Tomioka Giyu drained his tea and said softly, "I know, Master. I only came back this time because of a mission, and to visit you."
"Because I might not be able to return for a very, very long time after this. I inexplicably have this premonition."
Urokodaki Sakonji was silent for a long time, his gaze beneath the mask revealing satisfaction. "You've grown up, you've become stronger, and you've even succeeded me as the Water Hashira."
"You've done very well, Giyu, you haven't let anyone down."
Tomioka Giyu smiled from the bottom of his heart; Master Urokodaki's words made him feel warm inside.
"I understand, Master, thank you for your affirmation."
After speaking, Tomioka Giyu paused, then told Urokodaki Sakonji about meeting Tanjiro and Nezuko.
"I think the demon named Nezuko is different."
"At least so far, I haven't seen any demon that can control its appetite."
"Coincidentally, Tanjiro's sense of smell is as keen as yours, and his combat intelligence isn't bad either. He might even become a Hashira in the future."
Afterward, the master and disciple chatted briefly. Near three in the afternoon, Tomioka Giyu left Mount Sagiri to head to his next mission location.
The timing was roughly as Tomioka Giyu expected; he arrived at the mission location just as night completely fell.
This was a very bustling place; even though it was night, it was brightly lit and full of people coming and going.
Tomioka Giyu looked around, thinking to himself, "It really is the Flower District where that brother and sister are!"
That's right, Tomioka Giyu's mission location this time was precisely the Upper Rank Six's lair!
Initially, when he heard the mission location was the Flower District, Tomioka Giyu thought it was a coincidence of names, but he didn't expect it to be that Flower District.
"What should I do? Should I just start fighting?" Tomioka Giyu stood at the entrance of the Flower District, deep in thought for a long time.
In the end, he rejected the idea. Facing Upper Rank Six, with his current strength, everything else was manageable.
Only that poison, he had no way to deal with it.
Unless he could remain completely unharmed throughout, but that was almost impossible.
If it were just Daki, he could manage to be unharmed, but with Gyutaro added in, with their combined efforts, he could essentially declare himself dead.
"Forget it, I'll do a symbolic investigation. Upper Rank Six should be left to the Sound Hashira and Tanjiro."
Having made up his mind, Tomioka Giyu entered the main road of the Flower District.
Along the way, young women in kimonos would occasionally call out, inviting Tomioka Giyu to come in and sit.
Tomioka Giyu remained expressionless, pretending not to hear them. Firstly, he wasn't interested, and secondly, Kanzaburo was perched on his shoulder.
After finding an ordinary inn and resting briefly, Tomioka Giyu began his perfunctory investigation mission.
The mission content was simple: according to reports from Demon Slayer Corps members, many geishas in the Flower District had mysteriously disappeared.
Some said they returned to their hometowns, some said they found good men to marry, and some even said they eloped with customers.
In short, the reasons were bizarre and varied.
But no matter the reason, their whereabouts could not be found, as if they had vanished into thin air.
As for how these Demon Slayer Corps members knew, according to their own accounts, they were observant enough to notice something was amiss here.
But Tomioka Giyu always felt it was because they came here for fun and then discovered that the Young Misses who usually accompanied them happily were actually going back to their hometowns to get married.
Finally, they found that others also had similar experiences, which made those Demon Slayer Corps members realize something was wrong.
What followed was called an investigation, but it was really just wandering around.
He wandered until the dead of night, when most of the people on the streets had dispersed, but Tomioka Giyu still hadn't found any place suspected of being Daki's residence.
However, he wasn't in a hurry. Searching for Daki's hiding place was purely to familiarize himself with the area.
So that he could better support the Sound Hashira and Tanjiro later.
This time, he wouldn't let that Sound Hashira lose an arm and an eye. The Infinity Castle decisive battle definitely needed the Sound Hashira.
He would try his best to preserve every bit of strength of the Demon Slayer Corps, preparing for the decisive battle in the Infinity Castle.
Three days passed like this. Tomioka Giyu slept during the day and wandered at night. He did have some findings; he saw a courtesan who he suspected was Daki.
However, he couldn't be sure. There was no way; if he got too close and was discovered by Gyutaro, it would truly be troublesome.
Another day passed. Tomioka Giyu, who had been wandering until three in the morning, felt it was about time to leave, but as expected, something unexpected happened.
Tomioka Giyu stood near the entrance of the Flower District, while on a rooftop to one side, the moonlight illuminated Daki's delicate figure.
She rested her chin on the back of her hand, staring at Tomioka Giyu, and asked, "Brother said someone was following me. I didn't believe it at first..."
In a blink, Daki vanished. Tomioka Giyu immediately drew his sword and used his sword technique.
"Water Breathing, Sixth Form: Twisting Whirlpool!"
Bang, bang, bang ————
Several sashes with pink patterns were cut by Tomioka Giyu.
At the same time, Tomioka Giyu lowered his center of gravity, and using the rotational force of the Sixth Form, he held his sword with both hands and thrust straight behind him.
Daki, behind him, was also quick to react. As Tomioka Giyu turned and thrust, she had already used her sashes to create a defense!
Bang ————
Immediately after, the human and the demon clashed once more, then both tacitly pulled back, creating distance.
"Enm... interesting, aren't you a Hashira?!"
Daki observed Tomioka Giyu with great interest, her eyes like she was looking at a delicious cake.
Tomioka Giyu's face was indifferent; he wasn't listening to what she was saying at all, but was thinking to himself about what to do.
Starting a direct fight was clearly the most unwise choice.
Running away directly, he would like to, but Kanzaburo was hiding on a nearby rooftop.
If he fled without fighting, he wouldn't be able to stay in the Demon Slayer Corps tomorrow.
As a Hashira, encountering a demon and directly fleeing—he couldn't imagine how the other Hashira would view him.
Everything else didn't matter; what he feared most was social death.
As for telling Kanzaburo to report to headquarters to send him away, that was even more impossible.
Setting aside whether other Hashira could arrive before dawn, just the idea of sending Kanzaburo away and then fleeing was the most unrealistic.
The 'Hidden' and other Hashira were not fools; they would know at a glance whether a battle had taken place here.
Moreover, there were many other factors.
In short, directly fleeing was not even an option.
So, there was only one solution now, and that was to "stall" until dawn!
Tomioka Giyu took the offensive, while thinking to himself, "Sigh, I can only try to control it and not make Daki cry, otherwise calling out her brother would be troublesome."
Facing Daki, Tomioka Giyu felt virtually no pressure.
Water Breathing inherently focused on defense, and Tomioka Giyu had mastered it to an almost extreme degree.
Therefore, against an enemy like Daki, whose Blood Demon Art was singular, Tomioka Giyu appeared very much at ease.
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