Chapter 176 - The Strongest Thunder God

Violent black Cursed Energy erupted from Ashiya Kurobuchi's body like a materializing swamp of thick sludge, swallowing half the elevated highway in an instant. A millennium of accumulated power. The crushing pressure of a Special Grade. The very air around them grew heavy.

"Shura, Kage — don't open your Domains."

Ashiya locked both hands together in a death grip, knuckles going white. "Opening Domains simultaneously will cancel each other out. You two cover me. Once we drag this Cursed Energy-less monkey into my barrier, the rules will grind him to pieces on their own!"

Ashiya had completely lost it. Five Special Grades getting beaten like dogs by one ordinary human, if word got out, where would the Five Traitors' reputation be? Shura, arm regrown, was gasping hard, both eyes bloodshot. The sorcerer lurking in the shadows silently covered the ground with black spikes. Toji didn't move. He watched the black Cursed Energy gnashing and clawing before him and rolled his neck leisurely.

A Domain? Toji curled his lip.

"Domain Expansion—"

Ashiya Kurobuchi's voice came out hoarse and frenzied. "All-Encompassing Resentful Hell!"

The black swamp surged skyward, forming a massive semicircular dome that wrapped around the elevated highway, and Toji along with it, at blinding speed. Shura grinned. Once locked inside, no matter how strong this green-skinned freak was, all that waited was being corroded into pus by resentment. Toji let out a sigh. Chimera poked its head up from his neck and opened wide.

Toji reached in and pulled out a short blade. Not the Split Soul Katana from before.

"My apologies."

Toji grinned, showing two rows of bright white teeth. "I'm not just well-muscled, I'm also pretty well-equipped. As it happens, I've got one more little toy here, specifically for dealing with flashy nonsense like yours."

The words hadn't even finished. The black dome sealed shut. Ashiya Kurobuchi hadn't had time to let a victorious smile form before Toji was already moving. Reverse grip on the Inverted Spear of Heaven. One hard slash against the black Cursed Energy barrier pressing down toward him.

SHRRK!

A piercing screech rang out, fingernail across blackboard, followed immediately by the crisp crack of shattering glass. The guaranteed-hit Domain Ashiya had built with every last drop of Cursed Energy had barely opened. Hadn't even launched its first wave of attacks. It exploded apart. Countless black fragments scattered and dissolved like snowflakes. The bridge surface went still. Ashiya Kurobuchi stood frozen in place.

Maintaining the hand-seal posture, eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.

"You—" Ashiya's voice was shaking. "What did you do? My Domain... how is this possible?"

A forced technique cancellation. How could such an unreasonable Cursed Tool exist in this world? And in the hands of a monkey with absolutely no Cursed Energy, no less.

"You're too slow."

Toji spun the Inverted Spear of Heaven in his hand. "A fight that doesn't even count as a warm-up, it really is an insult to all the sweat of youth I pour out every day. I'm in a hurry to find someone, so let's skip to the finale."

Toji took a deep breath. Fifth Gate against these tenacious cockroaches was still a bit slow. For a quick finish, opening the Sixth Gate shouldn't affect what comes after too much.

"Eight Gates, Sixth Gate, Gate of View — Open!"

BOOM!

What burst forth was no longer green steam. It was something rawer and more savage: a Chakra-fueled blaze shot through with threads of crimson light. The reinforced concrete of the elevated highway turned to powder under Toji's feet in an instant. A visible ring of white pressure waves exploded outward from him at the center, sending the nearest Shura tumbling head over heels twice.

The only word left in Ashiya Kurobuchi's mind: Run. Can't win. This is not a power any human being can possess.

"Kage! Stop him!"

Ashiya screamed at full volume, dissolved into a mass of black mist, and bolted off the bridge below. The assassin in the shadows gritted their teeth. Countless black spikes erupted from the ground, trying to halt Toji's advance. Toji didn't dodge.

The absolute speed of the Sixth Gate left a trail of afterimages strung through the air behind him. The black spikes had barely broken the surface when Toji had already charged right over them, using them as footholds.

"Morning, Peacock!"

Toji was airborne, both fists swinging out at a frequency beyond the speed of sound. Pure physical friction set the air alight in an instant. Countless blazing fist-shadows spread wide like a peacock fanning its tail, raining down on Shura and the figure lurking in the shadows in one overwhelming, all-covering barrage. Like hiding, do you?

"ORA ORA ORA!"

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!

They didn't even have time to scream. Shura, famed for a formidable body, found that under the Morning Peacock's relentless bombardment, even that prized Special Grade Reverse Cursed Technique couldn't keep up with the rate of destruction. Three seconds. Shura was pounded into a smear of charred, scattered flesh.

The assassin in the shadows fared even worse. The heat and pressure vaporized them together with that patch of shadow, leaving nothing on the bridge surface but a human-shaped, charred-black crater. Below the elevated highway. Ashiya Kurobuchi ran in a full, frantic flight, the dignity of the Five Traitors' leader from a millennium ago long since thrown away. Too terrifying.

