Sukuna sniffed again as he spoke, confirming it was the same scent as in Asakusa—the scent of Muzan.
"Oh? A woman this time? Or is Muzan Kibutsuji himself a woman?"
Faced with the same question about gender, and because it was Sukuna asking, Muzan didn't argue the way he had berated the Lower Moons.
Muzan ignored Sukuna's question. His face twisted with rage as he snarled at Sukuna. "Finally caught you, Sukuna!"
Sukuna paused, hearing that unmistakably masculine voice emerge from the female body. He immediately thought of an acquaintance who enjoyed switching between different gendered bodies. Finding it somewhat disgusting, he made a face of revulsion.
"Caught me? Ridiculous. Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" Sukuna said, recalling the incident in Asakusa. "Don't tell me this is another one of your puppets, coward?"
Now it was Muzan's turn to be confused.
"What puppet? I'm right in front of you!"
No puppet?
Judging by Muzan's enraged expression, it didn't seem like he had any reason to lie.
If Muzan didn't use puppets, that meant the person Sukuna encountered in Asakusa had been Muzan himself.
At this realization, Sukuna couldn't help but laugh. So he had overestimated Muzan after all. He thought Muzan was resourceful, but it turned out he was just a simple coward.
Muzan frowned. He had already gathered information about Sukuna through the deaths of several Upper Ranks. Though he still believed he could win—especially now that Sukuna had thrown away his Nichirin Blade after the fight with Kokushibo—he still didn't dare underestimate him.
"What are you laughing at?"
Sukuna waved a hand dismissively. "Nothing. You're about to die anyway."
"You bastard!"
Muzan was finally provoked by Sukuna's attitude. Unable to suppress his rage any longer, he launched his attack.
The arms within his sleeves instantly transformed into two barbed whips of flesh and spikes, like two freely extending blades lashing toward Sukuna.
This was the first time Sukuna had seen Muzan fight. With a single glance, he could tell that while Muzan's attack pattern was similar to one of Kokushibo's sword techniques, its speed and power were both beyond Kokushibo. So the Demon King did have some real strength after all?
"If this is all you have, I'll be disappointed."
Sukuna calmly raised a hand and snapped his fingers. An invisible slash instantly severed Muzan's two barbed whips.
But Muzan didn't panic. He had already witnessed this technique in Asakusa and confirmed it was nothing more than ordinary slashes. They lacked the demon-suppressing properties of a Nichirin Blade.
So the instant the whips were severed, new ones grew from the clean cuts. Muzan even reconnected the severed segments and continued his assault, mocking Sukuna as he did.
"Useless! You think that kind of trick can stop me? Try it if you can!"
Sukuna could see it. Muzan's regeneration was far stronger than that of other demons, even the Upper Ranks. He could regenerate wounds almost as quickly as they appeared.
But that was just regeneration for a single wound. A fight wasn't decided by who healed faster.
Sukuna simply reached out and grabbed Muzan's two barbed whips, instantly neutralizing their force. Before Muzan could process his disbelief, Sukuna exerted his strength and yanked Muzan's entire body toward him.
"What...!?"
Pulled by Sukuna's overwhelming strength, Muzan shot toward him like a cannonball. Waiting for him was Sukuna's fist, already poised to strike.
But Muzan didn't passively to be puched. Before his abdomen could meet Sukuna's fist, it mutated into a massive maw that bit down on Sukuna's arm, absorbing much of the impact.
Sukuna just smirked. "Oh? You want to eat me too? Hope you've got the appetite for it!"
With that, Sukuna unleashed Cleave. Countless slashes detonated inside Muzan's body. Even with Muzan deliberately trying to evade the damage, the attack nearly destroyed all his hearts simultaneously.
Blood sprayed from the gaps in Muzan's shredded kimono. As he regenerated at high speed, he also used the spraying blood to attack, unleashing Blood Devouring Thorns.
The blood suspended in the air instantly connected and formed thorns, madly lashing and binding Sukuna.
But unfortunately for Muzan, he was facing Sukuna now. An existence that completely outclassed him.
So-called technique only worked when strength was comparable. In the face of absolute power, it meant nothing. In an instant, Muzan's body, his barbed whips, and his Blood Devouring Thorns were all sliced into chunks by countless slashes.
Just as Muzan tried to have the chunks fuse and regenerate, another wave of slashes shredded them again.
And it was only at that moment that a thought finally crossed Muzan's mind. So this was the kind of monster Sukuna truly was?
So even without facing an attack that suppressed regeneration, he could still be reduced to such a fragile state?
But after two rounds, Sukuna stopped attacking. He patiently waited for Muzan to fully regenerate his human form before him.
"Surely this isn't all you've got?" Sukuna sneered at Muzan, who had now reverted to his male body.
"..."
Muzan didn't answer immediately. He stared intently at Sukuna's arm—the one that had punched him, the one Muzan had managed to sink his jaws into.
He had seized the opportunity. Quietly, he had infiltrated his own blood into Sukuna's body.
Then, the change came. Sukuna's right arm suddenly began to mutate. Within moments, its skin darkened and irregular flesh growths appeared. The beginning of demonification.
Muzan watched excitedly, believing he had won in the end. Once Sukuna became a demon, he would possess the power to conquer the world!
"..."
Sukuna raised the arm to eye level and calmly severed it with a slash.
"What...!?"
Before Muzan's shocked eyes, flesh, blood, and bone regenerated from the clean cut.
Sukuna crushed the fallen arm underfoot while grabbing Muzan's head with his newly regrown hand. He said flatly,
"You are far too naive."
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Stone the fic