Hajime Kashimo

Xuan stood where he was. This was the first time he had seen someone else with such abundant cursed energy.

Compared to his previous opponents, Hajime Kashimo before him probably had 350% of the Gojo Clan head's cursed energy, while Xuan himself originally had around 1000%.

However, Xuan did not possess that amount of cursed energy himself. Like Yuta Okkotsu, he used the capacity of a "shikigami" as an external cursed energy container—but it was not infinite. It merely nearly doubled his cursed energy.

Crackle!

With a flash of lightning, Hajime Kashimo suddenly appeared before Xuan. Closing in at lightning speed along with him was the Ruyi Staff crashing down at Xuan's head.

The heavy blow slammed into Xuan's crossed arms. The terrifying force crushed the floor beneath him, sending spiderweb cracks racing through it.

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Xuan immediately knocked the Ruyi Staff aside and threw a punch before Hajime Kashimo could land.

The cursed energy-charged fist struck Hajime Kashimo in the side. He partially dispersed the force, flipped once through the air, and landed on the floor.

"What, not using a weapon?"

"Yeah. I will."

Without another word, Hajime Kashimo charged again. This time, he thrust the staff toward Xuan's abdomen. Xuan raised a hand, and the Merchant God's Scepter suddenly spewed out an inky shadow. A broad sword blocked Hajime Kashimo's thrust.

The clash of weapons exploded through the air. Hajime Kashimo did not relent. Releasing the staff, he immediately swung a lightning-wreathed left hook at Xuan.

Though the fist did not hit him directly, crackling lightning sliced across Xuan's cheek. A puff of white smoke rose, and the wound on his face had already vanished.

I see. Lightning cursed energy with special properties can't be defended against with ordinary cursed energy?

Even as Xuan considered this, Hajime Kashimo did not stop moving. The instant he landed the blow, he tapped the ground with his toes, drove off with his rear heel, and flashed to the right. Twisting his wrist, he pulled the Ruyi Staff back into his hand and swept it in from the side.

Xuan casually bent backward to evade Hajime Kashimo's attack, while the Merchant God's Scepter spun once in his palm.

The condensed broad-bladed greatsword violently transformed—the short hilt suddenly extended. As Xuan leaned back to evade the staff, he drove his wrist forward, and the scythe's long shaft slammed into Hajime Kashimo's chest.

"Ugh... Your weapon changes too fast, Strongest!"

With a muffled grunt, Hajime Kashimo was forced back several steps by the move. Yet his face was filled with irrepressible excitement. Pale blue arcs of electricity ran from his palm onto the Ruyi Staff, making the weapon emit a dense, fine buzzing as the currents raced over it.

"There are more moves where that came from..."

Xuan gripped the scythe's long shaft, and lightning suddenly erupted around him, boosting his speed.

Driven back by a relentless series of horizontal slashes, diagonal cuts, and vertical chops, Hajime Kashimo could only keep dodging. The long scythe whirled into a circle in Xuan's hands, each strike carrying immense force at incredible speed.

As he evaded, Hajime Kashimo observed Xuan's stance.

His breathing, heartbeat, and footwork were all perfect—then there was only one thing to do—

Take it head-on!

The enormous scythe came crashing down. Hajime Kashimo abandoned defense and immediately raised his staff to block. As the weapons collided, cursed energy erupted. The street beneath their feet, already covered in rubble, let out another heavy groan under the strain, and shattered chunks flew in every direction amid flashing lightning.

Damn... so heavy...

Instead of retreating the instant he blocked the attack, Hajime Kashimo burst forth with cursed energy and forcefully stepped forward. He gripped the Ruyi Staff tightly, his cursed energy erupting again as he forcibly pushed Xuan's overwhelming pressure back.

"Heh, you know what?"

At Xuan's words, Hajime Kashimo saw the scythe blade suddenly split apart. The broad blade dispersed in midair, and the Ruyi Staff immediately jabbed upward—but Xuan dodged it. At the head of the now bladeless shaft, something condensed again... but this time, it was the head of a massive hammer.

Hajime Kashimo immediately released the staff, lunged forward, and fiercely wrapped his arms around Xuan's waist. Cursed energy burst beneath his feet, and their figures smashed into a distant building, blasting a hole through its brick-and-tile wall.

Boom.

Boom boom boom boom!!

Black lightning violently erupted between the buildings as their cursed energy exploded again. Amid the flickering black lightning, Hajime Kashimo was suddenly blasted out of the building.

Hajime Kashimo's body tumbled repeatedly through the air before finally crashing into another building dozens of meters away and coming to a stop.

The brief battle inside the building had become a pure hand-to-hand brawl after Hajime Kashimo released his weapon, leaving both of them unarmed.

