A three-way brawl

"Wait, Kashimo, why'd you change your hairstyle?"

Ryu Ishigori settled back into his stance and looked at Hajime Kashimo's head.

According to the rumors, Hajime Kashimo had always worn a distinctive Nezha bun hairstyle, but now he sported something completely different.

That was a major reason Ryu Ishigori hadn't recognized Hajime Kashimo right away.

Kashimo reached up to touch his head. Sure enough, the two buns that marked his identity were gone. Knowing this had to be Lu Yun's handiwork, he cursed inwardly.

That damned brat.

His expression remained calm and unruffled, however, as he said casually:

"I'd had it long enough, so I changed it. Doesn't matter. Forget about it."

"Oh. Anyway, Kashimo, I..."

Ryu Ishigori wanted to say more, but Takako Uro, who had been hiding nearby, couldn't stand it any longer. She emerged and struck her palm toward the two of them.

Thin Ice Breaker activated. Space shattered in an instant, sending a shock wave hurtling toward them.

Sensing the surge of cursed energy, Hajime Kashimo and Ryu Ishigori immediately leaped to opposite sides, easily evading Takako Uro's sneak attack.

"What the hell are you doing, puke woman!"

Ryu Ishigori flew into a rage, firing a Cursed Energy Cannon straight at Uro's face.

Takako Uro grabbed with her right hand, seizing the space beside her like a canvas. With a vicious swing, she flung the incoming Cursed Energy Cannon and the entire sheet of space back toward Ryu Ishigori.

"Eat shit, pompadour."

Dodging his own Cursed Energy Cannon as it flew back at him, Ryu Ishigori seethed:

"Interrupting my reunion with my big bro was bad enough, but now you've got the nerve to mock my hair? What's wrong with my hairstyle, huh?"

Takako Uro only doubled down on her taunts:

"Heh, didn't you hear me? I said your hair looks like cow dung. You walk around with a cowpat on your head every day, and you still have the nerve to show your face?"

Boom!

Violent cursed energy erupted. Ryu Ishigori lowered his head and slowly walked toward Uro.

As everyone knew, someone pushed to the limit of their fury wore no expression at all.

Watching Ryu Ishigori approach with a perfectly calm face, Takako Uro couldn't help breaking into a cold sweat.

Was this guy always this intimidating? Still, it's fine. My cursed technique counters him pretty well.

Takako Uro's cursed technique, Sky Manipulation, allowed her to manipulate spatial surfaces to reflect attacks. Its secret art, Thin Ice Breaker, shattered space to produce an impact most people could hardly withstand.

Ryu Ishigori's cursed technique was simply the discharge of cursed energy. His Cursed Energy Cannon still traveled along a trajectory, which allowed Uro to manipulate space and send his attacks back at him.

Just as Uro Takako expected, blue light once again shone atop Ryu Ishigori's head.

"Is that your only trick, cowpat head?"

As she taunted him again, Uro had already secretly seized a spatial surface with her other hand, waiting for Ryu Ishigori to come to her.

A blue beam shot straight forward. Perhaps because its caster was so furious, this Cursed Energy Cannon was unusually thick.

But Uro, already prepared, thought little of it. The space in front of her began to warp under the influence of her cursed technique.

"Whatever you shoot out, you can swallow yourself!"

Manipulating the surface, Uro searched for Ryu Ishigori, intending to throw his attack back at him.

"Huh? Where'd he go?"

Ryu Ishigori was nowhere behind the beam of cursed energy. Within the surface Uro controlled, the intimidating-looking Cursed Energy Cannon abruptly dissipated.

"Where are you looking, puke woman?"

At some point, Ryu Ishigori had appeared behind Uro.

Seizing the moment before Uro could manipulate another surface, Ryu Ishigori threw a powerful punch straight at her face.

Blood sprayed. Takako Uro hadn't anticipated the punch from behind. Her face twisted under the blow, and the tremendous force sent her tumbling through the air, crashing into the base of an apartment building.

"Hmph."

Landing that punch left Ryu Ishigori feeling considerably better.

"The one thing I hate most is people talking about my hair."

The initial Cursed Energy Cannon had merely been a feint. He hadn't maintained it after firing. Instead, he had used it as cover to dart behind Uro and land that unexpected blow.

"Nice tactics."

Hajime Kashimo, who had watched the whole thing from the sidelines, offered his praise.

Ryu Ishigori rubbed his fists together and said:

"Kashimo, let's pick up where we left off."

Hajime Kashimo smiled at that.

"Come on."

He shot forward.

Watching from the sidelines had already left him unable to contain his burning desire to fight.

So fast!

Ryu Ishigori had heard of the Thunder God's feats long ago, but only by facing him in battle could he truly grasp his strength.

In the blink of an eye, Hajime Kashimo was in front of Ryu Ishigori. He raised his leg and drove a vicious knee toward Ishigori's chest.

Taking that hit head-on would be no joke.

Fortunately, although Hajime Kashimo was fast, he wasn't so fast that Ryu Ishigori couldn't react at all.

He spread both palms in front of his chest, and the fierce impact struck an instant later.

Ryu Ishigori held firm, forcefully clamping both hands around the knee aimed at his chest. The impact sent him sliding backward, his two powerful legs carving furrows several meters long through the tough concrete.

"Not bad."

Ryu Ishigori smiled at those words, and the blue glow of his Cursed Energy Cannon flared.

"Since you've had your turn, big bro, now watch me."

The Cursed Energy Cannon erupted. Hajime Kashimo tried to pull back his right leg, but Ryu Ishigori's grip held it fast. He sharply leaned backward instead, dodging the blast.

Ryu Ishigori tilted his head, ready to fire another shot, but Hajime Kashimo wasn't going to give him the chance.

Planting his electrified staff in the ground to support his body, he raised his left leg and lashed it at Ryu Ishigori's head.

Ryu Ishigori had no choice but to release his grip and defend against the vicious whipping kick.

The strike failed to land, but it had accomplished its purpose.

Hajime Kashimo successfully freed his trapped right leg.

With his body no longer restrained, he attacked again.

He swung the long staff in his hand at Ryu Ishigori's abdomen, only for Ishigori to catch it.

Unable to wrench it free easily, Hajime Kashimo simply let go of the staff and fearlessly drove his fist toward Ryu Ishigori's chest.

Ryu Ishigori wanted to counter with Hajime Kashimo's cursed tool, now in his hand, but a surge of electricity burst from the staff, shocking him into releasing his grip.

The electrified staff's interference cost Ryu Ishigori his chance to defend, and Hajime Kashimo's fist slammed into his chest.

"Cough."

The sweet, metallic taste of blood welled up in his throat. Fortunately, his defenses were astonishing. Ryu Ishigori spat out a mouthful of blood, then swung both fists as though nothing had happened, trading blows with Hajime Kashimo.

"You damned bastards!"

Takako Uro had recovered at some point, and she now joined the battle.

As the two men swung their fists, they noticed the space around them inexplicably stretching. Their punches, originally aimed at each other, looped through the surface and struck their own bodies instead.

Uro seized the opportunity to appear between them, extending one hand toward Ryu Ishigori and the other toward Hajime Kashimo.

Thin Ice Breaker activated, shattering space.

The earlier attack had left both men prepared. They each summoned cursed energy to block the ensuing shock wave.

Even so, the blow still pushed them a short distance away.

Standing in three different directions, the three faced one another in a triangle.

At the sight, Ryu Ishigori beat his chest and said excitedly:

"I'm sick of all this damn yapping! We've come this far, so why bother talking?"

A vast quantity of cursed energy surged within his body. There was no doubt: he was about to unleash that move.