Team Battle (2)

After Inumaki Toge used Cursed Speech to quickly deal with the cursed spirit alongside Maki, several figures were hiding in the woods nearby: Maki Zenin, Mechamaru, and Kasumi Miwa from Kyoto.

Clearly, they had witnessed the scene just now. Maki Zenin quietly said to her companions, "Looks like we were right to use a cursed spirit to probe their techniques. That white-haired kid with short hair uses Cursed Speech. Put simply, his words trigger compulsory effects."

"Good thing we didn't attack head-on. Otherwise, we might've been wiped out before we even knew what was happening."

Mechamaru spoke in a cold voice. "That technique isn't so frightening once you know about it and prepare accordingly. We'll pressure him with long-range attacks later and force him to use his technique, draining his Cursed Energy."

Kasumi Miwa raised her hand. "Th-then what about me? I don't have any long-range attacks."

Maki Zenin smiled. "You'll be our final safeguard. Come on, follow them and get ready to attack."

Up in the sky, the petite blonde girl Momo Nishimiya rode her broom, observing the movements of the cursed spirits and Tokyo students from above while using her phone to relay information to her companions.

Meanwhile, in the forest below, Shen Yuanyi climbed a tall tree and watched Momo Nishimiya in the air through the cover of dense leaves.

"Oh, right... she can fly. But she doesn't seem all that strong in a fight? I didn't bring Annihilation, but I can still try knocking her down. The enemy has vision, so of course I should try taking it away."

Shen Yuanyi pointed two fingers at the flying figure overhead. Continuously gathering Cursed Energy condensed into a dazzling glow at his fingertips. Cursed Energy could be fired directly as an attack, but it was less effective than activating a technique or reinforcing one's body for physical strikes. It was generally only used against weak opponents or for probing attacks.

Shen Yuanyi had no intention of eliminating Momo Nishimiya with this directly, either. If he put too much force into it, the attack's area would expand. Even if he compressed it as much as possible, a direct hit could cause serious trouble. Wasn't she flying on a broom? He only needed to destroy the broom.

Shen Yuanyi aimed at Momo Nishimiya, and once it felt about right, he imitated the sound with his mouth. "Bang!"

Wheel of Time: Spin

Momo Nishimiya, flying in the sky, suddenly sensed a fluctuation of Cursed Energy. A cursed spirit? As she scanned the ground below, she spotted the source of the fluctuation at a moderate distance away.

"That is... someone's trying to attack me from range with Cursed Energy! Are they trying to shoot me down while I'm unaware? But since I spotted it, it'll be easy to dodge..."

Yet just as Momo Nishimiya moved to evade, she felt a violent gust sweep past her. A section of the broom's side snapped off, and she lost her balance, tumbling toward the ground.

"What... was that?"

Momo Nishimiya stared at the residual traces of Cursed Energy in the air and her damaged broom, her face filled with shock.

"I didn't see the attack at all. Was the enemy's attack really that fast? Preliminary assessment: the enemy's technique is related to speed! I need to tell the others."

Momo Nishimiya barely managed to land using a treetop. She hurriedly took out her phone to report the information to her companions, but after jumping down, she saw a figure emerge from the woods while still holding the phone.

Shen Yuanyi looked at Momo Nishimiya, who was leaning against a tree after twisting her ankle, and couldn't help whistling. "Didn't think a casual try would actually bring her down. Might as well eliminate her while I'm at it."

"You..."

Momo Nishimiya had barely begun to speak when her consciousness blurred. Her phone fell into Shen Yuanyi's hand, and after he removed his hand from the back of her neck, he hung her from a low branch overhead. Someone would come take her back soon enough.

And that was indeed what happened. The teachers had their own monitoring methods, and someone was immediately sent to retrieve Momo Nishimiya. Mei Mei chuckled. "Satoru, he's quite fast. He knocked an airborne opponent down in an instant, then subdued her before she could even share the information after landing."

Gojo Satoru rested both hands behind his head, watching the scene of Maki and Inumaki Toge being attacked on the screen. At her words, he flashed a brilliant grin. "Of course. He's my student, after all. Yuanyi is very strong. Once he completes a few more missions, he can apply to be rated a First Grade Sorcerer."

Mei Mei lowered her eyes. Maintaining shared vision through Black Bird Manipulation for so long was somewhat tiring even for her, but those words still caught her interest. "If you need anything, you can come to me. You're always so generous, Satoru."

Gojo Satoru gave her a thumbs-up. "No problem!" Then he turned his attention back to Maki.