Gritting his teeth, Hajime Kashimo advanced, sprinted, stepped—and at the instant he threw his punch, as though blessing this thunder god who dared challenge one of the strongest, black lightning wrapped around his hand.

As if answering him, black lightning flickered around Xuan as well. Their fists collided, bursting into explosive sparks. The gap in cursed energy sent Hajime Kashimo flying with a single punch.

Rising to his feet, Hajime Kashimo stretched out a hand. Electric arcs raised the Ruyi Staff lying on the ground, and it spun through the air toward him as if summoned.

At the same time, Xuan on the other side leaned forward. In his hand was the massive hammer that had somehow returned to him.

Xuan stared at Hajime Kashimo, and Hajime Kashimo sized up Xuan—after landing Black Flash, both their understanding of each other and of themselves had risen to 120% of what it had been.

"...You are stronger than everyone I defeated and killed while I was alive."

As he spoke, Hajime Kashimo lowered his stance, resting the long staff across his shoulder. His whole body was like a missile poised to launch.

His charge was incredibly fast.

Accompanied by a crackle of electricity, Hajime Kashimo's body appeared in Xuan's eyes for only an instant.

That instant alone was enough for Xuan to dodge Hajime Kashimo's strike with a flash—but then Xuan felt a sense of discord.

Bang!

Hajime Kashimo's charge had left behind a "trail."

That should have been perfectly ordinary. Lightning left trails as it tore through the air, and lightning formed from cursed energy naturally left even more distinct trails.

What Hajime Kashimo was doing now was delaying the trails left behind by that cursed energy, then catching Xuan off guard by detonating them while he was thinking.

Electromagnetism erupted in an instant, the flickering current nearly forming an entire sphere of electricity. Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly and fiercely drove his cursed energy, wrapping his whole body in shadows that spread in an instant.

"Pretty tough... for the strongest..."

The shadow armor did not shatter immediately, but it was covered in dense cracks and exploded the moment Xuan made a move.

He had not merely left behind trails—he had reinforced them. He only needed to weave this move in once, and for the rest of the battle, Xuan would have to watch out for the cursed energy left behind after every movement.

"Not bad, Hajime Kashimo."

Once again—Hajime Kashimo charged out of the smoke and dust, but this time, Xuan did not choose to evade. Instead, he swung the broad blade that had condensed in his hand once more to meet him head-on—

The Ruyi Staff collided with the blade. As Xuan poured in cursed energy to reinforce himself, he also borrowed Tiger Funeral's technique. The muscles in his arms swelled abnormally in an instant, and the force in his hands immediately drove Hajime Kashimo's attack back.

Hajime Kashimo let go again. The staff in his hand was smashed fiercely toward the ground by the blade, while he himself flipped through the air—

"A move you've seen once won't work the second time."

A slash brimming with cursed energy suddenly appeared before Hajime Kashimo. It swept across his body in an instant, carving a bloody gash into his chest.

"What's this?"

The struck Hajime Kashimo landed on the ground. After staggering a few steps, the bleeding wound on his body slowly began to heal.

"A slash. It's the result of using my innate technique to imitate Sukuna's technique."

Delight appeared on Hajime Kashimo's face. The bone-deep wound on his chest had already healed completely.

"You've seen Sukuna?"

"Unfortunately, not face-to-face."

"Then... between you and Sukuna, who's stronger?"

"Maybe me."

"Then... I'll defeat you first, then go defeat Sukuna!"

Hajime Kashimo charged at Xuan again. Having thrown away his weapon, he became even faster, lightning flashing fiercely in his hand.

It was a positive charge.

Xuan also possessed Nue's lightning technique, though it differed from Hajime Kashimo's cursed energy trait—yet the principles were the same.

Though he did not understand why Hajime Kashimo was splitting the electric charges before him, Xuan raised his focus to eighty percent. The Merchant God's Scepter was useless in close combat, so Xuan had already withdrawn it into his shadow.

Hajime Kashimo stepped forward. Xuan blocked an elbow strike with his right arm, then thrust out his left palm, only for Hajime Kashimo to slap it aside with a raised hand. The two instinctively raised their legs, and their whip kicks collided. The explosion formed by cursed energy pushed them both apart once more.

Hajime Kashimo rushed forward again, rapidly throwing and retracting punches in succession, giving Xuan no chance to seize his fist. Xuan retreated while counterattacking. Amid the exchange of fists, Hajime Kashimo also sensed the positive charge on the man before him rapidly building.

Then—Hajime Kashimo leaped into the air, kicking fiercely at Xuan with both feet. With a wave of his hand, Xuan formed a sheet of soft shadow cloth from cursed energy. It instantly hardened and blocked Hajime Kashimo's kick. Then Xuan threw a punch, its force traveling through the cloth toward Hajime Kashimo's body—but that was exactly what Hajime Kashimo wanted.

