Grand Prize

Although Yuji's Black Flash shattered the red train door, it did not stop Kinji Hakari from hitting the jackpot—when the scene changed once more, Yuhui Yamaguchi appeared outside the transit station, shouting that he was late as he ran toward the card scanner.

Unfortunately, Yuhui Yamaguchi failed to make it before the station gates closed, and this draw ended in Kinji Hakari's failure.

"Fushiguro, are you ready?"

"Buy me a little more time."

"I have a bad feeling about this. This guy is probably like those pachinko manufacturers—he'll use some weird trick to force a win. Have you read Gambling Apocalypse? Like the Swamp machine!!"

"It won't work... Hakari-senpai's domain has strengthened its resistance. Ordinary domains can't stand against it."

"Is that so..."

A golden pachinko ball grazed Yuji's cheek. Then—a golden train door appeared at his waist. Yuji leaped high to evade the closing doors, while Kinji Hakari emerged from a corner—the two 3s behind him, featuring the heroine Yume Asagiri, signified that the riichi had taken effect.

"Hey! Itadori!! My luck is on fire right now!!!!"

That Black Flash had indeed dealt Kinji tremendous damage—but as dazzling, multicolored lights appeared, Yuji's heart sank.

That meant the odds of hitting the jackpot this time had practically risen above 99%!

"Hey! Hakari-senpai!"

Yuji twisted aside to dodge Hakari's hook, only for Hakari to drive a knee viciously into his stomach. Hakari seized the opening created by Yuji's stagger and swung an arm into the side of his face. The blow sent Yuji flying sideways. It did not deal much damage, but Hakari's rough-textured cursed energy still left Yuji feeling awful.

As the train came racing in, Yuhui Yamaguchi appeared before the platform—

The winning animation for this scene showed the heroine, Yume Asagiri, missing the train and gazing at the male lead, Yuhui Yamaguchi, from afar.

"I'll give you two hundred thousand right now. Tell me how you cheat with those pachinko balls."

Yuji truly felt like he could not keep this up—Hakari was already this dangerous without hitting the jackpot. If he did hit it, would Yuji not have any way to resist at all?

"No comment."

Kinji Hakari closed in once again, his clenched fist smashing toward Yuji. Yuji evaded it, and Hakari tried to repeat the same move, but Yuji kicked sideways into Hakari's knee. Hakari felt his right leg go weak, and Yuji naturally did not let the chance slip away, driving an uppercut toward Hakari's head.

Kinji Hakari grunted in pain, but with cursed energy protecting him, he did not suffer much damage.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

As the train pulled into the station, the two men's brawl gradually reached a fever pitch.

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

If he could not make Kinji Hakari lose his will to fight before the jackpot, or calm down and listen, then how was he supposed to endure those 4 minutes and 11 seconds of invincibility?

Yuji dodged Hakari's straight punch again and pulled back. Hakari stared at the retreating Yuji, pausing for a moment before noticing Yuji's charging stance. He laughed and rushed forward—blue cursed energy like flames wrapped around Hakari's body. The instant Hakari entered Yuji's attack range, Yuji threw his fist.

At the moment their fists collided, Hakari did not feel much force behind the blow—Yuji's fist made a cracking sound, and in the instant Hakari was confused, several jagged bloody fissures suddenly burst open across his own fist.

He delayed the cursed energy's impact...?

Distracted by Divergent Fist, Hakari looked at Yuji as he closed in again. In those flame-burning eyes was a sense of certainty, as though Yuji had already decided that his next strike would be a heavy blow.

"BLACK FLASH!!!"

The cursed-energy-wreathed fist erupted with black lightning once more. Yuji deliberately angled the strike, driving it into Kinji Hakari's shoulder. With the explosion of cursed energy, a massive hole was violently blasted through Hakari's shoulder.

"Whew..."

Bzz—

Seeing the gaping wound spurting blood, Yuji let out a long breath. It looked like this drawn-out tug-of-war was finally about to end.

"Senpai... can you sit down and listen to us properly now—"

"Ha... it left, huh? The last train..."

The female voice from behind him, along with the music that suddenly began playing, foretold one thing.

"It's not over yet!!! Yuji Itadori!!!!"

The astonishing cursed energy that suddenly erupted from Kinji Hakari made Yuji hastily retreat.

The three identical icons following behind Kinji Hakari represented one thing—the jackpot!

As cursed energy exploded outward, the wounds on Kinji Hakari's body healed instantly. Had Yuji not inflicted them himself, he would never have been able to tell where those wounds had been.

"Divine Dog! Divine Dog!"

As the barrier dissipated, Fushiguro, who had been waiting for a chance to hide, raised his hand.

As Kinji Hakari was about to pounce on Yuji, Divine Dog Totality lunged in for the kill and left several slashing wounds across Hakari's back.

After unleashing four consecutive slashes, the cursed energy Fushiguro had painstakingly accumulated dropped once more—but it was still far better than when they had first encountered Kinji Hakari. At the very least, his cursed energy had recovered to half of its total amount.

"So you were still here."

Amid the music and rising white smoke, Kinji Hakari turned his head toward Fushiguro.

"This guy's hard to deal with! I'll start by taking you out!!"

"Don't even think about it!!"

Yuji Itadori kicked off the ground and shot forward like a cannonball, arms spread wide. He was trying to grab Kinji Hakari by the waist and forcibly shift his position, putting distance between him and Megumi!

But—unlike their fight inside the domain, Kinji Hakari did not budge this time. Instead, he drove an elbow hard into Yuji's back, making Yuji feel as if all his internal organs had been knocked out of place.

Were slashing attacks basically ineffective?

It was the Reverse Cursed Technique... For 4 minutes and 11 seconds after Kinji Hakari hit the jackpot in his domain, the overflowing cursed energy inside him caused his Reverse Cursed Technique to run automatically—a state known as invincible mode.

I need to stall for time...

"Hey! You over there, you're a Fushiguro, right?"

With one kick, Kinji Hakari sent the already limp Yuji Itadori rolling away, then looked at Megumi Fushiguro before him.

...Yuji.

He looked like he was fine. Had he merely passed out from the overwhelming pain?

"..."

"What a quiet guy... Now! I'll give you two options."

Kinji Hakari felt the cursed energy surging through his body. The almost transcendent rush flooding his mind was even more exhilarating than getting high!!!

"First, tuck your tail between your legs and drag your companion away from me."

"Second, beat me, then make me sit down and listen to what you have to say."

Megumi looked at Yuji lying on the ground, then silently crouched down—only then did Kinji Hakari notice the hand sign Megumi was forming.

"Domain Expansion..."

Kinji Hakari grinned, the exaggerated smile on his face proving that his "enthusiasm" had reached an unbelievable peak.

"Hey, hey, hey!!! You bastard, can't you talk?!"

"Chimera Shadow Garden."

Megumi let out a long breath, raised his head, and looked at Kinji Hakari.

"Once I beat you, then we can talk."

As the black domain enveloped the place where the three of them stood, Kinji Hakari's expression became exceptionally excited.