Okkotsu stood rooted to the spot, dumbfounded.
He had never expected Kenjaku to evade an attack that way.
It was also his first time seeing Brain Flower's true appearance.
He was utterly shocked.
Then...
A cursed spirit bit through Toad's long tongue, freeing Kenjaku completely as he flew forward.
Flew?!
At the sight.
Everyone was startled.
Only then did they notice a flying cursed spirit beneath him, carrying him forward.
Kenjaku flashed them a smug smile.
"Hey!"
"Aren't you celebrating a little too soon...?"
At those words.
The smile on Kenjaku's face froze.
He looked up to find Yuki Tsukumo, her injuries mostly healed, standing in his path.
Meanwhile...
Garuda blocked Uraume and Tachibana Mio.
As she spoke, Yuki Tsukumo punched straight through the cursed spirit and struck Kenjaku in the face.
Bam!
A dull impact rang out.
Kenjaku flew backward, tumbling across the ground several times before he smiled. "Still haven't restored your cursed technique...?"
That punch.
It also told him that Yuki Tsukumo had yet to restore her cursed technique.
It hurt.
But it was not enough to make him let go.
If she restored her cursed technique.
That punch would probably kill him!
He immediately deactivated Hollow Wicker Basket, seamlessly switched to Simple Domain, then switched back to Hollow Wicker Basket in an instant.
Even with Hollow Wicker Basket.
All it could do inside a domain was buy him more time. The sure-hit attack would reach him sooner or later.
So.
He reset Hollow Wicker Basket by switching between them.
At the same time, he released more cursed spirits to protect himself.
But in the very next second!
Every one of those cursed spirits froze in place.
The others quickly seized the opportunity and exorcised the cursed spirits one after another.
At the sight.
Even Okkotsu was a little shocked.
He had never imagined the Zenin Clan's [Projection] technique would be so effective inside a domain.
However.
He had yet to bring out its true essence.
In the original story, the transformed cursed spirit Naoya Zenin had treated every single cell as a target for his [Projection] technique.
The moment someone moved.
Every cell's motion would fall out of alignment, inflicting devastating damage.
But he...
Only applied it to the body as a whole.
"I see..." The stitches on Kenjaku's forehead were still undone, and his skull cap sat crookedly.
As he spoke...
He smiled. "You destroy the prefrontal cortex of the right hemisphere with cursed energy, then heal it with Reverse Cursed Technique to reset your burned-out cursed technique."
"Right?"
No matter how flawlessly Kaneki concealed it.
He knew.
He was right.
In theory, an innate cursed technique was engraved in the prefrontal cortex of the right hemisphere.
With precise enough execution.
The method he described was possible.
This was also why Okkotsu could not provide support: he had to concentrate on healing his technique burnout.
It was like walking a tightrope.
Even the slightest mistake could easily mean death!
What truly confirmed his suspicions was Okkotsu's expression.
Although.
It was barely noticeable.
It still could not fool him.
"When it comes to keeping up appearances," Kenjaku said to Okkotsu as he released another mass of cursed spirits, "you're nowhere near Kaneki."
Then.
He quickly retreated to Uraume and Tachibana Mio's side. "Hold them off for me. Thirty seconds will do."
With that.
He stepped into the range of Tachibana Mio's Simple Domain and deactivated Hollow Wicker Basket.
He began concentrating on resetting his domain.
Naturally, Uraume and Tachibana Mio could not refuse. They were all in the same boat now.
If they did not work together.
They would all meet their deaths.
Tachibana Mio's cursed technique had long since recovered, and she used it to enhance Uraume once again.
"Frost Birth, Calm Binding, Freeze for Ten Thousand Miles."
Uraume recited the incantation.
Then formed the hand seal.
Just as Uraume finished the preparations, Kaneki and the others exorcised all the cursed spirits.
At the sight.
Uraume activated the technique without hesitation. "One hundred and sixty percent output-Ice Formation: Frost Calm!"
In an instant!
Everyone present was frozen solid.
That included the Special Grade Sorcerers Okkotsu and Yuki Tsukumo.
In the space of a single breath!
The ice shattered.
