As both Domains expanded once more, Sukuna and Hiroshi immediately engaged in close combat. A fierce exchange ensued, each blow resonating with the immense power of their respective techniques. The air crackled with energy, and the ground trembled beneath their feet.
Hiroshi's fists moved with blinding speed, each strike aimed with deadly precision. Sukuna, not to be outdone, parried and countered with equal ferocity. The Malevolent Shrine's sure-hit effects collided with the Divine Tree's, creating a storm of clashing energies.
"You think you can best me with brute strength alone?" Sukuna taunted, his eyes burning with determination.
"Brute strength? Watch me finesse," Hiroshi retorted, his voice provocative. He landed a powerful hit that sent the King of Curses reeling, followed by quick left and right hooks that briefly stunned Sukuna.
With a mischievous glint in his eye, Hiroshi then began moonwalking doing the signature MJ pose. "Watch me pull this Michael Jackson shit on you," he said, as he seamlessly transitioned into high and low kicks, sending Sukuna crashing through his Shrine.
Hiroshi gave chase, unleashing a lethal combo with his fists at full power. A front punch to the gut made Sukuna curl up in pain. As Sukuna was mid-air, a flurry of precise strikes hit his liver, lungs, heart, and sternum before he could react and parry the rest. Desperately, Sukuna kicked Hiroshi away and blasted him with a Cero through the Divine Tree, taking Hiroshi's domain down at the same time.
The audience erupted in cheers as they saw Sukuna heavily injured and bleeding from every orifice.
"Woah! OOOAAAHHH!" Hakari exclaimed, witnessing the God of Sorcerers deal so much damage.
"Senju-san won!"
"Nice, Sensei!"
"Let's goooo!!!"
"How long was that domain clash?" Kusakabe asked.
"I dunno," Miwa said.
"1 minute and 43 seconds," Mei Mei stated calmly.
"That's my big sis," Ui ui praised Mei Mei.
"Now that their domains are down, they can't use their cursed techniques," Higuruma noted.
"I'm not so sure about that, Mr. Lawyer," Satoru interjected. "Hiroshi has yet to reach the limit of expanding his domain."
"Limit?" Yuki asked, puzzled.
"Yes, I can keep up with Hiroshi's Domain Expansions by using reverse cursed technique on my brain, but his endurance and physiology are different. I'm certain he's not limited to just four," Satoru Gojo explained.
Hiroshi and Sukuna exchanged blows while wrecking the city. Sukuna was healing himself as they fought. Left, right, Hiroshi grabbed Sukuna by the face and dragged him across the surface of the building they were standing on before throwing him into the opposite building, causing it to crash down within seconds under the might of the forest.
"He has stopped using 10 Shadows..." Hiroshi observed. "Is he waiting for something? Then I'll force him to use it again," he decided immediately.
Hiroshi saw Sukuna emerge from the rubble and moved to intercept. Sukuna, seeing Hiroshi closing in fast, quickly put his hands together.
[Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine]
[Domain Expansion: Divine Tree Emergence]
This forced Hiroshi to use his own domain, and thus the fifth Domain Expansion clash began once again. Hiroshi stomped on the ground, dislodging debris and kicking it toward Sukuna.
"That's... some Earthbender type of thing he's doing," Satoru chuckled. The fact that Hiroshi could replicate moves done by Earthbenders amused him.
Suguru Geto walked in, and seeing him, Satoru asked, "Is Yuta's body okay?"
"More or less. Shoko will begin the healing process. We just put the body in stasis for now, since the Senju Clan is keeping his brain in stasis," Suguru replied.
"The brain?" Satoru inquired.
"Brainjaku is kept imprisoned in a jar, though a brain with a mouth seems oddly weird to me," Suguru said. "So, Hiroshi's winning?"
"Yep, he is, but Sukuna is not out of the fight yet," Satoru analyzed.
As the debris flew toward Sukuna, the King of Curses swiftly reacted. He slashed through the rubble with ease, sending shards in every direction. The air between them crackled with energy as both domains clashed, each vying for dominance.
Hiroshi advanced, using the cover of the debris to close the distance. With a fluid motion, he launched himself at Sukuna, aiming a powerful punch at his midsection. Sukuna deflected the blow with his forearm and countered with a knee strike. Hiroshi twisted mid-air, avoiding the strike and landing gracefully. He then launched a flurry of punches at Sukuna, who hid behind his guard. Each strike threatened to fracture Sukuna's arms due to their sheer force. Sukuna soon realized that, due to the relentless hits, he was now mid-air—a gap Hiroshi exploited.
