By late afternoon, as dusk settled, Kurozawa and Kanae had been traveling for a long time and were starting to feel tired.
Breathing Technique gave Swordsmen exceptional stamina, but it wasn't infinite. They still had human bodies. However, they only needed a short rest to restore themselves to peak condition.
To avoid a detour, the two had been leaping and moving directly through the mountain forests. The distance to Lotus Town was rapidly decreasing, and they had just returned to a relatively flat path.
"What do you plan to do once we reach Lotus Town?"
They slowed their pace, and Kurozawa looked at Kanae, asking curiously.
Kanae didn't know, but Kurozawa was aware there was a difficult entity in Lotus Town: Upper Moon Two, the Ice Demon Doma. Based on their current strength, even together, he and Kanae probably couldn't kill him.
Maybe they could hold their own? But not necessarily. If Kurozawa remembered correctly, Doma seemed to be a Demon who relied entirely on his Blood Demon Art. His Blood Demon Art was very powerful; a human body would be severely injured upon contact.
Beside him, Kanae thought for a moment before replying, "First, we'll see if there are any signs of an Upper Moon in Lotus Town. Originally, it might have taken some time to investigate, but since you have Fighting Spirit perception, the investigation step will be much simpler."
"Basically, as soon as we arrive in Lotus Town, you'll know if an Upper Moon is present."
"Then you can use your Fighting Spirit to gauge their level. If they're similar to Daki, we'll deal with them directly. If it's a higher-ranking Upper Moon, we can temporarily retreat, return to Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, and call for backup to surround and eliminate them."
Ahead on the path, a small village appeared before them.
Taking a long look at the small village nestled in the mountains, Kurozawa shook his head and said, "Fighting Spirit perception isn't foolproof. What if we encounter a powerful Upper Moon who can suppress their Fighting Spirit and deceive me? Wouldn't we be walking right into the lion's den?"
Kanae smiled gently and said, "Kurozawa, you underestimate the power of Fighting Spirit. The situation you described is very unlikely."
"Even if we do encounter it, I'll cover your retreat and let you escape first. How about that?"
"You said it. Don't blame me for running fast then," Kurozawa said, though he knew he wasn't someone who would easily run away. However, he could probably manage to pick up Kanae and run with her.
Doma was skilled in Blood Demon Art, so his physical body shouldn't be very strong. He definitely couldn't outrun him.
"Actually, after discovering the Upper Moon Demon in the Yoshiwara Pleasure District, if we had returned to Demon Slayer Corps headquarters, no one would have mentioned your actions again."
"But I figured since we're already here, we might as well handle the mission in Lotus Town. If it's still an Upper Moon, you might even have a chance to be promoted to a Pillar based on your merits."
"Your strength is definitely sufficient, but you're still lacking in Demon slaying achievements. This mission is the perfect opportunity to make up for it. Handling two missions involving Upper Moons should be enough merit."
"Helping you become the new Water Pillar should be enough to repay you for helping my sister on Mount Fujikasane, right?" Kanae said with a beaming smile.
Kurozawa hadn't demonstrated his Sword Form level, but judging by his performance in the pleasure district, Kanae knew he had crossed the Pillar-level threshold and formally possessed Pillar-level combat power.
Moreover, Kurozawa had the ability of Fighting Spirit perception, which currently only the Stone Pillar in the entire Demon Slayer Corps possessed. Even she was incredibly envious. For him to become a Pillar, his strength was more than enough.
After hearing Kanae's plan, Kurozawa's expression subtly changed, and then he said, "So that's what you were thinking. No wonder you were so insistent on going to Lotus Town. But honestly, I'm not actually interested in the Pillar position."
"Helping Kocho Shinobu was just something I did on the side. You don't need to take it too seriously."
Actually, it wasn't just because he helped Kocho Shinobu; the main reason was that Kanae felt a bit guilty.
It was she who had mentioned Kurozawa to Kagaya Ubuyashiki, which led to Kurozawa being listed as a key person to look after, and that's how the trip to Hachijo Island came about.
