Chapter Summaries

Hajime Kashimo made a Binding Vow with Kenjaku to kill the Six Eyes and Ten Shadows users in exchange for learning Kenjaku’s Barrier Techniques. On his way to Kyoto, Kashimo encountered and killed Hanami.

• Kashimo told Kenjaku that he would kill the Six Eyes and Ten Shadows users if Kenjaku taught him every Barrier Technique he knew.
• Kenjaku accepted Kashimo’s Binding Vow, believing he had little to lose by teaching him.
• Kashimo raced toward Kyoto and noticed the woods had fallen unnaturally silent.
• Hanami attacked Kashimo with a net of branches, but Kashimo charged it and struck it repeatedly.
• Kashimo used his Sure-Hit Lightning to explode Hanami’s head, then beat its body until it was reduced to purple gore.

Kashimo arrived in Kyoto and sought a way into the Zenin Clan’s forbidden storehouse to obtain cursed tools. At a banquet attended by the Three Great Families and other powerful groups, Gojo Arashi faced tense exchanges with Zenin Sawa as the clans’ weakness and the rumored strongest’s disappearances weighed on him.

• Kashimo walked through Kyoto’s Lower Capital, considered the danger of fighting the Six Eyes user, and decided to seek cursed tools from the Zenin Clan’s forbidden storehouse.
• Kashimo stopped at a noodle shop and ordered a bowl of lamb offal noodles.
• Gojo Arashi traveled to a major banquet while privately worrying that he had not mastered the Six Eyes and that sorcerers had been disappearing across the country.
• Zenin Sawa taunted Kamo Fuji about his mysterious curse and ruined health at the banquet.
• Gojo Arashi arrived and traded polite but pointed remarks with Zenin Sawa, making the nearby New Shadow Style heir uneasy.

Kashimo learned that the Zenin Clan had left its Forbidden Vault guarded, then broke in and stole several cursed tools and scrolls. He left with his haul, including the Thunder Ring and a jade-green staff.

• Kashimo paid for eight bowls of noodles with gold, then abducted a sorcerer to question him about the Three Great Families' banquet.
• Kashimo learned that the Zenin Clan's Forbidden Vault was guarded by the Hei and the Kuguri Unit, and headed there.
• Kashimo killed Zenin Taichi and defeated Zenin U, who warned him that the vault required a key.
• Kashimo blasted the vault door with cursed energy until its barrier broke, then entered the vault.
• Kashimo took the Thunder Ring, Dragon Bone, the Hannya Mask, Falling Blossom Emotion, Barrier Technique scrolls, and a jade-green staff.

Zenin Sawa returned to find the Zenin estate devastated and ordered the clan to hide the massacre and withdraw. Meanwhile, Kashimo tested his newly acquired cursed tools and discovered he could teleport to the Ruyi Staff using separated electrical charges.

• Zenin Sawa arrived at the estate and found the Kuguri Unit and Hei wiped out, with bodies scattered throughout the grounds.
• Zenin Sawa saw that the Forbidden Vault doors had been shattered by cursed energy and ordered the Zenin Clan to withdraw and keep the night's events secret.
• Kashimo examined the Thunder Ring and Ruyi Staff, then tested the staff's strength by breaking a tree with it.
• Kashimo infused the Ruyi Staff with positive charge, threw it beyond sight, and used negative charge in his body to teleport to it.
• Kashimo arrived on a hilltop beside the staff and celebrated that his experiment had worked.

Kashimo struggled to understand the Barrier Technique scroll, then hit on a plan to use electrolysis against Mahoraga. Gojo Arashi considered how to secure allies for the Gojo Clan, while Kashimo challenged Kujū Jūrō and their fight began in earnest.

• Kashimo failed to make sense of the Barrier Technique scroll and realized he could use his electrically charged cursed energy to poison and explode Mahoraga.
• Gojo Arashi learned that Zenin Sawa had taken the Zenin Clan into seclusion and decided to court unaffiliated sorcerers, including Kashimo.
• Kashimo attacked Kujū Jūrō to test Kyoto’s renowned martial arts master and declared that he intended to kill him.
• Kujū Jūrō took his stance and blocked Kashimo’s opening punch, then used its momentum to counter with an elbow.