Hiroshi appeared behind Sukuna, but the King of Curses used both feet to kick away Hiroshi's lunge, landing a clean hit to the face. However, Hiroshi quickly grabbed Sukuna by the leg and smashed him like a sack toward his Shrine. Debris flew from the Shrine as Hiroshi smashed Sukuna to the ground again. His fist glowed with dark cursed energy, and he attempted to smash it squarely into Sukuna's chest. The King of Curses caught the fist with both palms, fear evident in his eyes. If the hit landed, he knew he was dead.
Feeling the fist lose power, Sukuna smirked, realizing he had survived that one. Both fighters smirked at each other, but Hiroshi then smashed Sukuna into his Shrine. Sukuna retaliated by hitting the Divine Tree with Cero, dropping both domains simultaneously.
Seeing both fighters' domains drop, the audience in the theater exclaimed.
"Simultaneous!"
"This fight is keeping me on the edge of my seat!"
"So, when it comes down to purely domain, both fighters are equal. Yet, the God of Sorcerers is outclassing the King of Curses in pure display of skill and close combat," Angel analyzed.
"He can win," Yuji believed.
Hiroshi stomped on the skyway, dropping a portion of the bridge along with Sukuna. The King of Curses landed below, greeted by an energy beam from Hiroshi. Sukuna deftly dodged it, but the collateral damage behind him was astronomical. The ground shook from the impact, and buildings in the distance began to crumble.
"You won't escape that easily," Hiroshi declared, his voice echoing through the ruined landscape.
Sukuna, realizing the gravity of the situation, gathered his cursed energy. "You're strong, I'll give you that," he admitted. "But I refuse to lose to you."
Hiroshi closed the distance, throwing wooden but razor-sharp shurikens at the King of Curses. "Ninja stars?" Sukuna thought to himself as he deflected the sharp objects. Yet, he was surprised by the dull noises that surrounded him. The shurikens deflected off each other, creating impossible trajectories that pelted the King of Curses. In that momentary loss of focus, Hiroshi was already near, launching an attack that hit Sukuna into a nearby concrete pillar.
[Domain Expansion: Divine Tree Emergence]
[Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine]
Despite being dizzy, Ryomen Sukuna managed to launch his domain just in time.
Satoru Gojo noticed a brief fluctuation. "Hiroshi launched his domain first."
"He did? That means he wins this one," Suguru said.
Indeed, Senju Hiroshi launched his domain first. Within that brief 0.01 second, Ryomen Sukuna was hit by a few hundred strikes. The loss of mobility was something Hiroshi exploited as Sukuna reeled. Hiroshi was upon him. "End of the line!" Hiroshi thought as his fist sparked black.
Sukuna, seeing the black sparks on his opponent's fist, knew that this hit would be the end of him.
"With this treasure I summon, Eight Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga!"
Dong
[Black Flash!]
Simultaneously, the wheel behind the Divine General spun. From the shadows, the Divine General caught the black flash and sent a slash towards Hiroshi's Divine Tree, dropping his domain. Yet, despite the size of the Divine General, he was not safe from Hiroshi's immense strength. Hiroshi hit Mahoraga, sending him flying toward Sukuna's Malevolent Shrine, dropping Sukuna's domain as well.
Hiroshi healed the sure-hit effects from Sukuna's Shrine that hit him. "That was odd. Has Mahoraga adapted to my sure-hit effects? But where could Sukuna place the Dharma Wheel if it wasn't on him?" Hiroshi pondered.
The audience looked on as Mahoraga emerged, towering and formidable. "The crown jewel of the Zenin Clan," Mei Mei commented.
"A Shikigami that could adapt to any and all phenomena," Satoru added.
"Any and all? Will Sensei be fine?" Yuji asked, concern etched on his face.
"Don't worry, Mahoraga isn't a match for him," Suguru reassured Yuji, though the audience couldn't help but be captivated by the intense standoff.
Even then, the audience watched in awe as Ryomen Sukuna, at the brink of defeat, summoned the Divine General.
Sukuna stood in front of the towering beast that was Mahoraga, smirking at Hiroshi. Senju Hiroshi, fully aware of Mahoraga's abilities, was prepared to either seal away or destroy the Divine General in one decisive blow.
When Sukuna realized he was outmatched by Senju Hiroshi in their first clash, he began making the Divine General adapt to the God of Sorcerers' Domain Expansion. Megumi's soul bore the burden of adaptation.
