Maximum Technique

Ever since they picked up Miss Riko Amanai, the original plot had continued unfolding as usual.

The school was attacked, Kuroi was captured, Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto took Riko Amanai to the seaside, and Kento Nanami, who already looked like a corporate drone before even entering the workforce, arrived with the bright, cheerful Yu Haibara to provide support.

Smoothly. Everything was progressing smoothly, as though the addition of Kamo Xu would do nothing to change the plot.

And so...

Once everyone had sat back down and was ready to return to the school, Kamo Xu made an excuse to leave for a while.

Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto wondered what Kamo Xu was going to do, but he only told them he needed to stop by the Kamo Clan first.

"Satoru and Geto should be enough for these last few hours, right? Aren't we the strongest?"

Satoru Gojo froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. "You really don't hold back, do you? Yaga might beat you up when you get back, you know~"

Unlike Satoru Gojo, Suguru Geto looked gravely at Kamo Xu standing nearby after a brief moment of surprise.

Asahi hadn't looked at them while speaking. His eyes had stayed fixed on the ground.

After spending so much time together, Suguru Geto knew Kamo Xu very well. Aside from his habit of gambling away every penny he earned, the easiest thing to read about him was when he lied.

He acted one of two ways when lying. The first was to argue relentlessly, usually when Yaga scolded him after he'd caused trouble.

The other was what he was doing now... avoiding people's eyes.

"Asahi, you should know Satoru has already..."

"I know. That's exactly why I have to leave."

Suguru Geto's words were cut off. Right, the three of them were known throughout Jujutsu Society as the strongest of the younger generation. If he could see it, why wouldn't Kamo Xu?

But if this guy had noticed, why was he leaving the group on his own, despite the risk of Miss Amanai being assassinated...?

Kamo Xu had expected Suguru Geto to object. He knew Satoru Gojo's easygoing nature made him likely to agree, and he understood Geto's temperament too.

But he really wasn't going to explain. If he didn't change something now that the plot had reached this point...

They would all be wiped out.

His mind made up, he stopped hesitating and walked over to Riko Amanai. Kamo Xu placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at the poor girl for a long moment.

"This is as far as I can help you. The rest depends on whether you're tough enough to survive."

"Huh?"

The sudden contact and cryptic words left Riko Amanai bewildered. They weren't that close, were they?

Whether he was protecting her or fighting enemies, he kept to himself. Even when she'd been swimming at the beach and splashing around with Gojo and Geto, this taciturn guy had refused to join them.

Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto had even tried to drag him into the water, but he'd darted far away to stand guard.

And now he came over instead...

Before Riko Amanai could think it through, Kamo Xu had already turned and left, gradually disappearing from their sight.

He went alone into an alley where he knew no one would come. With his back to its entrance, he spoke.

"Come out, Toji Zenin."

No one answered.

But Kamo Xu stubbornly waited, his entire face hidden in the alley's darkness.

He was certain the heavenly tyrant wouldn't let a little lamb that had fallen behind escape.

One minute, two minutes, five minutes.

At last, footsteps rang out, and a man slowly emerged with one hand against the wall.

His muscles were powerful and well-defined, stretching his black short-sleeved shirt taut. Their distinct contours were mesmerizing, like a statue carved by the hand of God.

His clothes were much looser below the waist, the white trousers adding an unexpected contrast.

Powerful. So powerful that words couldn't describe it.

Kamo Xu turned his head, glancing sideways at the man the world called the Sorcerer Killer.

The man grinned. The conspicuous scar on his mouth seemed to mock Kamo Xu. "Not Zenin. It's Fushiguro now."

As he spoke, Toji Fushiguro braced his elbow against the wall and let his forearm hang loosely. Leaning there, he tilted his head to size up the student who wasn't even an adult yet.

"That's a surprise. Normally, you should never have noticed me. After all, I don't have any cursed energy."

"Even the Gojo Clan's Six Eyes didn't spot me. How did you know?"

Kamo Xu didn't answer. He remained where he stood, secretly gathering cursed energy and staying ready for a sudden attack from the monster before him.

He wasn't stupid enough to try a sneak attack first. This guy would definitely dodge Piercing Blood before it landed.

I have to get close...

Yes, Kamo Xu believed that with his cursed technique, close combat was his only chance of beating Toji Fushiguro.

But close combat was unquestionably Toji's specialty. It could even be called his only specialty.

His supreme physique and instincts honed to perfection were far beyond anything the current Kamo Xu could hope to match.

Fighting the heavenly tyrant at close range... that was asking to die.