Everyone broke free, shattered ice clattering all over the ground.
Uraume's expression changed in shock.
Uraume had not expected them to escape the ice so quickly.
It had not even held them for thirty seconds.
Then...
Apart from Okkotsu and Yuki Tsukumo.
Everyone else slumped to the ground, covered in frost and shivering violently.
Those who could use Reverse Cursed Technique kept healing themselves.
Once free of the ice.
Okkotsu and Yuki Tsukumo rushed toward Kenjaku without a moment's delay, reaching him almost instantly.
"Too late."
Kenjaku smiled, formed a hand seal, and unleashed his domain.
"Domain Expansion-Womb Profusion!"
Thirty seconds.
That had merely been his maximum estimate.
In reality, he did not need anywhere near thirty seconds to reset his domain with Reverse Cursed Technique.
The next second!
A tree formed from countless grotesque heads grew behind him once again.
With his domain open.
Kenjaku's smile grew even wider.
Yuki Tsukumo did not even activate Simple Domain. As the closest to him, she drove a vicious punch straight toward his chest.
She intended to injure Kenjaku badly enough that he could no longer maintain his domain before it completely overrode Okkotsu's.
To save time.
She had not even activated Simple Domain!
Kenjaku retreated, and Okkotsu appeared beside him, swinging the Samurai Sword coated in blood.
He had developed this based on Choso's Blood Blade, making the blood rotate at high speed.
That increased its cutting power.
He did not slash at Kenjaku's body.
Instead, he aimed straight for Kenjaku's nearly dislodged skull cap-the Brain Flower beneath it!
Kenjaku did not even intend to dodge.
Because.
His domain's sure-hit attack was about to arrive.
Slash!
The blade sliced through flesh, spraying a torrent of bright red, scalding blood.
Then they saw.
Kenjaku's expression had turned utterly grim.
A deep gash crossed his face, blood pouring from it.
His right eye had been blinded.
Fortunately...
He had sensed something wrong and reacted in time, quickly pulling back and adjusting his position.
Otherwise.
That slash would have killed him.
"Ken Kaneki!"
Kenjaku completely lost his composure. Rather than shout the name of Yuta Okkotsu, who had injured him, he shouted Ken Kaneki's.
Only then did everyone realize that Kenjaku's domain had not crushed Okkotsu's to pieces.
Inside the domains.
They were evenly matched!
This was the exceptional talent second only to Satoru Gojo among modern jujutsu sorcerers!
With just one attempt.
He had successfully reversed the conditions inside and outside his domain.
Without pausing for even a moment, Okkotsu and Yuki Tsukumo attacked again.
Simply switching the domain's internal and external conditions would not hold out for long against an Open-Barriers Domain.
Within that limited time, they had to injure Kenjaku badly enough to stop him from maintaining his domain.
"Rika."
Okkotsu's expression was resolute.
"Yuta-" Rika called as she charged her Pure Love Cannon.
Yuki Tsukumo also picked up her shikigami, Garuda.
The two sorcerers and two shikigami launched a ferocious assault on Kenjaku!
Meanwhile, Ken Kaneki recovered the fastest, having instructed Round Deer to heal him first.
Once he had recovered.
He bit off half of Naobito Zenin's right hand.
It was icy cold, and a little crunchy.
Then he left Round Deer there to heal Naobito Zenin and Kusakabe while he charged toward Uraume and Tachibana Mio.
Those two.
They really were a nuisance!
"Get out of my way!"
Seeing Ken Kaneki charge at him, Uraume snapped without hesitation, "Trash!"
As he spoke...
He unleashed his Cursed Technique on Ken Kaneki.
A torrent of freezing air rushed straight at Kaneki, attempting to freeze him solid.
Crystallization crackled incessantly.
Even Kaneki's movements slowed.
Then, in the next instant!
Kaneki utterly shattered the ice attempting to encase him, as though sheer strength alone could overcome any technique.
"This Cursed Technique..."
At the sight, Uraume's pupils constricted.
That same ability to break through ice reminded him of the Special Grade Sorcerer who had filled him with dread.
-Yuki Tsukumo!
Before you continue