Chapter Summaries

Kashimo left the inn with Fenghua following him, while Zenin Sawa questioned reports that Gojo Arashi had cursed Kamo Fuji. A messenger then announced that the Shogunate’s festival had been suspended, one princess was dead and the other missing, and Gojo Arashi had been killed.

• Kashimo left Rinko at the inn and continued along the mountain path with Fenghua following close behind.
• Zenin Sawa asked his elders and Zenin Yuichi what to make of the claim that Gojo Arashi had cursed Kamo Fuji.
• Zenin Sawa rejected the elders’ eagerness to exploit the Gojo Clan’s troubles and suggested the report could be a trap.
• An attendant reported that the Edo festival had been suspended, one Shogunate princess was dead, and the other was missing.
• The attendant told Zenin Sawa that Gojo Arashi had been killed and that the Gojo Clan had retrieved his body.

Beside a stream, Kashimo explained why he had left Yingliang and accepted Fenghua’s request to follow him, agreeing to teach her if she proved useful. As they set off, he privately planned to rely on her Broken Sky technique to cut Mahoraga if he could not defeat it himself.

• Kashimo told Fenghua he had only taken Yingliang along to fulfill a dead person’s last wish and believed she no longer needed him.
• Fenghua pointed out that Yingliang relied on Kashimo and that he had lingered outside her door before leaving.
• Kashimo said he admired Fenghua’s reckless fighting style and agreed to take her in on the condition that she be useful.
• Fenghua asked to become his disciple, and Kashimo agreed to teach her what he knew.
• Kashimo privately planned to use Fenghua’s Broken Sky technique to create an opening to cut Mahoraga in half.

Kashimo trained Fenghua in the basics of swordsmanship and said he would take her to meet Kenjaku. Near Kyoto, Kenjaku encountered Ibaraki-dōji, a demon he believed Sukuna had killed centuries ago.

• Kashimo made Fenghua practice her stance, breathing, and grip with the Soul-Devouring Blade, striking her hand when her grip loosened.
• Fenghua continued practicing until the training ended, then rested and drank from Kashimo’s waterskin.
• Kashimo told Fenghua they would meet a six-hundred-year-old schemer and headed toward Kyoto, where he knew Kenjaku was nearby.
• On the outskirts of Kyoto, Kenjaku watched Ibaraki-dōji emerge from the shadows and recognized the cursed energy of a demon he thought Sukuna had killed.

Kenjaku, Kashimo, and Fenghua confronted the re-forming Ibaraki-dōji, and Kashimo agreed to fight in exchange for Kenjaku incarnating him on June 20, 2002. They were pulled into Ibaraki-dōji’s blood-red innate domain, where Kenjaku identified the Hundred Demons and warned that the Demon King might be there.

• Kenjaku watched Ibaraki-dōji take form and worried that he had no way to escape or defeat him alone.
• Kashimo and Fenghua arrived, and Fenghua agreed to help in exchange for compensation.
• Kashimo made a binding vow with Kenjaku: he would help kill Ibaraki-dōji, and Kenjaku would incarnate him on June 20, 2002.
• Kashimo approached the fully formed Ibaraki-dōji with the Soul-Devouring Blade, but the world collapsed around him, Kenjaku, and Fenghua.
• The three fell into Ibaraki-dōji’s blood-red innate domain, where Kenjaku recognized the Hundred Demons and said the Demon King might be present.

Kashimo fought through the monsters at the bottom of the abyss while Kenjaku protected Fenghua with a barrier. After unleashing overwhelming cursed energy, Kashimo faced Shuten-dōji.

• Fenghua threw the Ruyi Staff to Kashimo, who asked Kenjaku to protect her with a barrier.
• Kenjaku cast Calamity Seal around himself and Fenghua, warning that it would last only seven minutes.
• Kashimo hurled the charged Ruyi Staff into the abyss, blasting open a crater and crushing the monsters below.
• Kashimo charged into the surrounding monsters and cut them down with the Soul-Devouring Blade.
• Kashimo released a powerful surge of cursed energy and confronted Shuten-dōji, calling the monsters mere mortals.

Kashimo fought through thousands of demons and confronted Shuten-dōji, who devoured Ibaraki-dōji and emerged with even greater cursed energy. As Kashimo recovered and faced the demon on the throne, Kenjaku reassessed his strength and judged him second only to Sukuna.