But he wouldn't foolishly throw himself into his opponent's preferred range, either. As he stood there, he was quietly letting his blood seep into the ground through the soles of his feet.

A large amount of blood was also hidden along the path he'd just walked. Those were his backup measures.

But they couldn't deliver a guaranteed kill.

"Tch. Not going to talk? What an arrogant brat." Growing impatient, Toji Fushiguro straightened and silently opened his mouth.

He spat out something purple. It gradually grew, returning to its original form before wrapping around his burly body.

The Inventory Curse Worm, a low-grade cursed spirit.

It could only store objects, not fight.

Kamo Xu pulled his thoughts back and watched Fushiguro draw a blade from the Inventory Curse Worm's mouth. Its blade was long, narrow, and silver-white, with a ring of fur around it.

It was the Soul-Eating Blade!

A cursed tool that ignored defenses and struck the soul directly.

If anyone else had wielded it, the blade might have been Kamo Xu's greatest concern. But with Toji Fushiguro holding it, that changed things.

Almost any blade in his hands could ignore defenses. What mattered was its ability to strike the soul, and soul damage happened to be the only kind that could hurt Kamo Xu now.

This is going to be difficult...

Kamo Xu lowered his stance. The cursed energy gathered inside him had already reached its peak. The moment Toji Fushiguro moved, he would fire Piercing Blood. At least it could pierce...

Suddenly, Toji Fushiguro vanished!

Right before Kamo Xu's eyes, in the blink of an eye!

Overwhelming pressure and murderous intent that stabbed at his nerves crashed into him head-on in an instant!

Boom!

His body smashed into the wall, leaving a deep, round crater, with half his body buried beneath the rubble.

Only after he was sent flying did Kamo Xu truly realize he had still underestimated this tyrant.

That explosive burst of speed-he couldn't keep up. He couldn't keep up at all!

The slightest lapse in attention would make him lose sight of his target, followed immediately by a storm of attacks!

In that brief instant, he'd been slashed twice!

One cut ran across his chest, all the way from his shoulder to the side of his waist.

The other was on his abdomen. He'd received it while rapidly retreating after realizing he was about to be hit. Compared with the first wound, this one was much lighter. It had merely sliced open his skin, clearly exposing the organs within.

Yes, even an injury that severe was far lighter than the first!

The first strike had completely shredded his lungs. Kamo Xu lay in the wreckage, gasping heavily.

But his lungs were ruined. When air entered his windpipe, it bubbled through the blood covering them, producing a wet gurgling sound.

Grating. Chilling...

"That weak? Figures. Not a single one of those Kamo guys is worth a damn." Toji Fushiguro stood before the rubble. The wounds he'd just inflicted were undoubtedly fatal.

Even if the boy received treatment later, he would certainly be unable to move now.

He smacked his lips, looking somewhat bored, then kicked a loose pebble into the wreckage and turned to leave.

"Modified Flowing Red Scale!"

The voice came from behind him, followed by a wave of heat!

"What!?"

Toji Fushiguro raised his blade. Clang! He intercepted a streak of blood. Piercing Blood.

But it wasn't over. Blood turned into razor-sharp bullets like a shower of rain, firing from the wreckage one after another toward the monstrous man.

Piercing Blood had an extremely high initial velocity, and this barrage had both surprise and sheer numbers on its side.

Caught off guard, Toji Fushiguro was engulfed by a torrent of attacks!

But he grinned instead. "A last-ditch struggle? Of course! Someone cursed by the world just like me couldn't possibly go down that easily!"

The muscles in his arms bulged. Gripping the Soul-Eating Blade tightly, Toji Fushiguro swung with all his strength, standing his ground as he wove a barrier of flashing steel!

The blade sliced straight through the blood, splitting it in two and sending it falling to the ground.

The attack continued for nearly a minute. Most of it was cut down.

But thanks to the sheer number of shots and the boost from Modified Flowing Red Scale, one drop of blood actually slipped through his defense and pierced Toji Fushiguro's shoulder!

Blood stained the tyrant's black shirt red.

But it was only a flesh wound... nothing serious to Toji Fushiguro.

Kamo Xu's heart sank. He had completely lost his connection to the blood struck by the Soul-Eating Blade. Once the soul within it was severed, it quickly dissipated.

He should have been able to control that blood carrying his soul freely. Now it all lay on the ground, coated in dust and stripped of its luster.

Ironically, his heart had already stopped beating, and only a quarter of his blood remained.

With so little blood, he couldn't inflict damage without paying a price.

He couldn't stop Fushiguro. His opponent's current strength far exceeded his own, and Kamo Xu now clearly understood how naive he'd been.

