Following the battle with Daki and Gyutaro, Pinkamena and the Hashira lead the others back to the Butterfly Mansion, all so they could make sure the wounded, which was all of her friends given what happened with the Upper Moon Demons not that long ago, and she knew the three of them would head to Kagaya once that was done. Nezuko, sensing that the battle was over, had returned to her smaller form and placed herself back in the box that Tanjiro carried almost all the time, and the bamboo had been returned to her mouth, just in case something happened when they reached their destination. At the same time Pinkamena knew that Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke had to be exhausted from battling Daki, given the power she had displayed when her brother had been awakened, so they would likely be contained in Shinobu's domain until they were ready to head out again. She also knew that, of the three of her friends, Tanjiro would no doubt send a letter to Hotaru, so he could set up a time to have the chipped edge of his blade fixed, though she had a feeling that the smith would only be upset with this information, instead of pleased that his client was asking for something else.
Obanai insisted on knowing the details of what happened in the Red Light District, especially since Tengen had lost an eye during their time fighting Upper Moon Six, where the Sound Hashira said nothing as they moved across Japan, though his wives did catch Tanjiro and the others, carrying Pinkamena's friends to the mansion.
Aoi was, as expected, annoyed that the boys were back already and that they had to admit them once more, even though she was surprised to find out why everyone, save Pinkamena, had been injured since she last saw them, because she had no idea that they would clash with an Upper Moon Demon. In the end she and the girls admitted the boys to their beds once more, where Pinkamena found that the three beds they had been in since coming here for the first time now had names on the ends of them, showing everyone that Shinobu expected them to return at some point. Of course Aoi tried to admit Tengen as well, so she could check out his scarred eye and the area around it, but he wouldn't have that and said he was perfectly fine, though he did check in his wives, as each one had been busy scouting out the area that Upper Moon Six had been in and he wanted to be sure they were fine. While the others did that Pinkamena made sure to pull out a sample of blood from both Daki and Gyutaro's bodies, having entered her personal realm for a time and used the Storehouse for a few seconds, before silently calling Tamayo's cat to her, slipped the vials inside the pouch it wore, and sent it off before any of the others noticed what she was doing.
Once that was done she found Tengen sending a message out, no doubt sending Kagaya word that they had done what a fair number of them must have felt was impossible, forcing the echelon of the Upper Moons, a faction that she knew had remained the same for at least a hundred years, to change at long last, or maybe he might be sending word that there was something he wanted to say to Kagaya and his fellow Hashira.
"What could you have discovered in the Red Light District that would require all this strange secrecy?" Obanai asked, as he, Tengen, and Pinkamena ended up sitting around a table, the Sound Hashira devouring food to get his energy back after all the fighting he had done, while he found that the Demon politely ate what he guessed was another Demon's arm, not like a barbaric Demon who just chomped down on every Human they came across.
"Obanai, I'm exhausted from fighting an Upper Moon Demon, especially siblings that shared the position," Tengen replied, which was mostly the truth, especially when he considered the fact that he would have been gravely wounded had it not been for his decision to seek out Pinkamena, whose powers had turned the tide of the battle in their favor, depriving Daki and Gyutaro of the victory they must have been seeking, "besides, we'll likely receive a crow soon, summoning us to meet with the other Hashira, and I'd rather not repeat myself too many times."
"Don't tell me, you figured out a way to kill our enemy? Is that why the Upper Moon tried to kill you?" Obanai inquired, due to the fact that Tengen's odd desire for silence annoyed him more than he was willing to admit, either because he and the others had found something that could turn the tide of their battle with the Demons, which would be nice, or he had some bit of news and didn't want to spoil the surprise just yet.
"If only it was that easy... no, we'll likely have to lure him out of his hole and fight him on our terms." Pinkamena remarked, though she could understand Obanai's curiosity, as she felt the same way as she focused on Tengen for a moment, as he had said nothing to her as well, so he must have thought of something while they fought Daki and Gyutaro, but that was when she finished her meal and returned the remainder to the Storehouse, "Maybe the death of an Upper Moon will draw him out of hiding... or maybe we'll have to do something else to force his hand... time will tell, since Muzan's been at this for a thousand years."
