Domain Expansion

"Thump, thump, thump."

The fists pounding his chest were like drumsticks striking a drumhead, producing a driving, rhythmic beat.

The ground caved beneath Ryu Ishigori's immense strength as a vast surge of cursed energy rose from his body.

As fellow powerhouses of the jujutsu world, the other two immediately understood his intent.

"Yeah. Even if I risk burning out my cursed technique afterward, I'm settling this with this move."

Responding to Ryu Ishigori's blazing passion, Takako Uro clenched her fists and crossed her arms before her.

A smile curled across Ryu Ishigori's lips. He brought his fingers together and pushed his palms outward.

Seeing both of them form hand signs, Hajime Kashimo's expression changed.

"Wait, hold on!"

They had already finished summoning their cursed energy. Neither had time to spare for whatever Hajime Kashimo wanted to say, and they shouted in unison:

"Domain Expansion!" ×2

The black barriers that marked their domains appeared, gradually enveloping the space around the three of them.

The formation of their domains could no longer be stopped. To counter their sure-hit effects, Hajime Kashimo tightened his jaw, clasped his hands together into a fist, and shouted as well:

"Dom... uh, Hollow Wicker Basket!"

Countless threads of cursed energy appeared around him, enclosing Hajime Kashimo's body like a spherical birdcage.

The other two's domain barriers fully expanded at that same moment. Enclosed within a massive black sphere, the three vanished from the Sendai Colony, leaving only a pitch-black spherical domain suspended in midair.

Inside the black sphere, Ryu Ishigori's and Takako Uro's domains clashed on equal footing, canceling out each other's sure-hit effects.

Distinctive landscapes of their inner worlds appeared behind the two of them. The only figure out of place was the one keeping his hands tightly clasped to maintain Hollow Wicker Basket.

At the sight, both of them actually forgot to attack immediately. Instead, they stared at Hajime Kashimo in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me?"

The first to ask was Ryu Ishigori, who had been eagerly awaiting an all-out fight with Hajime Kashimo.

"Kashimo, what's the meaning of this?"

As an advanced skill within Jujutsu Society, [Domain Expansion] had always been regarded by many jujutsu sorcerers as something akin to a finishing move. Boasting an effect described as "sure-hit, sure-kill," it was a technique that only a tiny fraction of jujutsu sorcerers had mastered.

In the modern era, whether a jujutsu sorcerer had mastered a domain was even one of the criteria used to determine whether they qualified for the title of Special Grade.

However, most ancient sorcerers' domains were not as complex as those of modern sorcerers. Their domains often only ensured that their cursed techniques would hit.

But even that alone, paired with an offensive cursed technique, was already powerful enough.

Domains without the sure-kill effect were also easier to master.

Thus, in Ryu Ishigori's eyes, there was no way Hajime Kashimo did not know Domain Expansion.

Faced with Hajime Kashimo choosing Hollow Wicker Basket instead of expanding his domain, Ryu Ishigori's first reaction was to wonder whether the man was looking down on his strength.

Hajime Kashimo offered no explanation.

The unique properties his cursed technique bestowed upon him allowed Hajime Kashimo to guarantee that his attacks would hit even without a domain, so he had no need to master one.

"Could it be that he doesn't know how to expand a domain at all? Ryu Ishigori, it's impressive that you managed to fight someone like him to a standstill."

Takako Uro did not believe Hajime Kashimo lacked a domain either. She only said it to mock them both.

Sure enough, Ryu Ishigori flared up at her words.

"Screw you, Uro! Kashimo was the strongest of our era. He doesn't need a domain to deal with the likes of you."

With that, he fired a Cursed Energy Cannon straight at her face.

"Tch."

Unimpressed, Uro seized a plane of space and hurled the oncoming cannon blast back the way it had come.

With Hollow Wicker Basket deployed, Hajime Kashimo was also assessing the situation.

Because he kept maintaining the hand sign, Hollow Wicker Basket had not been eroded by the domains' sure-hit effects.

But this could not go on. Hajime Kashimo, who had to keep Hollow Wicker Basket active, would inevitably expend more cursed energy than the two who had only expanded their domains once.

If he stopped maintaining the hand sign, Hollow Wicker Basket would probably last only a short time under the domains' effects.

Hajime Kashimo's mind raced, searching constantly for a possible solution.

During his earlier battle with Ryu Ishigori, Hajime Kashimo's repeated attacks had already built up a considerable electrical charge inside Ishigori's body.

Ryu Ishigori was no longer a threat. All that remained was to deal with Takako Uro.

His mind made up, Hajime Kashimo moved.

Violent lightning-infused cursed energy surged. Unleashing the full force of the cursed energy within him, Hajime Kashimo lunged at Takako Uro in an instant, arcs dancing over his entire body like a beast of thunder.

I'll finish you before Hollow Wicker Basket dissipates!

Seeing Hajime Kashimo move, Ryu Ishigori immediately brightened.

"That's right! Let's get rid of Uro, that nuisance, then get back to our one-on-one showdown between real men. You're thinking the same thing, right, Kashimo?"

The Cursed Energy Cannon atop his head kept firing, sending out blast after blast to disrupt Takako Uro's movements.

"This persistent bastard!"

Takako Uro frowned and kept retreating.

But how could she outrun Hajime Kashimo when he was going all out?

Following close behind a Cursed Energy Cannon blast, Hajime Kashimo reached Uro and released his hands, no longer maintaining Hollow Wicker Basket.

The instant he separated his hands, the domains' sure-hit effects began eating away at Hollow Wicker Basket's range.

Hajime Kashimo ignored it, driving his lightning-wreathed palm straight toward Uro's unguarded abdomen.

Takako Uro was, after all, a powerhouse who had led a squad to surround and kill the King of Curses. She would not let Hajime Kashimo succeed so easily.

She swept down the hand gripping the plane of space. The blue streak of light that had been shooting toward her abruptly changed direction, blasting toward the ground beneath them.

The instant he sensed space distort, Hajime Kashimo brought his charging body to a sudden halt. He abandoned his palm strike at Uro and pivoted, circling behind her.

Violent cursed energy exploded in front of Uro, but Hajime Kashimo had already vanished from her sight.

Without the slightest hesitation, Uro seized space again with her right hand and swept it around her body, firmly shielding her back with an invisible plane of space.

Hajime Kashimo had just been about to attack from behind. He had not expected Uro to react so quickly. His thrown fist stretched along with the space and actually came flying back toward him.

Raising a palm to block his own incoming fist, Hajime Kashimo realized that attacks with such limited reach would struggle to work against Uro.

His cursed energy erupted again, countless tiny arcs spreading toward Takako Uro.

Faced with lightning converging on her from every direction, even Takako Uro, who could manipulate planes of space, could not block it all.

Space warped as Uro defended with all her strength, yet numerous currents still struck her, leaving her body tingling and numb.

Realizing that continuing like this would put her at a disadvantage, Takako Uro reached toward Hajime Kashimo with both hands, seizing the entire plane of space he occupied.

She shook it hard, and the plane began to shudder violently. Even Hajime Kashimo could not keep his footing within the shaking plane and was carried away from Uro against his will.

"Now there's nothing you can do."

That was right. Uro did not need to defeat Hajime Kashimo head-on at all.

She only had to outlast Hollow Wicker Basket. Then Hajime Kashimo would be exposed to her domain's sure-hit effect, allowing her to defeat him with ease.

In other words, Takako Uro had won!