The Strongest Record Engraved in Kyoto

"It's not over yet... This much still can't extinguish the 'flames' in my soul!"

With Todo Aoi's roar like a trapped beast, the two men who had made a [Binding Vow], swearing to burn each other's souls to ashes, forcibly halted their decline amid the aftermath of near-destruction.

The blood bursting from their wounds dripped from their fingertips toward the center of the scorched crater, only to be instantly vaporized by the terrifying residual heat produced by their clashing cursed energy before it could touch the ground, turning into wisps of blinding red smoke.

"Ha... ha! Again!"

Without the slightest pause, the two figures transformed into violent streaks of light once more and collided without holding anything back. Every brutal clash of knuckles against flesh came with an ear-shattering boom of exploding air, as if they intended to tear this entire martial arts arena into ruins.

Todo Aoi had now completely transformed into a calamity called "battle." There was no calculation or strategy left in those beastlike eyes, only a fervor so pure it was almost sacred—a highest tribute to his "best friend," a resolve that sacrificed all reason to this very moment.

He relished every cry of cracking bones, every surge of boiling cursed energy. Completely, utterly, he burned himself away and threw himself into this abyss called "brotherly exchange."

But Mizuki Makoto did not.

Even as every bone in his body screamed, I'm about to fall apart! Even as his brain throbbed from being pushed far beyond its limits, even as blood dyed his vision red, he still forced himself to cling to that cold, almost despicable rationality amid the tide of fervor.

To Todo, this was a cleansing of the soul. But to Mizuki—

—It was only natural for a man like Todo Aoi to be capable of this much!

I can still take five punches... No, his fists are heavier now. Is that the boost from Black Flash? At most, three more punches!

This was still within the plan!

Todo Aoi's nearly broken right arm drew back to full extension once again. Black cursed energy crazily collapsed around him, and even the surrounding space visibly warped once more.

"That probability... You've got to be kidding me?!"

In the stands, Kamo Noritoshi, who had maintained his composure until now, completely lost it and slammed his hand on the table as he sprang to his feet.

Driven by Todo's will, utterly immersed in battle, the goddess called "miracle" smiled upon him once more. In this moment when he was at the end of his rope, black lightning and fire erupted violently for a second time.

A second consecutive Black Flash.

It was the cruelest trampling of every calculation. Todo, in a state of "selflessness," locked onto this killing blow with beastlike instincts.

"Makoto, dodge!!!" Okkotsu Yuta's voice had gone hoarse.

Inside the observation room, Gojo Satoru leaned slightly forward, his Six Eyes working at high speed.

—At this distance, with that explosive power, Todo Aoi fully committed to battle without a single stray thought... Mizuki Makoto had practically been nailed into the shadow of death.

"You really have the worst luck, Makoto," Gojo Satoru murmured softly, his fingers pressing a little harder against the window frame.

But at the instant death's shadow brushed his eyelashes, the last trace of madness in Mizuki Makoto's eyes went out completely, replaced by an extreme, almost cruel clarity.

—Todo, you instinctive muscle gorillas really are absurdly good at cheating! Is there no justice? No law?!

Still, fortunately.

Neither have I.

[Echo Mimicry] switch—[Prayer Song] → [Ushura Bullet]!

"Limitless: Fake," third time!

The melody of Aizo shattered completely in his mind, replaced by a cold spatial grid. In Mizuki Makoto's eyes, the world was no longer a hot-blooded battlefield, but a wrinkled sheet of paper that could be folded.

This really was so wonderful it made him want to throw up...

He saw them. The incredibly subtle cracks and folds in space created by Todo's two consecutive Black Flashes.

—If you hadn't landed that second Black Flash, I really would have missed this, Todo! Let me steal a taste from beneath Lady Luck's skirt!

[Spatial Overlap]

At the 0.0001-second mark before the Black Flash struck his head, Mizuki Makoto poured every last bit of cursed energy into those folds.

Taking advantage of Todo's all-out, utterly unguarded momentum, he forcibly "folded" this stretch of space.

To everyone watching, it was as if a television signal had glitched. He instantly "blinked" out of existence in the path of that devastating punch.

The next instant, he appeared without warning in Todo Aoi's blind spot—behind and to his left.

Todo Aoi's pupils suddenly contracted. His killing punch had been thrown with such excessive force that the lingering power of Black Flash blasted the ground ahead into a deep ravine stretching a hundred meters.

It had been a punch thrown with complete commitment, and because he had put every ounce of himself into it without holding anything back, Todo Aoi's battle-hardened muscles were frozen stiff for that instant.

In fighting games, this was called "recovery time after an ultimate."

And at this range, he no longer had time to raise his hand and clap, much less activate [Boogie Woogie].

"This is my final strike, Todo."

His voice was quiet, yet it carried a chill that ran down Todo's spine.

—Then, for your sentimental blaze, I'll offer up everything I have.

Within one second, the second technique switch was complete.

[Echo Mimicry: Ushura Bullet → Star's Fury].

Todo Aoi's body trembled instinctively. That familiar pressure, as if he were being struck head-on by a miniature star, even made the old injury around his eye throb with phantom pain.

—This feeling... It's Master Tsukumo's!