This was a real world, not a picture book he could redraw however he pleased.

Right now... he was nothing more than an insignificant... monkey.

"Cough..." Kamo Xu coughed up a mouthful of blood. Sensing his remaining cursed energy and blood, he silently made his decision.

He raised his right hand and extended his index finger toward the ground.

His body temperature rose again, but this time it didn't stop at a certain point. It only climbed higher and higher!

Kamo Xu mobilized all the blood and cursed energy within his body. They poured from the hideous wounds in his chest and abdomen, gathering at his fingertip while Flowing Red Scale was still active...

They didn't spread out. They seemed to condense together, compressing one another as their temperature kept rising and the cursed energy grew increasingly uncontrollable!

From red to orange-yellow, and finally into a blue sphere of energy!

That drop of blood began to glow. As its temperature reached its peak, brilliant blue light completely replaced the darkness in the alley.

It coalesced quickly, because this was something Yang Xu had already accumulated and could release all at once. So quickly that by the time Toji Fushiguro realized what was happening and tried to stop him, it was already complete.

"This move... was put together in a hurry. Most of it is still just an idea."

"I was planning to use it after learning Reverse Cursed Technique, but I probably won't live that long."

"It's a lot like an ultimate move from a game I played in my past life, so I'll use that name... Have a taste of this imaginary jujutsu, heavenly tyrant... This is my parting gift!"

Kamo Xu forced the last air from his alveoli and roared the name of the move-

Maximum Technique: Red Emperor Blue Star!!!

The drop of blood shining with dazzling blue light slid down his fingertip...

At that moment, the wind stopped, and the clouds scattered.

In the next instant, the earth lit up, and the sky went dark!

The instant the energy formed from the concentrated blood and cursed energy touched the ground, its already unstable internal structure shattered completely.

Violent imaginary energy surged outward with Kamo Xu at its center, heat and shock waves tearing apart everything they touched!

Silence. Absolute silence.

There was no sound, because nothing could be heard.

There were no objects, because nothing could be seen clearly.

There was no pain, because there was no time to feel it.

Once the sound had faded and the light had dimmed, everything...

Became drifting ash over scorched earth.

His blood was depleted... Flowing Red Scale could no longer sustain circulation and shut down automatically. Yang Xu entered a half-hour period of weakness.

But he couldn't accept stopping there...

Because a man still stood nearby. Toji Fushiguro.

The instant he saw Kamo Xu's Maximum Technique, he had drawn the Inverted Spear of Heaven. This cursed tool could neutralize cursed energy, allowing it to bypass any cursed-energy defense when attacking and cancel any cursed-energy attack when defending.

He had crossed his arms in front of himself, holding the Inverted Spear of Heaven in a reverse grip close against the front of his arms to withstand the first wave of cursed energy.

But Kamo Xu's attack wasn't merely a burst of cursed energy. It also carried searing heat!

And so, Kamo Xu's strike had dealt damage!

Toji Fushiguro's arms were burned. Even the hand holding the Inverted Spear of Heaven trembled slightly!

But he was still smiling, his fangs still sharp and gleaming!

"Whew. That was scary. Anyone else taking that hit probably would've died."

Kamo Xu had nothing left. His arms fell limp, and even his pupils lost focus and dilated.

But Toji Fushiguro didn't care what his opponent was thinking. Defending against that dense, rapid barrage and then taking the Maximum Technique head-on had drained a considerable amount of his stamina.

He exhaled a cloudy plume of white vapor, a hint of interest appearing in his eyes. "Oh? From the sound of it, your heart's already stopped. You should be dead."

He looked at Kamo Xu, whose body was now exposed amid the wreckage, and stepped onto the edge of the scorched crater.

"Whatever. Why waste time puzzling over a guy who's about to die? Killing you and wrapping up this job comes first."

As he spoke, Toji Fushiguro drew his blade again. This time, he drove it straight into Kamo Xu's heart.

Kamo Xu's heart was destroyed. Even after half an hour, it wouldn't be able to resume beating.

Without a doubt, he was now a dead man with one foot in the grave.

As the blade entered his body, Kamo Xu felt only cold. The lack of blood had stopped his nervous system from transmitting pain signals.

He could only faintly feel Toji Fushiguro twist the Soul-Eating Blade a few times inside his heart. Only after it had shredded the old companion that had been with Kamo Xu for more than a decade did the blade leave his body.

After confirming the kill, Toji Fushiguro left, satisfied, leaving Kamo Xu alone to fall asleep in the dark alley.