Demon Slayer: Upper 0 seems to be a waste

Chapter 126: Zhuhe Meeting (1)

The environment, which was not quiet to begin with, became even more lively as more and more people arrived.

Some were reminiscing, some were chatting, some were exchanging information, some were about to fight, and of course, some wanted to stop the fight or had already started it.

"Tomioka, you really deserve a beating—what do you mean by different from us? Do you really think you're so great? I'm going to break your arms and legs and then twist your neck!"

This is the voice of Busui River.

"Hey hey hey... The lord is coming soon, it's not a good time to fight now..."

This is the sound of Ganlu Temple.

"Tomioka needs a lesson, just ignore him."

This is Iguro's voice.

"We're all members of the Demon Slayer Corps! Fighting is wrong! We need to work together!"

The easiest voice to identify is, of course, the voice of the younger Purgatory.

In this atmosphere, Tanjiro couldn't even feel nervous anymore. They were both pillars, but whether it was last time or this time, the atmosphere between them was so strange...

The courtyard, which was not narrow, was filled with such a group of energetic people, so it seemed a bit crowded for some reason.

It was the voices of the two girls that stopped the fight that could have broken out at any moment.

"Your lord has arrived."

The soft and gentle voice succeeded in making everyone in the courtyard turn their heads, and the moment they saw the figure of the person coming, they half-knelt on the ground respectfully.

Although it was not the first time he had seen such a scene, Tanjiro still couldn't help but be surprised. Such a group of people were easily and completely controlled by a man like the lord. Even Mr. Rengoku and Mr. Urokodaki followed suit and saluted.

"It's a beautiful day today... Thank you for calling everyone here at a time when the Pillar Meeting shouldn't be held."

"It's not hard work, but I feel honored to be able to help my lord and solve his problems. This is what we should do."

This was not the first time that Tanjiro saw Busei speak, but even after seeing it once, he still found it hard to accept. Just a minute ago, he looked like he was ready to break Mr. Giyu's neck, but now he was speaking seriously and respectfully more than anyone else. He looked like a well-educated, obedient and sensible child.

"Excuse me, but I can't help but be curious. Why did you choose this time to gather together and call in the retired pillars?"

Shimi raised his head, his voice still much calmer than usual, and his eyes naturally looked at the man standing in front of him.

"That's exactly what I was saying. Tanjiro and Kyojuro brought back important news. They encountered two Upper Ranks, Upper Rank Three and Upper Rank Zero..."

The news told in a calm tone was like a stone thrown into a lake, easily causing ripples that echoed across the entire surface of the lake.

"Upper Rank...Zero?"

"Hey, hey, hey, aren't the Twelve Demon Moons ranked from one to six? The strongest lower moon is Lower Moon One, and the strongest upper moon is Upper Moon One. What's with Upper Moon Zero? Rengoku, is there something wrong with your eyes?"

"Upper Zero? This news doesn't sound grand at all!"

"Hey? Why is there a zero? Aren't there only one to six?"

The noise of discussion filled the air uncontrollably, but as Ubuyashiki put his finger to his lips, the entire place instantly fell silent.

"I know everyone has many questions, and I'm surprised by this as well. Upper Rank Zero is a being we haven't seen in thousands of years. How strong is he, and why is he written as zero? These are all mysteries, so I've invited the former Pillars who once worked with him. I hope everyone can understand this information."

Everyone's gaze naturally shifted to Urokodaki and Rengoku who were standing aside.

"As the lord said, I did encounter that boy many years ago. However, even with my many years of experience battling demons, I could not tell that the boy named Rinkou was a demon. I only discovered that he had the products of blood demon magic left by other demons on his body, so I once thought that he was the prey of an evil demon."

The first one to speak out was Urokodaki. His tone was calm, but it couldn't hide the heaviness that was revealed in it.

Since someone had started it, naturally someone had to continue. His gaze fell from Urokodaki to Rengoku. The man frowned and had a stern face, his expression was terrible, but he finally spoke.

