Flames raged through the forest of Tokyo Jujutsu High. Jogo, who was fighting Toji, completely ignored Satoru's warning about "setting the mountains on fire and rotting in prison," allowing his flames to spread unchecked through the trees.
Swish, swish.
Toji swung the Split Soul Katana in his hand, creating a dense net of slashes that temporarily parted even the sea of fire.
"Argh!"
Using the sea of fire as cover, Jogo appeared in front of Toji once again.
Sensing the sudden surge of heat behind him, Toji reverse-gripped the Inverted Spear of Heaven and thrust it straight behind him.
Although Jogo had seized the initiative, his shorter reach meant he was threatened by the Inverted Spear of Heaven first.
Jogo pointed his left hand at the ground, and a burst of flame suddenly erupted.
Using the propulsion, Jogo dodged the Inverted Spear of Heaven aimed at his head and flew over Toji.
Toji immediately swung the Split Soul Katana, slashing at Jogo.
Unable to find leverage in midair, Jogo also commanded the Ember Insects to fly toward Toji and self-destruct the moment he took off.
Boom!
Another violent explosion erupted.
Toji crossed his arms in front of him and burst out of the explosion. After locking onto Jogo's position, he immediately attacked.
In their brief exchange, Toji confirmed one thing. He was stronger in close combat.
The veins on Toji's arms bulged as the Split Soul Katana slashed toward Jogo at extreme speed.
Just as the Split Soul Katana neared Jogo's head, more than a dozen small volcanoes suddenly sprouted from the surrounding ground.
All the volcanoes aimed at Toji, revealing the scorching magma within.
Boom.
Toji was forced back again.
"He's really a pain. I'll have to ask for more hazard pay when I get back."
Toji tore off his shirt, which had several holes burned into it, revealing a body packed with well-defined muscle.
"Interesting. I didn't expect someone like you, without even Cursed Energy, to be able to achieve this much."
Jogo's eyes curved into crescents with triumph.
"But this is your limit. Turn to ash under my flames."
More than a dozen massive fireballs appeared around Jogo. In the next second, all of them flew toward Toji.
Toji crouched slightly, then charged forward like an arrow released from a bowstring.
Swish, swish, swish.
The curtain of blades created by the Split Soul Katana became Toji's first line of defense.
Countless fireballs were shattered by the Split Soul Katana.
Sizzle, sizzle.
The Inverted Spear of Heaven became his second line of defense. Any fireballs not intercepted by the Split Soul Katana were forcibly dispelled by the Inverted Spear of Heaven.
In an instant, Toji crossed several dozen meters and charged right in front of Jogo.
'Something's wrong.'
Seeing Jogo's triumphant expression, Toji felt a sense of alarm.
The ground beneath them suddenly turned red, and a scene like a volcanic eruption unfolded in the forest of Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Sizzle, sizzle.
"You really are reckless."
Not far from the volcanic eruption, Toji stood up, white smoke rising from his body.
If he had not dodged quickly enough during that last attack, he would have been roasted.
Moreover, the previous eruption was not a single burst of countless flames, but a continuous discharge.
This prevented the Inverted Spear of Heaven from directly neutralizing the attack.
If he got bogged down by the attack, Jogo would surely seize the opportunity to strike.
So Toji chose to retreat.
But this also meant that Jogo had successfully widened the distance between them again.
"You won't get the Inverted Spear of Heaven through a positional battle, Volcano Head."
"Heh heh. If you keep dragging this out, the students inside won't last much longer."
Toji's expression darkened. Then he crouched down and rested the Split Soul Katana on his shoulder.
"It's fine. I just need to cut you down before that happens."
"With just you?"
Jogo showed a smug expression.
Toji's speed, strength, fighting style, and information were constantly being grasped by it. It would not be long before it achieved victory and brought back the Inverted Spear of Heaven.
Whoosh!
Toji began circling Jogo at an extremely high speed, constantly reducing the distance between them.
Jogo kept turning, its large eye struggling to keep track of Toji's movements.
But as the encirclement tightened, the afterimages created by Toji's rapid movement increased, making it difficult for Jogo to pinpoint his exact location.
One Ember Insect after another appeared, ready to explode at any moment.
If they could hit Toji, all the better. If not, the impact could still push it away and help Jogo avoid Toji's attack.
Thump.
'Behind me!'
The sound of crushed earth rang out, and Jogo immediately determined Toji's direction of attack.
The Ember Insects began to gather. Flames and explosions surged toward Toji's direction at the same time.
Pfft.
"Nani?!"
Jogo desperately retreated, constantly using attacks to prevent Toji from getting close.
Clatter.
A severed arm fell to the ground. It was Jogo's.
"Explode!"
Countless small volcanoes appeared on the ground. To escape Toji's pursuit, Jogo detonated all the small volcanoes it had previously created with its Cursed Technique in one go.
Rumble!
A massive explosion erupted, and a powerful tremor spread throughout the entirety of Tokyo Jujutsu High.
"Cough, cough. Are you crazy?"
Toji waved his hand, dispersing the thick smoke.
"Sigh. As expected, you can't expect Cursed Spirits to have brains or consider the consequences of their actions."
As the smoke cleared, Toji, clad in a fiery red garment, appeared at the edge of the explosion.
Just before the attack, Ogama extended its head into Toji's mouth, spat out this cursed tool, and immediately retracted.
Toji, who had already prepared for it, instantly tucked the Inverted Spear of Heaven into his waist, then held the garment in front of himself.
"Is that a cursed tool you're wearing?"
Jogo quickly regenerated its severed arm, but the pain from the Split Soul Katana cutting its soul still caused its body to tremble slightly.
"Ah, this?"
Toji shook the red garment he was wearing.
"Special Grade cursed tool, Fire Rat Robe. It grants immunity to flame-based damage. It's quite useful against guys like you."
This was a cursed tool Toji had purchased at a high price a while ago.
The reason was that during a previous strategy meeting, Eichi had mentioned the abilities of several enemies.
After carefully analyzing the information Eichi provided, Toji concluded that only Jogo posed the greatest threat to him.
He could cut down Dagon easily. Hanami was not a big problem. As for Mahito, he had the Split Soul Katana, but the Cursed Technique that altered the soul was troublesome.
He did not have Cursed Energy to protect his soul, and he could not gamble on whether his magic resistance could make him immune to Mahito's modifications.
Fortunately, before he even started to worry, Mahito was captured.
That left only Jogo, the disaster Cursed Spirit who loved playing with fire and might or might not wet the bed, as a threat to him.
So, with great pain, he went to the black market and bought the Special Grade cursed tool, Fire Rat Robe.
The former host, Toji, might not have cared much about that money.
But for Toji, who was now forbidden from working as a host, a Special Grade cursed tool was indeed a bit expensive.
"Enough! Where do you people get so many strange cursed tools? Are you targeting me?!"
Jogo was furious.
Last time, Satoru's Special Grade cursed tool fire extinguisher had made it as miserable as a cockroach dodging bug spray.
This time, it was straight-up fire immunity!
What was wrong with this world? Why was it so against Jogo?
"You pretty boy, if you have the guts, don't use cursed tools! Let's have a fair duel!"
(To be continued.)