CHAPTER 45 - The End of the Beginning

"Aren't you coming for the meeting?" Shinobu asked.

Law pondered on his desk, observing the charts in front of him. He looked at his palms and awaited a while before replying that he wouldn't be attending.

"I'll wait here. It's pretty clear Kibutsuji's going to plan a major move. And that thing with Doflamingo, adds more fuel to the fire. I believe Ubuyashiki's planning to bring up the matter tonight?"

"He is. As a matter of fact, I was thinking to skip this meeting out. Especially, with the way Moria and that intruder Demon managed to take us by surprise." Shinobu said.

"It won't happen again. Demon Slayers have this place surrounded. And, I'd know if there's anything wrong. Unlike last time, I'm well enough to extend my Haki and Devil Fruit powers."

"Speaking of your welfare, do tell of your recovery." Shinobu walked inside and sat down on the bed. Law turned his chair away from the desk, looking upon her.

"It was the Demon woman – Daki. As much I hate to admit it, I failed to realise the truth until the very end."

Shinobu observed and listened to Law's summary of the events that had transpired in the past weeks, all the way from the first encounters against Daki and her brother, Gyutaro.

"You mean to say they were connected?" Shinobu asked surprised. "Now that you mention it, it felt strange to find two Upper Moons of the same rank."

"Yeah. That's the catch. I remember them burning up at that forest from the sunlight. I should have waited and observed it till the end. It was a mistake on my part." Law said. "As I was saying, one of them couldn't be killed whilst the other lived. I guess in the Demon Slayer way, both of them needed to have their heads hacked off at the same time to end them at once."

"But that didn't happen." Shinobu stated.

Law nodded, "Gyutaro took advantage of their secret and the battle that went on after rescuing Aoi-ya, took a mite longer. In the end, my Devil Fruit powers allowed me to exterminate the Demon's soul. The kid, Nezuko had a part to play for that as well. After, I found the Demon sister in a worsened shape."

"I guess your technique did a number on them despite the fact that they couldn't be killed if either of them is alive elsewhere."

"That seemed the case. I knew for sure Gyutaro was dead, and the consequence drew out the life force from Daki as well. But in the end, a part of Gyutaro, remained in spiritual form inside Daki, and inside me, from the poison he had injected in our fight. That made things complicated and for some reason Gyutaro's spirit was able to obstruct my Devil Fruit powers. That all ended when the Demon sister, Daki, was hacked off by accident."

Shinobu realised that Law's misery had lingered further thanks to her interest in researching and preserving the weakened Upper Moon.

"I apologise." she bowed. "I got carried away to find the answer to revert back Demons."

"Never mind. Besides, none of us could have guessed for sure. I am not certain, but there is something weird I have in notion." Law mentioned.

"Are you feeling unwell?" Shinobu asked in concern.

"Not that." Law looked at his palms. "Well, it's nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"I'll be alright."

"What the hell?" Zoro bellowed.

"Everything's fine. All's taken care of." replied Suma.

"I thought Moria was supposed to be confined. How the hell did he get the leverage?"

Suma was terrified.

"Now, you are being a bully!" retorted Makio.

"That may be, but that doesn't excuse the fact that this place was breached on two ends. A stupid Demon shows up after we kicked the asses of three Upper Moons along with that bastard Kibutsuji himself. Not to mention that Moria. Where the hell did he get all those zombies?"

Zoro was furious to discover the damage left by the zombies on the Mansion grounds.

"Not looking good." he dashed off inside.

"Whoa!" Goto was surprised to find the swordsman rush ahead. He moved aside observing the man's terrifying demeanour.

"Zoro-san!" Kanao was surprised. "When did you get back?"

"Where's Tora-o?" Zoro demanded.

"In his room."

Kanao followed the Pirate Hunter through the Mansion.

"What's going on?" demanded Yushiro surprised to find the hullabaloo. He observed Zoro and Kanao get past his room outside.

"When did he get back?" he asked, following the both of them.

Zoro observed the closed door ahead, opening it. Shinobu was inside, standing next to the door ready to leave the room. She was surprised to find the Pirate Hunter in close sight. Law observed the crowd with an annoyed face.

"Wha…" Shinobu muttered.

"Heard there was a breach." Zoro stated.

"That's right. And it's taken care of." Law replied, with a plain face.

"It's time we are done with this defensive strategy. Can't let the enemies walk all over us!" Zoro roared.

"And do what? Fight everyone out here? If it's not news to you Fujitora and Sengoku are not too far off. Not to mention those Imperial troops that practically runs this country from what I hear. You get them riled up, and there will be no Demon Slayer Corps, and sure as hell, no ship to return back."

Zoro knew Law made sense. Yet he couldn't get over the fact that Moria and Kibutsuji were able to take advantage of their situation.

"You have reasons to be angry. But one step at a time. And despite the troubles, the damage has been minimal. No one's been killed and I got some interesting information relating our return." Law explained.

Zoro turned curious.

"Tell me!" he asked in eagerness.

Kanao observed Shinobu's indifferent face, but she knew her older sister had an expression of sadness.

"You remember that place I had mentioned on the map?" Law asked, pointing on his map chart on the table.

"Yeah, that place in the sea where a cluster of ships went missing?" Zoro asked.

"The waters north of the Mariana Islands. The answers lie in the area." Law replied. "Before we can head out, there are some things which need to be kept in mind. First, the ship. We are going nowhere without it. Second, the enemies. Kibutsuji and Doflamingo are in cohorts and we can't let them get the idea that a ship is being prepared for our departure. That goes for Fujitora and Sengoku, both of them capable of sinking the ship with minimal effort."

