Chapter 34 Muzan’s Panic – Where Did the Sea Tower Stone Come From?

Two raven messengers took off from the Totsuki family estate, flying at great speed to the Demon Slayer Corps’ headquarters and the Swordsmith Village, respectively.

Atsushi Yōzai did not leave, but instead sent one raven to the headquarters of the Demon Slayer Corps to deliver a message, summoning all the Hashira and swordsmiths who were not on missions to secretly gather around Tōtsuki Academy, and to remain hidden.

Atsushi Yōzai understood Muzan Kibutsuji’s nature very well. Once Muzan learned of Lord Li Yang’s existence, he would definitely be disturbed, doing everything he could to kill him as quickly as possible! Therefore, in order to ensure Lord Li Yang’s safety, Atsushi Yōzai prepared to have the Demon Slayer Corps secretly hide around Tōtsuki Academy.

Meanwhile, the other raven, which was headed to the Swordsmith Village, carried a message for the eccentric blacksmith, Kōtetsu Tsuka, instructing him to bring his similarly strange Nichirin sword and head quickly to Tōtsuki Academy.

Far away in Infinity Castle, Muzan Kibutsuji had an unusual dream, the first in a long while. It was not one, but two dreams! And both were nightmares!

In the first dream, he saw a blazing sun appear before him, its scorching rays almost burning him alive. Any struggle was futile! Muzan screamed and cried out in horror in his dream, but he could only watch helplessly as his body was slowly consumed by the sun’s fire.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the nightmare faded, and Muzan in his dream exhaled in relief. However, before he could calm himself, a huge and majestic white phoenix suddenly appeared, and its sharp claws tore his body to pieces.

The next moment, Muzan woke up in fright. Sweat covered his forehead, and his scarlet eyes were filled with uncontrollable terror.

“What a terrifying nightmare… It felt so real… This is not ordinary, this is something special!”

Muzan, now awake, felt no sense of relief. Instead, an overwhelming sense of unease and worry surged in his heart.

“These two nightmares must be a warning of something… Am I in great danger?”

“Who could bring me such a strong sense of crisis?”

“The Demon Slayer Corps?”

Despite still feeling panicked, Muzan couldn’t help but let out a sneer.

“Just those weaklings from the Demon Slayer Corps want to kill me? What a joke!”

“Since it’s not the Demon Slayer Corps, then who could it be? Could it be some passing deity who doesn’t like me and plans to casually destroy me?”

Muzan still remembers that more than a hundred years ago, when he saw that the land of China was weak and overrun by demons and monsters, he thought about taking a piece of the pie for himself. But he almost got beaten to tears by a soul ferryman!

It took him a long time to realize that, while China seemed chaotic on the surface, it was secretly protected by many powerful experts and deities.

These masters and deities would not interfere if the chaos was internal, among their own people. However, if any external supernatural force tried to intervene, the more merciful ones would simply cut off the extended hand, and the unfortunate ones would cut off both the hand and its owner.

Since then, Muzan learned his lesson. He would never again provoke forces he could not afford to cross. He shrank back to his own small territory in the Land of the Rising Sun, Japan.

Additionally, he tried to make alliances with dark forces in Japan, who were also considered villains, such as the likes of “monsters.”

These included creatures like Opheno, the demonic Wō, strange insects, hybrids, and other evil beings that opposed the Kamen Riders. Muzan also made connections with “zombie” factions, like the “ghouls” that feed on human flesh, much like his own undead kind.

Speaking of monsters, Muzan suddenly remembered a monster he knew that could predict fate.

“Perhaps it can help me with these dreams!”

Soon, Muzan left Infinity Castle and arrived at a massive circus tent. Inside the tent, aside from the central circus performances, there were also small compartments around the edges where different businesses operated.

Muzan quickly found his target, a small compartment hidden behind a curtain. As soon as he sat down, a raspy voice came from inside.

“Heh, you cursed thing, you’re about to die!”

These words caused Muzan to panic, and he hurriedly asked, “What did you foresee?”

There was silence from within the compartment. Muzan pulled a piece of gold from his pocket and handed it over. The raspy voice spoke again.

“What do you want me to foresee?”

Muzan described the two nightmares he had experienced. The raspy voice responded again.

“I see… The true enemy who can kill you has appeared!”

Muzan was horrified and shocked, even his face twisted in fear.

An enemy who can kill him?

In an instant, the figure of Yūri Tsukimura appeared in his mind. Though it had been over a thousand years, the memory of that man still lingered in his mind, even filling him with fear.

In the hands of Yūri Tsukimura, he had truly experienced moments where his life hung by a thread!

But now…

Someone else could threaten his life?

“Who is he? Where is he?”

The small compartment fell silent for a moment before the raspy voice slowly spoke again, “Look behind you. The first person you see is your enemy.”

In that instant, Muzan was truly frightened half to death. Even though he had five hearts, his heartbeat felt like it was about to explode.

How could he be so close to a life-and-death enemy?

Muzan immediately leapt to his feet, looking behind him with extreme caution. In the distance, there was a large screen displaying news about Li Yang.

Despite being on high alert, Muzan’s gaze still unconsciously swept over the screen and then nervously scanned the crowd around him. It felt as though anyone could be his enemy, and he wanted to kill everyone in the room. But then, suddenly, Muzan had a realization.

Who was the first person he saw?

After a full minute of hesitation, Muzan snapped out of it and looked up in shock, staring intently at Li Yang’s handsome face on the screen.

“Is this my enemy?”

At the same time, a person wearing a conical hat, with a ring of wind chimes around the brim and dressed like a traveling monk, arrived at the Totsuki estate. He carried a long bundle tied to his back.

“My name is Kōtetsu Tsuka, and I’m here to deliver the Nichirin sword I forged for Lord Li Yang.”

The voice under the conical hat was clear and steady, but it felt as though the person was talking to himself, completely ignoring those around him.

Until…

Atsushi Yōzai appeared at the door, his face warm as he smiled and said, “Ah, it’s Tsuka, come right in!”

At that moment, Li Yang clearly saw Kōtetsu Tsuka freeze, his right foot nervously twitching a few times. If he weren’t wearing shoes, this guy would have probably embarrassed himself by digging a hole in the floor!

Kōtetsu Tsuka hated his own name, feeling it was too feminine, and didn’t allow anyone to use his full name.

But…

The one who had just called him by his full name was the leader of the Demon Slayer Corps!

Kōtetsu Tsuka reluctantly removed his conical hat, revealing the long-nosed mask he wore, and slowly opened the bundle on his back.

“This Nichirin sword is my most proud and unique creation…” He said.

“Some people don’t take care of their swords and let them get damaged in all kinds of ways, so I decided to make a sword that would never break!”

“So, besides using the usual materials like ‘Gorilla Crimson Sand Iron’ and ‘Gorilla Crimson Ore’ to forge the Nichirin sword, I also added Melk Star Dust and Sea Tower Stone…”

Li Yang was stunned.

“Sea Tower Stone?”

How could there be Sea Tower Stone in this world?

He had never noticed anything related to the “One Piece” anime in this world. There were no pirates, no pirate crews—only a few scattered pirate groups existing in specific regions.

But where did Sea Tower Stone come from?