The dust had yet to settle completely.
Hands in his pockets, Satoru Gojo walked toward the collapsed buildings, his shoes crunching over rubble and wood splinters.
As he walked, he silently reviewed their exchange.
That man's physical strength far surpassed any ordinary person's. An impact like that probably hadn't even scratched him.
But something bothered him. Before the Cursed Spirit on the man's body appeared, there had been a fluctuation of cursed energy from him, right when Wana called his name. It had been faint, but it had been there.
Satoru Gojo looked at the ruins ahead, his brow creasing slightly.
He shook his head, clearing those stray thoughts from his mind.
Now wasn't the time to think about that.
If he knew my Cursed Technique, he couldn't have come unprepared.
Satoru Gojo called out toward the spot where Toji had crashed down.
"That blade is your secret weapon, isn't it?"
Satoru Gojo kept walking.
"Sorry, but it's useless if you can't touch me."
As he finished speaking, he reached the collapsed house.
Most of the dust over the ruins had finally dispersed, exposing fallen beams and shattered tiles to the sunlight in a chaotic, desolate mess. Satoru Gojo's gaze settled on the center of the wreckage-there was a distinct depression where Toji's body had struck.
But the depression was empty.
Toji had vanished.
Satoru Gojo's pupils abruptly contracted.
At the same time-
Crack!
A sharp burst came from behind him to his left.
Satoru Gojo reacted immediately, turning his head slightly. From the corner of his eye, he caught a blurry glimpse of a tree trunk bursting apart, splinters scattering in every direction.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The bursts came one after another. From the left, from the right, from deep in the woods ahead-from every direction.
Satoru Gojo stood