"I met him when I was young, just after I became the Flame Pillar. I've known him for many years, and I doubted his identity at first. But he wasn't afraid of the smell of wisteria flowers, and he showed an interest in human food. He could distinguish the taste of food just like a human, so I thought he was just a child with poor health."

Compared to Urokodaki, Rengoku's tone was much worse. The more he spoke, the tighter his brows furrowed, and the more irritated he looked.

"Wait, Rinko...boy..."

In the brief silence, Busei suddenly made a sound. He felt that he had heard this name before, but it seemed to be a memory from a long time ago. He had met too many people and even more ghosts. He needed to think to awaken the memory of the encounter on the train.

"Hey, Purgatory, isn't that the boy we met before?"

"Yes! That's him! His name is Rinko!"

Kyojuro's affirmation made Busui look genuinely surprised.

It is difficult to imagine something you have not experienced just by listening to other people's narration, so before recalling that meeting, Uzui felt it was unrealistic that they could not recognize a boy as a ghost. But as his memory was recovered, he did not feel that there was anything wrong with that meeting.

"Hmm? Has Shiya met him too?"

Ubuyashiki asked naturally.

"Yes... yes. Many years ago, Rengoku and I met him on the train on our way back home. He got off in Asakusa. At the time, I just thought he was talking nonsense, but it was hard to tell he was a ghost."

Admitting such an oversight wasn't easy, but when Buzugawa thought about it, it felt more like a sense of hindsight than anything else. Could Upper Rank Zero be so powerful, able to completely blind their senses?

"Shimi, there's no need to feel guilty about this. It's not your fault. If it happened to just one person, it could be explained. But if no one else could detect it, it only means that Upper Rank Zero, Rinkou, does, like Muzan, possess the ability to disguise himself as a human. But this isn't entirely bad news. I called everyone here because I've received many clues about Rinkou. Many people have encountered him, but the conclusions they reached are surprisingly consistent... Rinkou, unlike other demons, does not harbor any ill will towards humans."

"A demon with no ill will towards humans? How is that possible? That doesn't sound fancy at all. He's a demon, an Upper Rank Zero at that."

Tianyuan crossed his arms, his expression a little subtle.

"I can't believe this. Wanting to be friends with humans sounds suspicious. Even from my lord, such words are truly surprising."

Iguro's voice also clearly expressed his dissatisfaction.

Tanjiro looked at the opposition around him and felt that all this was like a repeat of what happened to Nezuko.

"I met Rinkou before. If he really wanted to kill people, I wouldn't be alive now! But he didn't do that! Even when everyone was asleep at night, he couldn't fall asleep because of the pain from eating human food, so he just curled up in the bed, not wanting to disturb anyone! A child like that wouldn't really want to kill humans! Maybe he's like Nezuko, and he doesn't need to eat humans to survive!"

Tanjiro's voice became more and more excited, and the more he spoke, the more he felt that his idea was possible. Of course, such a fantastic idea was opposed the next second.

"Impossible. He's Upper Rank Zero. Lower Ranks are demons that have eaten countless people. Upper Ranks are more hateful and powerful than those Lower Ranks. He's an Upper Rank. This alone means he can't be a demon that hasn't eaten humans."

Sanemi immediately shot down Tanjiro's nonsense.

"No, it's not impossible. My sister and I met that kid named Lin Guang when we were little. He once saved his injured father, who was covered in blood. If he really wanted to eat people, he wouldn't have done that. Later, my sister and I often went to see him. If he wanted to hurt us, he would have done it long ago."

Tanjiro didn't expect that Shinobu Kocho would agree with his point of view, but when he looked up at Miss Shinobu, he didn't get the other's look.

"I think everyone's ideas make sense, but I have another idea. Aside from Muzan, the most powerful demons have always been the Twelve Demon Moons under his command, ranked from one to six, divided into upper and lower. Upper Moon Zero... Zero, perhaps, doesn't mean he's more powerful than One. Perhaps he simply has some unique quality that Muzan can't give up, like how he's unaware of his demonic identity. Perhaps he has some other qualities that attract Muzan. That's why he's given the name Zero."