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"Speaking of which, on the surface, those daimyo and nobles do seem more suited to sit on the throne than shinobi." Kaito said in a tone utterly devoid of sincerity.
"They probably think so too. But that's not how it works." King Enma shook his head. "The operation of the Yellow Springs and Hell follows strict rules and regulations—everything must be carried out in exact accordance with those regulations. That is an iron law!"
Izuna smiled. "Yet those political creatures are best at being slick and making compromises—exactly the opposite of how things work in Hell."
Kaito suddenly remembered something and asked curiously, "Did Your Majesty really let the people of the living world watch Hell's recruitment convention live?"
"That's right." King Enma suddenly broke into a broad grin.
"And I did it using your identity, Kaito"
"What?" Kaito's expression changed instantly.
"What on earth did you do using my name?!"
King Enma explained, "I used your identity to set up illusion arrays simultaneously in the five great shinobi villages, the capitals of the five great nations, and even on the moon, broadcasting the spectacular scenes of Hell's recruitment convention in real time."
"Would the people of the living world really believe that suddenly appearing images were truly scenes from Hell? And wouldn't something like that cause riots?"
Even Izuna hadn't expected King Enma to be the type who actually follows through the moment he says something—directly revealing Hell to the eyes of the living world.
On the surface it sounded like nothing much, but the more you thought about it, the more terrifying it was.
"Hahaha…"
King Enma laughed heartily. "Because right now, Kaito's identity is just too convenient! After all, you're the Savior of the World! And everyone is extremely curious about the newly re-opened Hell!"
"They just… accepted it that easily?" Kaito was still shocked.
"I directly selected a few people and let them speak face-to-face across the array with their deceased loved ones. Plus, many of the shinobi here in Hell were quite famous while they were alive."
King Enma winked.
"I see. You definitely made heavy use of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama's popularity." Kaito curled his lip.
"No wonder they said he was the most popular candidate."
He now fully understood King Enma's strategy.
"As expected of Kaito—you and I are perfectly in sync." King Enma smiled with narrowed eyes.
"Naturally." Kaito replied with a smile that did not reach his eyes.
"..."
Izuna watched Kaito banter with "himself" and decided not to interrupt for the time being.
Fortunately, Kaito quickly changed the topic. "By the way, has that miniature divine tree been planted?"
King Enma replied, "Rest assured. I've already taken care of everything, including the link between the divine tree and that other dimension."
"Good." Kaito smiled in satisfaction. "Now I finally have the confidence to fight the Ōtsutsuki clan head-on in space."
After the meal, the three of them found a quiet room to sit down and drink tea.
They had barely settled in when there was a knock at the door.
"Come in."
King Enma called out.
Chiri pushed the door open and stepped inside, smiling warmly at Kaito and Izuna.
"Welcome back."
"Ah, we're back. How have you been lately, Lady Chiri?"
Kaito was genuinely happy to see Chiri.
"Come join us for tea!"
Izuna waved Chiri over to sit down.
"I've been well. So, how was Little Kaito's journey to the other world?"
Chiri sat, accepting the teacup Kaito handed her.
"Ah, I haven't talked about my experiences in that other world yet, have I?"
Kaito grew animated and recounted everything that had happened during his time there, sparing no detail.
"I see." King Enma nodded. "No wonder Lord Hakuten invited you."
Chiri sighed with emotion. "The differences between worlds really are enormous. Still, it's fortunate that Little Kaito met so many good people and gained such precious things."
"Yeah." Kaito smiled softly. "The members of the Demon Slayer Corps—they're all good people."
Izuna, however, added, "Speaking of which, Kaito, you probably don't know what happened to those demons here in Hell, do you?"
"Hm? After seeing Lord Hakuten, I can pretty much guess."
Kaito suddenly remembered and felt a twinge of regret.
"Looks like I came back too quickly last time and didn't get the chance to go take a look."
"Hmph. No matter what kind of creature they were, after going through those punishments, it's hard to keep their original will intact."
Izuna said.
"Especially Muzan. Even though he was the leader of the demons, his willpower wasn't even as strong as some of his Upper Moons. He completely broke after just a few rounds of punishment."
"That's not surprising. That guy was just someone with the strongest survival instinct and extreme selfishness." Kaito said with disdain.
"He merely obtained great power; at his core, he's an utterly ordinary weakling."
"But this experience made me understand even more clearly what kind of mindset beings called 'gods' truly have."
Kaito smiled helplessly.
"To the people of that country, the heavy shadow that had hung over them for thousands of years originated from nothing more than a game between gods."
King Enma, however, remained completely unconcerned. "What made you think gods would ever care about humans? Especially great gods like Amaterasu-ōmikami and Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto. Their existence doesn't depend on faith; human will is naturally meaningless to Them."
"Yet in the end, defeating Muzan still required borrowing Amaterasu's power."
Izuna laughed.
"I thought for sure you'd stubbornly finish him off with Susanoo."
"That was my original plan."
Kaito spread his hands.
"Tsukuyomi created Muzan and granted him the protection of his own night.
He sent down the blue spider lilies infused with the power of the moon god, yet deliberately kept them just out of Muzan's reach.
Amaterasu, meanwhile, was in charge of killing Muzan—letting sunlight become his doom.
It was nothing more than a game between the sister and brother."
Kaito rested his cheek on his hand as he spoke.
"I had indeed planned to end Muzan with Susanoo, since the technique itself borrows the name of Susanoo-no-Mikoto."
"That would have been a good idea." King Enma nodded with interest. "Why should those two leave out their littlest brother?"
"But in the end, I gave up."
Kaito lowered his eyes.
"I suddenly realized—that wasn't my world.
No matter what, I was only a passer-by.
And within the Demon Slayer Corps, I saw many ordinary people with dazzling, radiant souls.
To the gods high above, man-eating demons were just a game. To me, it was merely a farce.
But to those ordinary people who gave everything they had just to survive, who risked their lives to slay demons—that was the result of a thousand years of resistance."
A gentle smile appeared on Kaito's face.
"I thought… for those ordinary people, they needed to be able to accept the final outcome with peace of mind."
"So in the end you activated the power that had accumulated within the Nichirin Blades of the Demon Slayer Corps?"
Chiri looked at Kaito with quiet gratification.
"You've changed a lot, Little Kaito. The old you would never have considered something like this. Is it because you spent time with gentle people… that you've learned gentleness too?"