Obanai said nothing as he glanced at Pinkamena, who retracted her power and her Kitsune Form disappeared once more, just like she had done after first discovering the form and power, thanks to Akaza's foul action, meaning the Hashira likely saw the mask return, which was fine with her since she didn't have to explain anything. She thought back to what she had felt during the battle with Upper Moon Six, because her tails had changed number the moment she ate part of an arm, no doubt Daki's given how much she had been hacked apart, and she was able to determine that doing that had increased the number of tails she had. Such a thing meant that if she found and devoured part of Upper Moon Five she'd likely gain another tail and more power, and would likely happen for all of the other Kizuki that were following Muzan right now, so it gave her something else to look forward to, though devouring Muzan right now seemed like something she'd have to set to the side, as he'd likely eat her first, given his position. She also knew that she had to be careful, as too much power over a short period of time would corrupt anyone, and given the sheer twisted nature of demonic blood, well, there was a good chance that even she would fall if she devoured too much of an Upper Moon Demon, so taking it slow would make sure she stuck around for the battle with her target.
From what she could tell they were only sitting there for about thirty minutes before one of the crows arrived, calling for all of the Hashira to come to Kagaya's place, or at least where he would meet them since she knew that his location was a secret to everyone, and, to her surprise, Pinkamena found that she was being invited as well. Once they discovered that piece of information, much to the annoyance of Obanai, she made a stop outside the room her friends were in and found that all of them were sound asleep, which made sense given the fight they had been in not that long ago, before joining the Hashira. Without waiting for anyone to stop them they departed from the Butterfly Mansion, following the crow to the area that they would be meeting the leader of the Corps in, though another one joined them and flew near Pinkamena, as it had something to tell her, to use her power to hide their approach, so any Demons watching would lose them, and she nodded her head without delay. A few seconds later anyone watching would see that they disappeared from sight, leaving no tracks for others to follow, while she kept track of the crows as they lead the way to Kagaya, which would likely take the three of them through some mountain paths, a number of tree groves, and whatever else was between them and the well hidden domains of the one who lead the Corps.
They were moving for some time, though they had to stop every now and then so Tengen could rest since he hadn't had a chance to rest after defeating their enemies, before eventually finding where both crows were heading to, a mansion that was hidden in a nearby mountain range, either the same one they had been to before or another one, it was hard to tell, and all of the other Hashira were already present.
"Something major must have happened for all of us to be called here again." Shinobu commented, glancing towards the trio for a moment, as they were the last to arrive and that meant that the others must have been lingering in the nearby area, but that wasn't important right now as Pinkamena focused on what she and Tengen had to tell the others, though she was pleased to see that Obanai was keeping his mouth shut.
Before anyone else could say anything the little children of Kagaya appeared, one informing them that Kagaya was coming as two more sat by the main door, causing everyone to form the kneeling line once more, which was when the one who lead the Corps emerged from where he rested, the rot looking like it was eating more of his body, since his children were supporting him right now, and his wife stopped by Pinkamena for a few seconds.
"The rot has progressed further than we thought it would... is there anything you can do to ease his pain?" the lady asked, where Pinkamena could see that, while Kagaya's wife knew that she would lose her husband at some point in time, she was willing to ask her, a Demon with unusual powers, to give her and the Corps more time with Kagaya.
"I can make a Zone for him, to ease him back into the state he was in during the Hashira meeting, but I cannot promise anything in terms of healing the rot." Pinkamena replied, as while she knew that it was possible for her to heal people, due to what happened with Tengen earlier, she had no idea if the rot was something she could mess with at all, save for when she stopped it from spreading during her first meeting with the figure.
The lady, Amane, nodded her head and moved out of the way as Pinkamena walked up to where Kagaya was resting, as he had stopped where he sat during the meeting, and called forth her power once more, creating a smaller Room for the diseased man, something that caused Tengen and the other Hashira to watch as the rot decreased, retreating to what it had been like during their last meeting.
