Yoru's cold and solemn voice echoed through the heart of Shibuya, a battlefield now defined by explosions and roars, reaching the ears of Suguru and Toji.
Yoru stood at the edge of the overpass ruins, veins bulging on the hand gripping Shiranui.
Through his Transparent World, he sensed the cursed energy fluctuations at the B3 exit swelling to a dangerously critical point.
It was a Special Grade's presence, one filled with pure malice and the raw desire to kill.
Around that massive malice, hundreds of faint life-fires representing ordinary civilians flickered.
And then there was a familiar cursed energy signature being compressed, growing dimmer by the second—Kento Nanami.
Yoru struggled internally.
Before him was Sukuna, the King of Curses who stood at the absolute pinnacle of the jujutsu world—an ultimate monster who, with only fifteen fingers, could turn all of Tokyo into purgatory.
Leaving such a formidable enemy to Suguru and Toji was no different than having them dance on a razor's edge; a single misstep would plunge them into an irreversible abyss.
But if he stayed here, Kento Nanami and those hundreds of innocent civilians at the B3 exit wouldn't last three minutes!
"Ha? Five minutes?"
Hearing Yoru's words, Toji, who was currently clashing violently with Sukuna mid-air, let out a roar of arrogant laughter.
*Bang!*
Gripping the handle of the Soul Splitter Katana with both hands, he smashed an invisible slash Sukuna had casually thrown, swatting it away like a baseball.
The violent air currents blew back the hair on Toji's forehead, revealing dark eyes filled with bloodlust and madness.
"Don't underestimate me, Yoru!"
Toji's body twisted in mid-air, defying the laws of physics.
His thick right leg, like a black steel whip tearing through the air, lashed toward Sukuna's neck with a piercing sonic boom.
"I am the Sorcerer Killer!"
"Forget five minutes—even if we fight until dawn, I can wear this four-eyed monster down to nothing!"
On the other side, Suguru, standing atop a building, slammed his hands together.
"Maximum: Uzumaki!"
Black cursed energy converged behind Suguru like a bottomless pit.
Countless high-level cursed spirits were forcibly compressed into a sphere of energy radiating destruction, which then hurtled toward Sukuna's back.
"Yoru, where are you going?!"
While controlling his army of spirits to provide suppressive fire, Suguru diverted his attention to shout at Yoru.
"Nanami is in danger! I'll be right back!"
Yoru clenched his teeth, a flash of resolve crossing his eyes. He no longer hesitated.
He knew he couldn't afford to be indecisive right now.
Saving Kento Nanami and changing that tragic, lingering end from the original story was one of the reasons he had crossed through space and time to this world!
"Total Concentration: Sun Breathing."
Yoru took a deep breath, inhaling air thick with gunpowder and blood, causing his blood to boil like lava.
*Boom!*
The concrete ruins beneath his feet instantly shattered into dust, accompanied by the crackle of electric sparks.
Like a streak of solar light wrapped in thunder, Yoru shot toward the B3 exit at a terrifying speed that surpassed the limits of perception!
"You think you can leave?"
Floating in mid-air, Sukuna watched Yoru's retreating figure, extreme displeasure flashing in his crimson eyes.
"Did I give you permission to leave the stage?"
Sukuna casually raised his right hand, pressing his index and middle fingers together, aiming at Yoru's lightning-fast back.
"Dismantle!"
*Screech!*
An invisible slash, larger and more violent than any before, instantly tore through the air. Carrying the terrifying power to bisect anything in its path, it hurtled toward Yoru's back!
The speed of this slash was simply too high—it had already surpassed the speed of sound!
"Your opponent is me!"
Just as the slash was about to strike Yoru...
A violent black shadow crashed through several cursed spirits in its path, throwing itself directly into the trajectory of the attack!
It was Toji!
He gripped the Soul Splitter Katana with both hands, holding the blade across his chest, using his tempered, peak-human body to face Sukuna's attack head-on!
*Clang!*
The ear-splitting sound of clashing metal erupted in the air.
*Pfft!*
Blood sprayed from Toji's mouth.
Like someone hit by a high-speed train, he was sent flying backward even faster than he had arrived!
*Rumble!*
Toji's body smashed through the weight-bearing walls of three consecutive buildings before finally being buried deep under a massive pile of rubble.
"Toji!"
Seeing this from a distance, Megumi's eyes nearly split with rage. He quickly formed hand signs.
"Max Elephant!"
A massive pink elephant descended from the sky, its terrifying weight slamming toward Sukuna in an attempt to buy time for Toji.
"Annoying pest."
Sukuna snorted. Without even looking, he waved his hand, slicing the Max Elephant—composed of pure cursed energy—cleanly in half.
Just as Megumi was about to form another sign...
"Don't come over here, kid!"
A raspy but still arrogant shout of anger suddenly erupted from the ruins.
*Crash!*
The debris pinning him down was violently blown away by a burst of raw strength.
Toji stood up slowly from the dust, his muscular upper body now bare.
A terrifying wound, deep enough to see bone, had appeared across his chest, blood dripping steadily down his defined muscles.
Yet he didn't care in the slightest. Instead, he casually wiped the bloody froth from his mouth, his gaze becoming even more ferocious.
"An attack of this level won't kill me."
Toji looked up toward the direction where Yoru had completely disappeared, a grim smile curling his lips.
"Brat, get back here soon."
"Leave this place to me and Suguru!"
Seeing Toji's still-upright figure, Suguru breathed a long sigh of relief.
He formed hand signs once more, pouring out his cursed energy without reservation.
"Night Parade of a Hundred Demons... Full Release!"
An even more massive army of cursed spirits surged out from all directions, like a black ocean, completely sealing off any path Sukuna might take to pursue Yoru.
Meanwhile...
Having already charged into the subway station's underground passage, Yoru was shredding every low-level cursed spirit that tried to block him.
*'Faster... faster!'*
Yoru screamed inwardly.
Through the perception of the Transparent World, the flame of Kento Nanami's life was weakening at a dangerously rapid pace.
*'Nanami, hold on!'*
*'You absolutely cannot die before my blade reaches you!'*
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