Kashimo defeated Kujū Jūrō, who died after entrusting him with the fate of his dojo and daughter, leaving Kashimo to reflect on the solitude of being the strongest. Meanwhile, Zenin Sawa successfully tamed Tiger Funeral and celebrated his achievement while considering the motives of watching faction representatives.

• Kashimo defeated Kujū Jūrō and asked what he had strived for; Kujū Jūrō answered that he sought the pinnacle of martial arts.
• As he died, Kujū Jūrō told Kashimo about the Kujū Dojo west of Kyoto, asked him to take it over or announce its disbandment, and entrusted his daughter to his care.
• Kashimo reflected on the loneliness of being the strongest, considered his future opponents and growth, and looked toward Kyoto.
• Zenin Sawa completed the taming of Tiger Funeral, which dissolved into cursed energy as Round Deer healed his injuries.
• Zenin Yuichi and the assembled guests congratulated Zenin Sawa, while the Kusakabe family head praised his accomplishment.
• Zenin Sawa noticed the faction representatives watching him and wondered whether they had come to congratulate him or test his strength.

Kashimo arrived at the Kujū Dojo and told Hisashige Rinko and the disciples that he had killed Kujū Jūrō and that the dojo was disbanded. He offered to take Rinko with him, warning her that she could die.

• Kashimo told the dojo disciples that he had killed their master and announced that the dojo was disbanded.
• Haruta attacked Kashimo, who broke his wrist and knocked him down with the Jade Staff.
• Hisashige Rinko asked Kashimo for her father's last words, and he said Kujū Jūrō had offered him the dojo or asked him to tell her it was disbanded.
• Kashimo asked Rinko to come with him, saying her father had asked him to look after her but warning that she could die.

Kashimo explained to Rinko why he had killed and learned that she had been born without cursed energy, leading him to suspect she had a heavenly restriction. At the Tombs of the Star Corridor, Gojo Arashi told Tengen that war with Zenin Sawa was inevitable and that he would focus on stopping Kashimo and Kenjaku.

• Kashimo told Rinko that he had left home to become stronger and had searched for someone who could stand beside him.
• Rinko said she had never had cursed energy, and Kashimo recognized the possibility of a heavenly restriction but kept the thought to himself.
• Kashimo cooked bear meat for Rinko, then let her sleep longer the next morning before they continued on.
• Tengen warned Gojo Arashi not to escalate his conflict with the Zenin Clan and cautioned that Kashimo might already be allied with Kenjaku.
• Gojo Arashi told Tengen that war with Zenin Sawa was inevitable and that he would do everything he could to stop Kashimo and Kenjaku.

Kashimo pushed Rinko onward toward Edo while telling her to become strong enough to stand beside him. At the same time, Gojo Arashi set out for Edo to recruit allies, and Kenjaku manipulated the dying Kamo Fuji into accusing Gojo of cursing him and plotting against the Kamo Clan.

• Kashimo led the exhausted Rinko up the mountain and urged her to work hard, catch up with him, and fulfill what her father expected of her.
• Gojo Arashi decided to travel to Edo for the festival to recruit sorcerers and strengthen the Gojo Clan’s position.
• Kenjaku visited the dying Kamo Fuji and told him that Gojo Arashi had cursed him and intended to annex Kamo lands.
• Kenjaku showed Kamo Fuji a forged letter bearing the Gojo Clan’s crest and instructed him to summon Zenin Sawa with accusations against Gojo Arashi.
• Kamo Fuji summoned the strength to call for Zenin Sawa, as Kenjaku planned to use the accusation to distract from the Zenin Clan’s troubles.

Kashimo carried Rinko at tremendous speed to the outskirts of Edo Castle, where she recovered from the terrifying journey before following him into the city. Meanwhile, Tokugawa Fenghua and Tokugawa Yingliang discussed which Kyoto jujutsu clans would attend the festival.

• Rinko complained that she could not walk farther, so Kashimo carried her on his back and raced toward Edo Castle using cursed energy.
• After two hours, Kashimo stopped outside Edo Castle, where Rinko collapsed and dry-heaved from the journey.
• Kashimo and Rinko found no sorcerers outside the city, so Kashimo decided to take her into town for fun.
• Tokugawa Fenghua bought sugar paintings for herself and Tokugawa Yingliang, then said the Gojo Clan head would attend the festival, while the Zenin Clan and Kamo Clan would not.

