Taking a Headbutt to the Cloud?

"Yo? Haven't seen you in years, and you've gotten bold?"

Shinsuke Zenin's eyes widened in surprise.

Had this kid forgotten his own name after being a Sorcerer Killer for a few years?

All of this was just stuff he'd played around with back in the day.

"Come on, let me see what you're capable of?"

Shinsuke Zenin created some distance and beckoned to Toji.

If soft tactics didn't work, he'd try force. He wanted to see where his foolish younger brother got the nerve to say such things.

"Heh, is this what you meant by not expecting me to go easy on you?"

Seeing his brother, who had disappeared for years, Toji already harbored resentment. There was no conflict between men that couldn't be solved with a fight.

Today, he would test if his brother, who had always suppressed him, could defeat him again.

Toji's eyes suddenly sharpened. He reached into the mouth of the Cursed Spirit wrapped around his body and pulled out a red three-section staff.

The Special Grade Cursed Tool known as the Play Cloud, valued at five hundred million!

Gripping the Play Cloud with both hands, Toji bent his knees slightly, a sinister grin on his face. "Don't lose too badly!"

"Boom!"

The next second, Toji turned into an afterimage, swinging the Play Cloud in a horizontal sweep towards Shinsuke Zenin. The red staff whistled through the air.

Shinsuke Zenin paused for a moment. A wave of heat surged around him, his muscles bulged, and veins surfaced.

"Crack!"

He extended one hand and forcefully grabbed the Play Cloud that was smashing towards him.

A powerful force traveled into his hand, making his arm feel numb.

As the only Special Grade Cursed Tool without a Cursed Technique effect, the Play Cloud possessed an incredibly dominant power.

The stronger the user, the greater the power it unleashed. This was a weapon for the strong.

With Toji wielding the Play Cloud, he could unleash enough power to hunt most Special Grade Cursed Spirits.

Although Shinsuke Zenin's arm went numb from the blow, his expression remained unchanged.

He suddenly exerted force, and terrifying power flowed from the Play Cloud into Toji's hands. In an instant, Shinsuke Zenin snatched the Play Cloud away and chuckled, "This thing belongs to me now."

He also had a fondness for such violent weapons.

"Hmph!"

Toji snorted coldly, his expression displeased. He reached into the Cursed Spirit's mouth again and pulled out a broad-bladed dragon-whisker saber.

The Soul Liberation Blade, also a Special Grade Cursed Tool!

It had the effect of ignoring physical and Cursed Energy defenses, directly attacking the soul, and wounds inflicted by it could not be healed.

"..."

They looked at each other in silence. Shinsuke Zenin looked at the Soul Liberation Blade in Toji's hand and swallowed.

All good things, and they all fell into Toji's hands.

Seeing this, Toji silently gripped the hilt of the saber and turned into an afterimage, launching another attack.

Shinsuke Zenin, on the other hand, swung the Play Cloud with one hand, perfectly unleashing its power. A three-section staff against a saber was too easy.

"Clang! Clang!!"

As if strolling through a garden, Shinsuke Zenin easily parried all of Toji's attacks.

"Toji, your attack patterns are still so easy to read."

Raising the Play Cloud, Shinsuke Zenin smashed it down hard on the charging Toji.

Toji's eyes narrowed, and he raised the Soul Liberation Blade to block the Play Cloud's attack.

"Bang!"

However, Toji, whose mind was filled with resentment, had forgotten the structure of the Play Cloud.

He blocked the second section, but due to inertia, the third section directly struck Toji's head. The violent impact instantly made his head ring.

"Hiss--!"

Looking at the blood flowing from Toji's head, Shinsuke Zenin couldn't help but gasp.

Taking a direct hit from a Special Grade Cursed Tool with his head, he declared Toji a true warrior.

Staggering two steps, Toji's consciousness became hazy.

"Slap!"

The next second, Toji fell heavily to the ground, knocked out.

"This..."

A flicker of helplessness crossed Shinsuke Zenin's eyes as he could only step forward to help the unconscious Toji up.

He understood his younger brother all too well. Although Toji appeared calm, composed, meticulous, and cautious in his actions, he would sometimes lose his head when faced with certain special circumstances, causing him to overlook many things.

