Indeed, as Satoru Gojo said, Maki's movements are smoother than at the beginning.
Every cut and punch she makes carries an almost instinctive precision, as if her body evolves on its own during the battle.
Sukuna's every block and every dodge was quietly adapted to her.
Another confrontation, Maki slapped away Sukuna's straight punch with the blade of the knife, and kicked him on the lower abdomen.
Sukuna was kicked back two steps, and Maki pursued him with the tip of the knife pointed directly at his throat.
Sukuna tilted his head, and the blade passed by the side of his neck, cutting off a few pink hairs.
He punched Maki's knife-holding wrist with a backhand. Maki flipped his wrist and blocked the punch with the handle of the knife. At the same time, his left fist hit Sukuna's chin from below.
Sukuna used his other hand to block it. The two of them were so close that their fists and feet were intersecting wildly in a very small space.
Every collision made a dull explosion, and the air waves blew the gravel on the ground flying in all directions.
Maki suddenly changed his moves, gave up using the knife, directly clasped Sukuna's right arm with both hands, used the force to turn around, and threw him towards the Barrier wall with an over-the-shoulder throw.
Sukuna adjusted its posture in the air, and stepped on the wall of Barrier with both feet, causing two cracks, and the momentum was suddenly relieved.
He landed and looked up, a serious look finally appearing in his eyes.
"Okay," Sukuna wiped the corner of his mouth, "You are much more interesting than I thought."
Maki shook the knife in his hand, moved his neck, and made a few crisp sounds:
"You're not bad either, King of Curses."
Sukuna grinned.
Only this time there was no condescending contempt in his smile, only the excitement of a hunter who found a good prey.
He took a stance, Cursed Energy looming around his fists and feet.
"Then, I'm going to get serious."
Before he finished speaking, Sukuna's figure had already appeared in front of Maki.
This time the speed was much faster than before.
Maki's pupils shrank suddenly, and his body instinctively moved sideways.
Sukuna's fist grazed her ribs, and the wind tore a hole in her clothes.
Maki slashed with his backhand, Sukuna used his left arm to block it, and then bounced away.
Maki wanted to pull the knife back, but Sukuna's right fist was already in front of her.
She raised her head, and the wind of the fist sliced off a strand of hair on her forehead.
Sukuna then pushed out with his knees, and Maki blocked it with the blade of the knife. His whole body was pushed backwards, and his feet plowed two deep marks on the ground.
Everyone on the sidelines held their breath.
Okkotsu clenched his fists and shouted in a low voice:
"The Cursed Energy output of Sukuna is improving."
Satoru Gojo didn't speak, but his eyes behind his sunglasses narrowed slightly.
Maki stabilized her body, her chest heaved and she took a few breaths, and then she smiled.
"This is the right thing to do."
She thrust the knife into the ground, made fists with both hands, and assumed a pure fighting stance.
Sukuna raised his eyebrows. "No need for a knife?"
"The knife is too much in the way." Maki shook his fist, "Anyway, you are not Cursed Spirit. It doesn't make much difference whether you use Cursed Tool or not. It's better to just hit him."
Sukuna's eyes flashed with appreciation.
"It seems you react quickly."
After the restrictions on the weapons were lifted, the fight between the two became more intense, and every fist impact was accompanied by a dull bone sound.
Maki's fist hit Sukuna's forearm, and Sukuna's knee pressed into Maki's palm.
The speed of the two was getting faster and faster, so fast that most people present could only see two blurry shadows intersecting in the center of Barrier.
Maki suddenly dived down, hugged Sukuna's waist, and pushed him back with all his strength.
Sukuna was pushed back continuously by her, and the soles of her feet scraped two shallow grooves on the ground.
He lowered his head and hit Maki on the back with his elbow. Maki grunted, but hugged him tighter and pushed him to continue to hit the wall of Barrier.
Sukuna three elbows in a row, blood oozed from the corners of Maki's mouth, but she didn't let go.
