A powerful shockwave rippled through the forest as Megumi stood, his arm still extended from his punch earlier.
'It's probably not that easy, and I'm starting to feel the burden on my cursed energy reserves too. Luckily, it hasn't used a Domain Expansion as of yet...' Megumi thought, shifting out of his transformation to conserve cursed energy.
Suddenly, Megumi felt two powerful presences arriving behind him. Looking back, he spotted Yuji and Aoi Todo walking out of the woods.
"Yuji? You gotta get outta here. This isn't the kind of enemy you can take on easily—it's tough," Megumi said, remembering how it withstood so many powerful blows from his new techniques.
"It's fine, Megumi. You should retreat now. I can tell you're exhausted; your cursed energy is low already. Besides, this is just the opponent I've been looking for," Yuji said with a grin, grabbing his arm and rolling his shoulder.
"What? Even with your strength, you won't be able to fight this thing head-on. It might even have a Domai—"
"Fushiguro, don't worry so much," Yuji said, giving a thumbs-up.
"You see it too. He's about to truly begin spreading his wings. He must find his own way. That's where he stands now," Todo said, his arms crossed.
Megumi went to speak again but coughed up a bit of blood. Ripping out that bud earlier may have saved him from cursed energy drain, but there was still a hole in his stomach.
It seems the wound was catching up with him now. Wiping his mouth, Megumi transformed back into his Nue form.
"I'll kill you if you die here, Itadori!"
"Then I guess I can't go dying on ya, then," Yuji said, stretching and getting ready as Megumi nodded, taking off toward the edge of the barrier.
"Alright, brother. From here on out, I won't interfere. Not until I see you land a Black Flash successfully," Todo said, his passion burning bright and powerful around him. "No matter what happens, I'd rather watch you die if you can't hit a Black Flash."
"Got it!"
'Sukuna's vessel... and who is that guy? He certainly has an aura about him. But judging from his overall cursed energy, he's undoubtedly weaker than me,' Hanami examined, walking out of the crater Megumi had left them in, having already completely healed from all wounds. 'But he's got a powerful presence. Maybe his cursed technique is powerful. I can't make a careless move. Plus, this Black Flash thing they're talking about... let's see what your move is...'
"You can talk? There's something I wanna ask you," Yuji asked Hanami, who answered through telepathic intent, their words automatically translated in a way Yuji could understand.
"Is there a curse in your group with a human shape and a patchwork face? He almost got my friend killed..." Yuji pointed at Hanami with a serious expression.
"And if I say there is?" Hanami said, as rage instantly filled Yuji's eyes.
He moved like a blur, even faster than Megumi's Nue form before it accelerates to max speed.
Kroom!
Yuji's fist landed like an explosion, blasting a wave of water meters high into the air, the shockwave alone making Hanami stumble. Then, under the cover of the water, two large boulders flew at Hanami, forcing them to extend a hand to catch the large rocks.
Suddenly, Yuji materialized behind Hanami, slamming a violent punch into their spine and driving them through the boulder as it exploded from the force.
Hanami skipped across the ground before catching themselves on a net of roots, healing the dent in their back with a wince.
"You're smart to close the distance, and I commend you for your strength," Hanami spoke, blocking another punch with one of their root balls.
Yet, Yuji already appeared in front of them again, seemingly landing five kicks simultaneously and sending Hanami flying backward.
"Sukuna's vessel is a real freak!" Hanami muttered, spitting out purple blood and once again focusing on healing. 'It's underestimating my speed since I've held back, and my strength too. Now's my chance to try it out!'
Pulling back his fist, Yuji went all out.
'Black Flash!' he thought, channeling all his anger at how close they were to ruining the life of his friend Junpei, and how, because of these curses, his mother almost died horribly too.
Yet, this blow landed the same as any other. Hanami caught themselves once more and even managed to dodge thanks to the spike in cursed energy before the blow, only getting grazed.
"Itadori, my friend," Todo spoke from behind Yuji, and Yuji turned.
At full force, Todo slapped some sense into Yuji before he explained.
"Anger is a valuable trigger for a jujutsu sorcerer. There've been instances where people have been put on their heels after provoking an inferior opponent," Todo began, looking at Yuji seriously. "The opposite isn't good either. Mishandling cursed energy when angered wastes your skills, and the fight will end in defeat."
"Your friend Fushiguro was hurt, and our quality brother-bonding time as best friends was also interrupted, so I understand better than anyone why you'd lose your cool now."
"But that anger is not for you. Suppress it for now." Saying this, Todo slapped Yuji again, confusing Hanami in the background.
'Are they having a falling out?'
"Any more distractions in that head of yours?" Todo asked, smiling.
"Nope," Yuji grinned, understanding completely.
'Thank you so much, best friend Todo!' Yuji thought as he remembered all he was told about the Black Flash earlier.
Yuji cleared his mind completely, focused only on the moment, on the fight, on both his and Hanami's energy, and on the surroundings themselves. He also tried to remember the sensation of Sukuna's Black Flash when the curse used his body.
A trail of drool left the corner of his mouth as his gaze glassed over.
'What incredible concentration!' Hanami admired the dedication, but it was time to end this.
Firing dozens of sharp roots at Itadori, Hanami was surprised when all they hit was an afterimage.
Yuji, already in front of them, pulled back his fist before it silently slammed into Hanami's chest. Violent, thick sparks of black burst from the point of impact as Yuji's fist blew a chunk right off Hanami's body.
"BLACK FLASH!" Yuji spoke, his gaze sharp.
Then came the sound—a sonic boom violently tore through the air, powerful enough to grind a building to dust.
BOOOOOOMMMM!!!
Hanami was critically injured, sent hurtling through the air and slamming through over a hundred meters of forest before finally landing. Luckily, the blow wasn't on their face; otherwise, they would have died then and there.
Never before had Hanami come so close to death like that.
'And I was starting to have fun fighting these sorcerers too... but it'd be foolish to risk getting hit by another one of those Black Flashes. I'll have to escape early,' Hanami thought, before slamming their arm into the ground and unleashing a field of... flowers?
Todo and Yuji were suddenly distracted by the flowers, and despite both quickly freeing themselves from the trance, Hanami had already unleashed a wave of roots in their direction and made a break for it.
"Shit!" Yuji punched away the roots and cursed. The Special Grade got away this time.