Yuji and I stared at Kenjaku.
He was walking toward us slowly, almost casually, like he was strolling through a park instead of standing in the middle of a battlefield littered with destroyed curses and broken concrete.
The distant thunder of Gojo and Sukuna's battle echoed across the city. Each clash sounded like the sky itself cracking.
Kenjaku didn't seem bothered by any of it.
I glanced at Yuji.
"Let's go," I said under my breath. "He just used his domain. His technique should be exhausted."
Yuji nodded.
That was all the confirmation I needed.
I charged.
Eight shields and six swords formed around me in an instant, floating around me.
Yuji ran beside me, his steps cracking the pavement as he accelerated.
Kenjaku stopped walking and raised his hands slightly, shifting into a defensive stance.
So I was right. He wasn't using any technique.
Good. I swung my arm forward.
The swords shot toward him.
Kenjaku moved like water.
He stepped aside, twisting his body with grace as the blades streaked past him. One sliced through the air where his neck had been a moment before. Another grazed his sleeve.
Then one of the swords cut across his leg.
A thin red line appeared.
Kenjaku looked down for a split second.
Then the wound healed instantly.
I kept running.
Yuji was right beside me now, closing the gap quickly.
Something feels off…
I muttered it quietly, but I didn't stop.
All six swords kept attacking Kenjaku from different angles, forcing him to move constantly. They slashed, curved, and lunged like hunting animals.
Kenjaku dodged everything.
Then I detonated one.
BOOM.
The explosion caught him mid-step.
He was launched backward through the air.
"Now!" I shouted.
Yuji and I reached him almost instantly.
I appeared beside him first and drove my fist into his side.
The impact cracked like thunder.
Kenjaku flew across the ground.
But Yuji was already waiting where he landed.
Yuji stepped forward and threw a punch strong enough to shatter an apartment.
Kenjaku tilted his head.
Yuji's fist passed beside his face.
Then Kenjaku countered.
His own punch slammed into Yuji's stomach, sending Yuji skidding backward across the street.
I dashed in again and threw another sword between them, forcing Kenjaku to break away.
The blade stabbed into the ground between them like a warning.
I closed the distance again...
Then my body slammed into the pavement.
I collapsed. I couldn't move.
Not even a finger.
Gravity.
The pressure pinned my entire body to the ground like an invisible mountain were on my back.
My eyes widened as I looked up.
Kenjaku stood above me.
Calm. He was smiling faintly.
He was faking it.
He was faking his technique, being exhausted.
Yuji saw me collapse.
His eyes widened.
"IKUYO!"
He rushed toward me with desperate speed.
Kenjaku didn't even look at him.
Instead, he pointed one finger at my head.
His voice was quiet.
"Maximum Technique."
The cursed energy gathering around him twisted violently.
"Uzumaki."
My heart dropped.
The swirling mass of cursed energy shot toward me like a cannon.
At the last second—
The gravity disappeared.
But the Uzumaki was already coming.
I created fourteen shields in front of me desperately and poured every bit of cursed energy I could into them.
The shields were stacked in layers like Kevlar armor.
Uzumaki hit them.
The first shield shattered.
Then the second.
Third.
Fourth.
Each one exploded into fragments as the technique tore through them.
By the time the fourteenth shield broke—
I had already managed to roll sideways.
The remaining blast grazed past me, hitting my hair and ear, and carved a massive trench through the street behind me.
My left ear was completely destroyed by the strike.
I skidded across the ground and forced myself back up.
Kenjaku looked annoyed now.
His eyes narrowed.
Then he lifted his hand again.
Four cursed spirits appeared around him.
All of them radiated terrifying, cursed energy.
Special Grade. Every single one.
I had never seen any of them before.
One of them immediately rushed Yuji, blocking his path.
The other three moved toward me.
Kenjaku followed behind them.
I barely had time to react.
The first cursed spirit punched me directly in the chest.
I blocked the punch, but even with that, the impact had launched me across the battlefield.
Before I could recover, another one appeared beside me mid-air and kicked me sideways.
My body spun through the air before slamming into the ground.
I forced the Reverse Cursed Technique to activate immediately.
My ribs healed back as I rolled onto my feet.
Then the third cursed spirit appeared behind me.
It had long arms and several curved knives.
I turned and raised my arm to block—
The knife stabbed through my shoulder.
"—!"
Pain exploded through my shoulder.
Before I could react
Kenjaku appeared in front of me.
He punched me directly in the face.
My body flew backward.
Straight toward another cursed spirit waiting behind me.
It swung its massive arm.
The punch connected with my head.
Everything went black for a moment.
I crashed through a wall.
Concrete collapsed around me.
Blood ran down my face and arms.
My vision blurred.
I forced Reverse Cursed Technique to activate again, barely stabilizing my injuries.
My lungs burned as I stood up.
Three Special Grade curses.
And Kenjaku.
Against me.
I wiped blood from my mouth.
"…Sigh."
Even if I lose…
I raised my hand.
Fourteen swords formed behind me again.
"…I'll make this as painful as possible."
I charged.
The two closest curses rushed me as well.
The battlefield turned chaotic instantly.
My swords slashed and detonated around them while they tried to crush me with brute force.
I kept creating and exploding swords desperately.
I dodged one attack, slid under another, and appeared behind the third cursed spirit.
Perfect.
I reached for its head.
If I grabbed it—
I could detonate it with positive energy.
But Kenjaku had already seen through it.
The moment I appeared behind the curse—
Kenjaku appeared beside me.
His foot slammed into my side.
I was launched across the ground again.
"Damn it!" I muttered as I scrambled back to my feet.
Before I could move—
Gravity slammed down again.
My body crashed into the ground.
I couldn't move.
Not even breathe properly.
Kenjaku walked toward me slowly.
Each step sounded louder than the last.
"…Damn it…"
My fingers twitched uselessly against the pavement.
"…I'm going to die…"
In the distance, Yuji was fighting desperately to reach me.
But the cursed spirit Kenjaku left behind kept blocking him.
Yuji kept punching, kicking, trying to break through.
But he couldn't reach me in time.
Kenjaku stopped a few steps away.
He raised his hand again.
But at that moment, something appeared behind him.
A shadow. A blade.
It was MY HERO.
The one and only goat.
Yuta Okkotsu.
He had already drawn his katana.
The blade flashed through the air—
aiming straight for Kenjaku's neck.
-------------------------------------------------------
End of chapter.