Two members of the Kakushi, following the directions of Giyu's Kasugai crow Kanzaburo, arrived at the location where his battle with Sukuna had taken place.
Before they even saw Tomioka's remains, they were first stunned by the spray of blood across the snow.
"This..."
They could hardly imagine what kind of terrifying battle had taken place here not long ago.
While one was still in shock, the other had already hurried over to Kanzaburo.
He saw what had once been Giyu Tomioka—his remains neatly diced by Sukuna into identically sized cubes of flesh and blood.
Even though he worked regularly on the Demon Slayer Corps' logistics and had witnessed all manner of post-battle horrors, he still felt a wave of nausea and vomited outright.
"Ugh..."
Hearing his companion retch, the other immediately came over. But the moment his eyes fell on those neat cubes—especially the one with Tomioka's left eye in it—his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground.
In that instant, their faith crumbled. The strongest Demon Slayer Corps swordsman they had looked up to, the one bearing the title of Water Hashira, Giyu Tomioka, had been killed by a demon and reduced to such a state.
How could they ever believe that the day would come when demons could be completely eradicated?
"...So even the Water Hashira... couldn't defeat this enemy...?"
"It seems so..."
Even the two of them, who were used to recovering damaged bodies of Demon Slayer Corps members, were at a loss with Tomioka's remains.
Were they supposed to pick them up piece by piece?
Just as they hesitated, they suddenly saw a slender hand pick up the broken Nichirin Blade from the ground.
The two looked at the person examining Tomioka's blade. It was the Insect Hashira, Shinobu Kocho.
"Insect Hashira-sama!"
Shinobu had been the first Hashira to arrive after receiving the message. After confirming that Tomioka's Nichirin Blade, engraved with the words "Destroyer of Demons," had no other damage apart from the clean cut, she handed the broken sword to the Kakushi and turned her gaze to Tomioka's remains.
"Tomioka-san..."
Shinobu looked at Tomioka's remains in silence for a while. Though she had been his comrade and wished to participate in his burial, she had a more important task right now.
Are you going now to kill the demon that murdered the Water Hashira?
The Demon Slayer Corps had not kept Tomioka's death a secret, but the information about the demon that killed him—specifically, that it could move in daylight—had not yet been made public.
Ubuyashiki Kagaya felt the implications of that information were too great. Its importance required him to verify it first before announcing it, to avoid causing unnecessary panic.
The Kakushi member asked cautiously, only to be interrupted by his companion.
"That's not a question you should be asking!"
Even as the companion scolded him, his eyes involuntarily drifted toward Shinobu. Deep down, he wanted to know the answer to that question too.
Shinobu could read the fear, worry, and unease in the eyes of both Kakushi members.
She understood, of course. Anyone who saw a Hashira butchered like this by a demon would inevitably feel uneasy.
She smiled at the two.
"I'm not the only Hashira coming. Leave the demon to us."
Hearing that more than just Shinobu, the Insect Hashira, was coming, the two members felt some relief.
If one Hashira couldn't kill the demon, then more than one Hashira would surely have no problem.
At least, that was what they believed in their hearts.
"Yes!"
Shinobu turned to leave, but was suddenly called back by one of them.
"Please wait!"
"Is there something else?" she asked, puzzled.
"We noticed something strange about that demon's behavior."
"Strange?"
"Yes."
"That demon didn't seem to be killing for food. We also checked the bodies of the villagers at the foot of the mountain. There were no bite marks on them. Other than the remains of a child found cooked in a pot in one household, there were no other signs of him eating."
Shinobu's brow furrowed slightly as she muttered.
"A demon that doesn't eat people?"
She knew that whether weak or strong, eating people was a demon's most fundamental desire. Beyond satisfying hunger, it was also how demons grew stronger.
Was he not hungry?
Was he so strong that he didn't need to eat large numbers of people to increase his power?
Or was this why he could move in sunlight?
For a moment, many possibilities flashed through Shinobu's mind. She bid farewell to the two Kakushi and headed for Fujikasane Mountain.
...
Sukuna hadn't expected this world to have existences resembling cursed spirits.
That wasn't quite accurate. Compared to cursed spirits, they were more like earth-bound spirits.
By killing several lingering spirits, including Sabito, he saw from their identical techniques that they were likely related with Urokodaki. And after repeatedly facing opponents who used Water Breathing, thanks to his talent for combat, Sukuna could now swing a sword and replicate a few of Water Breathing's forms himself.
But it was only superficial similarity. Sukuna's slashes were even stronger than Tomioka's. However, he still couldn't grasp the Breathing Technique itself, so he felt his imitation was missing the essence.
And so Sukuna continued walking toward Fujikasane Mountain, as Urokodaki had directed, while trying to replicate Water Breathing's forms from memory.
What Urokodaki had told Sukuna about this Mountain's location was true. His original plan had been to use the demons there to satisfy Sukuna's request, and to use them to slow Sukuna down until the Hashira dispatched by the family head arrived.
Logically, Urokodaki's plan made sense. The only problem was that the premise required Sukuna to be a real demon.
Sukuna, somewhat annoyed, used the Nichirin Blade in his hand to brush aside the thick wisteria obstructing his path.
Though it was still daytime, the commotion Sukuna made attracted the attention of the demons on the mountain.
From within the shadows, they watched his every move, waiting for him to enter the wisteria prison so they could hunt him.
"Is that a swordsman? he's coming up the mountain all alone?"
"And just a brat. His meat must be tender."
"Shut up! I saw him first. I haven't tasted human flesh in ages. I'm not sharing with any of you!"
Just as they were arguing, they suddenly smelled smoke—the smoke of burning wisteria flowers.
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