But in truth, Sukuna's strike was not aimed at killing Gyomei Himejima. He was simply testing Flame Breathing. So he had aimed for the right chest, not the left.
Perhaps in the eyes of Gyomei and the watching Shinobu, Sukuna's Fifth Form: Flame Tiger had already surpassed the intensity of the version Kyojuro Rengoku himself could unleash.
But Sukuna knew the truth. The portion of his focus he had diverted to trying out Flame Breathing had only brought out at most fifty percent of his own limit.
It was purely Sukuna's own strength, amplified by his other abilities, that had produced this level of power.
That being said, it did not mean Sukuna would keep accommodating Gyomei Himejima like this forever. Once Sukuna fully mastered the Breathing Techniques himself, the purpose of these swordsmen would come to an end.
Sukuna twisted the blade inside Gyomei's body. The agonizing pain from the grinding made even Gyomei Himejima let out an involuntary grunt.
"Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun."
Sukuna's flame-wreathed nichirin blade slashed out of Gyomei's body, cleaving through his right arm directly from the right chest. The blade sent a spray of blood arcing into the air.
Yet even after Sukuna had consecutively used Fifth Form: Flame Tiger and Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun, the axe and flail that Gyomei had begun retrieving earlier had only just returned to his hands.
Having personally felt Sukuna's power on his own body, he understood clearly that he and Sukuna existed on completely different planes.
The suffocating pressure was unprecedented. Gyomei had never felt anything like it from any demon in his entire life. Not from any of the Twelve Kizuki. Never.
Sukuna twirled his nichirin blade in the air, creating a flourish. After completing his tests of Fifth Form: Flame Tiger and Second Form: Rising Scorching Sun, he prepared to use the experience to re-execute First Form: Shiranui.
Gyomei stared at the nichirin blade aimed at his neck. He could clearly feel the killing intent radiating from it. The massive wound in his right chest was rapidly draining what little life force he had left. If he did not block this strike, he knew he would die.
His heart was beating at a speed he had never experienced before. Gradually, in Gyomei's eyes, the world seemed to shrink until only Sukuna remained before him, blade swinging. In the next instant, Sukuna's body appeared almost transparent. Gyomei could somehow see through Sukuna's skin to the muscle tissue beneath.
But he had no time to consider what this meant. No time to think about the implications.
He focused every thought on how to block Sukuna's incoming strike.
On his arms, gripping the axe and flail tightly, markings resembling the web-like patterns of rock had appeared without his noticing.
Sukuna saw it all. It was different from Kyojuro Rengoku's markings, so he could not be certain if this was the same phenomenon.
"First Form: Shiranui."
As Sukuna's voice fell, his nichirin blade once again executed First Form: Shiranui. The flames clinging to the edge were incomparable to his first attempt. The licking tongues of fire were aggressively fierce.
"Third Form: Rock Skin."
Gyomei Himejima poured every last ounce of strength from his body into Third Form: Rock Skin to defend against Sukuna's Shiranui, empowered by the markings and aided by the Transparent World.
The instant clash of metal announced the conclusion of the exchange.
When the lightning-fast attack and defense ended, Shinobu saw only the shattered fragments of the flail on the ground, the cleanly severed pieces of the axe, and Gyomei Himejima with his face drenched in blood.
In the end, Gyomei Himejima survived. By using Third Form: Rock Skin to alter the angle of Sukuna's slash and dodging with his body, he had managed to barely receive one of Sukuna's attacks at the cost of having a large patch of his scalp sliced away.
Though compared to Sukuna enhancing his strength purely with cursed energy, this unpracticed use of Flame Breathing delivered slightly less power than Sukuna's usual output, the fact that he could withstand even this was enough for Sukuna to confirm these were indeed the markings.
Just as he had suspected, Gyomei had activated markings similar to Kyojuro Rengoku's at the critical moment. Sukuna withdrew his blade and observed closely. He decided to temporarily name this power the Mark.
On Gyomei's side, though he had survived, the immense force of resisting Sukuna's attack had worsened his already severe injuries. Blood gushed from the wound in his right chest. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed to his knees.
Sukuna grabbed Gyomei Himejima by the collar and hauled his collapsing body up, demanding, "Hey. How did you open the Mark? What did you feel just now?"
"Ah…"
Due to the severity of his injuries, the side effects of opening the Mark at age twenty-seven were now rapidly taking effect, exacerbated by his weakened state.
"Hm?"
Sukuna examined Gyomei's body and detected the abnormality.
Though his injuries were severe, they should not have rendered someone of his physical strength completely unable to speak.
He used RCT to heal the wounds on Gyomei's body, yet his life force continued to drain rapidly. Sukuna traced the source of the abnormality and realized it was caused by the markings on his arms.
With his knowledge, Sukuna quickly deduced the nature of the Mark's significant effects. It was most likely a strengthening ability that operated on the principle of increased strength on the cost of one's lifespan.
Sukuna immediately slashed both of Gyomei's arms and then again used RCT to regenerate entirely new ones for him. As he had predicted, the life force drain caused by the Mark stopped.
Though the arms regenerated by RCT were recorded in the soul as having already opened the Mark, the fact that these brand-new hands had not actually opened the Mark meant the logical chain was broken, forcibly halting the backlash.
Shinobu, who had rushed over in a panic, watched the scene unfold with complete incomprehension. She did not dare to ask questions. She simply watched silently as events developed. As long as another hashira did not die, bearing whatever torment Sukuna inflicted on him became somehow more acceptable.
Sukuna picked up the severed arms from the ground, the ones bearing the Mark, and examined them while asking Gyomei Himejima, "You can answer my question now, can't you?"
----------------------------------
If you are enjoying the story, Consider dropping some power stones.
Read advanced chapters on Patreon!