The moment Uzui received word of the ambush on Muzan, he immediately arranged matters within his jurisdiction and set off for the site.
Despite rushing nonstop, he still failed to make it in time. Halfway there, news reached him that the ambush had failed and Muzan had escaped.
Though filled with regret, Uzui turned back.
Yet before he had even left the outskirts of a small town, another message arrived—Ubuyashiki Kagaya was convening a local Hashira Meeting to discuss Muzan's retreat.
That instantly banished all drowsiness. Uzui pushed himself hard, traveling for two days and two nights straight before finally reaching the area.
However, when he saw Sabito and Giyu looking utterly drained and absent-minded, Uzui was deeply puzzled.
"Didn't they say Muzan escaped? What's wrong with you two? Looking this dispirited isn't flashy at all."
"Ah… that…" Sabito lifted his head weakly. "Special training."
"Special training?" Uzui stroked his chin. "Ah—Yoriichi, right?"
"Yes…"
Sabito lowered his head again.
"After two days, my whole body is sore and numb… It reminds me of when I first started learning swordsmanship and got put through hell by my teacher…"
"Was it useful?"
"It did uncover a lot of flaws…" Sabito pressed a hand to his forehead. "Seriously, one night isn't nearly enough to recover."
Tomioka nodded in agreement beside him.
"What about the others?"
"Makomo and Kanae are handling their districts. Sanemi and Gyomei arrived yesterday—they should already be at the training grounds…"
Sabito stretched his stiff limbs.
"Right now we're just waiting for Lady Amane."
"I see… So Gyomei and the others are training too?" Uzui fell into step with Sabito and Tomioka. "What are you training for?"
"How to deal with Akaza—an Upper Moon demon who specializes in physical combat," Sabito said with a sigh. "Yoriichi said that surviving ten moves counts as passing, but even at my best I can only manage six."
"You're kidding, right? Yoriichi's really that strong?"
Tomioka glanced sideways at him. "…Your obliviousness is enviable."
"Giyu, watch how you talk," Sabito said weakly. "Sorry—he's been worked pretty hard by Yoriichi these past two days… Still, I'm kind of looking forward to seeing how you'll look after sparring, Tengen."
"You two…" Uzui looked at Tomioka's half-dead expression and twitched at the corner of his mouth. "Forget it. I'm in a good mood today, so I won't hold it against you. Where's Hiru? He didn't come with you?"
"Him?" Sabito chuckled. "Tengen, you should go see for yourself."
"Sounds like something interesting happened…" Uzui grinned mischievously. "I'll go take a look. I'll meet you at the training grounds later."
Tomioka watched Uzui leave, opened his mouth as if to say something, then silently closed it again, turning his gaze to Sabito instead.
"Don't look at me. Hiru's been holed up in his room for two days and nights without coming out or eating. Someone has to check on him. Or are you volunteering?"
Tomioka shook his head.
"Good." Sabito slung an arm around his shoulder. "Come on—let's aim to break through seven moves today."
"…Mm."
"By the way, have you felt 'aura' yet?"
"No."
"But didn't Yoriichi say your Eleventh Form is an application of aura?"
"No feeling."
"Ahhh… this is hard."
"…Mm."
…
Following the route given by the Kakushi, Uzui found Hiru's room. When knocking produced no response, he simply slid the door open and walked in.
The room was dim. Hiru stood before a blank canvas taller than himself, paintbrush in hand, staring at it as if lost in thought.
Uzui crept closer. After looking for a while, he realized the canvas wasn't truly blank—there were faint raised textures where white paint hadn't been smoothed out.
Painting white on a white canvas? Uzui looked down at the shrunken Hiru. Did shrinking mess up his brain too?
"If you keep staring at me with that disgusting look," Hiru said without turning around, "I really will hit you."
"So you can still sense people around you?" Uzui squatted beside him. "What are you painting?"
Hiru's gaze returned to the canvas. "Mountains and clouds."
"Shouldn't that be green mountains and white clouds? With everything this white, what are people supposed to look at?"
"It's a light-and-shadow painting. You need natural light to see it properly." Hiru set down his brush and frowned slightly. "Just white is still a bit monotonous… Next time I'll try adding black."
"Natural light, huh? Want to take it outside?"
"Mm." Hiru nodded. "After it dries, I'll add more color."
Uzui picked up the canvas and stand and carried them outside, setting them down in an open area before stepping back to look.
Under the sunlight, the paint cast delicate shadows, and the image came alive—an expansive sea of clouds seen from above.