"Agreed."

"Now, I was planning in accordance to the pirate mess that has emerged on the Mainland. Doflamingo and Jack know we are here, and they'll come after us one way or the other. But we'll need to drag Fujitora, Sengoku and their fleet with us the moment we are cleared to take off."

"But we decided to help the Demon Slayers." Zoro reminded.

"I know that. And we'll try to stick to it. It might sound wrong in a way, but we might be fortunate if Kibutsuji plans an all out attack. Our groups had discreet encounters against them in the past weeks and had dealt damage to his forces. I have been keeping eye on the Demon situation. They are creating large havoc in random areas, which hadn't been the case before we had shown up. Am I correct?"

"Yes." Shinobu agreed, "There used to be common incidents, where at the most a few Demons would show up together at a single location. Now, they are huddling up in big numbers instead, to create noticeable havocs."

"Desperation." Law said. "Demons need blood to get stronger, and they are in hurry to gain strength, thus targeting habitations with greater numbers. Kibutsuji is organising an army." He added, "In a way, the battle against Kibutsuji became inevitable ever since the moment we encountered that Upper Moon swordsman back at the beach. Best to get prepared for their impending attack."

Tamayo showed up.

"I thought the Hashiras were heading for the meeting." she said.

"We were supposed to." Law replied. "I'm skipping for tonight and taking guard watch instead." He turned towards Shinobu. "You go on ahead."

"Okay." Shinobu nodded.

Zoro agreed, "Very well, I'll come along. If Kibutsuji thinks of sending his six-eyed swordsman, it'll be worth being prepared."

A letter arrived upon the meeting.

"What does it read?" asked Master Ubuyashiki.

Shinobu took the letter from the Kakushi, sitting down along with the other Hashiras. She opened the seal and was shocked to observe the content.

"They have begun." she muttered.

"What?" Shinazugawa was surprised.

"'Attack upon a small town 150 kilometres to the south-east...'" Shinobu read.

"South-east? Ibaraki Prefecture? Isn't Himejima stationed in that sector?" asked Shinazugawa.

"Let her finish." Obanai interjected.

"'…the town was almost annihilated until a Regiment of the Imperial Army showed up and opened fire upon the Demons. Though it had been a fleeting skirmish, the Demons did a number on the population, with most humans either being killed or devoured. Sightings of at least one Moon-ranked Demon led the carnage. The government reports say that it was a disaster of the highest magnitude, capable of wiping out an entire town from the map. The surviving and yet handful of civilians are to be evacuated from the town and be provided new settlements. The affected town is to be abandoned by the government, realising there was no remedy to the structural, economic and humanistic damage done…'"

A silence. Everyone observed Ubuyashiki's tensed and angry face, something which was a rare sight to be seen by the Hashiras.

"They are gaining strength." he said in his calm voice, trembling from rage.

"I insist that we are dispatched to the location, Master." Shinazugawa said.

"Was the report relayed to Gyomei?" Ubuyashiki asked the Kakushi.

"Y… yes, Master. He should have received the report." The Kakushi replied.

"Did he reply to the report?"

"Not yet. We were kind of awaiting for that."

"Send it again, but from here, the Headquarters. Send a copy of the report to every Hashira and Demon Slayer squad leader out in their sectors."

"Yes, Master."

The Kakushi left the meeting.

Shinazugawa stood up.

"Master, we can't let this slide!" he was agitated.

"Moon-ranked? I'm expecting an Upper Moon leading that attack. The same potential of destruction when that multi-faced No. 4 showed up at that castle-town." mentioned Tomioka.

"Alright. Sanemi, Muichiro. I want the both of you to head out and make a pursuit of the involved group of Demons. As Giyu has mentioned, there's a chance an Upper Moon is involved. Do take care of yourselves."

"Thank you for your concern, Master." Tokito replied, standing up and bowing together with Shinazugawa.

They left the meeting.

Tomioka took the letter and found an attachment paper. He realised it had been the report intended to be relayed towards the population of the Mainland by the government. He read through the paper and got to know that the government hid the actual reason of the carnage, replacing with some local rebellion that had been quelled by the Imperial Army.

"I guess the story relating 'Demons' wouldn't work." Tomioka scoffed.

"Yeah, no one would have believed it anyway." said Iguro. "I kind of regret not being able to accompany Shinazugawa and Tokito."

"You are not healed from your wounds, Iguro." mentioned Shinobu. "And there's a chance Kibutsuji might send his minions towards the Headquarters. Well, I guess you'll get to fight the monsters but then again, you might die."

"I don't think that's the right thing to say." Tomioka remarked, with a chuckle.

Iguro glared upon the both of them.

"Talks can go on for hours. We should start barricading the Headquarters. Should Kibutsuji come knocking we can welcome him with the greatest thrashing."

"I couldn't agree more." Ubuyashiki nodded. His smile returned back. "I'm blessed to have you, my children. I truly am."

Everyone bowed, except for Zoro.

"I appreciate your gratitude, but there's only one man out there who'll be the king of the seas. And for the very same reason, I have no obligation to bow to anyone."

He stood up much to everyone's surprise. Unlike the first meeting, no one had any objection to his conviction, not even Iguro, though annoyed to observe the Pirate Hunter proud and mighty, was surprised that there's someone out there beyond the sea, to whom the man would respect.

Ubuyashiki approved with a calm nod, "Monkey D. Luffy. I'd like to meet your Captain one day. He sounds quite the man."

"I must return back to our crew and see him through till the end." Zoro declared.

TO BE CONTINUED...