Awakening (2)

As Toji Fushiguro repeatedly pierced Chinatsu's body with the Inverted Spear of Heaven, she hurriedly followed Satoru Gojo's example from the original work, throwing her entire focus into using Reverse Cursed Technique and forcing herself forward through the shock of hovering between life and death.

It sounded simple, but putting it into practice was indescribably difficult. As the seconds counted down and her life rapidly ebbed away, Chinatsu felt as though she had sunk deep into a thick, abyssal mire.

Her only chance of survival was to reach upward with all her strength, stretching out her arm and desperately grasping the lifeline called "Reverse Cursed Technique."

Fortunately, Chinatsu succeeded.

Steam-like wisps poured from her skin, and the many wounds Toji Fushiguro had pierced into her with the Inverted Spear of Heaven healed, restoring her body to its uninjured state.

Watching this, Toji Fushiguro quickly understood what had happened to Chinatsu. His grip on the Inverted Spear of Heaven tightened.

Just as he prepared to attack her again, Chinatsu, who had been standing with her head lowered like someone still half asleep, slowly raised her head. A faint smile tinged with madness rested on her face.

What she said next threw Toji Fushiguro's thoughts into disarray.

"Thank you so much, Toji!"

Toji Fushiguro froze for a moment. Had she mocked or provoked him, he could have easily let her words go in one ear and out the other.

But an enemy thanking him, an assassin, in the middle of a fight was undoubtedly a first. Despite his momentary bewilderment, Toji Fushiguro still understood exactly what had prompted Chinatsu to say it.

"You don't think you've already won, do you? If you get back up, I'll just knock you down again."

Toji Fushiguro grinned confidently. He attached the defense-negating Inverted Spear of Heaven to the Chain of a Thousand Miles, which could extend indefinitely, and began swinging the chain.

As a member of the Zenin Clan, which had always resented the Gojo Clan, Toji Fushiguro knew better than most just how powerful a Six Eyes sorcerer became after mastering Reverse Cursed Technique and awakening.

Facing an awakened Six Eyes user who was close to-or had already become-the strongest jujutsu sorcerer of the modern era, Toji Fushiguro would normally have turned and fled without hesitation.

Yet at this moment, he cast aside the rules he had always followed. All he wanted now was to fight the strongest jujutsu sorcerer of the modern era, defeat her, and trample her underfoot.

The Chain of a Thousand Miles spun faster and faster in his hand. The Inverted Spear of Heaven attached to its end struck the ground again and again, carving out chunks of rubble.

Toji Fushiguro's eyes narrowed. Just as he was about to whip the Chain of a Thousand Miles toward Chinatsu, she slowly raised one hand and formed a finger gun.

The cursed energy inside her rapidly transformed, and a crimson projectile of concussive force instantly condensed at her fingertip.

At the sight, Toji Fushiguro's eyes widened. He immediately abandoned his attack and prepared to block the strike with the Inverted Spear of Heaven.

"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red."

As Chinatsu softly intoned the words, the projectile at her fingertip shot toward Toji Fushiguro, unleashing an extraordinarily violent shock wave.

BANG!!!

Toji Fushiguro was sent flying straight into a building at Jujutsu High. Although his body absorbed most of the impact, the residual force still covered the building in cracks and left it teetering on the verge of collapse.

Chinatsu stared into the billowing haze before her. Well aware of the rule that smoke meant no damage, she did not believe her attack could have seriously hurt Toji Fushiguro.

Although [Red]'s output was twice that of [Blue], Toji Fushiguro possessed the strongest human body granted by a heavenly restriction, not to mention a weapon as extraordinary as the Inverted Spear of Heaven.

Sure enough, before the haze had cleared, Toji Fushiguro burst out of it with the Inverted Spear of Heaven in hand, attempting to close the distance and slit Chinatsu's throat with a single strike.

Facing Toji Fushiguro as he charged straight at her, Chinatsu understood that neither "Blue" nor "Red" would make subduing him quickly an easy task.

Fortunately, Limitless had more than those two moves.

Limitless was a cursed technique passed down for a thousand years. Throughout those long centuries, each generation had recorded its experiences in the clan archives for its descendants to study.

[Blue] and [Red] were publicly known Gojo Clan techniques. As a former member of the Zenin Clan, Toji Fushiguro naturally understood how both worked.

But there was another move that few knew of, even within the Gojo Clan. By colliding the two opposing forces of Limitless-lapse and reversal-it unleashed, in a single instant, the imaginary mass they produced, something that did not originally belong to this world.

"Hollow Purple."

With a crisp snap of Chinatsu's fingers, dazzling purple light engulfed the entirety of Jujutsu High.

When the light faded, Toji Fushiguro had stopped attacking. He simply stood there, a gaping, bloody hole in his body, while both the Inverted Spear of Heaven and the Chain of a Thousand Miles lay on the ground.

He had lost.

A gentle breeze brushed against him. He could clearly feel his life force rapidly draining away. In less than a minute, he would likely close his eyes forever.

Toji Fushiguro had intended to close his eyes and quietly await death. But the moment he did, an image of his son, "Megumi Fushiguro," suddenly flashed through his mind.

He ordinarily showed so little concern for his son that he had nearly forgotten even his name. Toji Fushiguro had never expected to think of him at a moment like this.

I really am a strange one.

Toji Fushiguro inwardly mocked himself, then opened his eyes. He had already parted his lips to try to say something when he saw that Chinatsu had walked up to him and was reaching a hand toward his body.

"What are you..."

"Shh. Don't talk. I'm trying something."

Chinatsu's actions left Toji Fushiguro utterly at a loss. With only a little over ten seconds remaining in his life, he fixed his gaze on her.

Chinatsu pressed her palm beside the wound on Toji Fushiguro's body, closed her eyes, and concentrated entirely on mobilizing the cursed energy within her.

Cursed energy was "negative" energy. It could strengthen the body but could not heal it, which was why Reverse Cursed Technique was needed to generate "positive" cursed energy.

The healing effects of Reverse Cursed Technique varied from person to person. Some could only apply it to themselves, while others could apply it both to themselves and to other people.

Satoru Gojo belonged to the former group.

Chinatsu belonged to the latter.

"Reverse Cursed Technique: Positive Output."

As Chinatsu poured "positive" cursed energy into Toji Fushiguro's body, the flesh that had been destroyed by his grievous injury began regenerating at a speed visible to the naked eye...