"Thank you, Pinkamena," Kagaya said, though it was easy for her to tell that he must have been coughing up blood not all that long ago, meaning the rot that was eating away at his body had to be wrecking some serious havoc on his organs and bones, and he definitely sounded grateful for the reprieve he had been given, though as they sat down he motioned for her to remain nearby, no doubt fearing that her power would be pulled away if she were further away, giving her a chance to heal his body.
As she sat down the usual greeting was given, though this time Tengen said it, no doubt because he had something that he wanted to tell everyone, so it made sense in his eyes to take the lead while everyone listened to what his news was, all while Pinkamena found that Obanai was watching her, just in case she harmed their leader.
"Allow me to explain my reasons for asking for this meeting to be held," Tengen said, something that drew the attention of everyone else to him, despite the fact that two of them knew what was going on and the crows who had witnessed their fight with Daki and Gyutaro were silent, sitting in a nearby tree as they watched, "the first reason is this: we, as in Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, Inosuke, Pinkamena, and I, fought and slew Upper Moon Six just a few hours ago."
While Obanai knew about the demise of an Upper Moon, a massive win for the Corps since Muzan had no Demons that could replace one, not for some time since he had disbanded the Lower Moons, the others were caught off guard and just stared at them in silence, clearly not believing that they had succeeded in such a thing. Tengen went on to explain how he found the Upper Moon, as they had followed a rumor that one of the crows had delivered to his residence and it lead him, and his three wives, to a Red Light District, as there were more than one in Japan, causing some Hashira to sigh, like none of them thought to search there. He explained how his wives had gone missing and he resorted to enlisting Pinkamena to help him not only track them down, which Tanjiro and his friends helped with, but also locate the Demon that was in the district, where originally they felt that it was multiple Demons. It wasn't until they started fighting the Upper Moon that he and the others realized there were just two Demons, Daki, the one they had been fighting the entire time, and Gyutaro, her brother, who came out when she was in trouble and made a mess of things.
As Tengen got close to finishing his tale, however, he threw in the fact that Pinkamena had saved the entire district, as in she copied the layout into her world, marked where everyone was supposed to be when night came, and then put all of the potential bystanders to sleep before moving them into her world, allowing them to fight the Upper Moon Demons with their full might, without having to worry about bystanders.
"Amazing... simply amazing. You guys beat an Upper Moon!" Kagaya remarked, sounding incredibly pleased with them for doing such a thing, though, due to his excitement, he coughed a few times and Pinkamena made sure he didn't cough up more of his blood in the process, as that was the last thing he needed right now, all while the man wore a smile on his face as he realized something important, "A hundred years... you guys have forced a situation that hasn't changed for over a hundred years to change... the upper echelon of the Twelve Kizuki has been altered at long last! I was right, the arrival of Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Pinkamena is the omen we've been waiting for, as fate is starting to change in a big way, and I have no doubt that the ripples that are spreading from this event will reach our foe's feet... with the death of an Upper Moon we might even achieve our goal within this generation."
It was a fact that caused many of the Hashira to pause, as the last time an Upper Moon had been slain their predecessors hadn't been able to find and kill Muzan, much less track down all of the remaining members of the Kizuki, but, with an ally like Pinkamena around, many felt like they had a chance at victory now.
"My other reason for asking for this meeting is this: after slaying the Upper Moon, my wives and I wish to retire from the front lines and live a quiet life," Tengen continued, as he knew that many of them were wondering what he he could have said and he could tell that most of the Hashira were surprised, though Pinkamena wasn't since he valued his wives over his own life, and if they wanted to retire at long last, which they did, then he'd join them, "and what I mean by that is that I'd like to become a Cultivator, seeking out skilled youths to train, much like Sakonji and Jigoro, so my Breathing Style can be passed on and used against our enemies in the future. Also, I understand that this will reduce the number of Hashira to seven, since we haven't filled Kyojuro's spot yet, so I would like to nominate Pinkamena as a replacement, not as one to take my place, but rather as the Chaos Hashira."
