The roadside squad

"Construction Technique."

Kinoshita conjured a parachute and drifted leisurely through the air.

Hiromi Higuruma should have been in Ikebukuro. Remembering how "Deadly Sentencing" had actually confiscated Sukuna's "Ten Shadows Technique" last time made Kinoshita itch to try it himself.

"Sukuna actually has three cursed techniques. What a sneaky bastard!"

Once Kinoshita landed successfully,

an attack suddenly came from behind him.

"Huh?"

The black-haired girl froze. She hadn't expected him to catch her hair with his bare hand.

"Um..."

"Please let me be your knight." Holding her hair, Kinoshita smiled gently.

"Uh... no thanks..." Remi frowned and immediately refused. "You're scary..."

The corner of Kinoshita's mouth twitched. Why had it turned out like this?

Remi was basically roadside fodder in the Culling Game. Who knew what kind of god-awful matchmaking system had awakened such a lousy cursed technique in a place packed with these monstrous sorcerers?

But someone as strong and handsome as him should have been exactly Remi's type, right?

Was he really less handsome than Megumi Fushiguro?

Remi's cursed technique let her control her hair to attack.

"Uh..." Kinoshita released her hair.

He looked down at the burns on his body. Personally, he thought they looked pretty cool, like an alternate skin, but they certainly looked frightening to other people.

"Tch. Well, this is awkward."

"Piercing Blood!"

An immensely powerful "Piercing Blood" instantly punched through a building.

"Take me to Reggie." Kinoshita narrowed his eyes.

"Eek!" Remi immediately nodded.

Reggie's little group had four members in total.

Remi's cursed technique was "Scorpion Tail Hair Technique," which let her attack by controlling hair shaped like a scorpion's tail.

She was deeply insecure and wanted a man who would devote himself entirely to protecting her.

Kinoshita hadn't intended to get rough, but it wasn't his fault this woman couldn't appreciate his battle-damaged look.

Haba's cursed technique was "Claw Transformation," which could turn his fingers into jet-black claws.

He was a little stronger than Remi and had accumulated a full twenty-eight points in the original story, though he had been kicked to death with a single blow.

Hazeno's cursed technique was "Explosive Flesh," and he could also use "Reverse Cursed Technique." He could turn his own flesh and blood into explosive weapons. He was powerful and hot-tempered.

But Kinoshita was curious. Was "Reverse Cursed Technique" somehow engraved into "Explosive Flesh"?

Or had this guy never used "Explosive Flesh" before learning "Reverse Cursed Technique"?

These four were pretty much the strongest fighters around, aside from Hiromi Higuruma.

When they reached the upper floor, Remi shakily pointed in one direction. "Um... could you... not hurt me?"

She looked pitiful, blinking her two large eyes repeatedly.

Kinoshita waved a hand. "Come on. When did I ever say I was going to hurt you?"

"Hello there, friend." Reggie appeared before Kinoshita.

He looked like a blond, middle-aged man, and his body was covered in receipts used to activate "Contractual Recreation."

"You look like quite the formidable jujutsu sorcerer yourself. What era are you from? Those scars are pretty cool."

Reggie started with a few pleasantries.

Kinoshita didn't waste any words either. He said bluntly, "Join me. As long as you join me and meet my conditions, I'll spare you all."

Reggie's eyes widened. The Culling Game had already reached a fever pitch, and most sorcerers were wary of one another, making newcomers the easiest targets.

But Remi should have brought this guy straight from a spawn point.

He had been planning to show Kinoshita a little respect and let him join his group. He hadn't expected Kinoshita to be so arrogant.

"You don't know the true purpose of the Culling Game..."

Reggie was about to try to reason with Kinoshita.

Kinoshita cut him off first.

"Kenjaku launched the Culling Game to force people to awaken cursed energy and synchronize its frequency through mutual slaughter. That will lay the groundwork for merging all of Japan's people with Tengen, ultimately achieving a plan for human evolution that overturns humanity's current form."

"And all of that requires the Culling Game to end first." Kinoshita made a little exploding gesture with his hand. "So in the final stage, Kenjaku will slaughter the players inside the barriers. Is that what you were going to say?"

"Don't underestimate my intelligence network!"

"Seriously...?" Reggie managed to force a smile.

Not only did the other man know more details than he did, but some of it was news even to him.

Could he be an incredibly powerful sorcerer from ancient times who had made a deal with Kenjaku, explaining why he knew so much?

"What's your objective? If you can convince us, perhaps we could work together." Reggie smiled and spread his hands, looking eager and ready to cooperate.

Kinoshita closed his eyes, pretending to think.

"But... the guy behind me doesn't seem interested in cooperating..."

"Claw Transformation!"

"Die!" Sharp spikes sprouted from Haba's hands, and he immediately charged at Kinoshita.

Yet Kinoshita simply aimed his index finger behind him without even turning his head.

"Piercing Blood."

Squelch!

Haba's head was pierced straight through, and he immediately lost consciousness.

Kogane quickly announced, "Master Kinoshita! Five points gained!"

"Aaah!"

Remi was badly frightened.

Reggie and Kinoshita both looked up to their left. Just as Kinoshita had suspected, that asshole Huanglu was only pretending to be crazy. In reality, he wanted to blow everyone up.

"Explosive Flesh!"

An eyeball quickly emitted a dazzling light, and scorching flames immediately swept through the entire stairwell.

Boom!

"Wow. After taking Sukuna's 'Furnace: Open,' yours really is bland~"

"Blood Armor" activated.

Kinoshita had learned his lesson this time.

The blood outside his body had been created with "Construction Technique," whereas the blood inside his body was generally the same temperature as his body.

That meant Kinoshita could fully control the temperature of the blood he created.

Against another flame-based cursed technique like this, he couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't boil, but holding out for a while was easy enough.

Reggie immediately ducked into an inner room, but Huanglu couldn't believe it. Not only had Kinoshita not dodged, he hadn't moved at all.

Most importantly,

something about the way this guy posed was so cool that it inexplicably pissed him off!

"Reverse Cursed Technique."

"Explosive Flesh!"

This time, Huanglu pulled out every tooth in his mouth. As he scattered them all around Kinoshita, another explosion erupted.

"Useless, useless~"

Smoke and dust filled the entire corridor. Because Kinoshita had blocked most of the damage, Remi had been lucky enough to survive.

She looked at Kinoshita in terror. She hadn't imagined he could be this strong.

"My knight! Please be my knight!"

Remi grabbed Kinoshita's ankle.

Kinoshita frowned. "Huh?"

"Huh?" Remi looked confused. "But... didn't you say you could be my knight?"

"Come on, bro. You actually believed that?"

"Mad yet? Mad yet? Mad yet?"

Unable to help himself, Kinoshita pulled the same mocking face Kenjaku had made.

It was just a shame he couldn't open the top of his skull.

The next second,

an arm was hurled toward Kinoshita. He stopped tanking the attacks and darted aside.

Still wearing a look of shock, Remi took the full brunt of Huanglu's "Explosive Flesh."