That man in the green bodysuit was more of a monster than Ryomen Sukuna himself.

"Pretty fast, aren't you."

A voice full of energy sounded directly ahead. Ashiya slammed to a halt, shoe soles screeching two long black marks across the asphalt. Toji was hanging upside down from a streetlight pole, toying with the Inverted Spear of Heaven, watching Ashiya with an easy smile. The savage red Chakra aura had been reined in. The suffocating pressure it carried had not.

THUD!

Ashiya Kurobuchi's knees went weak. Dropped straight to the ground. Run any further and the next second, the head would be somewhere else entirely. Had to find a way to survive.

"I concede! I surrender!" Ashiya raised both hands high, voice cracking toward tears. "Don't kill me! I'll give you every last one of my points! I can help you kill people. I..."

"Cut the chatter."

Toji dropped down from the streetlight, walked up, and looked down at Ashiya from above. "Let me ask you something. There's a player in this game called 'Angel', has wings, technique that erases all other techniques. Seen her?"

Ashiya's mind raced.

"Make a Binding Vow first! Promise not to kill me, and I'll tell you!"

Toji raised one finger.

"I, Toji Zenin, make a Binding Vow: if you tell me truthfully, I will spare your life."

Ashiya let out a breath of relief. "A couple of days ago, over at the No. 2 Colony, someone spotted a winged woman flying through midair. That's the truth. I swear it."

"Alright, thanks."

Toji nodded and turned as if to leave. Ashiya prepared to use a secret technique to slip away. Shick. The cold short blade pierced through the back of Ashiya's skull without warning and emerged from the center of the forehead. The Inverted Spear of Heaven instantly shredded the brain and the Cursed Energy core.

Ashiya's eyes went wide. A rattling gurgle rose from the throat. Staring in disbelief at Toji's smiling face as he turned back around.

"You... have no honor..."

"Hm? When did I say I was letting you go?"

Toji pulled out the Inverted Spear of Heaven and wiped the blood off casually on Ashiya's hunting robe.

"Sorry, a vow made by Toji Zenin. What does that have to do with me, Toji Fushiguro?"

"The lot of you trash haven't exactly been shy about slaughtering civilians in this game, have you? I've got a son to set an example for."

Ashiya's body crumpled limply to the ground, all life gone.

"For the utterly wicked and irredeemable, giving you a quick death is the last mercy I have."

Toji planted both fists on his hips and gave the corpse a thumbs-up. "Next life, remember to find yourself a good teacher. Sweat a little more of that youthful sweat!"

He patted Chimera on the head and shoved the Inverted Spear of Heaven back in. Tsumiki, wait for your old man. Coming to save you right now. The green figure kicked off hard and vanished into the night as a streak of afterimages.

Tokyo No. 2 Colony. An abandoned container port. The sea wind carried a heavy smell of rust and blood, howling as it swept across the desolate open grounds. A brutal massacre had just taken place here. Severed limbs from dozens of modern sorcerers were strewn across the ground. Blood had dyed the gray-white concrete a deep, dark red.

Treading through a floor of pooled blood, Kinji Hakari slowly walked over.

"This smell." A pause. "Really gets the blood pumping."

Kinji Hakari rolled the neck, producing a series of crisp cracking pops. Eyes moved toward the figure seated atop the highest container. Ancient white kosode. Hair tied in two buns. A long mane of blue hair whipping wild in the wind. Two lightning-bolt-shaped curse marks across the face.

"Hey. You up there."

Kinji Hakari tilted back, eyes burning with excitement that couldn't be held down. "You did all of this?"

Hajime Kashimo slowly lowered his head, still gripping a half-dead sorcerer by the skull. Tossed the person aside like garbage. They crashed down at Kinji Hakari's feet.

"Too weak."

Kashimo's voice was thick with boredom and irritation.

"Are the sorcerers of this era all like this? Can't even warm me up the slightest bit."

"What about you? Tell me where Ryomen Sukuna is, and I'll consider letting you keep your body in one piece."

Kinji Hakari didn't answer. Glanced down at the body at the feet. The corner of the mouth pulled back into an extremely dangerous smile.

"Honestly. I've been in a pretty bad mood lately."

Kinji Hakari reached up and scratched the signature pompadour.

"Spent half a month getting trained like a dog by some guy in a green gorilla suit."

"Right now." A beat. "I'm very fired up."

Kashimo narrowed both eyes. From this figure in the floral shirt, Kashimo caught a scent unlike that of an ordinary person.

"Oh?"

Kashimo stood up. Blue Cursed Energy began crackling and snapping across the surface of the body. The static charge sent the surrounding metal containers humming.

"You want to die?"

"Want to bet?"

➤ Next: Are You Studying for Grad School?