• Kashimo killed the demons surrounding him and charged Shuten-dōji, but Ibaraki-dōji intercepted him with a blood-red slash.
• Kashimo struck Ibaraki-dōji, cut off both of his arms, and lost his own right hand to a point-blank slash.
• Shuten-dōji pulled the disarmed Ibaraki-dōji toward him and devoured him, then faced Kashimo with increased cursed energy.
• Kashimo picked up the Soul-Devouring Blade as Reverse Cursed Technique restored his wrist, and he wondered whether Shuten-dōji intended to resurrect himself.
• Kenjaku watched the fight and concluded that Kashimo was second only to Sukuna, realizing he had underestimated him.

Shuten-dōji returned to the living world after devouring Ibaraki-dōji and Hoshikuma-dōji, then trapped Kashimo, Kenjaku, and Fenghua in his open Domain Expansion. Kashimo faced the Demon King and introduced himself as the Thunder God, setting the stage for their battle.

• Shuten-dōji absorbed Ibaraki-dōji and Hoshikuma-dōji's soul energy and fully manifested in the living world.
• Kashimo demanded double the bounty from Kenjaku, who agreed.
• Shuten-dōji opened his domain, Drunken Dream of the Yellow Springs, and engulfed the mountain forest in an endless feast.
• Kashimo and Fenghua protected themselves with Hollow Wicker Basket while Kenjaku chose not to expand his own domain.
• Kashimo challenged Shuten-dōji's reputation and introduced himself as the Thunder God.

Kashimo fought Shuten-dōji inside the domain and discovered that the Demon King’s Cursed Technique, Assimilation, was turning his blood and body into a threat. With only a short time before the effect overwhelmed him and Hollow Wicker Basket failed, Kashimo resolved to kill Shuten-dōji or destroy the domain.

• Kashimo charged Shuten-dōji, but the Demon King splashed his left arm with corrosive wine, and Kashimo cut it off before it could dissolve into a small demon.
• Kashimo identified Assimilation as Shuten-dōji’s Cursed Technique, then attacked again and drove the Soul-Devouring Blade into his abdomen.
• Shuten-dōji completed the hand signs and incantation for Blood Assimilation, causing Kashimo’s heart to explode and beginning to transform his body.
• Kashimo restored his heart with Reverse Cursed Technique and taunted Shuten-dōji, who threatened to assimilate him and kill Fenghua and Kenjaku.
• Kashimo estimated that he had at most two incense sticks before Assimilation overcame him, and prepared to kill Shuten-dōji or destroy the domain.

Kashimo fought Shuten-dōji through brutal exchanges, using Falling Blossom Emotion and Reverse Cursed Technique to survive the demon’s sake-based attacks. Badly wounded but convinced his cursed energy gave him the advantage, Kashimo charged again and landed a Black Flash.

• Shuten-dōji fired explosive sake droplets at Kashimo, but Falling Blossom Emotion deflected the attack while Reverse Cursed Technique healed his corroded skin.
• Kashimo struck Shuten-dōji with a lightning-charged punch and cut off two of his arms with the Soul-Devouring Blade before Shuten-dōji punched him into the sake river.
• Kashimo dropped the blade and charged Shuten-dōji with lightning-wrapped fists, landing a punch that charged his opponent with electricity.
• Shuten-dōji used Liquor Burst to blast Kashimo, nearly tearing apart his upper body, but Kashimo stayed standing and reasoned that his cursed energy properties gave him the advantage.
• Kashimo charged Shuten-dōji again and struck him with a Black Flash.

Kashimo and Fenghua defeated Shuten-dōji, and Kenjaku departed after promising to honor his binding vow. They went to a private bath in Kyoto, where Fenghua joined Kashimo in the bath after he said he was not particularly interested in her.

• Kashimo struck Shuten-dōji with Black Flash, and Fenghua cut off the demon's head with the Soul-Devouring Blade, ending his domain.
• Kashimo used Reverse Cursed Technique to heal while Shuten-dōji's Assimilation technique vanished with its owner's death.
• Kenjaku told Kashimo he would fulfill their binding vow, then left.
• Kashimo told Fenghua to bring the Ruyi Staff and led her to a private bath in Kyoto.
• Kashimo bathed and told the hesitant Fenghua he was not particularly interested in her, prompting her to strip and get into the bath beside him.

