Two heroes against Lu Bu

July 13, 2006.

The third day of protecting the star plasma vessel.

3:00 p.m., Mount Enzan, Jujutsu High.

Having returned from their trip to Okinawa, Satoru Gojo and the other three stepped onto the polished stone stairway leading to the assimilation site, their hearts filled with conflicting emotions.

With every step they climbed, sunlight cast the shadows of the solemn, vivid red torii gates overhead across their bodies.

None of them spoke. Despite the lush, beautiful scenery on either side, they silently lifted their feet and climbed the stone steps with heavy hearts.

Slowly, gradually, the four passed through all eighty-one torii gates without a word and reached Jujutsu High's inner barrier.

They still said nothing, but wordlessly agreed to find a shady spot to rest.

Suguru Geto's taut nerves relaxed considerably, but remembering his close friend Tsukasa's warning, he warily scanned their surroundings, alive with the incessant cries of cicadas.

Finding no danger lurking nearby, he breathed a sigh of relief, then looked with mixed feelings at Riko Amanai, who had her hands on her knees and was grinning foolishly at Kuroi.

She was still so young and innocent. She had done nothing wrong...

Suddenly.

Before Suguru Geto could dwell on it, something changed. An utterly unexpected flash of cold steel appeared, aimed straight at Satoru Gojo's chest.

Just before it pierced him, Satoru Gojo twisted aside as though he had eyes in the back of his head and caught the incoming blade with one hand.

The sudden assassination attempt also sent the mistress and her maid instinctively ducking behind Suguru Geto.

"Well, well, well~ How did you notice me?" Dressed in close-fitting clothes, Toji Fushiguro stared in surprise at Satoru Gojo, who had caught his blade barehanded.

The usual contempt Satoru Gojo showed his opponents had vanished. His expression was grave as he watched the muscular man radiating savage menace before him.

"You reek so badly I could smell you from miles away!"

Still sharp-tongued, Satoru Gojo suddenly concentrated cursed energy into the hand gripping the blade and crushed the ungraded weapon's blade with his bare hand.

As the fragments fell, he swiftly caught them with Blue's attraction and sent them spraying toward Toji Fushiguro like a shower of petals.

Toji Fushiguro sprang into a backward flip, nimbly dodging the flying shards.

"Big-Mouth Monster!"

Seizing the opening while he flipped, Suguru Geto instantly summoned his frequently used Grade 1 Cursed Spirit, which opened its bottomless maw and swallowed Toji Fushiguro into its stomach.

Satoru Gojo shook his hand, his palm bleeding where the blade had cut it, and returned to Suguru Geto's side without hesitation. "Geto, we're teaming up for this one!"

"He doesn't have a trace of cursed energy, but his body is as strong as that freak Tsukasa's. It's probably a physical gift from a heavenly restriction."

"Against someone like him, we need to do what we do against Tsukasa: feint with ranged attacks, then catch him off guard and finish him in one strike."

Suguru Geto nodded in agreement, then turned to Riko Amanai and Kuroi behind him. "Find somewhere safe and hidden back there. Don't come out unless we call you."

"W-we understand!"

The two women answered shakily. Knowing they would only be a burden if they stayed, they forced down their fear and supported each other as they ran behind a distant boulder.

The instant they hid, Big-Mouth Monster's wormlike body began writhing violently, followed by a series of agonized, desperate shrieks.

Countless flashes of slashing steel shone inside its body. A moment later, its long, wriggling form was sliced into countless pieces from within.

Drenched in purple blood, with a cursed spirit coiled around his waist and a katana resting on his shoulder, Toji Fushiguro rose amid the shower of blood, radiating savage menace.

Seeing the cursed spirit wrapped around Toji Fushiguro's waist, Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto exchanged incredulous looks, deep confusion in both their eyes.

They were standing in the innermost reaches of the Tengen Barrier. How had this man brought a cursed spirit inside?

Toji Fushiguro calmly slipped his katana into the cursed spirit's mouth and asked curiously, "Young master of the Gojo Clan, I'd love to know how you noticed a useless man with no cursed energy like me."

"And after all those curse users from the Dark Web kept you on edge outside, shouldn't you have let your guard down once you got back to Jujutsu High?"

Satoru Gojo removed his sunglasses and waved a hand in front of his nose mockingly. "I told you, you reek. I could smell your stench from miles away."

