"You are spouting nonsense, tasteless fool!"
Gyokko clenched his small hands as fury surged through him.
Friends? All lies.
He had been mistaken. This man had no sense of taste at all. Not a single shred.
Someone incapable of appreciating such perfect art deserved to lose his eyes. Gyokko would dig them out and place them on a pot as decoration.
"So much talking."
Raiden suddenly appeared beside Gyokko.
His Nichirin blade flashed with crackling electricity as it sliced forward.
Smack.
Gyokko's body split cleanly in two.
Raiden's gaze shifted toward the treetops in the distance.
He can move between pots. That is troublesome. There is no telling how many of those things he has hidden in this forest.
"How dare you!" Gyokko's voice screamed from afar. "Not only do you lack taste, you dare to destroy my pots and defile my art!"
"You disgusting monkey with no aesthetic sense! Your kind is nothing but muscle and stupidity!"
"But it does not matter. You will become part of my masterpiece soon enough."
Gyokko stretched out his hand.
A small pot grew from the center of his palm, and from its mouth emerged two grotesque, bloated goldfish.
There was no water nearby, yet the fish floated freely in the air.
Their fins fluttered gently, as if they were swimming through an invisible current.
"Blood Demon Art, Thousand Needle Fish Kill."
At the command, the two ugly goldfish puffed out their cheeks.
Their eyes rolled wildly.
In the next instant, countless iron needles shot from their mouths.
The attack posed little threat to Raiden.
The technique was linear and required a clear charging motion before firing.
Raiden felt that even Zenitsu could dodge something this obvious.
Avoiding the barrage easily, Raiden reappeared beside Gyokko once again.
Just as before, there was no resistance when his blade struck.
Gyokko had already escaped.
"How boring," Raiden said lazily. "Do you only know how to run?"
He glanced at the pot that had rolled out onto the distant stone steps again.
In his normal state, killing Gyokko was somewhat troublesome.
However, Raiden did not dare activate the Transparent World recklessly.
He refused to believe only Gyokko and Hantengu had come to the Swordsmith Village.
Another Upper Moon was likely hiding somewhere nearby.
The Transparent World was reserved for that opponent.
Wasting its limited duration on Gyokko would be foolish.
"Who are you calling a coward, brat!"
As Gyokko shouted, the pot on the steps vanished.
A deep blue pot suddenly appeared behind Raiden.
Countless dead-eyed fish surged from the pot toward him.
Before most of them could even emerge, Raiden moved.
His blade flashed once.
The pot split neatly in half.
"I told you already," Raiden said calmly, "I do not have time to play with pots."
His left hand rested lightly on the sword hilt.
The Nichirin blade was already sheathed.
If Iron Tail had not seen occasional flashes of lightning and sword light, he might have believed Raiden never drew his weapon at all.
This young man is unbelievably strong.
So strong that even Upper Moon Five was being completely suppressed.
A Demon Slayer capable of overpowering an Upper Moon alone must be among the strongest even among the Hashira.
When Gyokko appeared again, the disdain in his eyes had faded.
Raiden's speed was beyond comprehension.
Not only for the swordsmith behind him, but even for Gyokko himself.
During their brief exchanges, it appeared as though Gyokko had easily avoided Raiden's attacks.
In reality, every escape was guided by pure survival instinct.
His body had moved before his mind could react.
"You are a Hashira, are you not?" Gyokko said slowly. "Among all the Hashira I have hunted, you are the strongest."
"So?" Raiden replied casually.
He felt no pride at the demon's praise.
"So," Gyokko continued, his grin turning manic, "are you truly unwilling to become part of my art?"
"First, you are not worthy," Raiden said while counting on his fingers.
"Second, your pots are genuinely ugly. They cannot be called art."
Gyokko's tiny hands clenched again beside his face.
Just as expected.
A blind monkey with a rotten mouth.
"You..."
Gyokko was about to curse him again when Raiden interrupted.
"Besides Hantengu, who else came with you? Doma, or Kokushibo?"
Gyokko froze.
The anger on his face stiffened.
Even the insults forming in his mind stopped.
The man knew about their plan?
He even knew the names of Doma and Kokushibo.
How was that possible?
Only the Upper Moons and Muzan Kibutsuji knew about this mission.
Could there be a spy among the Upper Moons?
Impossible.
Before Muzan, every demon's thoughts were completely transparent.
Any intention to betray him would be detected instantly.
Then how did this man know?
Gyokko suddenly felt his vision blur.
A figure slowly appeared within his mind.
This was not a memory.
It was information transmitted through Muzan's blood.
Raiden.
This man was Raiden, the one who had repelled Doma and killed Gyutaro.
No... that was not right.
Although Raiden was troublesome, he was far from unstoppable.
How could someone like this repel Doma?
Doma's strength was second only to Kokushibo and Muzan.
"It is rare that you remember me, Raiden."
A cheerful voice sounded nearby.
"You are much better than Akaza and the others. They are always so cold."
From behind a large locust tree, a figure stepped forward.
He chuckled softly while waving a folding fan.
Then he walked slowly to Gyokko's side.
"Doma."
Raiden looked at the familiar figure and quietly felt a bit relieved.
If it was Doma, the Swordsmith Village situation was still manageable.
If Kokushibo had appeared instead, the casualties would already be catastrophic.
Then Raiden suddenly felt uneasy.
Something was wrong.
Doma was not stupid.
During the battle in the Entertainment District, he had already witnessed Raiden's Transparent World.
Yet now Doma appeared before Gyokko had even forced Raiden to use it.
That was strange.
Did he realize Gyokko could not force him to reveal that ability?
Or did Doma have some method to restrain him?
"Oh my, it really is me," Doma said cheerfully.
"Long time no see."
He waved happily toward Raiden.
"Doma, you came out too early," Gyokko complained, waving his small hands. "I could have handled him."
"No, no," Doma replied with a friendly smile. "I never meant to underestimate you, Gyokko. I was simply excited to see an old friend."
Outwardly he was comforting Gyokko.
But his true thoughts were entirely different.
Originally, he had planned to let Gyokko force Raiden into the Transparent World.
Then he would step in and finish the fight.
Even if Gyokko died in the process, it meant nothing to him.
He was here to complete a mission.
Unfortunately, Raiden's strength had grown considerably.
Even without activating Transparent World, he could already fight Gyokko evenly.
Still, Doma was not worried.
Because to deal with Raiden, he had prepared more than just Gyokko.
===
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