A glimmer of hope for breaking the deadlock

The state of the battle Kinoshita had just confirmed was shattered completely by Kinji Hakari's "Suspicious Link."

Hakari's injured form shattered like a mirror, and then an unscathed Hakari grabbed Kinoshita.

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

The domain shattered for the second time.

Hakari entered jackpot mode again.

With no hope of reaching mark three, Kinoshita could only weather jackpot Hakari's four minutes and eleven seconds, then look for an opening inside the domain again.

"Tch..."

"But that's how a true powerhouse thinks!!!"

Kinoshita was a sorcerer with absolutely no scruples.

All he had to do was run!

"Construction Technique."

Kinoshita immediately summoned a large bucket of paint, then flew into the air using the Exoskeleton's wings.

He was going to exploit Hakari's inability to fly and stall out those four minutes and eleven seconds!

Judging by Hajime Kashimo's fight with Kinji Hakari in the original work, Kashimo had practically beaten the near-immortal Hakari half to death through the sheer mindset of a powerhouse.

That was the confidence of a powerhouse from four hundred years ago.

Kinoshita's "Reverse Cursed Technique" was not only inefficient, but also a drain on his reserves.

Although his total cursed energy was half of Sukuna's, he would still eventually run out against Hakari's endless supply.

Kinoshita's cursed energy control was mediocre, and his output was weak, so his ability to reinforce his body with cursed energy was nothing impressive.

He lacked Kashimo's physique and an efficient "Reverse Cursed Technique," making a battle of attrition unfavorable for him.

Seeing Kinoshita shamelessly fly into the sky, Hakari immediately began climbing a building, intending to knock him down.

"Piercing Blood!!!"

"Urgh!"

Hakari's body bled again, and this time his flesh even began to rot.

Who knew how many lethal toxins that shot of "Piercing Blood" contained? Hakari could still barely dodge "Piercing Blood" before, but if he chose to pursue Kinoshita in the air, he would inevitably get grazed.

"This bastard!!"

The two reached a stalemate!

It was Kirara Hoshi's first time facing such a troublesome enemy. Although he and Hakari were already doing everything they could, Kinoshita kept pressing them.

"Kin! Want me to step in?"

Hakari reluctantly nodded.

Kirara had already marked all sorts of buildings and vehicles.

For instance, the other object bearing Kinoshita's number two was a car in the parking lot.

Kinoshita suddenly realized something, and the fear of something flying at him from who knew where immediately swept through his body.

Naturally, Hakari refused to let this opportunity slip away. He immediately picked up rocks and hurled them at Kinoshita one after another.

With his attention divided, Kinoshita could only focus on dodging.

"Why... did it get dark?"

Kinoshita gritted his teeth and looked overhead. Sure enough, the car was falling from the sky.

"Why is there so much junk?!"

Rumble!!

With Kirara's interference, their battle returned to the ground.

"You little punk!"

"Still pretty lively, huh!"

Kinoshita wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. He hadn't expected the two of them to be this troublesome together.

"But it's about... time, isn't it!"

Hakari froze, then immediately retreated to Kirara's side.

There would be a vulnerable interval before he activated his next domain, but Kirara's "Love Rendezvous" could cover that gap perfectly.

Kinoshita hadn't planned on taking Hakari down in that brief window anyway.

"Next time... I'll finish you off in the next Domain Expansion!"

"Go ahead and try, kid!" Once the cooldown ended, Hakari clapped his hands together.

"Domain Expansion: Idle Death Gamble!!!"

Just as Kinoshita was about to approach mark three, Hakari struck that classic pose, and powerful background music began reverberating through Kinoshita's head.

"A repeat round has two possible effects. One is called 'probability change,' which raises the odds of hitting a jackpot. The other is called 'Time Break,' which shortens the draw animation."

Hakari continued explaining.

"But when incredible luck smiles on me and both trigger, I hit the jackpot immediately!!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the domain shattered for the third time.

Kinoshita looked toward Hakari in disbelief.

He hadn't even gotten a chance to try anything this time, and Hakari was already rolling straight into another four minutes and eleven seconds?

Kirara was watching excitedly from the sidelines, too.

"Kin! Get revenge for me! Take this guy down!"

Hakari swayed his hips, looking thrilled.

Thud, thud, thud!

After another exchange of punches, Kinoshita's "Reverse Cursed Technique" gradually began falling behind the rate at which he sustained injuries.

"I've fed this guy so many toxins that he's built up resistance..."

Left with little choice, Kinoshita used "Ochre Scale: Modified" again.

There was nothing else he could do. "Piercing Blood" was becoming less and less effective. At this rate, he might end up training Hakari to resist every poison imaginable.

After another exchange, Kinoshita had no choice but to fire a shot of "Piercing Blood."

"Piercing Blood" flew toward Kirara, but he merely pulled a face, and it was repelled on its own.

"Wait...?"

As "Piercing Blood" drifted past Kirara, Kinoshita's mind raced.

Kirara's "Love Rendezvous" didn't mark objects. It marked cursed energy, which meant only things possessing cursed energy could be marked by "Love Rendezvous."

But while Kinoshita was thinking, Hakari's fist exploited the opening and detonated against his face like a cannonball.

"Gwah!"

An elbow sent Kinoshita flying.

Yet he soon stopped using "Reverse Cursed Technique."

"What, has your fever burned out?" Hakari knocked his fists together, the feverish excitement already sweeping through his whole body.

Kinoshita wiped away his nosebleed. "No, of course not. Your fever's rubbed off on me!"

"If I win, you have to do what I say!"

Hakari couldn't help laughing. He clearly held an overwhelming advantage right now, yet this guy was still so confident.

Then again, if he didn't even have the confidence to win, why fight at all?

"Fine! If you beat me, I'll agree to anything." Hakari swung his right arm. "But before that, get ready for one hell of a beating!"

Kinoshita took a deep breath and formed a hand seal.

Hakari immediately went on alert. His teamwork with Kirara was practically invincible, but nothing in this world was absolute.

Although domains also contained cursed energy and couldn't approach Kirara,

simply deploying a domain would separate Hakari from Kirara, neatly breaking their teamwork.

Impossible. He's endured three of my jackpots without opening a domain. Unless this guy's a complete idiot. With that thought, Hakari continued forward.

He didn't believe Kinoshita had a domain!

"Maximum Technique: Blood Red: Modified."

A vast quantity of blood spread beneath Kinoshita's feet like a shadow.

Hakari naturally couldn't avoid it. He watched the blood beneath his feet restrain him, though it didn't have much effect.

"Just stalling for time? Looks like I overestimated you!"

Hakari continued approaching Kinoshita.

Kirara watched the blood gradually spread toward him, then turned his head away dismissively.

The blood was full of Kinoshita's cursed energy. The once-ferocious blood now formed a circular empty zone around Kirara, its boundary sharply defined, unable to come a single step closer.

"As long as I have 'Love Rendezvous,' you'll never get near me!"

Kinoshita knew that, of course. He continued forming hand seals, sending the blood around Kirara and toward the number three mark behind him!

"'Love Rendezvous' doesn't require me to touch the mark in person. Touching it with cursed energy is enough, right?" Kinoshita wore the expression of a victor.

Hakari suddenly realized something. "Shit!"

"I've won this fight!" Kinoshita laughed.