

"Water Style, Water Dragon Jutsu."

"Wind Style."

"Lightning Style."

At Kakashi's command, dozens of ninja stepped forward.

With rapid hand seals, flames, water, and even lightning surged toward the tower!

In an instant, a huge hole was blasted into the structure.

But as countless ninjutsu poured into the building, it seemed like a bottomless pit, swallowing everything whole.

"A bunch of worthless lowlifes. If I turned you all into demons, you’d probably become formidable warriors."

Nakime shifted their positions, but this only made Muzan angrier.

His eyes burned with fury as he waved his hand, ordering his demons to break through.

As long as they could break out, he still had a chance to escape.

"Muzan-sama, they—they’ve broken in."

Daki cried out in fear.

Countless ninja stormed through the breach.

Once inside, two ninja suddenly swelled in size, becoming like giants.

They transformed into guards, blocking the entrance to prevent anyone from interfering.

"Kill them!"

Muzan retreated but didn’t forget to command the others to attack.

The lesser demons, fueled by Muzan's blood, instinctively charged at the Dressrosa ninja squad.

But these ninjas, led by Raijin, were mostly jonin, all of whom had mastered Haki.

Dealing with these demons was child’s play!

Yet, under Kakashi’s command, they didn’t lose their focus or act recklessly.

"Capture the upper demons, the progenitor, and the woman with the biwa! Execute the rest."

Kakashi spoke calmly, without any intention of saving the demons.

Dressrosa had nearly perfected a serum to restore demons to humans.

But Kakashi didn’t see the need to waste such a cure on these creatures.

After all, producing the serum wasn’t cheap.

And these remaining demons were just a drain on resources.

The best solution was to simply eliminate them.

Besides, they had already captured enough demons with blood arts.

Even if these demons had unique abilities, it didn’t matter anymore.

They had no use for them now.

"Understood!"

The ninja responded in unison, drawing blades from their sheaths.

These were Nichirin swords, weapons they rarely used.

Usually, they were tasked with keeping targets alive.

But today, they could use them freely.

"Swish!"

"Swish!"

Countless heads flew in an instant!

Within moments, over a hundred demons had been decapitated.

They didn’t even have time to react!

In the blink of an eye, all they saw were flickering shadows.

Then their world began to spin.

Until their heads hit the ground.

"Lightning Dragon!"

In a flash, Kakashi summoned a bolt of lightning that expanded into a massive dragon head, swallowing Doma and the others.

"Terrifying..."

A strange-looking old man tried to retreat, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Boom!"

Two enormous fists slammed down, sending Hantengu crashing into the building.

Half of his bones were crushed to dust.

But thanks to the demon’s regenerative abilities, he was still alive.

"We’ve trapped him."

Four ninja appeared next to Hantengu, quickly forming hand seals.

A series of runes spread from their feet, binding Hantengu in place.

He tried to split, to summon his clones, but realized he couldn’t move at all.

"Leave it to us!"

Two ninjas stepped forward, wrapping Hantengu in seastone chains.

Seastone, known for its strength and connection to the Navy, was woven into the chains, making them even stronger.

Restraining Hantengu was no problem at all.

"We’ve captured another Upper Moon."

"That guy split into something hideous, some freakish man appeared behind him."

In a short amount of time, three Upper Moons had already been captured.

To the ninjas, these Upper Moons posed little resistance.

"I’ll continue the pursuit. You guys take them away."

"If daylight comes, make sure to cover them with black cloth."

Seeing that the demons had been captured, Kakashi relaxed, giving orders before turning into a bolt of electricity and continuing the chase.

The other ninjas followed closely.

They were in the final stretch now.

There was no reason to leave.

Boom!

Boom!

Muzan heard the constant sound of doors breaking behind him, his expression growing darker.

For the first time, he felt cornered!

And it was by a group of unknown individuals.

Who were these people, and why were they so strong?

In such a short time, his Upper Moons had been defeated before his very eyes.

They didn’t even have the strength to fight back.

What was that ability to grow in size, and how could they breathe fire and water?

Were they even human?

Could they still be considered human?

Muzan wasn’t concerned with such things right now.

"Found you."

A voice whispered in his ear.

Kakashi’s hand, crackling with lightning, pierced toward Muzan’s heart.

"Splurt!"

His heart was pierced through.

But Kakashi wore a strange expression.

This guy... was weird!

His body was sprouting all sorts of organs.

But what good were extra organs?

Kakashi didn’t know why he had such an odd thought.

But it didn’t matter.

As long as they restrained him, it would be fine.

"Chidori Stream!"

Kakashi whispered.

The lightning in his hand exploded.

In an instant, the terrifying light engulfed both Nakime and Muzan.

"Get lost!"

Muzan roared, long thorn-like whips lashing out toward Kakashi.

"Zzz!"

Kakashi turned into pure electricity, shocking Muzan once again.

Muzan grimaced in pain, his eyes scanning the area for Kakashi.

"I’m off duty! No time to play with you anymore."

A ghostly figure appeared behind Muzan, and before Nakime could warn him, Kakashi’s lightning transformed into a blinding white light, surging into Muzan’s body.

Four hundred trillion volts, enough to cook anyone alive in an instant.

Even Muzan was no exception.

His regeneration was powerful, but his body was only marginally stronger than a human’s.

He hadn’t reached an invincible state yet!

In an instant, Muzan collapsed to the ground.

"Now it’s your turn."

Kakashi turned to Nakime.

(End of Chapter)