After dealing with the cursed spirit, Maki and Inumaki Toge continued running forward. Before long, Maki, who was in front, suddenly stopped and raised a hand to signal Inumaki Toge to stop as well.

"Mustard leaf?"

Maki scanned the surrounding trees. The moment they approached this area, a faint sense of danger had lingered in her heart, prompting her to halt.

"Toge, be careful. Something's wrong. We might have been—"

Before she could finish, the crisp sound of trees breaking rang out. Maki only had time to turn toward the source before grabbing Inumaki Toge and dodging to the other side.

A blazing stream of fire instantly swept across the spot where they had been standing. Before they could catch their breath, several more streams of fire came flying in, covering all directions around them. Inumaki Toge had no choice but to activate his technique.

"Extinguish!"

The streams of fire gradually shrank in midair until they vanished. At the same time, Maki suddenly swung the Naginata in her hand. Its blade spun through the air, followed by the sound of impact as a bullet was knocked down onto the ground.

"Maki Zenin."

"Toge, don't let them widen the distance. We need to keep the enemy in sight. They already know your technique." Leaving those words behind, Maki vanished into the woods in an instant, charging toward the direction the attacks had come from. Inumaki Toge immediately followed close behind.

Though the dense forest concealed the enemy's whereabouts, it also gave Maki and Inumaki Toge the advantage of cover. With their deliberate evasions, the enemy's attacks had difficulty hitting them.

Elsewhere.

The three retreating while fighting wore grave expressions. They had not seen Momo Nishimiya in the sky for some time, and they could not contact her either. Had she already been eliminated? Damn it!

Maki Zenin gritted her teeth. Without a teammate in the air to observe accurately, they could not clearly sense the pursuing Maki. Maki possessed very little Cursed Energy, so they could only judge her movements through changes in the environment—and even that was extremely difficult.

At this rate, they would be caught. They had to find a way to deal with the Cursed Speech User first. Otherwise, with no significant difference in Cursed Energy, they would definitely lose someone the moment they met him.

As the three ran past a small river, a blurred shadow suddenly shot toward them. It was a fist-sized stone, and its piercing whistle through the air was ear-splitting.

Mechamaru reacted the fastest. He poured Cursed Energy into his steel arm and met the incoming stone head-on without dodging. Upon impact, he smashed the stone to pieces.

But their path was blocked by Maki, who stepped out ahead of them. A smile hung at the corner of her lips, her Naginata resting on her right shoulder.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Starting trouble and then running away isn't very nice, is it?"

Seeing that she had come with hostile intentions, Mechamaru's arms began to transform. A cannon barrel emerged from his left hand, while several glinting blades extended from his right.

"Maki Zenin, Kasumi, go deal with that Cursed Speech User. He probably only has restraints like stunning and immobilizing. Even if it means trading one for one, you have to take him out. I'll hold this one back. We can't let them surround us. If you fail, I'll immediately retreat and find the others. You do the same."

Maki watched Maki Zenin and the blue-haired Kasumi Miwa turn back from behind them, then finally spoke impatiently. "I said."

Boom!

Her words, and the battle about to unfold, were all interrupted by a thunderous crash. Mechamaru looked into the distance in shock. "What is that? That enormous figure, and that terrifying presence... can something like that appear in the Exchange Event?"

Maki's gaze was also drawn by the commotion. Through her glasses, she saw dust billowing in the distance, where an enormous figure was emerging amid shattered trees.

After knocking Momo Nishimiya out of the competition, Shen Yuanyi headed back toward the center line. With Cursed Energy reinforcement, he moved through the forest as if on level ground—perhaps not even monkeys could move as swiftly as he did.

While moving at high speed, Shen Yuanyi suddenly fell backward at a bizarre angle. A blood-red shadow immediately flew past before him, neatly slicing through the branches overhead.

"Pretty quick reaction."

Shen Yuanyi flipped over and landed safely, then saw Kamo Noritoshi step out from behind a tree. Shen Yuanyi smiled. "Of course. After all... you're too slow." As he spoke, he shifted half a step to the left. The blood-red blade silently curved back again, but once more struck nothing but air.

Kamo Noritoshi raised a hand and caught the object, suspending it above his palm. It was a circular blade formed from blood, spinning ceaselessly in his hand.

"Blood Manipulation!"

The inherited technique of the Kamo Family was exceptionally versatile, an all-purpose technique by all accounts. Kamo Noritoshi showed no reaction to the provocation, merely controlling Blood Manipulation: Mower in his hand as he continued attacking Shen Yuanyi.

