"Haah!"
Uzui Tengen was the first to move, his dual short blades flashing with a cold silver-purple gleam. The air rippled from the high-frequency vibrations of Sound Breathing. "Sound Breathing, Fourth Form: Constant Resounding Slashes!"
His blades struck like a torrential storm, stabbing toward every weak point around Giyu with perfect precision. Each attack slipped flawlessly between the gaps of Giyu's movements—Uzui had already read the rhythm of his fighting pattern, predicting his strikes like a musical score, trying to create an opening for the others.
Giyu's dark blue slit pupils stayed calm and emotionless. The moon pattern on his Nichirin Sword flickered once. "Moon Breathing, Second Form: Pearl Flower Moongazing!"
His sword drew three arcs of blue light, cleanly deflecting every incoming blade. Then, with a sharp twist, he struck the back of Uzui's wrist.
A crisp crack echoed. Uzui grunted, one blade flying from his grasp as his right wrist bent at an unnatural angle—bones intact, but strength gone.
"Tengen!"
Shinazugawa Sanemi roared, rushing forward with his sword cloaked in sharp, pale green wind. "Wind Breathing, Seventh Form: Gale, Sudden Gusts!"
The blade howled through the air like a hurricane, slicing for Giyu's neck—he gambled that Giyu would instinctively guard his vital point.
But instead, Giyu twisted aside, his left hand summoning a swirl of blue water. "Blood Demon Art: Cataclysmic Whirlpool Prison!"
A spinning torrent formed around Sanemi's sword, locking it in place, while Giyu's right blade slashed low at Sanemi's leg.
A ripping sound split the air. Blood burst from a deep wound as Sanemi stumbled back, his pants shredded, bone visible beneath the cut. Even so, he gritted his teeth, refusing to drop his sword, his eyes burning with frustration.
Kocho Kanae advanced gracefully, her Nichirin Sword wrapped in the illusion of pink petals. "Flower Breathing, Third Form: Butterfly Illusion!"
Her blade curved delicately around Giyu's arm, trying to bind his movement like entwined vines.
Giyu's pupils narrowed. With a small twist of his wrist, he redirected his sword and brushed its back across Kanae's arm—just enough to cut, leaving only a shallow wound that bled but avoided any serious damage.
He needed her alive—to treat the others once this was over.
"Don't hold back!"
Himejima Gyomei strode forward, massive axe raised high. The air grew heavy under his sheer presence. "Tomioka Giyu, today you'll pay the price for your betrayal!"
The axe came down like a thunderclap, slamming into the ground and carving a deep trench, scattering shards of stone everywhere.
Giyu slid backward several meters, barely avoiding the crushing strike. Then his left hand moved again, demonic energy pulsing. "Blood Demon Art: Secret Essence of Water—Water Vortex Domain!"
A ring of swirling blue water formed around him, spinning violently. The edge of the domain ground the flying debris into powder.
As the field expanded, his speed spiked. In a blink, he was behind Gyomei, sword slicing down toward his back.
Gyomei reacted instantly, swinging his axe backward in defense. The clash boomed like thunder, the giant weapon vibrating under the impact. Blood dripped from Gyomei's torn palm, the web of his hand split open.
He turned and swung in a wide arc, but Giyu had already leapt back into the heart of his domain. The water currents moved like living serpents, coiling around Gyomei's legs. The Stone Hashira smashed them apart with his axe handle, but it still bought Giyu precious seconds.
The four Hashira quickly adjusted formation—Gyomei holding the front, Uzui assisting with his left hand, Sanemi circling to strike from the flank, and Kanae weaving around the edges to disrupt Giyu's motion.
They all knew they had to make it look real—real enough to fool any spies Muzan might still have nearby. But they also couldn't actually kill him. Every strike had to walk the razor's edge between fatal and survivable.
"Flame Breathing, First Form: Unknowing Fire!"
A voice rang out weakly from the distance. Rengoku Kyojuro, bloodied and barely standing, raised his Nichirin Sword. His flames burned faintly but unwaveringly, trying to draw Giyu's attention.
Giyu's eyes flicked toward him, heart tightening. He can't take another hit.
Power surged from within him. The patterns on his sword brightened, glowing like a frozen crescent moon. "Moon Breathing, Sixth Form: Perpetual Night, Lonely Moon—Incessant!"
The faint blue blade light spread like the night sky, engulfing all four Hashira in its glow. Himejima Gyomei's left arm split open with a long gash, blood gushing out. Uzui Tengen's left shoulder was grazed, the wound deep enough to expose bone. Shinazugawa Sanemi's old leg injury tore open again, leaving him barely able to stand.
Only Kocho Kanae remained mostly unharmed—Giyu had intentionally avoided her. The shallow wound on her left arm seeped blood, but it wasn't serious.
"So this… is the strength of an Upper Moon?"
Uzui gasped, sweat and blood dripping together down his forehead. "And he's still holding back…"
Sanemi gritted his teeth, wiping blood from his mouth. "Stop talking! We're taking him down today!"
He lunged at Giyu, his aura flaring wildly. "Wind Breathing, Ninth Form: Idaten Typhoon!"
It was his killing technique—his blade vanished in a blur, slicing straight for Giyu's neck. He bet that Giyu would defend himself—and that the Stone Hashira would act in time.
Giyu's pupils contracted sharply. He could feel it—the faint trace of Muzan's presence still lingered in the distance.
He couldn't dodge. If he avoided the strike, Sanemi could easily bisect him midair. But if he took it head-on, that blade could sever his head.
In that split second, Gyomei's chained flail swung, the iron ball crashing into Sanemi's sword.
A resounding clang! echoed through the hall. Sanemi's strike was deflected just enough; the blade's edge grazed Giyu's neck, leaving only a thin, bleeding line.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Sanemi roared, turning on Gyomei.
Gyomei didn't answer right away. His calm, heavy voice followed. "He's too strong. We can't win like this. Help Rengoku and Uzui first—we'll regroup."
To anyone watching, it sounded like regret. But to Giyu, it was a signal—Gyomei was giving him a chance to escape.
Oyakata-sama had already given the order: if the situation turned dire, they were to let Giyu go. His role as a spy could not be exposed.
Giyu understood immediately. Without hesitation, he spun toward the window. The water swirling around his domain burst outward, flooding the room and obscuring everyone's view.
"Next time we meet," he said coldly, "I'll kill you all."
His figure vanished into the night.
None of the Hashira chased him. They stood in silence, watching the direction he'd fled, their tension slowly unwinding.
Kanae rushed to Kyojuro's side, pulling out the herbs she always carried and pressing them against his wound. "Don't speak. Let me stop the bleeding first."
Uzui leaned against the wall, letting out a weary laugh. "That guy… he's still himself. He held back against Kanae just now."
Sanemi's face remained hard, though he sheathed his blade with a heavy sigh. "If it weren't for Himejima-san, I really might've cut him down…"
Gyomei crouched beside Uzui, binding his broken wrist with calm precision. "Oyakata-sama already told us—Tomioka is an infiltrator, under Muzan's control. We must not kill him. I still sensed Muzan's presence nearby, so I had to make it look like we lost control."
Kanae finished treating Kyojuro's worst wounds and looked up at them all. "He's suffering. Muzan's controlling him, and he has to pretend to betray us. We need to hurry Tamayo-san's research… it's the only way to save him."
Outside, in the forest beyond the Entertainment District, Giyu's figure vanished into the trees.
He leaned against a trunk, clutching his neck as black mist seeped from the wound, mending the skin within seconds.
"Haah… that was close… Shinazugawa really is terrifying…"