He stiffly tried to turn his head, but all he saw was his best friend's right fist, wrapped in azure light yet heavy as Mount Tai.

"[Azure Fury]."

Boom!!!!!

There was no excessive sound effect, only a dull impact so heavy it seemed to crush everything else into silence.

The ultimate pressure that had once instantly killed a Special Grade cursed spirit struck Todo squarely in the side of the face. Before such extreme mass, even a body as strong as Todo Aoi's could not maintain its balance, and he did not even have time to scream.

That massive body flew away like a dead leaf before becoming firmly embedded in the wall at the end of the martial arts arena, so deeply that it could not be pried out.

The dust slowly cleared.

Mizuki Makoto swayed as he stood in the center of the crater. With trembling fingers, he pulled the monocle that had already broken in half from his pocket and casually tossed it onto the ground.

"Ha... Phase two... is over." He rolled his eyes. "If you've still got a 'phase three,' then I'm surrendering and forfeiting the match!"

The entire arena fell silent. The referee's crow circled in the sky.

"Kyoto Jujutsu High's Todo Aoi has lost consciousness. The winner—Tokyo Jujutsu High's Mizuki Makoto."

As the referee's announcement fell, the deathly silent stands seemed to have their shell smashed apart by a massive hammer, and an emotion called "this is ridiculous" spread wildly in every direction.

"...What happened? Did the signal just glitch out?"

Kamo Noritoshi remained frozen halfway to his feet, and the folding fan in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter. His usually narrowed eyes were wider than anyone else's, and even his voice trembled.

"What kind of joke is this?! Two consecutive Black Flashes! Two consecutive miracles! Todo clearly locked down even the space around that punch, didn't he? Why could Mizuki Makoto dodge it? Did he casually alter the universal constants in the middle of a fight?!"

"I don't know! All I saw was a flash of black light, then Mizuki just zipped away with a freaking teleport!" Nishimiya Momo clutched her broom with a pale face, looking like she could collapse at any moment. "And what was with that final punch? Todo is Todo! He got slapped straight into the wall with one punch? Does that guy have a hydraulic press installed in his fist?"

Meanwhile, the Tokyo Jujutsu High seats erupted into an even more twisted outpouring of complaints.

"Ohhh! He won! Makoto actually didn't get pounded flat by that giant pile of muscle!" Panda let out a strange cry and made as if to rush into the arena. "Maki! Get the camera out! If we don't take pictures of this scumbag's vulnerable moment of misfortune and charge membership fees for them online, it'd be an insult to professional ethics!"

"Shut up, you greedy panda. Be careful or I'll slap you into a wall too."

"That guy became a monster capable of beating Todo in less than a year..." Though Maki cursed with her mouth, her tense shoulders visibly relaxed. Looking at the blood-covered figure at the bottom of the crater, whose monocle had even shattered, she snorted. "That second-generation scumbag is becoming more and more like the first-generation scumbag."

Inside the observation room.

"Oh my, now this really is..."

Gojo Satoru finally removed his hand from the window frame. Like a child who had discovered a new toy, his mouth curved into an exaggerated grin. "Utahime, did you see that? During the first Black Flash, he caught the distorted 'strings' created by it. During the second, he directly made use of that bug. His precision is still far from sufficient—honestly, it's incredibly rough—but the 'spatial sense' this kid has shown is enough to make even me a little jealous."

"Gojo, shut up!" Utahime Iori looked at the devastated arena and the student embedded in the wall, so distressed she was nearly crying. "You, who taught that kind of 'monster,' have no right to talk about jealousy! Go check on my Todo already!"

"He isn't yours. He's Tsukumo-senpai's disciple, isn't he?"

"Hehe, truly splendid."

Mei Mei elegantly closed the ledger in her hand. Her pale blue eyes gleamed with appreciation—and money. "I think he's an extreme aberration. As long as he can win, he can turn himself into a gear without even 'pain' or 'fear.' Todo did not lose because he lacked strength. He lost to a madman who toys with deception and reason."

"No, no, Mei Mei, you've got that wrong."

Gojo Satoru finally removed his hand from the window frame. Like a shameless teacher who had caught his student by the pigtails, he smiled brilliantly. "That kid is actually terrified of pain. Why else do you think he specifically ran all the way to Kyoto Jujutsu High to become an 'exchange student'? He was hiding from my physical training enhancement program—meaning one-sided beatings!"

"Huh?" Utahime froze.

"To endure pain that severe and fight Todo to this extent..." Gojo Satoru stroked his chin, sighing with an expression of satisfaction—and complete delight at the chaos. "Ah, these two really must have a great relationship! This is what they call 'no friendship without a fight,' right? Such a blood-soaked friendship is enough to make even their teacher shed a tear."

"Gojo Satoru, shut up! What kind of friends punch each other into a wall so hard they can't even be pulled out?!"

At the center of the arena, the dust finally dispersed completely.

Listening to the noisy cheers in the distance and the nonsense about "pure friendship," Mizuki Makoto only felt as if two mountains were pressing down on his eyelids. The last thing he saw was the blurry sight of Maki, Okkotsu, and the others rushing toward him.

"Seriously... That last part... the song cut off way too badly..."

He muttered to himself as his consciousness sank completely into darkness. "Next time... I need to record... a longer version myself..."

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