Two People Side by Side

"Another sorcerer capable of manipulating human bodies?"

Akesato frowned slightly. That shouldn't have been possible—he clearly hadn't sensed any unfamiliar cursed energy.

The enemy gave him no chance to focus and think. Having been thoroughly duped, they no longer dared to let their guard down.

With a wave of Kekun's hand, the combatants immediately charged. Their movements were still stiff, but they were by no means slow.

Akesato snorted and tightened his grip on his sword, but Kento Nanami moved even faster.

The man who had reliability ingrained into his bones swung his blade one-handed, striking a combatant from the side.

The blade entered the body, but instead of the sound of metal hitting flesh, there came a far crisper sound.

Kento Nanami suddenly exerted force, sweeping the man sideways and sending him flying. At the same time, he tugged at his tie with his other hand.

"That reveals the method."

"Indeed."

Akesato saw through it as well. With the special effect of his cursed tool, he swung out a slash.

The sharp cursed energy sliced through the combatant's clothes, exposing densely woven metal threads within, like a mesh net.

"Your Cursed Technique doesn't merely control weapons. You can manipulate metal itself. The intelligence was wrong."

By using the metal threads in their clothing, he achieved control over human bodies. That was why those whom Akesato had beaten to the brink of death could still move—and move so strangely.

"Precisely! My Cursed Technique is Metal Manipulation!"

Bayer shouted, and both the combatants' assault intensity and the number of weapons floating around them rose another level.

This was the complete form of "Cursed Spirit Revelation."

Revealing incomplete information or deliberately misleading others through words was also an application of "Cursed Spirit Revelation."

At the end of the day, the users of Cursed Techniques and Cursed Spirit Revelation were all people. Whether one sacrificed information in exchange for power or relied on an information advantage to catch the enemy off guard depended on the user.

Anyone who believed whatever the enemy said was a fool. That was the essence of fighting people.

"Weapon manipulation" was already formidable. "Metal Manipulation" was an even more extraordinary Cursed Technique. Judging by Bayer's current performance, he was absolutely at the level of a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer.

If he went a step further and completed a "Domain," he might even be qualified to contend for Special Grade Jujutsu Sorcerer.

The title of strongest combatant was well deserved.

Yet neither Akesato nor Kento Nanami showed the slightest panic.

Akesato's little goal was to beat up Satoru Gojo, the pinnacle of Special Grade, while Kento Nanami himself was Grade 1—and among the very best of them.

"Leave it to me."

With a declaration so steady it put others at ease, Kento Nanami spun the short blade in his hand, then charged alone at the entire combat unit.

"Foolish," Bayer sneered.

"The foolish ones are you. If close-quarters combat had rankings too, Mr. Nanami would absolutely be at Special Grade Level."

As Akesato used his sword to fend off the barrage from the floating guns and cannons, easing Kento Nanami's pressure, he did not forget to retort.

Before he had finished speaking, severed limbs were already scattered across the ground.

The blade was still a dull sword wrapped in cursed cloth, yet under the presence of azure cursed energy, it displayed power no less than any divine weapon.

After clearing out the first wave of combatants, Kento Nanami stood proudly and revealed his Cursed Technique without expression, further strengthening its effect:

"My Cursed Technique can divide a target's length into equal parts and forcibly create a weak point at the 7:3 point. As long as I strike that 'point,' I can trigger a 'critical hit.' It is not limited to height and arm span. The head, arms, torso, and other parts can all be designated as targets, and this Cursed Technique works on nonliving things as well. Even against opponents stronger than me, it can inflict corresponding damage—Ten Shadows Technique!"

Unlike Bayer, who kept things hidden, Kento Nanami laid it all out in one go.

Of course, he was not a fool. His Cursed Technique was simply that straightforward, with no need for concealment. He might as well exchange it for the greatest possible boost from the start.

With one strike, chunks of flesh and concrete flew together, blood dancing with darkness.

This was the true strength of Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer Kento Nanami.

"Half."

The adult man twisted his neck, producing a chilling crack. His oppressive presence was overwhelming.

Just then, a shrill, grating cackle rang out. Akesato even wondered whether a human being could make such a sound.

But in the Jujutsu world, anything was possible.

It was Kekun.

"Half is right—but it's half of you."

From the moment Metal Manipulation had gone all out, the man whose presence had rapidly faded raised both thumbs.

Immediately afterward, clusters of high-intensity, high-density cursed energy rose around Kento Nanami.

It was a Cursed Technique—Kekun's Cursed Technique!

"Not only the sorcerers, but every combatant in the organization has been planted with my 'Cursed Technique.' I can freely turn them into bombs, blowing up some of them—or all of them."

To silence someone, blowing up their heart was enough. But when necessary, he could also make maximum use of the human body and turn it into a human bomb.

Bayer was not the only one holding back. Kekun had been as well.

Even before they had figured out the ability, Kekun had already pressed down his thumb, as though triggering a detonator.

The thunderous roar was unceasing. The shockwave that swept outward made it impossible to approach, even to keep one's eyes open.

The instant the explosion went off, its instigators, Kekun and Bayer, both retreated. They did not even bother with follow-up shots, which showed just how devastating the blast had been.

Amid the swirling smoke and dust, Bayer and Kekun resumed their pincer formation, one in front and one behind.

A formation of firearms ahead, human-bomb combatants behind.

"You're the only one left."

Kekun was brimming with confidence, even copying the Murong Clan of Gusu's line. Yet just one second later, he could no longer smile.

Because Akesato said, "Don't casually declare people dead—listen carefully to 'Cursed Spirit Revelation.'"

And because a streak of pale blue light pierced through the ground.

That was the color of Kento Nanami's cursed energy, the manifestation of his technique.

"Ten Shadows Technique: Fall Fall!"

The earth was split apart as though sliced by a blunt blade, and the reliable adult male leaped out, returning to the surface.

The Ten Shadows Technique worked on non-living objects, allowing it to easily cut through metal suits and blast open the earth.

Beneath a major city like Tokyo lay dense networks of pipelines and sewers. Once he hid inside them, the explosion's threat was reduced to turbulent currents, which posed no problem for Kento Nanami.

With both the ground and the explosion concealing him, Kento Nanami's ambush from below was far more effective this time.

Only when the cursed technique was unleashed did the ambushed Bayer notice it. Though he dodged with all his might, he was still a beat slower than Kento Nanami and had one leg injured.

Shocked and enraged, Bayer, whose mobility had been greatly reduced, drove his weapons and combatants to attack Kento Nanami with all his strength.

Kekun moved even faster than Bayer. The moment Kento Nanami broke through the ground, he went to support him, only to be stopped by Akesato.

It was not as if they were the only ones who knew how to coordinate. If Kento Nanami had not gestured that Akesato need not worry, how could he have remained so calm?

A sword swept sideways, sword energy crisscrossing as it struck both men at once, buying Kento Nanami time to catch his breath. The two responded to each other from afar.

Cursed energy surged around blade and sword alike, pulsing as though they had heartbeats.

PS: Thanks to readers Great White Shark and Zhuge Sports for the tips. Please keep those likes, comments, and subscriptions coming—I won't be satisfied until I get featured on all of Sixth Channel, Illustrated, Sanjiang, and Strong Recommendation.