Demon Slayer : The Silent Journey-Chapter 146: New Era and players

[3rd POV]

"Come down here right this instance!!" Jigoro screamed in rage while looking up at a tall tree on the hill.

Actually, the tree was not so tall but his short height made it look like so.

"NO! I'd rather stay here than swing the sword one more time," A young boy with yellow hair replied with tears and snot on his face. He was genuinely afraid to come down from the tree.

"If you don't come down young man, you will stay on that tree the whole night!" Jigroro screamed louder, "I swear I won't open the door for you!"

"That's fine. I will live here now. I will be part of nature, spending my days in one place and resting forever," Zenitsu replied, tightening his hug on the tree so that he could merge with nature.

"Oh, the demons would love that, wouldn't they? Sure you will become nature but that would be through becoming demon's shit! Rest in peace!!" Jigoro said finally before he turned around to leave.

"Whatever, good luck!"

"No wait!! You can't leave me here! You won't leave me here!" Zenitsu reached out, trying to stop Jigoro as he walked away from the tree.

"I'm basically your grandson!"

You would think that after being hit by lighting due to climbing a tree, he would stop but no, Zenistu's cowardice and laziness defied all expectations.

"I don't give a rat's ass and neither will the demons!" Jigoro waved without turning around.

In the end, Zenitsu climbed down the tree in such a hurry that he fell down. Hearing that, Jigoro immediately turned around and ran up to the boy he considered a grandson with eyes full of concern.

"Zenitsu!! Zenitsu my boy are you alright!" Jigoro scrambled in panic when the boy did not move and remained unconscious on the ground.

No, wait a minute.

"Damn BRAT!!" Jigoro punched his guts and Zenitsu immediately stopped pretending with a scream of pain.

"You think you can fool this veteran with your lousy tricks!!" Jigoro raised his walking staff to beat the boy but he slipped the attack and ran away to save his skin.

"You merciless old goat!" Zenitsu ran while screaming.

"Why you brat!!" Jigoro followed.

The chase continued for a few minutes until Jigoro smirked, deciding it to be enough.

"Thunder Breathing : First form,"

"Thunderclap and flash!!"

An explosion erupted from his only leg and Jigoro shot out like a bullet. Zenitsu turned back to see his master coming closer and closer rapidly and with a scream that sounded like a girl's he shot out too.

"Thunder Breathing : First Form!"

*BOOOM!!*

*BOOOM!!*

Zenitsu used the same breathing style to run away and the chase continued. They blitz around the forest, leaving cracks of thunder in their wake. One mistake could lead to the end of the race since they were moving so quickly.

Jigoro had his experience while Zenitsu had his youth and two legs. They were nearly equal in speed as the chase continued until the sun fell low on the horizon.

This was the type of training Zenitsu required. The young boy was none the wiser about the fact that Jigoro had tricked him into training hard yet again.

The old man had nothing but a proud smirk throughout the day. After lighting struck Zenitsu, he was the second most talented pupil he ever had. The first place was reserved for the purple boy that he met years ago.

"Haaa....haaa....haaaa..." Zenitsu breathed like the air was limited resources. He was lying in front of their house and you could see two big lumps on his head from the beating he received from Jigoro.

Jigoro too could barely hold on. He put on a mask of confidence despite wanting to pass out. That was just how talented Zenitsu was without even trying.

"Go on, wash yourself while I prepare dinner. We will sleep early tonight!!"

"Wait really!!" Zenitsu immediately shot up with excitement. It would seem that he was putting on the act of being exhausted again so that Jigoro wouldn't sentence him to more training after catching him.

"Yes, we will be traveling North, to the Demon Slayer Headquarters and the Butterfly Mansion. There is someone I want us to meet,"

An old student whom he heard was injured in his battle with the Demon King recently. It was a long time since he met that scary boy.

It would also do good for Zenitsu to meet the pillars of humanity. Maybe he would be more motivated after seeing them.