Three months after Gojo Arashi’s death reshaped Jujutsu Society, Kashimo and Fenghua continued traveling and training together. In Izumo Country, they approached the fortified city of the Matsue Domain after Kenjaku recommended its martial arts and swordsmanship.

• The Zenin Clan gained influence after Gojo Arashi’s death, and Zenin Sawa received pledges of allegiance from former Gojo Clan supporters.
• The Tokugawa elders searched unsuccessfully for Princess Fenghua while she traveled with Kashimo and evaded her pursuers.
• Kashimo refined his cursed-energy control and developed a punch that could detonate its charge on first contact.
• Fenghua improved her World-Cutting Slash Strike and hand-to-hand skills, though she and Kashimo grew quieter around each other.
• Kashimo and Fenghua reached the Matsue Domain in Izumo Country after Kenjaku suggested its martial arts and swordsmanship might interest Kashimo.

Kashimo met Kenjaku in Izumo and learned that Zenin Sawa planned to tame Mahoraga there, prompting him to prepare to confront it without sacrificing his life. Meanwhile, Zenin Sawa traveled toward Izumo and worried that Kashimo might interfere.

• Kashimo and Fenghua met Kenjaku, who had switched bodies and revealed Zenin Sawa intended to tame Mahoraga in Izumo.
• Kenjaku asked Kashimo to ambush Zenin Sawa, but Kashimo rejected the ambush and said he would kill Mahoraga instead.
• Kenjaku told Kashimo the ritual would take place on December 22, twenty days later, and Kashimo agreed to go.
• Kashimo considered how to defeat Mahoraga without using Mythical Beast Amber, which would kill him.
• Zenin Sawa traveled toward Izumo and worried that Kashimo, the Strongest of the Modern Era, might interfere with the ritual.

Fenghua struggled with Kashimo’s growing distance and finally asked him to stay by her side, wondering whether her feelings for him were love. Kashimo watched her as she confessed, but the chapter ended before he answered.

• Fenghua’s diary recalled how Kashimo had taken her in as an apprentice, trained her, and once cared for her by making her a tiger-hide blanket.
• Fenghua described how Kashimo had grown quiet and begun leaving her behind while he hunted sorcerers alone.
• After Kashimo told Fenghua to rest so she could train the next day, she asked why he had become distant and kept leaving her behind.
• Fenghua admitted that his absence made her panic and that his actions affected her feelings, then asked him to stay by her side and whether those feelings were love.

Kashimo reflected on his solitude and asked Fenghua whether she could stand beside him and teach him what love was, but left when she could not answer. Two days later, he confronted Zenin Sawa and arranged to fight him on December 24.

• Kashimo told Fenghua that he believed strength meant solitude because he could not understand or empathize with the weak.
• Kashimo asked Fenghua if she could stand beside him and teach him what love was, then turned away when she remained silent.
• On December 22, the Zenin Clan's convoy found three headless sorcerer corpses blocking a mountain road in Izumo Country.
• Kashimo appeared before Zenin Sawa and challenged him to a fight.
• Zenin Sawa accepted and set the fight for December 24.

Kashimo attacked Zenin Sawa with a devastating electromagnetic cannon, then fought him hand-to-hand as both men used their abilities and healing to survive. Zenin Sawa expanded his domain, Shadows of All Creation, while Kashimo defended with Hollow Wicker Basket.

• Kashimo fired Moon Shadow: Thunderclap: Heaven and Lake Surface—Piercing Thunder at Zenin Sawa, blasting off his hands and carving a trench through the mountain path.
• Zenin Sawa healed with Reverse Cursed Technique and confronted Kashimo, then charged into a close-range fight.
• Kashimo outmaneuvered Zenin Sawa and punched a hole through his shoulder, prompting Zenin Sawa to summon Round Deer to heal the wound.
• Zenin Sawa grabbed Kashimo's wrist and struck his chest with Max Elephant's Piercing Water, but Kashimo broke free and shattered Zenin Sawa's face with a punch.
• Zenin Sawa expanded Shadows of All Creation, and Kashimo raised Hollow Wicker Basket as the domain's shadows began enhancing the Ten Shadows shikigami.

Kashimo fought Zenin Sawa and his shikigami inside the domain, killing Tiger Funeral before engaging Sawa in close combat. After their furious exchange, Sawa was badly injured and realized Kashimo had outmatched him in hand-to-hand fighting.

