"My Lord, this old man does indeed know some inside details regarding the core of this barrier."
Musashi Miyamoto reined in the shock on his face, his expression turning exceedingly solemn, even bearing an extraordinarily rare trace of dread.
Taking a deep breath, he raised a hand and pointed toward the steel structure towering into the clouds at the center of the barrier, still faintly visible through the smoke.
"Based on the intelligence this old man gathered while fighting across the barrier over the past few days, as well as my perception of the barrier's cursed energy flow..."
"The central hub supporting the operation of the entire Tokyo Colony No. 1 is hidden beneath that red-and-white steel tower!"
Hearing those words, Yuji Itadori and Hiromi Higuruma, who had just rushed over, looked in the direction Musashi Miyamoto was pointing at the same time.
"Tokyo Tower?"
Yuji Itadori could not help furrowing his brows.
"That place is an iconic landmark of Tokyo. If the core were truly there, shouldn't other players have discovered it long ago?"
"Why are the barrier's rules still operating normally up until now, without the slightest sign of being damaged?"
Hiromi Higuruma pushed up his glasses, keenly catching the crux of the issue.
"Could it be... that an exceptionally terrifying existence is guarding it?"
"To the point where even you, the leader of the ancient sorcerer alliance, dare not rashly set foot there?"
Faced with Hiromi Higuruma's questioning, Musashi Miyamoto did not deny it, instead nodding quite frankly.
"Indeed, this old man truly does not dare go there."
A flicker of deep dread flashed in the eyes of this ancient Sword Saint, who had just had an arm severed by Yoru.
"It is not because of how many guards are stationed there, but because the person guarding it is only one man."
"A complete and utter madman, a monster even this old man is unwilling to provoke!"
Musashi Miyamoto took a deep breath and slowly uttered a name that, in the jujutsu world four hundred years ago, was enough to strike terror into everyone's hearts.
"Hajime Kashimo."
"A Special Grade Sorcerer from the same era as this old man four hundred years ago, an existence revered by countless people as the God of Thunder!"
Hearing that name, Yuji Itadori and Hiromi Higuruma were both entirely bewildered; after all, they knew very little about the history of ancient sorcerers.
However, an exceptionally sharp gleam flashed through Yoru's eyes.
"Oh? Hajime Kashimo?"
The corners of Yoru's mouth curved slightly into an intrigued arc.
"Elaborate in detail. Just how strong is he?"
Musashi Miyamoto lowered his head respectfully and reported in a deep voice.
"My Lord, Hajime Kashimo's strength lies not in how many complicated cursed techniques he possesses, but in the extremely peculiar nature of his cursed energy!"
"His cursed energy is not ordinary energy, but real lightning!"
"Whenever one exchanges blows with him, every physical collision, even the clashing of weapons, is instantly paralyzed by his electric-charged cursed energy!"
Musashi Miyamoto glanced at the scabbard at his waist with lingering fear.
"Though this old man's swordsmanship is fierce, the blades in my hands are forged of metal, naturally conductive."
"Once engaged in combat with him, within three exchanges, this old man's body would be paralyzed by lightning, left entirely at his mercy."
"What is even more terrifying is that once he accumulates enough positive and negative electrical charges on a target, he can unleash a fatal lightning strike that requires no domain sure-hit effect and is absolutely impossible to evade!"
Musashi Miyamoto drew a deep breath and gave an exceedingly high evaluation.
"Four hundred years ago, aside from Ryomen Sukuna, the legendary King of Curses who was like a natural disaster..."
"Hajime Kashimo was the undisputed strongest sorcerer!"
"The sole purpose of his incarnation and rebirth is to seek out the strongest existence in this world, and then engage in an exhilarating, fight-to-the-death duel!"
After listening to Musashi Miyamoto's description, the expressions of both Yuji Itadori and Hiromi Higuruma turned exceedingly grim.
The strongest ancient sorcerer, who inherently carried a paralysis effect and could unleash sure-hit lightning strikes?
Such a monster was a hundred times more troublesome than even the Sword Saint before them who possessed Swallow Reversal!
"Senior Yoru, this guy named Hajime Kashimo is way too dangerous!"
Yuji Itadori looked at Yoru with considerable concern.
"The nature of his cursed energy specifically counters close combat, and Senior, you have no cursed energy to protect your body. If you rush in recklessly, you could very well suffer a huge setback!"
"How about we head back first to regroup with Senior Yuta and the others, and then plan things out together?"
Hiromi Higuruma also nodded in agreement.
"In legal terms, when facing an offender possessing overwhelmingly superior firepower, avoiding their spearhead for the moment is the most rational choice."
However, faced with the two men's dissuasion, Yoru could not help letting out a soft chuckle.
"Avoid the spearhead? That's not my style."