The war was changing. The Demon King revealed himself and he was even forced to flee in the battle of Gifu - The Failed Purge.

Humanity had reached a point they had never seen before and the demons would undoubtedly fight back. The creatures of the night would do more than hunt to eat, they would hunt solely to kill.

In such times, the future generations need to be stronger than ever.

He looked at Zenitsu who was skipping happily to wash himself near the well. He smiled and thought to himself that at least the Thunder Pillar would not need to worry about the next generation.

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[3rd POV]

(Infinity Castle)

When Akaza suddenly found himself in the unfamiliar room of the Infinity Castle, the only thing he could think of was how he was expecting it.

He had been expecting a summon ever since he heard of that hilarious news about what happened between their master and the humans.

The humans of this generation had proved themselves again and again to be unlike their predecessors. They were more than just prey they could hunt, they were enemies.

Although it was a bad situation, Akaza had a hard time thinking so.

He was filled with nothing but a thirst for battle. He wanted to see these humans which could make Muzan Kibutsuji retreat from a fight.

Akaza stopped his train of thought when he felt a tug in his brain. It was guiding him to a place where they would meet.

He jumped on room after room, sometimes staying in place to allow the natural shifting of the rooms to carry him to his destination until eventually, he came upon Muzan and the remaining Upper Moon.

"Kokushibo...." Akaza spat out when he unexpectedly locked eyes with the Upper Moon 1.

Kokushibo had never shown himself before but now here he was, standing amongst them with his hands on his sword like an active warrior.

'Wait,' Akaza blinked when he sensed the thirst for battle, similar to his, emanating from Kokushino.

For as long as he remembered, Kokushibo was nothing but a ball of nothingness and stoicism. He was an unmoving layer of power that he would surpass one day.

But strangely, Kokushibo felt like a fellow warrior today.

... Akazak nearly vibrated with excitement because of that.

"You have finally gathered," Muzan's voice emanated throughout the dimension. He was sitting in front of a business table, looking through the papers as if his underlings were not worth his whole attention.

It was funny actually, that he was trying to act so intimidating after he had run away from humans with tails between his leg-

The thought alone cost his head. Akaza moved in time to catch his own head as it rolled off his neck.

"Do not test my patience with your insolence, Akaza," Muzan said, his crimson eyes locking on the demon and bringing him to his knees.

Akaza felt his entire body burn up like he was drowning in lava. Every cell of his body was not of his own and they screamed at him to remind him that. He was owned by another entity.

Pain so immense flowed through his nerves. It was enough to drive a sane mind insane.

But Akaza released absolutely no sound.

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Even with such defiance still in his eyes, the pain receded after a few minutes. Muzan raised an eyebrow at his unbreakable will.

"I hope you show the same spirit against the Hashira," he said idly.

Muzan's eyes fell on the Upper Moon once more, or at least what remained of it. The Upper Moon was lacking in number and that was one of his main issues. If he were to attack the humans again, he needed his whole army.

Kokoshibo, Akaza, Hantengu and Nakime. Those were the only existing Upper Moon at the moment.

"Listen carefully and heed my command," Muzan began and the four demons could feel every cell in their freezing and obeying his words.

"You shall set out on a mission to seek out powerful demons to become one of the Twelve Kizukis. Make a new demon, train the existing ones, whatever you do I do not care. It is time we fill our ranks again." Muzan said.

"And from today onwards, there shall be no more Lower Moon. I shall grant my blood to all that could take it, and not only to those who deserve it,"

Muzan Kibutsuji could have more than six Upper Moons. There were demons in the Lower Moons who were strong enough to absorb more blood from him but all this time he had been favoring quality over quantity. It was a show of his perfectionism.

But not was not time for such pickiness.

Now was the time to prepare for war.

"I shall give you a year. Do not disappoint me,"

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Author : I'm in the middle of board exam😭😭.

I will update another Chapter soon so give me stones. I don't think anyone else will write Chapters while facing board exams.