Uzui let out a whistle. "Not bad! That's some flashy technique! You mixed gold powder into the paint to get that shine, didn't you?"
"Mm…" Hiru nodded, then frowned after turning the canvas at a few angles. "It failed."
"Failed? What are you talking about? This looks great."
"I wanted to challenge myself with shifting clouds, but when I changed the angle, the clouds didn't move at all…" Hiru sighed. "Once you reach a certain level, breaking through really is difficult."
Uzui planted a hand on Hiru's head and rubbed it roughly. "Listen to yourself! Do you have any idea how many painters would never reach your level in their entire lives? You and Yoriichi are really alike in some ways."
"We're not alike." Hiru slapped his hand away. "How could I ever compare to my brother?"
"Does Yoriichi know how to paint?"
"No."
"Does Yoriichi know how to make medicine?"
"No."
"Then tell me—how are you not better than him?"
"That's because my brother doesn't want to learn."
"Tsk. Talking to you when you're praising your brother is impossible."
Uzui grabbed Hiru and hoisted him up.
"Come on, let's train. A Hashira lazing around like this is completely unflashy."
"Put me down! I can walk on my own!"
Uzui felt the force resisting his arm and was secretly surprised—but he didn't let go. Instead, he lifted Hiru straight onto his shoulder.
"With those little legs of yours, how long would it take you to walk? Let you experience the view from up high for once."
"Say that again! I! Am! Not! Short!" Hiru grabbed Uzui's carefully braided ponytail without mercy. "Say it again and I'll rip it out, you hear me?"
"If you pull it, I'll drag Yoriichi along and shave his head bald."
Hiru froze in shock. "Do you have no shame at all?!"
"What's shame good for? Completely useless." Uzui leapt onto the rooftops and raced toward the training grounds. "So—tell me about what happened that day."
"What is there to tell?" Hiru pouted. "I'd just broken free from Muzan's dirty trick when my brother had already driven him off. I didn't even see anything—what am I supposed to say?"
"You're really useless."
Hiru clicked his tongue. "Sorry for being so useless."
With a few bounding leaps, Uzui took a shortcut and arrived near the training grounds. Standing on a rooftop, he looked down to see Yoriichi sparring with Gyomei.
Gyomei was fighting barehanded as well, each strike producing a howling rush of wind—brutal and overwhelming. By comparison, Yoriichi's silent, flowing movements almost seemed gentle.
"Amazing…" Hiru watched the two with undisguised awe. "Gyomei's physique really is on par with a demon's."
"Two monsters…" Uzui clicked his tongue. "Annoying."
He jumped down from the roof and nudged Sanemi—who was helping Sabito massage his arm—with his knee.
"What happened?"
"He charged in too hard and strained a joint," Sanemi said, pulling his hand back and gesturing for Sabito to try moving it himself. "You're here too."
"Yeah. Did you fight? How'd it go?"
"Don't even ask. Didn't make it past ten moves." Sanemi clenched and unclenched his fist. "I never imagined an attack could come from that angle. The first time, I got knocked out in a single move."
"Gyomei is the only one who's made it past ten so far," Sabito said, pointing toward the field. "But it's less about holding on and more like they're exchanging techniques. Neither of them has gone for vital points yet. Yoriichi's movements are clearly sharper than when he fought us."
Hiru looked down at Sabito. "How long have they been going?"
"Almost forty moves, I think."
Sabito watched the two still locked in combat and sighed.
"Now I really understand the gap between someone who's grasped aura and someone who hasn't. It's brutal."
"Having someone guide you like this is a good thing," Sanemi said, glancing up at Hiru perched on Uzui's shoulder. "But seriously—what is it with you? How do you keep running into weird Blood Demon Arts?"
"Last time I really was careless." Hiru had Uzui put him down. "This time, it was just overexertion. Thanks."
As they spoke, the match finally concluded. Yoriichi seized an opening and drove Gyomei back with a single strike.
Gyomei did not press the attack. After steadying his breath, he clasped his hands together in a bow.
"Yoriichi's mastery of the martial path truly cannot be surpassed. This monk has gained much today. Namu Amida Butsu…"
"Please don't say that. I gained a great deal today as well," Yoriichi replied with a smile, his breathing still perfectly steady. "Training with someone who has grasped aura truly helps refine oneself."
"Regarding 'aura,' this monk still has several questions—"
"Hey," Sanemi nudged Hiru with his elbow."Do you understand any of this?"
Hiru looked at him as if he were strange.
"Did my brother hit you so hard you lost your head? Why are you asking me something like that?"