Unlike his friend's taunting, Suguru Geto spoke gravely. "Someone warned us that the safest place is also the most dangerous."

"So until we deliver the star plasma vessel to Tengen, we won't let our guard down."

"And we weren't constantly on alert outside. We took turns, balancing work and rest to keep ourselves in peak condition."

"As for how Satoru dodged your surprise attack, we have another close friend to thank. He taught us Mind's Eye, an unusual technique created specifically to deal with physically powerful opponents."

Toji Fushiguro rubbed his brow, looking relaxed yet resigned. "This other close friend you're talking about-is that Tsukasa Hatayama?"

"I've never met him, but that Mind's Eye thing has given me a pretty bad impression of him. He ruined my plan to wear you down."

"A plan fit for an idiot. Don't you know the Dark Web has already withdrawn the bounty on the star plasma vessel? You won't get a penny for killing her now."

Satoru Gojo continued mocking him. For some reason, every time he looked at the rugged face before him, it seemed familiar.

Have I seen him somewhere before?

Toji Fushiguro glanced at Satoru Gojo, who had been taunting him nonstop. "I'm the one who withdrew the Dark Web bounty, you foul-mouthed brat."

"Talking to you any more is just a waste of breath. Now, both of you are going to die at the hands of this worthless man with no cursed energy."

"Anyone can talk big!"

Suguru Geto snapped irritably, summoning dozens of mortar-like cursed spirits around and in front of him. They aimed at Toji Fushiguro and fired octopuses that streaked out like light.

Toji Fushiguro vanished in a flash, darting back and forth through the towering forest to evade them. His speed was astonishing, impossible to track with the naked eye.

"Blue, maximum output!"

Satoru Gojo uprooted the forest before him, denying Toji Fushiguro its cover.

The now-unobstructed view also let Suguru Geto keep summoning mortar-like octopus cursed spirits, bombarding Toji Fushiguro with a relentless barrage.

The octopuses fired out raised thick clouds of smoke from the barren ground, obscuring Toji Fushiguro's figure and leaving his fate uncertain.

Yet in a single exchange, Toji Fushiguro appeared behind Suguru Geto like a phantom. "I hate ranged sorcerers, so I'll take out the leader first!"

With blinding speed, he drew a vivid red Three-Section Staff from the cursed spirit's mouth and swung it at the back of Suguru Geto's head, the air howling in its wake.

A clang rang out, but no brains splattered. A skeletal cursed spirit wielding a bone blade had blocked the blow for Suguru Geto.

Sparks flew where the bone blade met Playful Cloud, hollow eyes meeting an icy gaze.

Toji Fushiguro's lips curled into a flippant smile. He tightened his grip on the Three-Section Staff, his muscles swelling slightly as he prepared to force the bone blade down.

Suddenly, a fist trailing black-and-red sparks hurtled toward his jaw.

It was Suguru Geto's Black Flash!

Just before it struck, Toji Fushiguro bent backward at the waist as though surpassing human limits, evading it in an extreme posture that brought him almost flat against the ground.

"Rasengan."

Taking advantage of his complete loss of balance, Satoru Gojo suddenly leaped above him, a dazzling, beautiful blue sphere of cursed energy spinning in his right palm.

Toji Fushiguro's pupils contracted. Even without cursed energy of his own, he could clearly sense the immense power contained in that sphere.

If it struck his body, it would blast a bloody hole straight through him.

In that split second, Toji Fushiguro reacted, drawing the Soul-Splitting Katana from the mouth of the cursed spirit on his shoulder faster than the naked eye could follow.

Despite being completely off balance, he blocked the sphere with the blade.

The two strained against each other, pushing and shoving as they poured strength into the contest.

Toji Fushiguro suddenly thrust his blade forward with all his might, sending Satoru Gojo flying. The sphere slipped from his hand and exploded in midair.

The resulting shock wave also hurled Toji Fushiguro, who was close to the blast, into the residence behind him. He smashed into its wall like a bowling ball launched down a lane.

Despite gaining the upper hand, Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto felt no joy. Instead, they stared gravely at Toji Fushiguro inside the wall.

Time and again, their coordinated attacks had been evaded through Toji Fushiguro's sheer physical power. That alone proved his physical abilities were absurdly formidable.