"I reckon if I use Domain Expansion once more, then Sukuna would just summon Mahoraga again to win. So...I'll either seal away Mahoraga or destroy it in one shot," Hiroshi mused.
"What's up? You seem to have a lot on your mind," Sukuna said as Mahoraga disappeared into the shadows.
"I do have a lot on my mind, and one of those things is seeing you so desperate, Fraudkuna," Hiroshi taunted.
"Kuku," Sukuna chuckled. "As I said, all is fair in war," he replied as he massaged his shoulder. "Your Domain Expansion, the Divine Tree, it saps cursed energy and uses blunt force trauma to injure opponents, making it hard to heal for the average sorcerer. Their internal organs... Add to that the fact that the more they are hit, their cursed energy reserves plummet. A pain in the ass, that's why I had to take that away from you," Sukuna explained.
"I had Megumi adapt to the Divine Tree, which is why I refused to use Ten Shadows after that one encounter," Sukuna added.
"Megumi adapted to the process but not the resulting adaptation, right? So if I opened my domain once more, you're dead. How fast do you think you can summon Mahoraga? You'd better hope it's faster than 0.02 seconds," Hiroshi said.
[Domain Expansion: Divine Tree Emergence]
Hiroshi expanded his domain with maximum concentration. In 0.02 seconds, the domain was open.
Sukuna attempted to open his domain, but the result was bleeding eyes and nose. Hiroshi smirked as Sukuna was subjected to his sure-hit effects. Ryomen Sukuna was hit by so much blunt force trauma that his brain sustained enough damage to disable his ability to open Domain Expansion.
Sukuna was hit again and again before using Domain Amplification to protect himself. However, he could feel Hiroshi pushing back on his amplification, forcing him to flee. The King of Curses ran, and Hiroshi gave chase, dropping his domain as he realized Sukuna had indeed fled and not feinted. Sukuna managed to cross the open barrier domain and safely exit.
A swift exchange ensued as Ryomen Sukuna carried the Dharma Wheel on him now. Hiroshi stood in front of Sukuna, his opponent bleeding. Sukuna healed himself, figuring out the way to heal by destroying his right prefrontal cortex and restoring it using Reverse Cursed Technique. However, Sukuna noticed Hiroshi did not use the same method of healing.
"He's relentless," Satoru observed, watching the intense battle.
"Both of them are pushing their limits," Suguru noted, impressed by Hiroshi's resilience.
In the midst of the rubble and chaos, Hiroshi advanced on Sukuna.
As both sorcerers expanded their domains once more, the clash was monumental.
[Domain Expansion: Divine Tree Emergence]
[Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine]
The two domains collided, creating a cataclysmic upheaval in the surrounding reality. The cityscape around them was torn apart by the immense force of their techniques. The sheer power of their clash threatened to unravel the very fabric of existence.
Ryomen Sukuna, despite being on the brink of his limits, managed to keep up with Hiroshi's relentless assault. They had clashed domains nine times, and Hiroshi had emerged victorious in 7 times of each confrontation. The relentless combat had pushed them both to their breaking points, and after three hours of intense battle, the struggle was beginning to wear on them both.
Hiroshi and Sukuna continued their brutal exchange. This time, the battle was even more fierce, their movements a blur of combat skill and raw power.
Hiroshi swung his elbow with precision, which Sukuna parried expertly. Sukuna followed up with a crushing blow to Hiroshi's liver. The strike should have been enough to bring any ordinary sorcerer to their knees, but Hiroshi gritted his teeth and pressed on, retaliating with a devastating two-piece combo—left and right hooks that struck Sukuna with force.
Sukuna knew this was his chance. He had to stun Hiroshi to end the fight. His fist crackled with ominous black energy as he channeled the Black Sparks and drove it into Hiroshi's face.
[Black Flash!]
The immense force of Sukuna's punch slammed into Hiroshi's cheek, causing him to stagger and fall to one knee. The impact was so severe that Hiroshi was overwhelmed by white noise, the world around him momentarily fading.
"Kuku, the God of Sorcerers has faltered," Sukuna sneered, his voice dripping with malicious satisfaction. "I know that look—you can no longer expand your domain. You have reached your limit, but I haven't. If you try to open your domain once more, you will perish. It isn't precise enough to counter mine once I expand it again. I will close my domain barriers, adapt to your spell of the Divine Tree, and cut you to pieces. This is goodbye, Senju Hiroshi. You who were born in an era without me dared to call yourself 'the strongest.' How painfully ordinary you are."
