A crisp sound of clapping hands suddenly rang out across the battlefield.
It was as if this sound signaled the beginning of some eerie ritual.
Hanami, who had been preparing to unleash cursed energy seeds to bombard the group, felt its vision blur for an instant.
Its position had changed.
Not only that, but the boy named Yuji Itadori appeared out of thin air behind it.
"Black Flash!"
There were no wasted words.
Yuji Itadori's fist, saturated with cursed energy and trailing black arcs of electricity, slammed violently into Hanami's back.
BOOM—!!!
Space itself seemed to warp under the force of the strike.
The massive impact sent Hanami flying forward uncontrollably, snapping several thick trees in its path.
"Cough..."
Hanami spat out a mouthful of purple blood, its eyes wide with shock.
*What happened?*
*Why did Sukuna's vessel suddenly appear there?*
Before it could process the situation, that irritating sound of clapping hands rang out again.
Clap!
Hanami's vision blurred once more.
Its body, which should have been flying away, bizarrely halted mid-air, and the burly man who had been watching from a distance—
Aoi Todo appeared before its eyes out of nowhere.
"I'm right here, Special Grade Cursed Spirit."
Aoi Todo grinned, revealing his pearly white teeth.
In that moment, his smile looked incredibly sinister to Hanami.
"Boogie Woogie."
Clap!
The clap sounded for the third time.
This time, Aoi Todo vanished.
In his place stood a dark shadow radiating a scorching heat.
Yoru.
The Cursed-Energy-Less Sword Saint, who instilled an instinctive fear in Hanami, stood in Todo's former position with his hand already on his hilt.
He was less than a meter away from Hanami.
For a swordsman, this distance was a guaranteed kill zone.
Without any hesitation or delay, as if he had anticipated this exact moment long ago.
The Special Grade Cursed Tool, Shiranui, in Yoru's hand carved a perfect arc through the air.
"Sun Breathing, First Form: Dance."
Shrr—!
A crimson blade-light, resembling the rising sun, instantly sliced through the hardened wooden armor on Hanami's chest.
Sizzle...
A grating, searing sound emanated from the wound.
"ROAR—!!!"
Hanami let out a blood-curdling scream.
The regeneration it took so much pride in was completely nullified by the intense heat of the blade.
"How is this possible?!"
Hanami clutched its chest and retreated frantically, its eyes filled with disbelief.
*That sorcerer's technique is position swapping.*
*It wasn't hard to figure out.*
*But why?*
*Why can this boy without a shred of cursed energy coordinate so perfectly with that sorcerer's technique?*
Even with the fastest reflexes, a normal person would experience a moment of confusion or a brief pause during a sudden swap.
That's the time the brain needs to process a sudden change.
But Yoru didn't.
The moment he appeared, his blade was already in motion.
It was as if... he already knew he would appear right there.
"Best friend! Nicely done!"
Aoi Todo laughed loudly from a distance.
"As expected of a brother recognized by me, Aoi Todo! That terrifying combat instinct... you're a beast born for the battlefield!"
Yuji Itadori crawled out of the debris and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Yoru-senpai, you're amazing!"
"That reaction speed is simply inhuman!"
It truly wasn't something a normal human could do.
It was an instinct possessed only by a warrior who had survived countless life-and-death struggles, engraving combat intuition into his very marrow.
For Yoru at this stage, this was merely a basic ability inherent to the Yoriichi Tsugikuni template.
"Don't let your guard down."
Yoru flicked the blood off his blade, his expression remaining as calm as still water.
"Its presence hasn't faltered yet."
Despite being injured, Hanami's foundation as a Special Grade Cursed Spirit was still formidable.
Furthermore, it was adapting.
Adapting to Todo's technique, Yuji's Black Flash, and Yoru's blade.
"What... loathsome teamwork."
Hanami slowly stood tall. Although its chest wound was still smoking, the bleeding had stopped.
Its pupil-less eyes glared intently at the three before it.