"Have you lost your mind? You want to make a Demon a Hashira?" Obanai inquired, which made sense that he'd oppose the idea, even though Pinkamena was surprised that Tengen would suggest such a thing as well, and she could tell that a few others were caught off guard, with Sanemi looking like he'd kill someone.
"She might be a Demon, but in her heart she's a Slayer, and a pretty good one since she tore one of the Upper Moons we fought to pieces," Tengen replied, referring to one of the Chaos Breathing Forms he had witnessed, where she tore Daki's brother apart with her well timed attack, as he had a feeling that if she stood with the other Hashira they would be able to do great things, especially since they had no idea what the future held for them, "besides, she's climbed the ranks faster than most of the youngsters that have joined us recently, so we might as well add her to our ranks... it might help the rest of the young Slayers push forward and prove themselves."
Kagaya seemed pleased with the idea of making Pinkamena into a Hashira, who simply bowed her head as she listened to them talk, though as everyone started to talk, however, she had to wonder what Muzan and the Upper Moons were doing right now, since it couldn't be good for them or the rest of Japan.
Akaza had been minding his own business, searching for clues as to where he might find the Blue Spider Lilly that he and the other Upper Moons were supposed to be looking for, when he found himself summoned into a familiar domain, the ever changing Infinity Castle. He knew that the Upper Moon Demons were rarely called to this place, as they weren't like the disappointments of the Lower Moons, who had been slain recently and possibly disbanded, given how terrible the last batch had been, rather he and the others of his echelon were called here for only two reasons. One was when the Great One had new orders to give them, like when he ordered them to search for the flower that would grant them what they all desired most, the ability to walk in the sun, starting with their master, while the other was more unthinkable, that one of the Upper Moon Demons had been slain. As he thought about that, however, he realized that what he considered to be an impossibility, given the power of the true Upper Moons, as he refused to consider Daki as a member of their order since her brother was far more skilled than her, wasn't true anymore, as Pinkamena was out there, hunting Demons, and if one of the Upper Moons had been slain he blamed it on her.
As he glanced around he found Nakime sitting in what seemed to be her usual spot, playing her instrument every now and then as she moved things around, meaning they would be meeting here and the other Upper Moons were on the way, but even then there was one Demon he was hoping to avoid, before he spotted a pot resting nearby.
"Well, well, if it isn't Akaza." a voice said, where the Demon who lived in the pot came out, a pale white skinned grotesque humanoid Demon who seemed to have no arms, while his head had his eyes and mouth warped, as he had small mouths where his eyes should be while one of his eyes was in the middle of his forehead and the other was his mouth, who he knew to be Gyokko, Upper Moon Five, "How have you been? Its been ninety years since we last saw each other, and the mere possibility of you dying made my heart leap... I mean, cringe with pain."
"This is quite terrifying... Gyokko has forgotten how to count since we last saw each other." another voice said, which came from one of the slanted staircases that existed in this world, where Akaza found a frail and old looking humanoid Demon who seemed to be cowering behind the railing of the stairs he was on, though he wore a black kimono and always looked like he was afraid of something, "We haven't been called here for a hundred and thirteen years... an indivisible number, an unlucky number... an odd number... terrifying indeed."
"Nakime, has either Lord Muzan or Upper Moon One arrived?" Akaza asked, because he honestly didn't care about Gyokko or Hantengu, the fearful Demon who stood among their number of Upper Moon Four, as his focus was on their master and why they were called to this place again, along with the Demon who stood as the greatest one between them and the Demon King.
"Hold on Akaza. Aren't you going to show some concern for me?" a voice inquired, an annoying one that Akaza wished he could be rid of, as it was the single Demon he despised more than anyone else, a Demon with pale golden hair, a red set of attire that could be crimson colored, not that Akaza cared that much about this particular Upper Moon, in fact he had been hoping that it was the one that had been done in, especially with his annoying rainbow colored eyes, "I was super worried about you guys... I mean, your my precious buddies, and I don't want anyone here to wane out now, not after all we've been through."
