The ground exploded. Fire was everywhere. Buildings and entire residential complexes lay in complete ruins, with blazing debris of metal and concrete flying in all directions. Flames engulfed everything in their path, transforming the once lively streets of Shibuya into a hell on earth.
At that moment, my body crashed through one of the many buildings in Shibuya, smashing through floors one after another. The shockwave spread throughout the building, destroying everything in its path. Each floor I tore through turned into a pile of rubble until I finally slammed into the ground with a deafening crash.
Immediately after, Sukuna's cursed technique sliced the building into hundreds of pieces. Invisible blades to the human eye slashed through concrete and steel like paper, leaving flashes of light and shadow in their wake. Dust, falling stones, and fine lines in the spiritual realm filled my vision. Chaos and destruction filled the air. The roar was deafening, and the entire building collapsed, causing an explosive gust of wind, dust, and debris to scatter in all directions. Through the haze of the ruined building, two figures could be seen falling from the sky. However, I was no longer there.
Standing on the street in a cloud of dust, a map of Shibuya projected in my mind. I could clearly see the streets, buildings, and empty squares. For the moment, I could control the direction of our battle, so we were in a zone where all civilians had been evacuated. However, I suspected Sukuna was starting to understand what I was doing, which meant I would probably have to stop holding back soon...
Just then, Kokichi's voice came through my earpiece:
"Sukehiro, listen, Okkotsu Yuta has made contact. He's heading to Shibuya. Judging by his speed and determination... he'll arrive to assist in no more than eight minutes."
I nodded, though Kokichi couldn't see me. Yuta was good news. Of course, he was unlikely to help me with Sukuna and Jogo, but...
Taking note of the remaining cursed energy, I quickly calculated how much I would have left after this battle. If I used domain expansion only once, everything would be within the limits I had predicted. However, judging by how this fight was developing, I wouldn't be able to limit myself to just one domain expansion...
While my mind was occupied with these thoughts, the dust began to settle, and Sukuna and Jogo came into view amidst the ruins. Their auras radiated malevolent energy, ready for the next round.
Sukuna grinned, his eyes gleaming with a devilish fire.
"Well, Sorcerer, let's continue our fun," his voice was full of sarcasm and mockery.
The ground beneath my feet began to crack under the pressure, and flames flared up around me once more. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with oxygen, which instantly entered my bloodstream and began circulating throughout my body. I could feel the cells, saturated with this oxygen, starting their metabolism at a molecular level, releasing energy in the form of heat. This heat "ignited" my "Enhancement," which in turn strengthened my muscle fibers and bone structure, making them tougher and more flexible. My skin started to glow from the overheating, and steam escaped from my pores, making me look like a boiling cauldron. Biochemical processes in my body accelerated tenfold, boosting my physical capabilities to unimaginable levels. Plasma in my blood began to sparkle, transforming into miniature energy discharges that spread throughout my body, enhancing my reaction time and speed.
Seventeen minutes had passed since I activated my "Enhancement." At this moment, the only ones who could compare to me in physical strength were Satoru and, possibly, Toji. However, the former was under house arrest, and the latter was roasting in a pot with devils. I cast a brief glance at the bundle with Sukuna's "Fingers." Only four fingers remained, which meant Sukuna had consumed about eleven fingers. This made me the strongest in the world at the moment...
Returning to reality, I first responded to Kokichi:
"By the time he gets here, I won't need Yuta's help."
Immediately after, I launched myself forward in a wild dash, taking the initiative. During my sprint, I maximized and simultaneously compressed the flames that made up my "Fire Armor" in front of me. As a result, the intensity and heat of my fire reached an incredible several thousand degrees, though the cursed energy consumption was equally insane. However, all this was necessary to burn the air molecules faster than they could be replaced, thus minimizing air resistance.
This worked as follows: the high temperature around me heated and ionized the air molecules, creating a sort of low-pressure tunnel, allowing me to move with almost no friction. The air molecules parted before me, creating a vacuum in which I could achieve incredible speeds. It was like a meteor breaking through the atmosphere, leaving a fiery trail behind, but in my case, I was a controlled meteor, flying towards my target. The only downside I noticed so far was the inability to change direction during the dash. And there were also issues with braking, but that would come with practice.
"I've never generated and compressed this much fire before..."
I mastered this technique only today during my battle with Sukuna, noticing how the flames I compressed grew more intense until they reached a level where they incinerated everything in a certain zone.