Kashimo left Rinko alone at the inn while he went to fight arriving sorcerers, and a cursed phantom entered her dreams. Rinko saw her dead father in the dream, while Kashimo finished defeating the sorcerers in the woods.

• Kashimo left Rinko a cursed tool and went out into the night, telling her to stay at the inn.
• Rinko feared being alone and eventually fell asleep clutching the blade.
• A cursed phantom entered Rinko’s dream and approached her in a desolate wilderness.
• The dream changed to the dojo, where Kujū Jūrō appeared and comforted Rinko.
• Kashimo found the sorcerers he had beaten unconscious in the woods and continued deeper among the trees.

Rinko overcame Nightmare’s illusion and killed the cursed spirit by relying on her physical strength rather than cursed energy. In the wilderness, Kashimo encountered Gojo Arashi and called it bad timing.

• Nightmare trapped Rinko in an illusion where her dead father and companions accused her of betrayal and told her to die.
• Rinko rejected the false accusations and shattered the illusion by striking Haruta’s image with her sword.
• Nightmare tried to retreat, but Rinko stabbed it and repeatedly cut apart its body, declaring that her strength came from muscle and bone.
• Kashimo stopped searching after spotting Gojo Arashi, the current bearer of the Six Eyes, in the shadows.

Kashimo and Gojo Arashi faced off in a forest clearing, with Gojo’s Limitless stopping Kashimo’s first attacks. Kashimo then used Domain Amplification to neutralize Limitless and land a punch, leaving the fight newly opened.

• Kashimo and Gojo Arashi recognized each other as the Strongest of the Modern Era and the Six Eyes of the Modern Era, then assessed each other’s abilities.
• Kashimo attacked with his Ruyi Staff and a kick, but Gojo’s Limitless stopped both just short of his body.
• Kashimo and Gojo held back from attacking again as each watched for an opening, and Kashimo concluded he needed Domain Amplification to get past Limitless.
• Kashimo threw the Ruyi Staff to distract Gojo, then rushed in with Domain Amplification covering his fist.
• Kashimo’s punch passed through Limitless and struck Gojo in the abdomen, after which Kashimo retreated, believing his technique had worked.

Kashimo overwhelmed Gojo Arashi in their moonlit battle, using Domain Amplification and a charged attack to bypass Limitless and kill him. Gojo Arashi, the current Head of the Gojo Clan and bearer of the Six Eyes, died in the forest.

• Kashimo dodged Gojo Arashi's maximum-output Blue and struck him twice with Domain Amplification, building up negative charge in his body.
• Gojo Arashi counterattacked with Blue, hurling Kashimo into a tree and then a boulder, but Kashimo quickly got back up.
• Kashimo returned to the fight and struck Gojo Arashi with the Ruyi Staff before Blue sent him crashing into the boulder again.
• Kashimo revealed that he had fully charged the negative electricity and detonated it inside Gojo Arashi, blowing open his chest.
• Kashimo struck Gojo Arashi's head with the Ruyi Staff, and Gojo Arashi collapsed dead.

After killing Gojo Arashi, Kashimo was confronted by Tokugawa Fenghua and Tokugawa Yingliang. Fenghua’s spatial-slashing technique severed his hand, but he regenerated it and struck her with a lightning-fast attack, leaving her injured against a tree.

• Kashimo left Gojo Arashi’s body and wondered how Rinko was doing.
• Tokugawa Fenghua and Tokugawa Yingliang appeared and confronted Kashimo over his killing of the Gojo Clan head.
• Fenghua attacked Kashimo with her Broken Sky technique and severed his right hand, while Yingliang’s shikigami attacked him.
• Fenghua explained that Broken Sky cut through space, bypassing Kashimo’s defenses.
• Kashimo regenerated his hand, unleashed his lightning, and struck Fenghua before she could react.
• Fenghua crashed into a tree and spat blood-streaked saliva onto Kashimo’s face.

