"Strengthening and modifying the body with self-destruction as the prerequisite... I see, you must have left with regrets in your previous life."
Satoru's Six Eyes accurately captured Hajime's changes.
At the same time, he also understood Hajime's previous question.
Was Hajime strong?
To Satoru, he was just so-so, someone he could easily defeat in a few minutes if he got serious.
Even if he had now unleashed his Cursed Technique.
But someone like Hajime had never encountered anyone in his lifetime who could make him unleash his Cursed Technique.
When one possessed great power and a winning trump card.
That person would surely study it meticulously, trying every possible way to unleash its full potential.
During that time, he must have fantasized more than once about using these trump cards.
Although Hajime's trump card had a self-destructive effect, the principle was the same.
For details, one could refer to Megumi. In the original work, in just half a year, he attempted to summon Mahoraga eight times.
But Hajime had never encountered a single battle in his entire life that required him to unleash his Cursed Technique?
It was like having a bank card with one hundred million yen, but you could only withdraw money under certain conditions, and you waited your whole life without ever getting that opportunity.
The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.
That was why Hajime must have been so lonely.
The transformed Hajime punched Satoru, and the lightning-attribute Cursed Energy, visually like plasma, slammed into Limitless.
'Speed, strength, and Cursed Energy intensity have all more than doubled, haven't they?'
Satoru raised his hand to counter, and for a moment, their fists blurred between them.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue."
Satoru raised his hand, and a small azure-blue black hole appeared.
Zzzzt.
Hajime's speed suddenly surged, and he directly bypassed the small black hole, attacking Satoru again.
'His speed can still increase? Interesting.'
Satoru's Six Eyes accurately captured Hajime's physical condition.
After this speed increase, his body was one step closer to collapse.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red."
As soon as Hajime approached Satoru, he was violently repelled by a dark red repulsive force.
This time, it was Satoru who launched a fierce assault.
A series of Wing Chun-like rapid attacks all landed on Hajime.
But this time, Hajime was not beaten to near unconsciousness. He quickly began to counterattack.
'I see, parts of his body have been replaced by Cursed Energy-infused tissues and organs, so injuries heal extremely quickly. Perhaps even without Reverse Cursed Technique, they can be directly filled in with Cursed Energy.'
Normally, when facing an enemy who was not afraid of injury and whose attacks came with lightning-attribute enchantments, long-range kiting would be the most reasonable choice.
But Satoru did not choose to create distance. Instead, he stood his ground and engaged Hajime in a fierce exchange of blows.
Hajime felt incredibly exhilarated at this moment. He had never felt such exhilaration in his life.
His power, honed through countless trials but witnessed by no one, was now displayed without reservation, bringing Hajime an unparalleled sense of satisfaction.
Crackling.
As the degree of his body's Cursed Energy transformation increased, Hajime gradually shed his human form, transforming into some kind of mythical creature.
'No, my body can't hold on much longer.'
The Cursed Energy generated by consuming his body in an almost self-immolating manner was strong, but he knew that continuing like this would leave him with no chance of victory.
Hajime's eyes narrowed, then he actively created distance.
Dazzling electric light appeared on his body, and all of his Cursed Energy concentrated in Hajime's mouth.
"A final strike, is it? Alright, I'll indulge you."
Satoru naturally saw through Hajime's intentions.
Hearing Satoru's words, Hajime showed an excited expression.
In his long life, he had finally found someone who could understand him and satisfy him.
Now, he would stake everything on this one attack.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue."
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red."
Blue and red spheres appeared, collided, and finally merged.
"Hollow Technique: Purple."
"Mythical Beast Shockwave!"
Golden lightning and purple imaginary matter collided.
Soon, the lightning was shattered, and Purple directly hit Hajime's body.
"Ah, I lost."
Pierced by Purple, having lost his lower body, and with his upper body almost completely incinerated, Hajime fell to the ground with a satisfied expression, looking up at the sky.
"You truly are strong... Thank you... Thank you for satisfying me."
Hajime had long sensed that Satoru was far stronger than him. If he had wanted to, he probably would have killed him long ago, and Hajime would not have been able to display all the Cursed Techniques he had learned in his life as he just had.
"Don't worry about it. I just wanted to play with you for a while, and you certainly gave me an enjoyable time."
Satoru walked toward the curtain with his hands in his pockets.
"Be proud, you are strong."
The dying Hajime suddenly opened his eyes wide.
'Liar, you weren't even having fun, were you?'
Tears slowly streamed from the corners of his eyes.
Hajime closed his eyes forever with a satisfied smile...
On the other side of the curtain, the battle between Toji and Jogo was also growing more intense.
"Gravel Insects!"
Jogo waved his right hand, and a large sea of fire enveloped Toji. Then a large number of Gravel Insects flew out from the volcano on his head.
Toji cut through the sea of fire with a single slash, and countless Gravel Insects instantly surrounded him.
"Tch!"
Toji cursed under his breath, rapidly swinging the Split Soul Katana in his right hand, countless slashes cutting down the Gravel Insects around him.
His left hand protected Ogama on his body, using his own body to shield him from the explosion damage.
"Heh heh, do you people from Tokyo Jujutsu High always like to bring a burden into battle?"
Jogo had taken the opportunity to circle behind Toji, his right palm, burning with fierce flames, striking toward Toji's waist.
Toji's eye twitched, secretly cursing the Cursed Spirit for being so vicious, then forced Jogo back with a back kick.
Actually, Toji had somewhat misunderstood Jogo.
It was not that Jogo wanted roasted loin. It was simply due to his height limitations that he could only hit the waist.
When he ambushed Satoru back then, he also aimed for the waist.
The time Jogo helped Satoru cosplay as Fire Head Captain, he had to jump really high to reach Satoru's broom-like hair, which was perfect for a torch.
Toji looked at the continuously assaulting sea of fire with a bit of a headache.
His speed was very fast, and he himself had strong resistance to Cursed Techniques.
But Ogama could not handle it.
Ogama, this little baby, was truly weak. Even a spark landing on him could burn a large hole.
After a moment of thought, Toji had Ogama spit out the Inverted Spear of Heaven, then rolled Ogama up and swallowed him.
"Are you finally going to hand over the Inverted Spear of Heaven?"
"No, I just couldn't find a smaller blade than this."
After speaking, Toji looked at Jogo with a challenging expression.
Jogo was silent for a moment, wondering in his mind why he would need a small knife.
Soon, Jogo guessed from Toji's expression that this was a provocation.
"It's decided, I'll burn you until not even ash remains."
Flames ignited on both of Jogo's hands simultaneously, and a large number of Gravel Insects flew out from the volcano on his head.
However, Jogo was now facing a Toji with divine equipment and intel.
(To be continued.)