"I let my guard down..."
Hakari felt utterly drained. Large amounts of chlorine gas had entered his lungs with every breath, then spread through his blood, eating away at his body.
His limbs went limp, and waves of nausea surged into his head, making him want to open his mouth and retch.
He knew that electrolyzing seawater could produce chlorine gas.
Had his opponent been a modern jujutsu sorcerer, he would have guarded against it.
But Hajime Kashimo's identity as an Ancient Jujutsu Sorcerer had made him instinctively lower his guard.
Ancient Jujutsu Sorcerers possessed all the memories of their incarnation vessels.
So even after returning to life in this world hundreds of years later, they could still function normally in society.
In the original story, Uraume, whose incarnation vessel was Fushiguro's older sister Tsumiki, had exploited precisely this fact.
After awakening, Uraume continued speaking and behaving like Fushiguro's sister when interacting with Megumi Fushiguro.
With the same appearance, memories, and habits, Fushiguro and the others had no way of telling the difference.
In the end, they handed the 100 points they had obtained to Tsumiki, hoping to get her out of the Culling Game.
Uraume accepted those hundred points without a shred of guilt, then immediately added a rule allowing people to enter and leave the barriers.
Surprisingly nostalgic, she even went to the site of her old hometown to await a battle with Ryomen Sukuna.
Meanwhile, Megumi Fushiguro was devastated by his sister's death, and in his despondent state, Ryomen Sukuna ultimately swooped in to reap the rewards.
Hajime Kashimo stood in the seawater like a little Nezha, his expression showing respect for a worthy opponent.
Hakari's struggles gradually weakened. His hands no longer clawed frantically at the water, and the muscles in his thighs began to relax.