As the seasons changed and a cool breeze began to blow.
Uzui Tengen, the Sound Hashira, obtained some unsettling information.
"Demons are hiding in the Yoshiwara red-light district…"
Tengen spread out a map and rested his chin on his hand.
Yoshiwara, representing Tokyo's nightlife, was a street of pleasure filled with luxury and revelry.
There was no better place for demons to hide.
Moreover, strange rumors had been circulating incessantly in Yoshiwara lately.
But what caught Tengen's eye wasn't just rumors of demons.
"The Akatsuki Trading Company… so they've taken over Yoshiwara too."
The Akatsuki Trading Company had completely seized control of Yoshiwara's streets a few years prior.
They had grasped the commercial district with capitalism and formidable power, reaching a point where no one could do business without the company's permission.
They remodeled the old, unsanitary brothels into glamorous entertainment districts.
Not only that? The commercial areas were reborn as Tokyo's premier pleasure district, boasting top-notch hygiene, quality, service, and fair prices.
So much so that even high-ranking officials from the government and military openly visited for fun.
At its center was a massive brothel called Mugenrou, suspicious from its very name.
"It's glamorous and all, but it reeks of something off. A foul stench. The stench of demons."
Tengen immediately summoned his three wives: Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma.
"Listen up! From today, you're infiltrating Yoshiwara! Your goal is to gather information on demons! And find the connection between the Akatsuki Trading Company and the demons!"
"Understood, Tengen-sama!"
"Leave it to us!"
"Eek! I'm scared! Demons?!"
Seeing his wives react differently, Tengen grinned.
"The most suspicious places are three: Tokitoya, Ogimotoya, and Kyogokuya. And… the enigmatic castle, Mugenrou, where we have no information at all. Of course, there's no need to force your way in directly. First, infiltrate safely wherever possible."
Sending his wives to infiltrate brothels wasn't normal thinking, but they were ninjas.
As kunoichi, such infiltration missions were second nature to them.
Their infiltration skills far surpassed those of ordinary Demon Slayer Corps members, so Tengen trusted them and sent them to Yoshiwara.
First day of infiltration.
Hinatsuru, calm and quick to judge situations, attempted to infiltrate the most suspicious place, Mugenrou.
Mugenrou was on a different level from other brothels. The entire building was decorated with red lanterns, and a dreamlike fragrance wafted from the entrance.
Most of the customers were high-profile figures from politics, finance, or military generals.
Hinatsuru applied modest makeup and went in for an interview.
But she wasn't greeted by an ordinary madam.
It was a woman with an eerie aura, wearing a fox mask.
"Hmm…"
The fox-masked woman used a fan to lift Hinatsuru's chin, scrutinizing her from all angles.
"Your face is pretty, and your figure isn't bad either. By any chance, have you received professional training somewhere?"
"...!"
Hinatsuru felt a chill run down her spine. Had her identity as a kunoichi been discovered?
"But… you're disqualified."
"What? Why? I can do anything…"
"You lack allure. No, more precisely, you lack a demonic presence. Our Mugenrou sells pleasures beyond human limits. A girl with a modest, upright aura like yours won't last here. Your figure passes, but that's all. Please leave."
"T-that's…"
Hinatsuru was ultimately turned away. The standards of Mugenrou, a direct branch of the Akatsuki Trading Company, were beyond human comprehension.
The gap was too wide for a human ninja to blend into a place run by demons.
After all, every woman in Mugenrou was trained by Tamamo, who managed this place, making them Japan's finest courtesans.
They were beauties educated to be more dignified than any noble lady, capable of enchanting not just men but even women of the same sex.
No matter how beautiful or well-figured, Hinatsuru was naturally not suited for this place.
In the end, Hinatsuru headed to Kyogokuya, a traditional Yoshiwara establishment, as a fallback. Rumor had it that Warabihime, one of Yoshiwara's top oiran, was there.
On the top floor of Kyogokuya, in a room adorned with lavish silk and jewels, the oiran Warabihime—formerly Upper Moon Six, Daki—was nervously biting her nails.
"So annoying… annoying, annoying!"
She grabbed a nearby comb and threw it, tearing the screen.
Daki recalled the nightmare from a few years ago: the memory of her brother Gyutaro meeting a gruesome death.
And the reality that she had been forcibly injected with Akira's blood, becoming his puppet.
Akira's blood was potent. Daki had grown much stronger than before. Although she hadn't overcome the sun, her regenerative power and strength had increased incomparably.
But she had no freedom. She was merely a face and middle manager for the Akatsuki Trading Company to dominate Yoshiwara.
"Warabihime."
At that moment, a cool voice came from outside the window.
Daki shuddered. Perched on the windowsill was a woman holding a gourd—Shuten Douji.
Here, she went by the alias Ibuki Oiran.
"I-Ibuki-sama…"
"So, did you collect the payments properly today? The tribute seems a bit high, eh?"
Shuten Douji tilted the gourd, took a sip of sake, and spat out in Kyoto dialect.
Her tone was lazy, but the pressure within it threatened to suffocate Daki.
"S-sorry! There was a troublemaker among today's customers, so it got delayed! I'll fill it in right away!"
Despite being a mighty Upper Moon demon, Daki prostrated herself like a frightened puppy before Shuten Douji.
The monster who had easily killed even her brother Gyutaro. She didn't dare resist.
"Forget it. Don't make excuses. Mugenrou's sales are no joke, so if you slip up, it'll show. Be a little more careful."
"Yes! I'll remember that!"
"And, I smell little rats scurrying around lately. Ninja bitches, I mean. I think one slipped into your place."
Shuten's eyes narrowed like a snake's.
"Handle it well on your own. Don't bother us. Got it?"
