Kinji Hakari/Kirara Hoshi vs. Kinoshita

Kirara Hoshi's cursed technique was called "Love Rendezvous." It modeled itself on the Southern Cross, assigning its five stars to the cursed energy of different targets.

The technique had two effects.

The first was to make marked targets attract or repel one another.

Kinoshita and Panda had been pulled apart earlier because of "Love Rendezvous," too.

Rip...

As "Piercing Blood" came within a hair's breadth of striking Kirara Hoshi, Kinji Hakari finally appeared.

Faced with such a violent introduction, Kinji Hakari was absolutely furious. He pointed at Panda and roared, "Panda! Get the spectators out of here! I still have a business to run! I can't let my customers get hurt!"

Panda hadn't expected Kinji Hakari, who had been nowhere to be seen these past few days, to finally show himself on Kinoshita's very first day here.

He glanced at Kinoshita, feeling that the attack just now hadn't carried any killing intent, much like that earlier "Piercing Blood."

Only after Panda began evacuating the spectators did Kinji Hakari turn his attention back to Kinoshita.

"'Blood Manipulation'! Did those stubborn old bastards send you?" Kinji Hakari rubbed his fists.

His cursed technique could summon car doors for offense and defense.

Even his domain came built into his technique, engraved within it.

That meant most of the power of Kinji Hakari's technique lay in his domain, with another portion coming from the properties of his cursed energy.

"Of course not. I came to ask for your help!" Kinoshita spread his hands, looking innocent.

Kirara Hoshi, who had nearly been hit just now, pointed at Kinoshita even more angrily.

"You're here to pick a fight!"

"Kin-chan! Take him down!" Kirara Hoshi snapped, his face full of displeasure.

Kinoshita waved his hands. "Come on, don't be like that. Actually, if possible..."

"You bastard, are you still trying to make excuses?" Kinji Hakari's muscles bulged.

The guy didn't look like he was from Jujutsu High. But if he wasn't a student there, why had a powerful jujutsu sorcerer who used "Blood Manipulation" suddenly appeared?

"Don't misunderstand." Kinoshita extended one hand. "If possible, I'd like both of you to come at me together."

"Sometimes fists convey more passion than words, don't they?"

Kinji Hakari couldn't help laughing at that.

"Not bad. I agree with you there."

"But are you really strong enough to get both of us fired up?" A smile spread across Kinji Hakari's face.

It was the skepticism of someone being challenged.

It was as though the two of them sat across a card table. Holding a deck of cards, Kinji Hakari spread them in a row, then grinned as he wagered all his chips.

At that very moment, Kinoshita's own passion blazed to life.

"Let me clear up one thing first."

"You're the challenger here." Kinoshita gathered cursed energy in both hands.

He wouldn't hold back. Now that was passion!

Kinji Hakari suddenly looked at Kirara Hoshi, who immediately nodded in response.

Kinoshita grew curious. He had never seen the two of them fight together in the original work. What were they planning?

"Domain Expansion: Idle Death Gamble!"

Despite not thoroughly understanding the most complicated domain mechanics in all of Jujutsu Society, Kinoshita still had a basic grasp of this domain's strengths and weaknesses.

To put it simply...

Each attack Kinji Hakari made counted as one draw, and thirty draws would trigger a guaranteed jackpot.

The jackpot would grant Kinji Hakari unlimited cursed energy and an exceptionally efficient "Reverse Cursed Technique" for four minutes and eleven seconds.

Just how efficient was it?

If the efficiency of Kinoshita's "Reverse Cursed Technique" was a three...

Then Sukuna's and Satoru Gojo's would be a twenty.

And Kinji Hakari's was higher still.

After hitting the jackpot, he would also get another draw.

Simply put, it was a refill.

The refill had two possible effects. One was called "probability change," which increased the odds of hitting the jackpot. The other was "Time Break," which shortened the drawing animation.

Kinoshita knew these mechanics inside out, yet he still looked shocked when faced with "Idle Death Gamble"!

As the "preview performance" appeared, all three entered the domain together.

The "preview performance" was Kinji Hakari's drawing phase. During it, he could use "Pachinko Ball," "Car Door," and "Suspicious Link" to attack, defend, and keep himself alive. Using these methods would also trigger a draw.

In other words, if Kinoshita defeated Kinji Hakari here, he would win the fight.

As long as he immediately beat Kinji Hakari while he was using these three methods, Kinoshita wouldn't have to face him with unlimited cursed energy and automatic "Reverse Cursed Technique."

"That's what you're thinking, right?" Kinji Hakari flashed a victor's smile. "But as long as I bring Kirara into the domain, I can safely draw a jackpot without fighting you at all!"

Kirara Hoshi made a face beside him. "Bleh~ Idiot~"

"Ochre Scale: Modified!"

Kinoshita activated his technique with a wry smile. He hadn't expected Kinji Hakari to be this sneaky with a teammate!

"So fast!" Kirara Hoshi covered his mouth in surprise. "But~"

Thud-!

Just as Kinoshita was about to approach the two of them as they drew, he realized something and was instantly flung back.

"Tch!"

Looking at the cursed energy mark on his waist, Kinoshita burst out laughing. "I see! So that's how it is!!!"

Thanks to the gentle mechanics of "Idle Death Gamble," Hakari didn't need to fight Kinoshita at all. He could farm a jackpot with just his teammate.

And Kirara Hoshi's "Love Rendezvous" could keep a marked opponent away, ensuring their safety until they hit the jackpot!

This was their perfect teamwork!!!

"Piercing Blood!"

The moment Kinoshita understood that, he activated his technique.

Kirara Hoshi's "Love Rendezvous" couldn't place marks on cursed techniques.

"Car Door!"

Kinoshita narrowed his eyes. He had expected "Piercing Blood" to be blocked. What he needed to do was simple: since "Love Rendezvous" controlled the distance between them, he just had to break through it.

Based on the technique's principles, Kirara Hoshi couldn't have hidden the cursed energy marks outside the domain. There had to be cursed energy marks inside it, too.

The second effect of "Love Rendezvous" divided the marked targets into five groups, which could be called numbers one, two, three, four, and five for now.

Judging by Panda's and Kirara Hoshi's original marks, Kinoshita should have mark two, Kirara Hoshi should have mark four, and the monitoring room should have mark five.

To enter the monitoring room, Kinoshita's mark two would have to pass through mark three, then mark four on Kirara Hoshi. Only then could he approach Kinji Hakari in the monitoring room.

This stage-clearing mechanism was the key to breaking through "Love Rendezvous."

Now, Kinoshita only needed to approach Kirara Hoshi.

In other words, as long as he carried his mark two close to mark three, he would naturally be able to approach mark four.

"Found it!" Using his senses, Kinoshita immediately located an object containing cursed energy.

After all, "Love Rendezvous" could only mark objects that contained cursed energy, so they weren't hard to find.

As long as he wasn't at an information disadvantage, it was quite easy to crack.

Watching Kinoshita approach mark three, Kirara Hoshi immediately panicked.

"Kin-chan! He actually knows my technique!"

Kinji Hakari grinned, and the next instant, the domain shattered.

"The jackpot... starts now!!!"