Borrowing that force, Hajime Kashimo immediately flew back into the distance. Then, a bolt of lightning connected the Ruyi Staff that had fallen on the battlefield nearby to Hajime Kashimo's hand—and Xuan stood directly between them.

Furious lightning instantly surged toward Hajime Kashimo—upon realizing this, Xuan immediately stomped the ground with both feet and shot fiercely to the left. But locked onto by the charge, he still could not evade the attack. The lightning sharply turned in midair and struck toward Xuan.

Within that brief half-second of evasion, Xuan immediately realized that this move had the same effect as a domain's sure-hit.

So that's how it is. No wonder he split the lightning cursed energy into positive and negative charges.

Is it aimed directly at the brain—so long as enough charge accumulates, he can use a sure-hit cursed energy discharge to attack the enemy's core directly? What an impressive idea.

Unable to dodge in time, the lightning chasing Xuan ultimately struck him. With a thunderous blast, a huge cloud of dust erupted where Xuan had moved, fiercely engulfing his body.

But there was no joy on Hajime Kashimo's face.

The guy before him had changed his cursed energy output again.

From shadows, to slashes, and now lightning.

Three types.

What a strange technique.

The smoke and dust dispersed—one side of Xuan's face and neck was covered in massive burns and blood—but they were healing at a visible speed. By the time the dust fully cleared, he had already recovered completely.

Nue's technique and Hajime Kashimo's lightning shared the same origin in essence. The originally devastating headshot had lost most of its damage under Xuan's response.

"This is the first time I've been this battered."

"There'll be times when you're in an even worse state..."

As Hajime Kashimo spoke, the smile on his face deepened.

"Hahahahahaha! Then I'll... look forward to it!"

Xuan rolled his neck, then raised his hand.

The instant he saw that gesture, Hajime Kashimo immediately lowered his stance halfway.

An invisible slash instantly cut through the already ruined city street behind Hajime Kashimo, and he immediately dashed out. In only an instant, he clenched his fist and appeared before Xuan.

The instant Hajime Kashimo threw his punch, that strange sensation pierced through his senses once more. Following that feeling, Hajime Kashimo shouted the name of the punch—

"Black Flash!"

Facing Hajime Kashimo's charging body, Xuan threw his fist at the same time.

"Black Flash!"

The fists wrapped in black lightning collided at once, violent energy merging and exploding again—then the road beneath their feet groaned under the unbearable strain.

In the instant Xuan and Hajime Kashimo met each other's eyes, they saw the same "fighting spirit" in the other's gaze. Once again, they pulled back their fists at the same time, then swung them out again.

"Again!!"

Hajime Kashimo sensed the difference in his body, and the feeling delighted him. Their heightened states rose once more as the two collided again, their cursed-energy-reinforced fists smashing into each other and erupting with astonishing force. At the same time, the road beneath them finally—

Shattered.

As the road split apart, Hajime Kashimo and Xuan fell with it. They landed in the sewage of the underground sewer, neither of them affected by the environment.

"Huff... huff..."

Hajime Kashimo first glanced around at his surroundings, then assumed his opening stance again.

"Seriously... so this is what it feels like to have a satisfying fight? Black Flash feels as natural as lighting a cigarette with a lighter..."

"You really like chatting with your opponents while fighting, Hajime Kashimo."

Xuan did not immediately take up a combat stance, yet even just standing there, he exuded a pressure that Hajime Kashimo could feel—the pressure of someone who was ready.

"I've never had a proper opponent, after all—all those who challenged me were casually killed by me. In my era, there wasn't even anyone who could make me reveal my cursed technique."

"Isn't your cursed technique lightning?"

"Hah... already impatient to pry for information? Lightning is merely the nature of my cursed energy... My cursed technique is reserved for the one I consider the strongest."

"Looks like I'm not qualified yet?"

Hajime Kashimo looked at Xuan, whose entire body was relaxed, unable for a moment to understand what this man was playing at.

"If you intend to face me with that attitude... you'll die very soon."

An opening... an opening.

Despite that relaxed posture, he could not find an opening at all.

Hajime Kashimo's eyes swept over Xuan's body, but in the end, he found no so-called opening.

"Whether it's Dismantle or lightning... both were given to me by shikigami."

Suddenly, Xuan spoke.

"It's been a long time since I used my own cursed technique... Catch this."

Was it coming?

From where?

Hajime Kashimo clearly felt an eruption of cursed energy, but—

Where was this?

A domain? No, there was no sense of a domain's boundary. The sky... this sensation of rising.

I was kicked? When?

Pain shot through Hajime Kashimo's back, and at the same time, he realized—he had already been kicked from the sewer into midair.

And his spine had likely been shattered.