"How pitiful, Elder Brother."
Upon hearing these words, Kokushibo was consumed by a single thought:
'What the hell?!'
'Could Yoriichi really have been resurrected?!'
'No! Impossible!'
'I saw Yoriichi die with my own eyes! I even severed his body at the waist!'
'The dead cannot return to life!'
'The one standing before me is merely a pathetic imitator of Yoriichi!'
Kokushibo felt his mind trembling, as if it had split into two warring factions in an instant.
One faction frantically denied the scene before him.
The other relentlessly insisted on the truth.
If a person looked like Yoriichi, dressed like Yoriichi, and even knew the conversations he had shared with Yoriichi...
Then, no matter how impossible it seemed, he had to accept the fact:
Yoriichi had truly been resurrected.
He stood before him once more.
Kokushibo instinctively drew his sword, but a wave of helplessness washed over him.
A long-buried, intense emotion suddenly surged through his heart.
As he gazed at the " Yoriichi" before him, a sudden realization struck him.
Kokushibo knew what this emotion was—
Jealousy!
Why, even after becoming a demon, could I not defeat you when you were on the verge of death?
Why could you be resurrected centuries later, appearing before me again in human form?
If humans can truly be resurrected, then why did I become a demon...?
After Yuki spoke those words, he clearly sensed a profound shift in Kokushibo's entire being.
The six eyes of his opponent were filled with jealousy and incomprehension.
To Yuki, it was as if Kokushibo's six eyes had all turned into lemons—
He was sour.
But if that were all, Yuki would only have gained a battle against Kokushibo.
And with his Restoration Rate having risen to 45% after uttering those words, he wasn't certain he could defeat Kokushibo.
This fell far short of Yuki's goal: to deliver a "surprise" to both Kokushibo and Muzan.
So Yuki decided to stoke the flames further.
As Kokushibo drew his flesh-forged katana, Yuki didn't draw his own blade.
He lowered his gaze, slowly extended one hand, and murmured:
"Elder Brother, have you seen that flute?"
"I've always cherished that flute as if it were you..."
Kokushibo froze.
Having mastered the Transparent World, he could clearly perceive every movement of his opponent.
From his perspective, " Yoriichi" showed no intention of attacking.
He was genuinely just reaching out, asking for the flute.
Kokushibo felt the broken flute beneath his robes, its two halves pressing against his skin, causing him physical discomfort.
The child who had once accepted the flute with pure joy, the old man at the end of his life who still carried it close, and the young man before him now, reaching out to reclaim it...
Three images merged into one.
At this moment, no matter how unwilling Kokushibo was to accept it, he had to acknowledge the truth:
Yoriichi had truly returned to life.
Within the Infinity Castle, Nakime sat serenely on a platform, slowly plucking the strings of her instrument.
As the strings resonated, the castle's countless rooms shifted and rearranged themselves with a ponderous grace.
When the melody concluded, Nakime placed a hand over her heart, silently assessing her physical condition.
On the surface, her body appeared to have fully recovered.
But only Nakime knew that after being subjected to That Lord's wrath twice in succession, she had lost a significant amount of his blood.
This had not only weakened her abilities but also drastically slowed the healing of her wounds.
When will That Lord grant me more...?
Nakime abruptly stopped, forcing the thought from her mind.
That Lord can read every Demon's thoughts.
Even thinking such things is an unforgivable sin in his eyes!
"Nakime! Why have you stopped?"
A sinister voice suddenly echoed through the chamber.
Nakime jolted, her fingers flying back to the strings of her biwa.
But the next moment, the voice snapped with extreme impatience:
"Damn it, stop playing that biwa! You're disturbing my thoughts!"
Nakime, flustered but helpless, could only set down her biwa again.
Muzan, who had been reclining on a nearby platform, now stood up irritably and began pacing back and forth.
"It's been days. Why hasn't Kokushibo sent back any news?"
"Didn't he witness Yoriichi's death with his own eyes and even cut him in half at the waist?"
"All he had to do was return to that place, find Yoriichi's grave, and open it to check if the corpse was still there."
"Such a simple task. Why hasn't Kokushibo finished it by now...?"
His muttering abruptly ceased.
Muzan sensed an extraordinarily intense emotional surge emanating from Kokushibo.
"Why such a violent emotional disturbance?"
"It's been centuries. When was the last time Kokushibo's emotions flared so fiercely?"
Muzan attempted to retrieve the memory from his five brains.
But when the memory finally surfaced, he froze in place.
He remembered now. The last time Kokushibo had experienced such overwhelming emotion was when he encountered the elderly Yoriichi!
Muzan's pupils suddenly began to tremble violently.
"So, Kokushibo, you encountered that man too?"
"Could he really be Yoriichi resurrected?"
"Calm down! I must remain calm!"
Muzan paced anxiously, trying to reassure himself.
"Kokushibo has undergone centuries of rigorous training since then."
"He should be able to... withstand at least one more strike now?"
His reasoning stemmed from a clear understanding of the past.
Even in his prime, Muzan had barely escaped Yoriichi with his life.
As a demon, Kokushibo had faced an elderly Yoriichi, who inflicted grievous wounds with a single strike.
Kokushibo later confessed that he could never have withstood a second blow.
The thought only fueled Muzan's agitation.
"But this makes even less sense!"
"If that man isn't Yoriichi, Kokushibo could have killed him instantly."
"But if he is Yoriichi... he could kill Kokushibo instantly."
"But after all this time, why can I still sense Kokushibo's emotional fluctuations?"
"Could it be that I have no choice but to..."
Muzan took several deep breaths, a hesitant expression crossing his face.
"It seems the only way to understand the situation is to link my vision with Kokushibo's..."