Battle

"Did he come after all?" Kenjaku clenched his hand beneath his robes, constantly rehearsing his planned responses in his mind. One wrong step now, and his thousand years of scheming would come to nothing.

"Looks like we'll have to use plan B. What a pain!" Mahito's expression grew strained when he saw Chiyo Shin standing on the train's undercarriage.

Once the dust cleared, Chiyo Shin saw the open Prison Realm and shouted, "Mr. Gojo, get away from that Cursed Object!"

Immediately afterward, Chiyo Shin swept his five fingers forward, sending five slashes hurtling toward Kenjaku and the Prison Realm.

Slashes!? Kenjaku was shocked.

Why did Chiyo Shin have a slashing Cursed Technique?

Impossible! They couldn't have fed Sukuna's Finger to Chiyo Shin.

Then why was that slashing Cursed Technique engraved on Chiyo Shin?

Those thoughts passed in an instant.

The slashes came fast and were already upon him. Unable to sidestep in time, Kenjaku could only summon a Cursed Spirit with formidable defenses from his hand to block them. The collision rang out like clashing metal.

"What!"

The Cursed Spirit in Kenjaku's hand barely held out before being sliced in two. Blood ran down his face.

Having just ducked to evade the attack, Kenjaku touched his head and came away with a piece of scalp.

He repaired the damage with Reverse Cursed Technique. Things seemed to be getting out of control.

After teleporting away at Chiyo Shin's warning, Satoru Gojo saw Kenjaku's face and froze. "Who are you!?"

Satoru Gojo's voice pulled Kenjaku out of his thoughts about Chiyo Shin.

Kenjaku regained his composure, deciding the situation was still manageable. "I'm Suguru Geto. Have you forgotten me, Satoru?"

"Forgotten you, my ass!!"

Before Satoru Gojo could speak, Chiyo Shin exploded into action. He drove his recoil to full power and kicked off hard, instantly flattening the train's undercarriage and the tracks beneath it.

The tremendous reaction force propelled Chiyo Shin through the cramped space at high speed, bringing him straight to Kenjaku's side. "Ao Fish!!"

Kenjaku poured all his cursed energy into defense. The moment Chiyo Shin shouted, he had already adopted the best possible stance and begun pulling back.

An uppercut wrapped in raging energy swept past Kenjaku's cheek.

Kenjaku retreated swiftly, the smile he so often wore replaced by a grave expression.

Chiyo Shin took another step, denting the platform, then launched a whipping kick straight at Kenjaku's head.

A huge-mouthed Cursed Spirit suddenly emerged from underground and took Kenjaku into its mouth. The kick struck the spirit with full force, sending it crashing into the wall.

Satoru Gojo shook off his fixation on Suguru Geto's face. Seeing cracks appear in a nearby support pillar, he warned Chiyo Shin, "Shin, stop using the Vibration Cursed Technique. The station can't take it."

Chiyo Shin glanced back and noticed the cracks in the support pillar too. "Mr. Gojo, I'll be careful."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and drove a swath of white light into the Cursed Spirit, disintegrating both it and the wall.

Chiyo Shin didn't believe Kenjaku would be eliminated so easily, but if he refused to come out, killing a few Cursed Spirits would do.

Turning to Mahito, Hanami, and Choso, Chiyo Shin smiled. "Your turn."

"Run!!" Hanami was the first to flee. Going head-to-head with Chiyo Shin? What a joke. There was no point overestimating oneself.

Satoru Gojo might still take the humans into consideration, but once Chiyo Shin started fighting, he wouldn't care at all.

Choso quickly ran into the crowd, using the people as cover against any attacks that might follow.

Seeing Chiyo Shin turn toward them, Mahito swiftly pulled out several compressed humans and kneaded them together. "Multiple Souls: Polymorphic Soul Isomer!"

Mahito released the Polymorphic Soul Isomer, transformed his legs, and turned to flee.

The Polymorphic Soul Isomer had barely landed before a beam of white light from Chiyo Shin pierced its body.

Mahito heard the sound but didn't dare look back.

Watching the fleeing Cursed Spirits, Chiyo Shin tore off his clothes, revealing a muscular body that didn't match his face.

The inscriptions from the Bone-Binding Umbrella appeared on Chiyo Shin's body, and he crouched into a starting stance.

Like an arrow loosed from a bow, Chiyo Shin shot up behind Hanami, the fastest of the fleeing spirits.

Hanami felt a prickling threat from behind and swiftly turned. An enormous flower grew from Hanami's hand and was planted in the ground, instantly covering the floor in a sea of blossoms.

A refreshing floral fragrance flooded Chiyo Shin's nose. Even his drive to attack was dulled by the sea of flowers.

But he only froze for an instant. Recovering, Chiyo Shin coated his hand in white light and punched straight through Hanami's chest.

The inscriptions on Chiyo Shin's body also began crawling onto Hanami.

"Hanami!!"

"Multiple Souls: Body Repel!" Seeing Chiyo Shin pierce Hanami, Mahito pulled out a handful of compressed humans, fused them together, and fired them at Chiyo Shin.

"Stillness." Chiyo Shin neither dodged nor evaded as he uttered the word. "Don't rush. You're next, but you definitely won't have it as easy as this one."

Remembering how Mahito had kissed him, Chiyo Shin applied more force with his hand.

Hanami spat out a mouthful of blood and could only watch the inscriptions crawl across that body as consciousness began to fade.

Hanami struggled violently, sending a torrent of rampaging branches at Chiyo Shin, but they accomplished nothing.

Once the inscriptions covered Hanami completely, Hanami's body began merging into Chiyo Shin's.

After a rush of pleasure, another tattoo appeared on Chiyo Shin's body.

The tattoos of Jogo and Hanami roamed across Chiyo Shin's skin.

Chiyo Shin let out a soft breath. New power.

Only when Mahito saw the two tattoos on Chiyo Shin did he realize that Jogo had met the same fate.

Before Chiyo Shin could attack him, Mahito transformed his legs and turned to run.

Chiyo Shin clenched his fists and took a moment to adjust, then raised his hand, sending several branches racing toward Mahito.

"Suguru Geto! Save me!" With the branches closing in, Mahito screamed in desperation.

His voice reached Kenjaku in his hiding place, and Kenjaku was frantic too.

The two new abilities Chiyo Shin had revealed had truly caught Kenjaku off guard.

Mahito's importance to the next stage of his plan was irreplaceable.

But how could he save him? If he went out now, there was no way he could face both Chiyo Shin and Satoru Gojo at once.

His plan had been completely derailed.

Could I really have no choice but to use that move?

After a long deliberation, Kenjaku decided to take the gamble!

Mahito had been shouting for ages, yet Kenjaku still hadn't come to help him.

He could no longer conceal the panic on his face.

Suddenly, several branches emerged from cracks in the ground and wound tightly around Mahito's legs.

"Idle Transfiguration!" Mahito instantly split into four smaller Mahitos, scattering in different directions.

Chiyo Shin was getting bored. Catching Mahito was like trying to catch a slippery eel.

I should be able to absorb him if I catch just one. Chiyo Shin withdrew the branches and prepared to attack the Mahito closest to him.

He took a step forward, only for the scene before his eyes to suddenly change.

"!?"

Looking at the endless plain before him, Chiyo Shin was stunned and bewildered. "Where am I?"

Chiyo Shin walked a few steps forward and discovered he was standing atop an enormous stone pillar. Looking down, he saw countless Cursed Spirits beneath his feet, staring up at him as they roared and shrieked.