For instance, his eagerness to defeat Shinsuke had made him lose some of his composure.

Or when facing the awakened Satoru Gojo, his pride had led him into another pitfall.

"He's quite similar to how I was back then."

Shinsuke Zenin smiled and shook his head.

Wasn't he the same way back then? How could he dare to criticize Toji?

As he supported Toji, they hadn't taken more than a few steps before an unwelcome guest appeared before them.

"Yo, long time no see~ Did it become two people?"

Satoru Gojo, covered in blood, appeared in front of Shinsuke Zenin.

"..."

Looking at Satoru Gojo, Shinsuke Zenin felt speechless.

Couldn't he have waited for them to leave first?

Although even if they had left, Satoru Gojo might have found them anyway.

"You've mistaken us for someone else."

Shinsuke Zenin pretended not to know Satoru Gojo, while Toji beside him was gradually regaining consciousness.

The powerful body and recovery abilities granted by the Heavenly Restriction allowed him to recover in a short period, even after taking a blow from Play Cloud directly to his head.

"It's you? How is that possible?"

Toji pushed Shinsuke Zenin away, his eyes filled with disbelief.

How could someone who was dead reappear?

"Genuine article, I'm full of energy right now."

Satoru Gojo pushed his hair back, revealing a healed knife wound on his forehead.

"Reverse Cursed Technique?"

"Correct!"

A hint of obsession appeared on Satoru Gojo's face. He spread his hands and looked up at the sky.

The moment his throat was pierced, he had abandoned all defensive measures and focused entirely on attempting the Reverse Cursed Technique.

Cursed Energy is a collection of negative energy; no matter how strong it is, it cannot achieve physical regeneration. Reverse Cursed Technique, however, uses the principle of negative times negative equals positive, converting Cursed Energy into positive energy to achieve physical regeneration!

In a moment between life and death, Satoru Gojo successfully cheated, comprehending the core of Cursed Techniques: Reverse Cursed Technique.

Satoru Gojo floated in mid-air, bathed in the setting sun, and ecstatically recounted his experience of comprehending Reverse Cursed Technique.

Meanwhile, Toji had lost his patience. He shook his head, retrieved Heavenly Spin from the Cursed Spirit's mouth, and transformed into an afterimage, lunging to assassinate Satoru Gojo.

However, Satoru Gojo easily dodged it, as he was currently lost in this marvelous state.

With a counter-attack using Dragon Coil, he dodged again.

Satoru Gojo lay in the air, his eyes vacant, as if he had entered a state of enlightenment.

He had a feeling at that moment... nothing could disturb his emotions, no matter what happened.

This world made him feel incredibly exhilarated.

He even felt...

Above all heavens, I alone am honored!

"Reverse Cursed Technique—Scarlet!"

Satoru Gojo hung upside down, forming a sword finger with one hand, and a small sphere of red Cursed Energy compressed into it shot towards Toji, its terrifying repulsive force hitting Heavenly Spin.

An attack with at least twice the power of Blue blasted Toji into the ruins.

Toji climbed out of the rubble without a care. The Cursed Spirit spat out a chain, which connected to the hilt of Heavenly Spin.

Wielding Ten Thousand Mile Lock, Heavenly Spin spun rapidly above Toji's head.

Toji revealed a sinister grin. Looking at the man before him, a strong fighting spirit surged within him, even his resentment towards Shinsuke dissipated.

He knew very well that the man before him had likely become the strongest Sorcerer of the current era!

He had only one thought: to defeat him!

He wanted to show everyone who had once mocked their brotherhood that the strongest Sorcerer of the current era would be killed by him, a monkey who didn't even have Cursed Energy.

He wanted to make those people regret their past actions.

The inhibitory force inherent in the Limitless cursed technique had no effect on him.

The attraction of the normal Cursed Technique, Blue, could be resisted with cursed tools at a distance or simply dodged.

The repulsive force of the Reverse Cursed Technique Scarlet can be blocked by Heavenly Spin.

Everything was under his control!

"This is where it ends."

Shinsuke Zenin's figure appeared between the two.

Knowing everything about Satoru Gojo, he naturally couldn't just watch Toji go up and clash with him.

There was no need for this battle to continue at all.