Based on Yosuzume's report, the strength of that oni-class great demon was already more than enough to completely overwhelm the Seven Travelers.
In fact, even Gyokushō himself knew the truth all too well—if he were forced to face the Seven Travelers at the same time, the odds would be stacked heavily against him. Victory would be unlikely.
The yokai he had personally selected and brought from Shikoku were never meant to be ordinary.
Aside from Sodegami, every other member of the Seven Travelers possessed strength at least at the C+ tier.
And yet such a lineup had been utterly crushed by a single individual.
Worse still, only Yosuzume had managed to escape alive.
There was no denying it—this news finally shattered the calm, gentlemanly façade Gyokushō had maintained all this time, plunging him into uncontrollable rage.
A true schemer didn't concern himself with trivial sentiments.
To Gyokushō, the Seven Travelers had always been nothing more than tools for fulfilling his ambition.
Even if all of them had died, he wouldn't have shed a single tear—he wouldn't even have felt sad.
But the timing couldn't have been worse.
No matter how expendable they were, the Seven Travelers were still his core combat force.
He had confidently declared war on the Nura Clan, fully believing the Seven Travelers would easily take down the Oni Combat Academy.
And now Yosuzume was telling him that not only had the Oni Combat Academy failed to fall, but the Seven Travelers had been annihilated instead.
Then what the hell was he supposed to fight the Nura Clan with tonight?
Not only had the planned Oni Combat Academy failed to become his asset, he had lost his strongest fighters in the process.
Gyokushō was confident he could defeat the Nura Clan's useless third-generation heir—but the Nura Clan had far too many yokai. Even if he killed them one by one, he'd still be fighting until dawn.
So how many subordinates did he have left now?
Aside from a handful of loosely gathered local forces, there was only Yosuzume, a single survivor.
And even that lone survivor was crippled—missing one wing, Yosuzume's strength was probably no better than that of an average yokai.
The Whip Ape, who had killed the Nura Clan executive Sarubō, had also gone completely silent. Most likely dead.
Which meant that while Gyokushō wasn't quite a commander without troops, what he had left were little more than bottom-tier fodder.
Running back to Shikoku in disgrace was out of the question.
Gyokushō still cared about his reputation.
He had already talked big—if he slunk back now, forget becoming the Lord of One Hundred Demons. He wouldn't be able to survive in yokai society at all.
"…That oni from the Oni Combat Academy," Gyokushō asked slowly,
"is it really that strong? Then if we tried cooperating with them… do you think it's possible?"
At this point, only three paths lay before him.
The first was to swallow his pride—perform a strategic retreat, return to Shikoku, gather forces, and fight another day.
The second was to charge headfirst into battle, using inferior strength to challenge the Nura Clan directly.
The third—
Find a powerful ally, defeat the Nura Clan together, and then stab that ally in the back afterward.
Yes.
After learning of Ren Kuroda and the Oni Combat Academy's true strength, Gyokushō's first thought wasn't revenge for Inugami and the others.
It was whether cooperation was possible.
Just as before, the Seven Travelers had merely been tools.
If the Oni Combat Academy could help him reach the same goal, then they stood on equal footing.
"I believe it's still worth trying," Yosuzume said after a brief pause, offering his thoughts.
"This Oni Combat Academy is clearly powerful, yet it exists within Nura Clan territory without ever clashing with them. That alone is extremely strange."
"Either they have an exceptionally good relationship with the Nura Clan…
or they're harboring a grand ambition of their own—quietly amassing strength, waiting to deliver a fatal blow."
The implication was clear.
If it was the first case, cooperation was impossible.
But if it was the second—then as fellow ambition-driven forces with a common enemy, an alliance was entirely feasible.
In short, it was worth attempting negotiations.
After all, they had no better options left.
That night, the ukiyo-e district was more desolate than ever before.
Pitch-black darkness swallowed the streets. Aside from a few dim streetlights, there wasn't a single human in sight.
Of course, this "emptiness" only applied to humans.
For yokai, tonight was a rare festival of blood and power.
Following Gyokushō's declaration of war, the Nura Clan had entered full combat readiness.