This was Doma, Upper Moon Two, also known as a pain in Akaza's backside and just so happened to be the one Demon he hated with all his heart, even though Doma seemed to act like they were friends, especially since he was friendly with most of the other members of their group, save for Kokushibo, Upper Moon One, who was friendly with no one. He and Gyokko were too friendly with each other, in fact Akaza was sure they were friends and shared ideas with each other, as the foul Demon claimed that he had a pot from Gyokko that he had planted a girl's severed head in, something that annoyed him more than he was willing to admit. Doma was always trying to make friends with him and everything he did just made him more annoyed with the Demon, especially when Akaza found his right arm around his neck, where he informed Doma to remove his arm and, upon being ignored, he punched the Demon hard in the mouth, crushing the area in question as he knocked him backward a little. All that did was cause Doma to comment on him getting a little bit stronger since they had last seen each other, all while quickly healing the wound to the point where it looked like nothing had happened, though all it did was piss him off even more and made him want to splatter Doma over the entire area they were in, despite the fact that he knew he couldn't kill him.
"Upper Moon One was the first to arrive... he has been here the whole time." Nakime said, something that caused Akaza to glance down across the way from where he was standing, finding another humanoid Demon resting in what looked like a room from a mansion that a normal Human would rest or live in, no doubt a reminder of his old life.
In the following moment, however, Kokushibo informed them that Lord Muzan had arrived and they glanced up at part of the ceiling, as Nakime had moved a laboratory over to where he and the others were positioned, allowing them to see that their master was in his main form, instead of a disguise, and each one prostrated themselves as he worked on a vial, likely an experiment of some kind.
"Gyutaro has fallen... the Upper Moons have waned." Muzan commented, once more sounding like he didn't care about anyone that wasn't himself, which was his normal mood given everything he had been through, though after seeing most of the Upper Moons it was easy for everyone else to determine who was missing.
"Oh, is that so? Well, I'm very sorry about that, especially since I introduced him to the Kizuki." Doma said, as he felt said to lose such a skilled Demon, because Gyutaro showed a lot of promise and could have gone on to replace either Gyokko or even Hantengu, before he considered something for a few seconds, "How can I apologize to you? Will you gouge out one of my eyeballs, or will you..."
"I don't need your eyeballs. I figured he'd lose, given that Pinkamena was his foe." Muzan remarked, something that lead to Akaza paying more attention immediately while the other Upper Moons raised their eyebrows for a moment, where he transferred one of the images he had received from Gyutaro, before his demise, allowing them to see Pinkamena in her kitsune state, only for Akaza to realize that she had four tails now, instead of three, "Even if Daki wasn't holding him back, and they fought together, neither of them would have been able to overcome her unusual might... she's a Demon whose joined the Corps and is now seeking all of us, so if you encounter you in your travels, to either put the Ubuyashiki Clan in the ground or find the Blue Spider Lilly, make sure to put her down as well."
Akaza listened as their master went on about how Gyutaro would have won had Pinkamena not been there, since he had his poison and could have killed his foes that way, and about the fact that a perfect being was someone that didn't change at all, as he really disliked change. It was clear that he was upset with them and had no idea why the Kizuki even existed in the first place, when none of them could complete any of the missions he had set for them, even if it was only the two he had asked them to complete, so everyone listened to him as he ranted. Only Gyokko seemed to have some information he claimed that might be useful in defeating the Corps, even though Muzan beheaded him during his rant and informed him that he could barely confirm the information he had discovered, so he was ordering Gyokko and Hantengu to head out on the information he claimed would be beneficial to him. Once that was done, and he dropped the Demon's head, Muzan disappeared as quickly as he appeared, meaning the mission was the same as before, find either his enemy and bury the family or find and claim the flower he was looking for, which most of the Upper Moons would do to the best of their ability and wouldn't rest until one of them succeeded in pleasing their master.
As they started to go about their own business, however, Doma started to bother Gyokko and Akaza moved in to deal with him, though he had a feeling that one of them was going to bump into Pinkamena in the near future, where he decided to focus on the here and now and leave any thoughts about the future till he was done with Doma.