The audience watched in breathless suspense as Hiroshi fell to one knee, a collective gasp echoing through the theater.
"Shit, has Hiroshi faltered?" Suguru asked, his eyes fixed on the screen.
"No, Suguru. Watch. I know that smile," Satoru said, his tone confident despite the gravity of the situation.
"This can't be," Shoko said, her eyes narrowing as she analyzed the scene.
Shoko's eyes were wide with concern, her heart racing as she watched the fight. The sight of Hiroshi faltering shook her, reflecting the worry shared by the audience.
Suddenly, from Sukuna's face, blood burst forth. Blood seeped from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. His hubris had blinded him to the truth—he too had reached his limit. The destruction and restoration of his prefrontal cortex had taken its toll, stretching his concentration and willpower to their breaking points.
Hiroshi, seeing Sukuna's arrogant facade crack under the strain of his Domain Expansion's Failure, stood up. His expression was a mixture of resignation and disappointment, as if to say, "I'm not even mad, just disappointed."
"You talked a lot of trash, Sukuna," Hiroshi said, his voice calm and almost amused. "But now it's clear that you can't back it up. This is where your story ends."
"Kuku," Sukuna chuckled, though his face was lined with exhaustion and determination. "You can't expand your Domain anymore."
"Why do you say that?" Hiroshi asked, a smirk playing on his lips.
Suddenly, Hiroshi's eyes gleamed with a newfound intensity. [Domain Expansion: Divine Tree Emergence]
Sukuna felt himself fall into the most icy cavern, the stark cold contrast to the fiery chaos of their previous clashes. When he turned around, he saw another Hiroshi standing behind him, the Domain Expansion unfolding around him.
"A Clone? You can expand a Domain with a clone?" Sukuna thought, his eyes widening in shock as he found himself enclosed by the Divine Tree's spell.
In a moment of fleeting panic, Sukuna summoned his final ace.
Not a moment too soon, the Domain crumbled as Mahoraga appeared once more to bail out the King of Curses, causing Hiroshi's clone to crumble to wood.
"I was expecting you to use that big guy once again," Hiroshi said. Mahoraga disappeared into the shadows as Sukuna knew that if he did not hide it, Hiroshi would destroy it.
Hiroshi then gestured at the crows. "T-up, my students are watching." Hiroshi smirked, a complete contrast to Sukuna's serious expression.
"I'll keep showing off, and I'll style on your ass." Hiroshi said as he attacked. Hiroshi swung a left punch, which hit Sukuna hard, and put dance moves in between hits.
In irritation, Sukuna struck Hiroshi, and Hiroshi countered with a knee strike. "Stop dancing!"
"Must be moving too fast for your ass again, huh?" Hiroshi said as he flung the King of Curses upwards, sending him crashing into the bridge above them. Hiroshi gave chase and delivered an uppercut to the falling Sukuna, creating a hole in the bridge as the fighters continued to battle. Hiroshi threw car after car at the King of Curses, who dodged and weaved with swift motions.
In the midst of their fight, Sukuna was surrounded by Hiroshi's blurring forms.
"Take a guess," the Hiroshis said in unison.
"Gotcha!" Sukuna said as he caught a fist.
"Wrong guess, it's everyone," the Hiroshis said simultaneously as six Hiroshis began assaulting the King of Curses.
"He has restored his innate technique that quickly?" The King of Curses was flabbergasted.
Sukuna's Dharma Wheel turned.
"Dong"
As Sukuna crashed into another building, Hiroshi observed, "The Wheel is turning."
Sukuna stood up, wiping the blood from his face. "In order to prevent the adaptation, He's not using the Spell of the Divine Tree anymore," he said, his eyes narrowing.
The fierce fistfight resumed as Hiroshi and Sukuna exchanged brutal blows. Sukuna managed to distance himself from Hiroshi's relentless strikes, both combatants breathing heavily from the extended battle.
"Are you paying attention?" Sukuna taunted.
"It only spun once; you need four more," Hiroshi said, his tone steady.
"Four more before your demise," Sukuna replied with a sneer.
"You must be mistaking something," Hiroshi said, a smirk on his face. "What's my name, Ryomen Sukuna? Say it. What's my name?"
Sukuna fell silent for a moment before reluctantly saying, "Senju Hiroshi."
"Damn right," Hiroshi said, his eyes glinting with resolve. "The clan with a thousand skills. Adapt to these myriad of skills!"
The fight had begun to enter its final stage.
A/N: We're in the Endgame now.