One had an unreasonable control ability, while another possessed strikes that could damage the soul.
And then there was the other one...
The boy with the sword was its greatest threat.
*I must eliminate him first!*
"The forest... is angry."
Hanami let out a low growl.
Countless sharp roots erupted from the ground, surging toward the three like a frenzy of dancing pythons.
"Attacks of this level won't work!"
Aoi Todo clapped his hands again.
Clap!
Yoru and Yuji instantly swapped places.
The roots that were meant for Yoru struck empty air. Yoru, appearing in a gap between the roots, delivered a backhand slash.
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance."
His body moved like flowing water, weaving effortlessly through the dense onslaught of roots.
With every swing of his sword, a root was severed.
Under the residual heat of Sun Breathing, the severed roots withered and turned to ash instantly.
"Not done yet!"
Shielded by Aoi Todo's movements, Yuji Itadori leaped high into the air.
A blackish-red light of cursed energy once again coalesced around his fist.
"Divergent Fist!"
Bang!
The punch slammed hard into Hanami's shoulder.
Although not as powerful as a Black Flash, the unique delayed shockwave still caused Hanami's movements to stiffen for a split second.
*Now!*
A glint of brilliance flashed in Aoi Todo's eyes.
Clap!
The clap sounded again.
This time, he swapped himself with a seed held in Hanami's hand.
The seed that Hanami had been holding for a sneak attack appeared in Todo's palm.
Meanwhile, Aoi Todo was now straddling Hanami's neck!
"Now... sit down!"
Aoi Todo put his full strength into his legs and delivered an elbow strike as heavy as a mountain to the crown of Hanami's head.
Boom!
Hanami's feet were driven deep into the earth.
An overwhelming dizziness left its mind blank.
"Yoru!"
Aoi Todo roared.
He didn't need to be told; the moment Hanami stiffened, Yoru had already moved.
He took a deep breath.
The air in his lungs was compressed to the extreme in an instant.
His heart pounded violently, pumping scalding blood to every muscle in his body.
The explosive power of Thunder Breathing.
The destructive force of Sun Breathing.
Two completely different breathing styles generated a miraculous resonance within him.
Sizzle...
Golden arcs of electricity danced across his body before rapidly transforming into a deep crimson light.
That was... Crimson Flash!
Although it wasn't the complete form, it was the strongest blow Yoru could currently muster.
"Total Concentration, Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash - Crimson!"
BOOM—!!!
Yoru's figure vanished.
Only a piercing sonic boom remained, echoing through the air.
A second later.
A red bolt of lightning pierced directly through Hanami's torso.
Pfft!
A massive spray of purple blood erupted.
Hanami's iron-hard body was as fragile as tissue paper before this strike.
It looked down in disbelief at the massive hole in its chest.
That was where its cursed energy core was supposed to be.
Although it had shifted by a few centimeters and avoided a fatal blow, the sheer destructive power still filled it with the terror of death.
"How... is this... possible..."
Hanami staggered backward, the light in its eyes beginning to fade.
The defense it took so much pride in had been shattered—shattered completely by a human without cursed energy.
Meanwhile, Yoru stood behind it, slowly sheathing his blade.
His breathing was slightly labored, but the light in his eyes grew increasingly intense.
That sensation... it was here.
It felt as if his body had broken through some kind of shackle.
The once-blurry world began to clarify before his eyes.
The flow of the wind.
The vibration of the leaves.
Even the flow of cursed energy within Hanami's body.
Everything had become traceable.
*Ding!*
Suddenly, the familiar system notification sound chimed in his mind.
Though in the heat of battle, Yoru still perceived the information clearly.
[SYSTEM: SYNCHRONIZATION RATE INCREASED...]
[SYSTEM: CURRENT SYNCHRONIZATION RATE: 20%]
[SYSTEM: NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: TRANSPARENT WORLD (INITIAL AWAKENING)]
Yoru slowly raised his head, his crimson pupils reflecting Hanami's terrified figure.
The world had changed.
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