He slowly turned around. In his crimson eyes, far from showing the slightest fear, there burned an unprecedentedly fanatical fighting spirit!
That was the ultimate craving to challenge one's own limits, belonging uniquely to the Yoriichi Tsugikuni template!
"The God of Thunder, is he?"
Yoru's fingers lightly caressed the hilt of Shiranui, his tone laced with an absolute confidence that looked down upon all under heaven.
"In this world, there is no lightning that can move faster than my blade."
"Moreover, for a madman who lives only for the pursuit of absolute strength, if I don't completely shatter his pride head-on, how could he ever obediently surrender the barrier's core?"
Yoru turned his head, looked at the three people behind him, and began methodically issuing orders.
"Itadori, Lawyer Higuruma."
"The two of you, take Musashi along and stay in the Shinjuku district."
"Since Musashi has already submitted, he will step forward to absorb the remnants of the ancient sorcerer alliance."
Yoru's gaze turned exceedingly sharp.
"I want you to completely quell the chaos within Tokyo Colony No. 1 in the shortest time possible and establish absolute order!"
"Anyone who dares defy orders and continues slaughtering civilians and innocent awakened sorcerers, no matter who they are, execute them on the spot!"
Hearing Yoru's command, Yuji Itadori and Hiromi Higuruma were both invigorated at once.
"Understood! We guarantee the mission will be completed!"
Musashi Miyamoto also lowered his head respectfully and accepted the order in a loud voice.
"This old man shall obey My Lord's decree!"
"I will go right now and cut down every single one of those useless trash who are still putting up stubborn resistance!"
Yoru nodded with satisfaction, then whipped around, his black haori snapping sharply in the wind.
Without another word, he strode forward, setting off entirely alone against the current toward Tokyo Tower towering into the clouds at the center of the barrier!
...
Half an hour later.
The ruined plaza beneath Tokyo Tower.
As the news of Musashi Miyamoto's defeat and submission spread like wildfire through the barrier, all the ancient sorcerers along the route avoided Yoru's path from afar as if dodging a plague god.
Not a single soul dared step forward to block him, nor did anyone even dare breathe loudly.
Yoru strolled leisurely beneath this iconic landmark as if walking through an uninhabited land.
The moment he stepped into the plaza's perimeter, a scalp-numbing crackling sound echoed in the air.
A visible surge of blue electrical arcs bounded and darted wildly through the air, causing even the rubble on the ground to float midair due to the electrostatic attraction.
"What violent cursed energy..."
Yoru narrowed his eyes slightly, instantly activating the Transparent World.
In his field of vision, beneath the entirety of Tokyo Tower, it was as if a colossal epicenter of a thunderstorm lay concealed.
And at the dead center of this thunderstorm, a figure sat cross-legged.
It was a young man wearing a white kariginu, his cyan hair tied into twin tails.
A lightning-shaped tattoo was painted across his face, and in his hands he gripped a peculiar staff with metal rings at both ends—the Ruyi Jingu Bang.
Seemingly sensing Yoru's arrival, the man slowly opened his eyes.
Those were eyes of lightning, filled with frenzy, unruliness, and an ultimate thirst for battle!
Zzzzt!
A terrifying bolt of lightning as thick as a barrel instantly split open the underground vault, and the man leapt straight out from beneath the earth like the God of Thunder descending into the world, landing steadily before Yoru.
The strongest ancient God of Thunder—Hajime Kashimo!
"No cursed energy... yet physical strength hardened to such an unfathomable degree?"
Shouldering the Ruyi Jingu Bang, Hajime Kashimo scrutinized Yoru before him with keen interest, a wildly unrestrained grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"I heard that you, a brat with no cursed energy, severed an arm off that relic Musashi Miyamoto with a single slash?"
"Quite interesting!"
The lightning cursed energy within Hajime Kashimo surged frantically, blue electric arcs even forming a miniature domain of thunder around him.
"Come at me, brat!"
"Show me whether you truly have what it takes to be my warm-up snack before I seek out Sukuna!"
Faced with Hajime Kashimo's outrageously arrogant provocation, the expression on Yoru's face remained as calm as still water.
He slowly unsheathed Shiranui from his waist, the patterns of the Transparent World spinning wildly within his crimson eyes.
"A warm-up snack?"
Yoru smiled faintly, the true fire of the sun instantly combusting on the blade!
"No."
"I came to cleave you down from your divine altar with a single strike."
Boom!
Two terrifying forces—one red and one blue—clashed thunderously beneath Tokyo Tower!
A pinnacle showdown between Sun Breathing and the strongest God of Thunder was about to unfold the ultimate aesthetic of violence above these ruins!
Just what kind of despair-inducing, terrifying power would this God of Thunder, hailed as the strongest of four hundred years ago, reveal?
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