• Great Serpent and Nue attacked Kashimo from above and below, but he destroyed Great Serpent and kicked Nue away.
• Piercing Ox and Max Elephant tried to stop Kashimo as he charged toward Zenin Sawa, but Tiger Funeral intercepted him.
• Kashimo punched a hole through Tiger Funeral, choked it to death, and severed its head.
• Zenin Sawa finished regenerating his face, threatened Kashimo, and advanced as Piercing Ox joined the fight.
• Kashimo and Zenin Sawa exchanged blows while Piercing Ox tried to intervene, but Kashimo proved faster and more vicious.
• The fighters separated, and Zenin Sawa, battered and exhausted, recognized that Kashimo had completely outmatched him in hand-to-hand combat.

Kashimo shattered Zenin Sawa’s domain and nearly finished him, but Sawa forced an end to his cursed technique burnout and summoned Agito. The fight resumed as Sawa and Agito attacked Kashimo together, leaving them facing off after a close exchange.

• Kashimo struck Zenin Sawa with a Black Flash, breaking his domain and leaving him badly injured with his cursed technique burned out.
• Zenin Sawa used Reverse Cursed Technique to end his burnout as Kashimo prepared an Electromagnetic Cannon, and Agito interrupted the attack.
• Zenin Sawa and Agito launched a coordinated assault, with Agito striking Kashimo and Sawa following with a punch.
• Kashimo charged Agito and injected a full charge into its abdomen, tearing a massive hole through the shikigami.
• Zenin Sawa fired Piercing Water, forcing Kashimo to retreat as Agito’s wound began healing and the three faced off again.

Kenjaku sent the Soul-Devouring Blade to Kashimo after his fight with Zenin Sawa became difficult. Kashimo used it to cut down Agito, but Zenin Sawa trapped them both inside his Domain Expansion as Fenghua faced the approaching Zenin Clan sorcerers.

• Kenjaku launched the Soul-Devouring Blade toward Kashimo with Piercing Blood.
• Kashimo struggled to break through Zenin Sawa and Agito's combined defenses as Agito repeatedly healed from his attacks.
• Kashimo caught the Soul-Devouring Blade and swiftly cut Agito in half.
• Zenin Sawa activated his Domain Expansion, Shadows of All Creation, and sealed Kashimo inside with him.
• Fenghua watched Kenjaku's cursed technique on her fade and blocked the Zenin Clan sorcerers from reaching the domain.

Zenin Sawa revealed that his domain had also inflicted a persistent mental attack on Kashimo, then fought him alongside Agito and Piercing Ox. Kashimo lost his right arm but remained standing as storm clouds gathered over the battlefield.

• Zenin Sawa recovered from his chest wound and revealed that his domain’s sure-hit effect had also attacked Kashimo’s mind, leaving him bleeding and furious.
• Kashimo demanded that Zenin Sawa summon his strongest Shikigami, and Zenin Sawa brought out Agito before they resumed fighting.
• Kashimo and Zenin Sawa exchanged blows while Agito joined the battle, and Piercing Ox charged from Zenin Sawa’s shadow.
• Piercing Ox tore off Kashimo’s right arm, but Kashimo caught the Soul-Devouring Blade with his left hand and stayed on his feet.
• Kashimo said that one hand was enough as dark clouds and lightning gathered overhead.

Kashimo drew lightning from the storm clouds and unleashed his strongest Piercing Thunder against Zenin Sawa. The strike left Zenin Sawa nearly carbonized and Kashimo badly injured, with Kashimo smiling as he claimed victory.

• Kashimo dropped the Soul-Devouring Blade, caught Zenin Sawa's counterattack, and threw him away before blocking Agito's punch and blasting a hole through its abdomen.
• Kashimo dodged Piercing Ox, sent cursed energy into the storm clouds, and drew the gathering lightning toward the battlefield.
• Zenin Sawa sent Agito and Piercing Ox to trap Kashimo, but Kashimo seized Piercing Ox and hurled it into the path of his Piercing Water.
• Zenin Sawa's Piercing Water missed Kashimo's negative charge, allowing Kashimo to complete the incantation for his strongest Piercing Thunder.
• Kashimo's lightning strike devastated the battlefield, leaving Zenin Sawa charred and missing a thigh while Kashimo hung in the air with half his face ruined.