I think that's why Sorcerers from the Heian era were so powerful. When you live for battles, when you walk alongside death, it unleashes your potential like never before.
At this moment, my speed was so great that the world around me turned into blurred lines of light and shadow. Each step I took felt like an eternity, though in reality, only a fraction of a second had passed. By the time my fist collided with Jogo's head, Sukuna had just begun to react, moving in my direction. The blow was so powerful that the shockwave shattered windows and created a deafening roar. Jogo's head split in two, and his body was thrown backward, crashing into a building on the other side of the street.
I intentionally did not attack Sukuna first. Throughout our battle, I realized he disliked it when my priority was Jogo. This was my strategy: manipulating his emotions and reactions. As a Conspirator, I was exceptionally good at it.
Psychologically, Sukuna was predictable in his pride and thirst for dominance. He couldn't stand it when someone else took the spotlight or interfered in his battle. Sukuna was used to being the center of any fight. For him, it was crucial to be the unrivaled focus. Therefore, seeing me focus on Jogo, he felt his status and significance threatened. This disregard for him caused an emotional dissonance, and combined with my high-level [Incitement], he began to act less rationally, succumbing to his furious impulses.
Ultimately, this should lead to one of two possible outcomes: either he would personally kill Jogo to eliminate the distraction, or he would become more enraged and, consequently, more reckless.
Before I could rush to finish off Jogo, I had to dodge a spatial slash that I sensed thanks to my [Danger Sense]. With each new attack from Sukuna, I became more attuned to his cursed technique. His spatial slashes were becoming more predictable to me; their presence felt as clear as any other physical impact. I could sense the subtle distortion in the air, as if the space itself screamed of the impending threat. The moment the slash whooshed past me, I ducked, and the air above my head shifted slightly to the side.
Immediately after, I had to dodge again, this time from the bastard's fist that whizzed past my face by mere centimeters. Now it was my turn to attack! I stepped forward and delivered a powerful uppercut, aiming for Sukuna's jaw. Sukuna gave me a wild grin, and as he took the hit, he counterattacked, sending his fist toward me. I blocked his punch with my left hand, deflecting it slightly to the side, but the force was such that I flew several meters back, leaving deep grooves in the asphalt.
Moments later, I stood up and noticed that the "Fire Armor" on my left arm had completely vanished, and there were several cuts visible on my arm. Damn "chef" uses his cursed technique even in hand-to-hand combat! Each of his punches is another spatial slash... Fortunately, the "Fire Armor" at least partially protects me.
By this point, the wounds on my arm had already healed, and without wasting any more time, I rushed forward, executing a series of strikes: a straight punch, a hook, and an uppercut. Sukuna blocked and dodged, showing that the difference in our physical power gave me no advantage.
However, this didn't mean that everything I did was without effect. The longer we fought, the more I understood Sukuna and the better I became. At a certain moment, one of my spinning kicks hit Sukuna in the side, sending him flying into the wall of a nearby building. The wall collapsed cinematically, scattering debris everywhere.
Almost immediately, Sukuna burst out from under the rubble and, with a roar, charged at me. I parried his blows, feeling how each clash of our fists created powerful shockwaves. We both were using our abilities to their fullest extent.
My fighting style, based on jiu-jitsu and Bajiquan, which the old man had taught me, allowed me to use my opponent's strength against him, skillfully redirecting his power. As a result, at one point, when Sukuna tried to hit me with his elbow, I blocked the strike, grabbed his arm, and threw him over my shoulder. He flew across the street and crashed into another building, which collapsed under his weight. Without giving him time to recover, I dashed after him, ready for the next attack.
Each of our movements was filled with deadly force. We exchanged blows with such speed and power that the surrounding buildings couldn't withstand the pressure.
In the end, one of Sukuna's strikes grazed my armor, leaving my bare chest with three slashes. Another hit followed in the same spot, but I deftly dodged it and, with a smooth movement, delivered a powerful kick to Sukuna's chest, catching the bastard in the middle of his own attack. Unable to react in time, he was sent flying back, crashing through several walls and out the other side of the building.
However, the next second, we clashed again, our battle growing more intense. Sukuna and I "flew" across the street, slamming each other into the ground and buildings. Our movements were fast and deadly, each blow sending shockwaves that destroyed everything in their path. The bastard's laughter echoed frequently, as if a record was stuck on repeat.
This could have continued indefinitely, but Jogo, whom we had nearly forgotten, had other plans.
"Domain Expansion: Coffin of the Iron Mountain!" his raspy voice echoed throughout the area.