If Kurozawa had started from the bottom with Demon Slaying Missions, experiencing more people and Demons, perhaps he wouldn't be so aggressive in his actions. This was Kanae's true thought.
She believed that a large part of Kurozawa's actions were due to her, which was why she wanted to help Kurozawa become a Pillar as compensation.
"Urokodaki-senpai, as the former Water Pillar, would probably be very unhappy if the Water Pillar position was taken by someone else."
"As his senior disciple, you have an obligation to inherit the Water Pillar position."
For some reason, hearing Kanae's tone made Kurozawa feel a bit annoyed. He said impatiently, "Master doesn't only have one disciple. Sabito, Makomo, Giyu, they all have a chance to become the new Water Pillar."
"Furthermore, I'll say it again, I have absolutely no interest in inheriting the Water Pillar position."
The things a regular Swordsman and a Demon Slayer Pillar had to consider were on completely different levels. Kurozawa could accept using the Demon Slayer Corps' intelligence system to find Demons as a regular Swordsman, but becoming a Pillar and dedicating most of his time to the Demon Slayer Corps was something he couldn't tolerate.
He still hadn't figured out the secrets about himself. Wouldn't becoming a Pillar make it easier for them to be discovered? Kurozawa had never tried his best to hide himself.
What Kurozawa didn't know at the time was that because of what Hongyue said at the foot of Mount Fujikasane and the Swordsmen she let go, his secret had already been discovered, and he had been mistakenly identified as a Demon.
"Among the other Swordsmen from Mount Sagiri, only Sabito and Makomo have reached the standard of A-rank Swordsmen. They are close to being Pillars, but their Breathing Techniques haven't reached Total Concentration: Constant. There's still some distance to becoming a Pillar, perhaps very close, perhaps very far."
Total Concentration: Constant Breathing Technique was a threshold for Pillars, and it eliminated many Swordsmen because talent was crucial to learning it. Regardless of how hard they tried, those without talent had reached their limit at A-rank.
"Then you're underestimating my two Junior Disciples, Giyu Tomioka, and the recently joined Iguro Obanai. In my opinion, both of them are more suitable to be Pillars than me."
"I don't know about Iguro Obanai, but Giyu Tomioka? That somewhat timid Swordsman... The chances aren't high, are they?"
Kurozawa smiled and said mysteriously, "Trust me, I've seen his future."
Sacrifice the teammates, boundless power, that describes people like Giyu Tomioka. As a Demon Slayer Corps Swordsman, sacrificing teammates was bound to happen. As long as he was stimulated by losing friends and changed his timid personality, his future trajectory wouldn't deviate much because of Sabito and the others being alive.
"Alright, but Kurozawa, do you know that your Master, as a Cultivator, actually has many responsibilities to bear?" Kanae changed the subject, bringing up Sakonji Urokodaki again.
Kurozawa's expression froze, then he said, "What?" He truly didn't understand the duties of a Cultivator.
Seeing Kurozawa look over, Kanae stopped and said seriously, "Cultivating Swordsmen for the Demon Slayer Corps is a Cultivator's job, but besides that, Cultivators are responsible for the actions of the Swordsmen they cultivate."
"If a Swordsman becomes a Man-Eating Demon or commits heinous evil deeds, their Cultivator is primarily responsible and will basically end it by taking their own life."
Hearing this made Kurozawa frown. "What kind of logic is that? Is there still collective punishment like this now?"
Kanae explained, "It's because the Demon Slayer Corps trusts the Cultivators, trusts their judgment, and believes in their recommendations. Prospective Swordsmen cannot participate in the selection trial without a Cultivator's recommendation. Furthermore, for a long time before that, Cultivators can judge the character of prospective Swordsmen, and those with poor character are eliminated."
"There is no collective punishment method in the Demon Slayer Corps. Taking their own life is mostly the Cultivator's choice. They believe they have failed the Demon Slayer Corps' trust and have become accomplices, so they atone for the harm caused to others by taking their own life."
"The Demon Slayer Corps does not encourage this, but they do not prevent it either, because it is indeed the Cultivator's mistake; their judgment was flawed. When a disciple commits evil deeds, someone has to pay the price."
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