The reason the city had been cleared was simple—the Nura Clan had asked the local land god to drive away nearby civilians.
Tonight, this place belonged to yokai.
If an ordinary human were caught in the crossfire, death would be inevitable.
After the death of executive Sarubō, the Nura Clan's Supreme Commander, Nurarihyon, had vanished without explanation.
Thus, the burden of leadership now rested on the shoulders of the third-generation heir—
Nura Rikuo, grandson of the Slippery Hag.
As a dense wave of yōki flooded the street, a strikingly handsome youth with silver-and-black hair emerged, leading the Hyakki Yagyō behind him.
This wasn't some petty scuffle like the battle with the Old Rat Group.
Even Kurotabō and the others behind Rikuo wore grave expressions.
The Eighty-Eight Demon Night Parade of Shikoku had always been second only to the Nura Clan's Hyakki Yagyō.
And since the death of the second-generation leader Nura Rihan, the Nura Clan had steadily weakened.
Whether they could still stand against Shikoku's forces was uncertain.
Worse still, at this critical moment, Nurarihyon had disappeared.
Although Rikuo had stepped up, he was still far too young.
And without full recognition from the clan's executives, tonight's battle would rely solely on the Nura Clan's main house.
The enemy's strength remained unclear—but the Seven Travelers alone were already leagues above the Old Rat Group.
Not to mention Gyokushō himself—the son who perfectly inherited the bloodline of the great Hidden God Gyōbu Tanuki.
Facing such an opponent, no one could possibly feel relaxed.
After all, leading them tonight wasn't Nurarihyon, nor the charismatic and overwhelmingly powerful Rihan—
It was a young master who had only awakened his yōkai form a handful of times.
…
Just as Rikuo led the Nura Clan's hundred demons into the street, another terrifying surge of yōki approached from the opposite direction.
Gyokushō, gripping the divine weapon Demon King's Little Hammer, appeared before them, his expression tense and unnatural.
The moment they saw him, Kurotabō and the others stiffened.
They could tell immediately—
Gyokushō's yōki surpassed even their young master's.
And as a seasoned weapons expert, Kurotabō's gaze locked onto the hammer in Gyokushō's hand.
That weapon was dangerous.
Extremely dangerous.
Despite being just a hammer, it radiated an ominous presence—one that felt even more threatening than Gyokushō himself.
After a brief assessment of Gyokushō, Kurotabō and Kubinashi shifted their attention to the yokai behind him.
Judging overall combat strength before battle was essential.
And what they saw made their hearts skip a beat.
Not because Gyokushō's forces were strong—
But because they were shockingly weak.
The numbers were comparable, yes.
But the quality…
Frankly speaking, Kurotabō alone could probably fight a hundred of them without breaking a sweat.
Wasn't this man supposed to be the heir of the Eighty-Eight Demon Night Parade?
The Hidden God Gyōbu Tanuki's most outstanding son?
This was his lineup?
Sure, Gyōbu Tanuki had a lot of children—but not even a few competent subordinates?
Had yokai factions across Japan all declined this badly?
Weren't the Seven Travelers said to be on par with Nura Clan executives?
So where were they?
Instead, Gyokushō's forces were nothing but crooked melons and cracked dates—barely stronger than the Old Rat Group, if at all.
Noticing the strange looks on their faces, Gyokushō's expression darkened with humiliation.
And honestly, it was understandable.
It was like two gangs squaring off—one side full of hardened enforcers, the other nothing but schoolkids.
The fight hadn't even started, and the boss had already lost face.
But the one Gyokushō hated most right now wasn't the Nura Clan—
It was that damned Oni Combat Academy.
Despite losing all of the Seven Travelers there, Gyokushō—ever the ruthless schemer—still intended to bury old grudges and seek cooperation with Ren Kuroda.
To him, the fact that Ren had hidden such power within Nura territory only proved one thing—
Ren was just as ambitious as he was.
With Nurarihyon missing and the Nura Clan at its weakest point ever, this was the perfect moment to knock them down.
If Ren had vision, he would definitely choose to cooperate.
Unfortunately for Gyokushō—
What he never expected was that Ren hadn't just refused to ally with him…
He had killed the envoy Gyokushō sent instead.