Sukuna was pushed in front of the Barrier wall, and his back slammed into it, making a muffled sound.
Maki took the opportunity to let go and retreat, hitting Sukuna on the side with a whip kick.
Sukuna kicked her hard, grabbed Maki's ankle with her backhand, and threw her out.
Maki turned over in the air, his feet landed on the Barrier wall, bounced back like a cannonball, and punched Sukuna in the face.
Sukuna tilted his head, and the edge of his fist rubbed his ear and smashed into the wall of Barrier. Cracks spread in all directions from the point where the fist landed.
The two of them retreated at the same time, five steps apart, their chests rising and falling violently.
There was silence on the sidelines for a second.
Then Satoru Gojo raised his hand and patted it twice slowly. "Wonderful."
Okkotsu let out a long breath. He didn't even dare to blink at the series of attacks and defenses just now, for fear of missing something.
Sukuna was panting, but with a smile on his face.
"Heavenly Tyrant... it certainly lives up to its reputation."
Maki wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his voice was a little hoarse.
"You are also the hardest I have ever beaten."
Sukuna moved the side waist that was kicked by Maki and let out a hiss.
"But..."
He suddenly clenched his right fist, and Cursed Energy condensed crazily on his fist.
"It's time to finish."
Maki felt the weight of Cursed Energy and subconsciously took half a step back.
But Sukuna was faster than she expected.
He took one step forward, and the ground collapsed into a shallow pit under his feet. His whole body shot towards Maki like an arrow from a string. His right fist, with Cursed Energy compressed to the extreme, went straight to Maki's face.
"Boom!"
Everyone thought that this punch would be blocked by Maki. After all, Maki had blocked Sukuna's attacks several times before.
But this time, Sukuna's fist let out a thunderous cry the moment it touched Maki's arm.
Then starting from the point where the fist landed, black and red lightning began to spread around.
Maki's pupils suddenly shrank at that moment.
Before she had time to think about why, her whole figure was hit by a truck, and her body flew backwards so fast that most people present could only see an afterimage.
She smashed into the small woods behind Training Ground, broke a big tree in the middle, and made a shallow pit on the ground before stopping.
It was completely quiet on the sidelines.
Sukuna retracted his fist, moved his fingers, looked down at his fist, and slowly grinned.
"Black Flash?"
He said these two words softly, with a hint of surprise in his tone.
Sukuna himself didn't expect that he could actually play Black Flash.
Okkotsu was stunned for a moment before reacting, and immediately ran over quickly.
"Maki!"
Sukuna stood there and did not pursue.
Satoru Gojo used Six Eyes to sweep over Maki's body and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Maki was fine.
He looked up at Sukuna, with a smile on his face again, but this time the smile was a little more serious.
"The punch you just punched actually hit Black Flash."
"Hmm." Sukuna made no secret of it, "I didn't expect it to come out. Maybe she let me hit her so hard that my body moved on its own."
He waved his hand, with a hint of emotion in his tone:
"It feels really strange to hit Black Flash with this body."
Maki's coughing sound came from the pit.
She opened her eyes, her vision was still a little blurry, and she cursed vaguely:
"So strong, is this Sukuna?"
Yuta Okkotsu walked quickly through the woods.
"Maki, are you okay?"
Okkotsu stretched out his hand to help her, but Maki waved his hand and spat out the blood in his mouth.
"It's nothing serious."
She moved her shoulders, and there was a dull pain where Black Flash hit her. The bones were not broken, but the muscles seemed to have been twisted in a circle.
She stood up with a frown, looked over Okkotsu's shoulders, and landed on Sukuna in the center of Training Ground again.
"I can still fight!"
Sukuna stood there without moving. Seeing Maki stand up again, he tilted his head, and then he grinned loudly.
"The loser should leave."
He raised his hand and waved it casually in the direction of Maki, his tone full of natural disdain.
"You've already lost."