"I say... that companion of yours, I think her name was Momo Nishimiya? I already eliminated her earlier. She flew pretty high, too." Shen Yuanyi stood there watching the blood wheel blade tear through the air toward him, while Kamo Noritoshi also took the longbow from his back, nocked an arrow, and aimed it at him.

Oh-ho, another archer. But unlike himself, Kamo Noritoshi probably combined arrows with Cursed Energy, whereas he used pure Cursed Energy. The advantages were power and portability; the downside was that it consumed far more Cursed Energy than this method. Only because Shen Yuanyi had a considerable amount of Cursed Energy and an abnormal recovery rate could he afford to fight like that.

As the blood wheel blade and four Cursed Energy-infused arrows arrived before him in the blink of an eye, Shen Yuanyi's right hand gripping the hilt finally moved.

Wheel of Time: Godspeed Slash!

A burst of dazzling light vanished in an instant. Kamo Noritoshi's hand on the bowstring froze. The blood wheel blade in the air abruptly lost its power and immediately shattered into a puddle of blood on the ground, beside the four arrows that had been cleanly severed in half.

"What... was that? My technique had already been dispelled? When?"

Kamo Noritoshi instantly gave up on probing from range and directly activated his technique—"Blood Manipulation: Scarlet Scale Leap." When he opened his eyes, red markings appeared on the skin around his right eye. His heartbeat, circulation, breathing, body temperature, and more all increased to varying degrees, bringing about a comprehensive enhancement of his physical abilities.

Put simply, this move used his technique to control his own blood, creating an effect similar to stimulants and temporarily enhancing his physical capabilities across the board.

That speed surpassed the limits of what his vision and reactions could track! If he had attacked me directly just now, I would already be out. But he didn't. So... he's looking down on me!

Kamo Noritoshi swiftly pulled two blood packs from his robes. Under the control of his technique, the blood inside condensed into rope-like strands and spread around him.

Red Binding: Defense

Form a net with Red Binding to protect the surroundings. If it can stop him for even an instant when he attacks the Red Binding, then in my enhanced state, I'll be able to catch his trail. Then I'll use Hundred Binding: Piercing Blood at full force to incapacitate him. Don't underestimate your opponent!

Shen Yuanyi casually held his blade, wondering whether he should see what was so remarkable about the inherited technique of one of the Three Great Families. Yet at the very moment battle could erupt between them at any time, a thunderous crash and the shockwave that followed simultaneously drew both their attention.

"That is..."

Looking at the faint giant figure in the distance and its terrifying presence, unlike the puzzled Kamo Noritoshi, Shen Yuanyi had a rough idea what it was.

Rika had gone out of control! Something had happened to Okkotsu Yuta.

That shouldn't be possible. Yuta has become quite proficient at controlling the curse lately. How could he still let Rika lose control? Unless he encountered some life-threatening danger?

Shen Yuanyi immediately lost any desire to play around. He had wanted to see the inherited technique of one of the Three Great Families, but this clearly was not the time.

Shen Yuanyi straightened the blade in his hand and turned to Kamo Noritoshi. "Sorry, you saw it too. Something happened to my companion over there, so I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"Wha—"

Just as the vigilant Kamo Noritoshi began to feel confused, his vision went dark. Shen Yuanyi was already standing before him. Pain then erupted from his abdomen, while the technique he had set up had long since been broken. The Red Binding scattered around him had also shattered back into ordinary blood.

The wound was not fatal, but it was enough to temporarily rob Kamo Noritoshi of his ability to move. Besides, he did not believe the other party was incapable of unleashing another attack at that same extreme speed.

Shen Yuanyi patted Kamo Noritoshi on the shoulder, breaking his precarious balance and sending him falling to the ground. As he left, he offered words of comfort. "That slash was very fast, and I avoided the vital points too. It's nothing to a Jujutsu Sorcerer, so just wait calmly for rescue."

Watching Shen Yuanyi leave, Kamo Noritoshi lay on the ground with an unsettled expression. In the end, he let out a breath and gave up struggling.

As Shen Yuanyi hurried toward that place, he recalled Kamo Noritoshi's technique from earlier. The blood net had some use, at least. When it was cut, it had even tried to bind him. If he had really been delayed for a moment, Kamo Noritoshi, in his condition at the time, might have been able to seize that instant of vulnerability.

Unfortunately, he had far more openings himself—and he was still too slow. So... useless!

Kamo Noritoshi, eliminated.