Seeing Yahaba's terrified and troubled expression at his words, Sukuna explained calmly.
"I know you'll die after saying anything related to that guy. But I have a way to deal with it. If you don't want to die right now, do as I say."
Yahaba turned his palm over and looked at the Nichirin Blade hovering before his head. His mind raced.
If he didn't comply, his only fate was death, just like Susamaru moments ago.
If he revealed that great one's information, he would also die. But if this man truly had the power to oppose him, could he actually keep Yahaba alive after betraying him?
Looking at the overwhelming strength he had displayed, maybe he really did have that kind of ability.
More importantly, the man before him was clearly neither demon nor human. That ought to mean something.
And Yahaba knew very well that aside from trusting Sukuna's promise, he had no other option.
Finally, just as the Nichirin Blade pierced his forehead, Yahaba hurriedly spoke.
"What do you wish to know?"
"How does he contact you? It's not face to face, is it?"
Sukuna thought that in this era, even the Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen relied on outdated methods like kasugai crows to relay information. Demons, who seemed even fewer in number, responded far too quickly. There had to be some other means of communication.
"That great one can directly transmit thoughts in...to... the... bra..."
Before Yahaba could finish, Muzan's embedded mechanism activated.
But this was far more extreme than with the Swamp Demon. Not only did a demonic hand emerge from his mouth, but two more burst directly out of his chest.
Compared to the Swamp Demon, Yahaba and Susamaru had recently received Muzan's blood. The power within them was naturally much stronger.
Even Sukuna, who still didn't fully understand this mechanism, could sense it.
Feeling his strength and life ebbing away, Yahaba struggled to raise a hand toward Sukuna. His mouth, blocked by the demonic hand, managed only a muffled sound.
"Sa...ve..."
Sukuna moved. He slashed, severing all three arms at once. But that only cut the parts extending outside the body. The portions still connected inside Yahaba couldn't be dealt with in a single strike.
So after that slash, Sukuna released the Nichirin Blade. He pressed one hand over Yahaba's mouth, contacting the severed stump of the hand inside, while his other hand made contact with the stumps on his chest.
As the three severed demonic hands reacted and turned their attack on Sukuna for obstructing them, Sukuna simply dragged Yahaba away from them.
His goal was to prevent those things from interfering until he could extract more information.
But the consequence of this was that after the three demonic hands paused in confusion, they chose the nearest target to vent their fury: Shinobu.
Shinobu was dumbfounded. She hadn't expected this development. She moved quickly, having no intention of engaging the three hands.
After all, now that they were separated from Yahaba's body, they were visibly disintegrating before her eyes.
Sukuna ignored Shinobu and focused his attention of the panic driven demon.
First, through the contact of his hands, Sukuna used high-precision Cleave to shred the remaining Muzan power inside Yahaba's body.
In the instant he released Cleave, those slashes perfectly pulverized the tissue formed by Muzan's blood.
Then he quickly applied Reverse Cursed Technique, controlling Yahaba's regenerating flesh to disperse that shattered Muzan blood.
Through his overwhelmingly powerful Reverse Cursed Technique, using the soul information of a demon that had long since transformed, Sukuna forcibly controlled Muzan's blood to function normally, keeping Yahaba in an incomplete demonic state.
Listening to Yahaba's ragged breathing, Sukuna sneered contemptuously. So much for the so-called Demon King.
Controlling the regeneration of Yahaba's body to subjugate Muzan's blood—in this world, only Sukuna could do such a thing.
Precisely because Yahaba's body was now intact enough, even with Muzan's power extracted, Sukuna's powerful Reverse Cursed Technique could sustain his bodily functions without being torn apart by the violently resisting demon power.
Though his body was exceedingly weak, even to the point that the eye in his palm was nearly blind, Yahaba was still astonished that he had survived betraying that great one.
"Ha... I actually... actually survived..."
"Keep talking." Sukuna's cold voice cut off Yahaba's muttering.
Yahaba quickly spoke, respectfully and meticulously recounting everything about Muzan.
"At first, I and Susamaru... the demon you just killed... were following Kibutsuji's orders to find the one who killed a Demon Slayer Corps Hashira. But in the middle of that, we received a new command from Kibutsuji directly in our minds—to go to the nearby town and find the one who killed one of his demons. That is, you, my lord."
Sukuna sneered. "So it was distance. That guy was too far away to understand the full situation, so he sent trash like you."
Yahaba dared not speak. He could only silently endure the pain and listen to Sukuna.
Sukuna rubbed his chin and continued analyzing to himself.
"If all demons are under his control, then when I killed that kid's sister earlier, he should have sensed it. Is there some limitation? Or did he just not consider me worth noticing back then?"
But because Sukuna no longer continuously applied high-output Reverse Cursed Technique to Yahaba, the Muzan power inside could no longer sustain him as a demon. His body quickly reached its end.
"Ugh... ugh..."
Yahaba tried to say something more, but his crumbling body could no longer support the movement of his jaw. Crimson blood seeped from every pore of his skin.
Watching Yahaba die in agony, Sukuna chuckled.
"I told you from the start. I wouldn't let him kill you. But whether you live or die after that is your own problem."
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