Kashimo defeated Fenghua and Yingliang, seized the Soul-Devouring Blade, and destroyed their Samurai Shikigami. Fenghua began a Domain Expansion, but an unknown figure with white hair and azure eyes interrupted it and appeared before Kashimo.

• Yingliang attacked Kashimo with the Soul-Devouring Blade, but he dodged her strike as Fenghua recovered from his earlier punch.
• Fenghua charged Kashimo, who knocked her into a tree and then kicked Yingliang into the ground.
• Kashimo caught the Soul-Devouring Blade, destroyed the Samurai Shikigami, and taunted the injured sisters.
• Fenghua began forming a Domain Expansion while Kashimo prepared Hollow Wicker Basket.
• A white-haired figure with azure eyes appeared from the trees and shattered Fenghua's nearly complete domain.

Gojo Arashi awakened Reverse Cursed Technique after Kashimo’s attack and returned to face him. After Gojo Arashi struck Kashimo with Cursed Technique Reversal: Red, Kashimo charged back into battle, and the two clashed to determine who was strongest of their age.

• Gojo Arashi emerged alive, revealed that he had awakened Reverse Cursed Technique, and explained that Kashimo’s blow had failed to destroy his brain.
• Kashimo reactivated Domain Amplification and charged Gojo Arashi, but Gojo Arashi floated out of reach.
• Gojo Arashi unleashed Cursed Technique Reversal: Red, and Kashimo blocked the blast with the Soul-Devouring Blade.
• Kashimo embraced the fight, unleashed his lightning, and charged Gojo Arashi.
• Gojo Arashi and Kashimo collided in midair amid lightning and red light.

Gojo Arashi and Kashimo continued their brutal fight, each using their cursed abilities to inflict devastating injuries. As both prepared powerful finishing attacks, Gojo Arashi unleashed Hollow Technique: Purple at the same moment Kashimo fired his Electromagnetic Cannon.

• Gojo Arashi used Blue to disrupt Kashimo’s blade and landed a punch that seemed to pull Kashimo toward its impact.
• Kashimo severed Gojo Arashi’s arm and blasted open half his body with a charged punch, but Gojo Arashi struck him with Red and sent him crashing into a boulder.
• Gojo Arashi rapidly healed and began combining Red and Blue, while Kashimo prepared an Electromagnetic Cannon by charging a stone with compressed positive and negative charges.
• Gojo Arashi chanted and fired Hollow Technique: Purple as Kashimo launched his Electromagnetic Cannon.

Gojo Arashi remembered his life and reunited with his wife and child as he faded away after a final battle with Kashimo. Kashimo survived the clash, left Arashi's remains, and spared the wounded Fenghua, who began recovering.

• Gojo Arashi was born with the six eyes and became clan head after his father died and his mother fell gravely ill.
• Gojo Arashi fell in love, married, and had a child, but a curse user’s attack left his wife comatose until she woke years later.
• Gojo Arashi realized he was dying as his wife and child wept beside him, and he remembered his final clash with Kashimo.
• Kashimo stood over the remains of Gojo Arashi and said Arashi had deactivated Limitless while trading attacks.
• Kashimo found Yingliang dead and Fenghua gravely wounded, then asked Fenghua why she did not grieve for her sister.
• Kashimo refused to kill Fenghua, and she watched him leave while her remaining cursed energy restored her wounds.

Kashimo reunited with Rinko, tested her growing strength, and left the woods with Fenghua still following him. At the inn, he reluctantly let Fenghua into his room, healed her injuries, and told her he would leave in the morning.

• Fenghua asked Kashimo to take her with him, but he refused until Rinko arrived carrying the Ruyi Staff and said she had killed a Cursed Spirit.
• Rinko asked to fight Kashimo, and her unexpectedly powerful strikes showed him that her Heavenly Restriction was developing quickly.
• Kashimo defeated Rinko with a punch and a kick, then retrieved the Ruyi Staff and left the woods with Fenghua following while carrying the Soul-Devouring Blade.
• At the inn, Fenghua followed Kashimo to his room and said she would sleep outside his door rather than return to her home, where she feared punishment and being used in a marriage alliance.
• Kashimo opened the door, healed Fenghua's injuries with Reverse Cursed Technique, and let her in, telling her to bathe and change before they left in the morning.