Amid the dense fog blanketing the mountain, the atmosphere was heavy as if possessing a physical form.
Urokodaki took a deep breath. He knew full well what kind of existence he was about to face. He gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands.
"Water Breathing, Tenth Form: Constant Flux."
Using the fog as cover, Urokodaki launched a strike at Sukuna.
Urokodaki knew very well that if what Sukuna had said earlier was true—that Giyu Tomioka had already fallen to him—then his aged self stood even less chance of victory.
But he needed to buy at least a little time, to give the Ubuyashiki family head a chance to plan a response. So he decided to go all out from the very beginning.
As his blade spun and sliced through the air, the azure water dragon grew increasingly vivid.
Sukuna could tell that the man before him and the Demon Slayer from earlier seemed to use the same set of sword forms.
The blade traced graceful arcs through the air without any wasted motion. It was just a shame that the body wielding it was too old.
If Urokodaki had a younger body, he might have been even stronger than Tomioka.
Sukuna casually fired off a Dismantle, effortlessly bisecting Urokodaki as he charged forward.
But due to the immense rotational inertia, Urokodaki's upper torso spun through the air and landed in front of Sukuna.
As it spun, organs and blood scattered across the ground.
Feeling his life slipping away, Urokodaki looked up at Sukuna with despair in his eyes.
Sukuna's expression hadn't changed at all. He still looked relaxed, standing in place without moving even half a step.
This hopeless gap in power made Urokodaki feel as if his entire life as a Demon Slayer Corps swordsman was being denied and mocked. This was an opponent that hard work could never hope to reach.
He was certain that the demon boy before him hadn't used his full strength. Perhaps unleashing that invisible slash was as easy as breathing for him.
Urokodaki understood what kind of existence Tomioka had been fighting. If it was this demon before him, it was no longer a matter of which Hashira could handle him. It was a question of how many lives would have to be sacrificed before he could be put down.
Regret began to creep in Urokodaki's heart. If he could rewrite his message, he would've definitely added to not act hastily
He knew very well that the mere news of Tomioka's death would have prompted the Demon Slayer Corps to take action, let alone the discovery of a demon that could walk in daylight—one that killed a Hashira, no less.
Urokodaki's eyelids felt heavy. His life seemed to be ending here.
But then, a mysterious force entered his mutilated body and firmly grasped his fading life.
The bisected Urokodaki felt his condition slowly improving?
When he regained consciousness and opened his eyes, he realized Sukuna was holding him by the neck, suspended in midair.
Sukuna had used the Reverse Cursed Technique to keep Urokodaki alive while simultaneously tightening his grip on Urokodaki's neck.
"So where do I need to go to encounter stronger swordsmen?"
"..."
The tengu mask slipped from Urokodaki's face, revealing his bloodless, agonized features—but his will remained fiercely resolute.
Sukuna felt that Urokodaki's current state was exactly the same as Tomioka's when he killed him.
"It doesn't matter if you don't tell me. You've already notified the others, haven't you?"
Shock appeared on Urokodaki's pained face. He hadn't expected Sukuna to notice that he had sent out a message.
"Back then, we hadn't fought yet. The information you sent out will only make your comrades come looking for me on their own."
"...You used me!"
Though Urokodaki tried his best to control his emotions, the situation would develop exactly as Sukuna said. Thinking of the unprepared Demon Slayer Corps and the countless lives that would be lost to Sukuna, his breathing grew ragged.
Seeing Urokodaki's expression change, a mocking smile appeared on Sukuna's face.
"You all seem to mistake me for a demon. And a demon who can move in sunlight seems to be something you take very seriously. So can I expect the strongest swordsman to come and hunt me?"
"You're not a..."
Urokodaki was shocked to hear Sukuna's self-description. He tried to ask more, but Sukuna had already crushed his neck.
After all, Urokodaki no longer served any purpose to Sukuna.
Sukuna bent down and picked up the fallen Nichirin Blade. He was starting to become interested in the power wielded by this world's swordsmen. If all of them could master it, there was no reason he couldn't learn it too.
"You've been watching from over there the whole time. If you're so angry, aren't you going to attack?"
Sukuna looked into the distance, toward a person wearing a fox mask for warding off disaster and a haori patterned with orange, yellow, and green tortoiseshell patterns.
Sabito froze at those words.
"You can see me?"
Sukuna didn't answer. Instead, following the memories of how Tomioka and Urokodaki had held their swords, he gripped the blade with both hands and took a stance.
...
One day later, the man Urokodaki had called family head, Ubuyashiki Kagaya, untied the blood-stained message written on Urokodaki's blue fabric from his Kasugai crow's leg.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya reached out and touched the words written in Urokodaki's blood.
A demon who walks in daylight. Giyu Tomioka killed by his hand. He may head to Fujikasane Mountain next.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya could feel the hardened clumps formed by the dried blood. From the uneven handwriting, he could sense the urgency and haste Urokodaki had felt at that moment.
Ubuyashiki asked his wife beside him.
"This isn't normal letter paper, and what was used to write isn't ink, is it?"
Ubuyashiki Hinaki answered him.
"It's not letter paper, but a torn piece of fabric. And what was used to write on it appears to be blood..."