Meanwhile, Gyutaro also seemed extremely agitated.
He continuously raked his body with his nails, drawing bloody lines across his skin, his body trembling, his eyes fixed on Byakuya.
Gyutaro said, "Don't you feel uncomfortable?"
"What are you referring to?" Byakuya scoffed, then added, "Is it the poison on your scythe? Sorry, it's useless against me."
Gyutaro stated, "That is a specially formulated potent poison. Even the Nine Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps wouldn't be unaffected."
"Perhaps because I'm not a Hashira?" Byakuya countered, "Therefore, your poison is useless against me!"
Byakuya had long sensed the poison on Gyutaro's scythe but had paid it no mind.
Moreover, there was nothing to mind. With the existence of the poison-poison fruit, no poison was effective against Byakuya.
Gyutaro remarked, "It seems neither of us can do anything to the other."
"I don't think so," Byakuya said, looking around. "Your sister, that demon named Daki, seems to be hiding?"
Gyutaro's expression remained unchanged, but instinctively, he began scratching his body with his nails again, revealing his anxiety.
Byakuya continued, "Although I'm curious why she, as Upper Rank Six, is so weak, she did say herself that she is Upper Rank Six, and her eyes bear numbers..."
As Byakuya spoke, he slowly paced.
"That means you are Upper Rank Six, and your sister is also Upper Rank Six. Upper Rank Six is not one person, but two," Byakuya narrowed his eyes. "So, if there are two Upper Rank Sixes, wouldn't you need to decapitate both of you to kill you?"
Gyutaro's complexion finally changed. He suddenly shouted, "Stay hidden, don't come out!"
Byakuya curled his lips. Gyutaro's shout was an admission that his guess was correct.
To kill Upper Rank Six, both Gyutaro and Daki's heads had to be severed.
However, Gyutaro wasn't entirely foolish; Byakuya would have attempted it regardless of whether he shouted or not. After all, having two Upper Rank Sixes felt rather peculiar.
Simultaneously...
Gyutaro brandished his scythe and charged at Byakuya again.
Gyutaro now fought with a complete disregard for his own life, a suicidal tenacity. No matter how Byakuya struck him, as long as Daki's head wasn't also severed, he wouldn't die!
"Ah!"
Gyutaro roared, slashing his scythe across his own chest. Immediately, a large amount of blood gushed out, transforming into sharp blood scythes that slashed towards Byakuya.
Boom, boom!
As Byakuya leaped, the roof was instantly shattered.
Byakuya descended from the roof back to the ground, glancing at Gyutaro with a smile. "It's easy to find your sister."
The moment Byakuya finished speaking, he suddenly raised his leg and stomped down fiercely onto the ground.
Boom!
A deafening roar echoed.
The ground was pulverized by Byakuya's stomp, and simultaneously...
Zzzz!
A piercing electrical sound rang out, and countless currents surged from beneath Byakuya's feet, spreading in all directions.
Azure arcs of electricity swept across the ground and over the buildings.
In the blink of an eye, a surrounding area of buildings was enveloped within Byakuya's electrical field.
The currents raged, flashing and continuously damaging the ground and houses, and then...
Boom, boom, boom...
Due to the electricity, many surrounding houses caught fire and subsequently exploded.
And at this moment...
With a bang.
Daki burst through the roof of a building.
The instant Daki emerged, a current struck from behind, tearing open a section of the roof and then surging into the sky.
Byakuya grinned at Gyutaro, "Found her!"
Gyutaro's expression changed again, and he shouted towards Daki, "Run, run far away!"
As he yelled, Gyutaro ran in the opposite direction of Daki.
The need to sever both heads simultaneously applied not only to Gyutaro but also to Daki.
If Gyutaro's head wasn't severed at the same time, even if Daki's head was cut off, it would regenerate, and she wouldn't die.
Therefore, as long as the two kept their distance, with enough space between them, Byakuya couldn't kill them.
Because if Byakuya killed one and returned to kill the other, the first one would have already reattached its head. Even if Byakuya ran away with the severed head, it wouldn't matter.
Reattaching the head to the neck only sped up regeneration. Even without their original heads, their heads could regenerate.
Such an ability was one of the reasons Gyutaro and Daki maintained their position as Upper Rank Six.
Only by severing both heads in a very short timeframe, nearly simultaneously, could they be killed.
"So, in simple terms, it's just a matter of being fast enough," Byakuya said, looking towards Daki. "Right?"
The moment Byakuya spoke, his body suddenly transformed into a bolt of lightning, streaking towards Daki.
In a flash, Byakuya caught up to the fleeing Daki.
Seeing this, Daki immediately released her obi, crossing it in front of her.
But...
It was useless!
Byakuya raised his 雷牙怒兽 (Rai-ga Nūsu - Thunder Fang Wrath Beast) and slashed down at Daki.
Before the lightning-infused 雷牙怒兽 (Rai-ga Nūsu), Daki's obi was as fragile as paper, easily severed by Byakuya's sword.
Then...
Thwack!
Accompanied by the sound of tearing flesh, Byakuya followed through with his sword strike to Daki's neck, severing her head. He then reached out, grabbed Daki's hair, and held the head in his hand.
Seeing this, Gyutaro didn't hesitate and began to flee.
Run, run, run...
As long as he ran far enough, Daki would be fine.
As long as Byakuya couldn't sever his head in time, Daki would regenerate.
The best way to protect Daki right now was to run.
And coincidentally, this was what Gyutaro excelled at; he could run, and he ran very fast.
Then...
Just as Gyutaro tensed his body to leap forward...
"Where do you think you're going?"
Byakuya's voice echoed in front of Gyutaro.
As Gyutaro looked up in surprise, he saw Byakuya standing directly in his path.
In just an instant, after severing Daki's head, Byakuya had returned to Gyutaro's front.
Sword rose, sword fell!
A flash of lightning streaked!
Against the backdrop of the night, that flash of lightning appeared incredibly dazzling, brilliant, and bright...
And cold!
Gyutaro's eyes widened as he felt his head separate from his body.
He watched as his body tumbled towards the ground, crashing heavily onto the earth.
...