"Yes, yes! Of course! I'll catch and devour them without a trace!"
"Good. I'm counting on you, Warabi."
Shuten grinned and vanished like smoke. Daki finally let out a sigh of relief and slumped to the floor.
Her kimono was soaked through with cold sweat.
Sometime later, Suma, the most scatterbrained of the three wives, was infiltrating Tokitoya.
"Eek! Why do I have to do such hard work! My hands will blister from all this dishwashing!"
Suma whined while mopping the corridor.
Then, a commotion sounded from the street.
"Make way! Make way! Ibuki Oiran-sama is passing through!"
"The mistress of Mugenrou is coming!"
It was a grand oiran procession.
But the atmosphere was different from a typical oiran parade. At the forefront, burly men wearing red oni masks cleared the path, followed by a massive palanquin.
And on the palanquin, Ibuki Oiran lay reclined, her kimono loosened to reveal her cleavage, holding a pipe.
"Wow… so glamorous…"
Suma stood holding a broom, staring blankly at the spectacle. Then, another splendid oiran approached from beside the procession and bowed her head.
It was Warabihime from Kyogokuya.
"Sister Ibuki, are you on your way?"
Warabihime, known in Yoshiwara for her foul temper, was showing impeccable respect before Ibuki Oiran.
The hierarchy had changed long ago. Ibuki Oiran was truly the ruler of Yoshiwara.
"Yeah. You've got it tough too. How's business today?"
Ibuki Oiran looked down from the palanquin and asked.
"Not bad. But… some pesky bugs have been lingering."
"Bugs? Hahaha! Just step on them and crush them. Do as you please."
"Thank you."
Suma eavesdropped on the conversation and felt the hair on her body stand on end.
'What the… those women…'
Suma sensed an ominous feeling from Warabihime. But the woman on the palanquin, this Ibuki… was something else.
No, the aura was so immense it was almost undetectable, like being in the eye of a typhoon—an overwhelming pressure.
Then, Ibuki Oiran's gaze turned precisely toward the crevice where Suma was hiding.
She grinned.
Her mouth curled up in a smile. Those purple eyes seemed to pierce through Suma's soul.
"...Eek!"
Suma slumped down without even screaming.
"Oh? A little rat was here, huh?"
Ibuki Oiran's voice echoed in Suma's ears like an auditory hallucination.
But the procession didn't stop, passing by leisurely as if Suma wasn't worth the attention.
"Tengen-sama… Tengen-sama…!"
Suma trembled and called out Tengen's name.
Yoshiwara was teeming with monsters beyond imagination.
Not just ordinary Upper Moon demons. This was a demonic realm ruled by the Akatsuki Trading Company—no, by Akira.
A night was beginning where even surviving, let alone gathering information, seemed uncertain.
Suma hurried to escape, but—
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Hic!"
Behind Suma, the fox-masked woman appeared.
The mistress of Mugenrou.
Tamamo-no-Mae. Or rather, an aspect of her.
Crack!
She reached out, grabbed Suma by the neck, and lifted her up.
"Kuh, ack!"
"Hmm, you really are beautiful, just as Master said. I left that Hinatsuru woman alone for now, but she's quick-witted, probably because she's cautious. She hid her presence well. A ninja is a ninja, I suppose."
"!? How…"
"Heheh, I'm familiar with ninjas too. Of course, they were ninjas you can't even compare to. I can't let you go like this, and it's a waste to kill such talent. Ah~ that gives me an idea. With your pretty face and good body, I'll hire you as a new courtesan for Mugenrou."
Tamamo smiled sinisterly from behind her mask, sending a curse flowing from the hand gripping Suma's neck.
An invisible curse etched itself onto her neck.
It was similar to the curse once placed on Ubume, though different in type. A curse that manipulated the mind of its bearer.
When it came to curses, Tamamo was the best in the world.
In the Heian era where she lived, mystery thrived, many had magic resistance, and skilled onmyoji were common, so she rarely used such curses.
But here, there was no magic resistance to speak of.
All the courtesans and oiran under her were under Tamamo's strict control through this curse.
The perfect hospitality of Mugenrou and Yoshiwara was possible because the women were all controlled by Tamamo.
It was a paradise created by the peerless beauty herself.
"A, aah."
Suma's eyes grew dull, the light fading from them. Her struggling body gradually went limp, and her frantic mind quieted as if filled with a hazy fog.
"Well, don't worry. Since you're a married woman, I'll be considerate and not force you into prostitution. But you'll have to handle other forms of entertainment properly. Like using your chest or mouth? Heheh, if you resent anyone, resent the husband who sent you here. A man who can't protect his wife is the biggest failure, right?"
With a venomous smile, Tamamo released Suma. Then, Suma carefully knelt and bowed deeply.
"Yes, Master."
"A beauty like this is rare. Quite glamorous, and your skin is good for a ninja. You wouldn't be out of place offered to Master, but he has a principle of not touching married women. His libido is beyond what even all of us could handle. Still, we must respect that."
Suma was indeed a considerable beauty with a good figure, even in Tamamo's eyes. However, since Akira avoided married women, she was spared from being used as a concubine—a small mercy.
Of course, her fate was still to be violated by men in the brothel.
Tamamo was only displeased that they had dared to encroach on their territory.
"Now, let's get you trained."
"Yes."
She flicked her fan, signaling to follow, and Suma slowly rose and trailed after Tamamo.
No matter how skilled a ninja, Tamamo had lived in an era teeming with ninjas, onmyoji, and mystery slayers.
Modern ninjas who couldn't even use ninjutsu were mere trifles to Tamamo.
And so, Suma—who had loved Tengen and stubbornly insisted on marrying him instead of her sister, becoming his wife—
She disappeared into the darkness, following Tamamo.
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