Blinding blue light and intense crimson crashed violently beneath Tokyo Tower, like two falling stars unleashing an earth-shattering tempest upon the ruins!
Turbulent ripples of energy expanded frantically outward from the two of them as a circular shockwave.
The surrounding buildings, already battered and dilapidated, instantly turned to dust beneath the crushing force.
Before the billowing dust could even rise into the sky, it was directly vaporized into nothingness by the searing heat and raging lightning permeating the air.
Yoru gripped Shiranui with both hands, the true solar flames on the blade locked in a relentless bite against the blue lightning on Hajime Kashimo's Ruyi Jingu Bang.
Zzzzt—!
A grating screech grated between them continuously as countless sparks and electric arcs burst wildly outward.
Yoru could clearly feel that the force transmitted through the opponent's weapon was no mere physical impact, but an extraordinarily overbearing, violently destructive electrical surge.
These currents were like countless hungry vipers, racing along Shiranui's blade and madly trying to burrow into his body to tear his muscles and nerves apart.
'Is this the cursed energy with an inherent paralyzing electrical property?'
Yoru narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of gravity flashing through his deep red pupils.
'If this were an ordinary jujutsu sorcerer, even with cursed energy reinforcement, they would have been paralyzed from head to toe the moment contact was made, entirely at his mercy.'
'Too bad for you, you're facing me.'
A cold smirk touched the corner of Yoru's lips as the breathing technique within his body surged to its peak.
"Total Concentration Breathing, Sun Breathing!"
Boom!
The flames on Shiranui flared violently once more, that extreme heat capable of incinerating all things forcibly driving back the lightning attempting to invade Yoru's body!
"Oh?"
Feeling the terrifying heat radiating from Ruyi Jingu Bang, Hajime Kashimo showed not the slightest trace of fear; instead, an unprecedented fervor flared in his eyes.
A nearly frenzied, excited smile crept across his lightning-tattooed face.
"Interesting! Too damn interesting!"
"Four hundred years ago, I roamed the world without finding an equal! All those so-called powerhouses I fought couldn't even last three moves against my lightning!"
"Even that overhyped Musashi Miyamoto only dared to stay far away from me, never having the guts to face me head-on!"
Hajime Kashimo shoved forward with renewed strength, his cyan twin pigtails whipping wildly in the wind.
"Originally, I took on incarnation and revived just to track down that legendary King of Curses, Ryomen Sukuna, for a truly satisfying fight."
"Who would've thought that inside this dull barrier, I'd run into an entertaining toy like you!"
"Not a single trace of cursed energy, yet you unleash flames intense enough to scorch even me..."
Hajime Kashimo's gaze turned razor-sharp, as though trying to see straight through Yoru's soul.
"Just what kind of monster are you?!"
Yoru did not answer his question. Snapping his wrist, he used the recoil of their clash to instantly open up distance between himself and Hajime Kashimo.
"Want to know who I am?"
Yoru held Shiranui level before him, the tip pointed directly at Hajime Kashimo's throat, his tone frighteningly calm.
"Then bring out everything you've got and test it with your life."
"Arrogant brat!"
Hajime Kashimo barked a furious laugh and slammed Ruyi Jingu Bang heavily into the ground, producing a deafening crash.
"Since you're begging for death, I'll grant it!"
"Let me show you what true despair looks like!"
Crackle! Sizzle! Zap!
Accompanying Hajime Kashimo's roar, the cursed energy within him surged at a horrifying velocity.
The ambient air seemed to ignite from the volatile energy, erupting in piercing pops and bangs.
In the sky, the clouds—already overcast due to the Culling Game—churned violently as purple lightning faintly brewed within their depths.
Four hundred years of solitude. Four hundred years of supremacy.
Hajime Kashimo's heart, which beat solely for battle, had finally found its outlet.
Within Yoru's Transparent World, the flow of cursed energy inside Hajime Kashimo had turned into an extremely perilous vortex.
It felt as though an ancient beast, sealed away for four centuries, was wildly gnawing at its cage, ready to burst out at any second!
'Cursed energy fluctuations on this scale...'
Yoru's expression finally turned stern; he could feel the surrounding magnetic field distorting violently.
'This guy is getting serious.'
Right then, Hajime Kashimo threw his arms wide and bellowed an immensely arrogant roar toward the sky!
"Cursed Technique release!"
"Mythical Beast Amber!"
Boom—!
A bolt of purple lightning as thick as a barrel plummeted from the heavens without warning, striking Hajime Kashimo with brutal force!
Yet the lightning inflicted no damage upon him. Instead, like some ancient rite, it utterly unfastened the shackles that had sealed him for four hundred years!
Blinding violet radiance swallowed Hajime Kashimo's figure in an instant.
The light was so dazzling that even Shinjuku, a kilometer away, could clearly see the soaring pillar of lightning.
When the brilliance gradually dissipated, what stood before Yoru was no longer a human form.
The surface of Hajime Kashimo's body was clad in a layer of purple armor forged from dense lightning.
His eyes had transformed into pure lightning, devoid of pupils or sclera, leaving behind only the frenzy to annihilate all things.
Even his hair had turned into dancing electrical arcs, crackling terrifyingly in the air.
At this moment, Hajime Kashimo had completely discarded his human flesh, integrating his life and cursed energy to become a true God of Thunder!
This was a suicidal cursed technique that could only be used once in a lifetime!
Once Mythical Beast Amber was activated, Hajime Kashimo's physical body would gradually undergo a merger with the rampant lightning, completely stripping away every neural signal and bodily limit.
Once the battle concluded, his body would also completely crumble and dissipate.
To seek the pinnacle, to relish this ultimate battle, this legend from four centuries ago had sacrificed his own life without a second thought!
"Come on, brat!"
Taking on the mantle of the God of Thunder, Hajime Kashimo's voice had become as deep and commanding as thunderclaps.
Every time he spoke, ripples of electricity stirred in the surrounding air.
"Amuse me with your flames!"
"Show me whether you can take a full-power strike that stakes my very life!"
Before his voice finished echoing, Hajime Kashimo vanished into thin air from where he stood.
There was no afterimage, nor any sonic crack.
His speed had entirely broken past the limits achievable by human flesh, attaining the true velocity of lightning!
An unprecedented sense of mortal peril instantly enveloped Yoru.
Ever since transmigrating into this world, this was the first time he had felt an oppressive aura so pure, so deadly.
Even back when facing Toji Fushiguro, he had never felt such a sensation of his breathing being arrested.
Yoru's pupils shrank to needlepoints; even with the Transparent World active, he could barely track the faint traces of electric current in the air.
Confronting the strongest adversary he had met in the Culling Game—a raging God of Thunder that seemed capable of tearing through space itself.
Yoru gripped Shiranui tightly, every drop of blood in his body boiling completely in this moment.