Hajime Kashimo's current strength was roughly thirty percent of what it had been at his peak.
And his opponents were:
Megumi Fushiguro: [the Zenin Clan's future head], inheritor of the [Ten Shadows Technique], and [Sukuna's future incarnated vessel].
Nobara Kugisaki: a [Straw Doll Technique] user who could damage souls and trigger [Resonance] attacks with nothing more than a body part, combining powerful ranged attacks with control.
Toge Inumaki: a [descendant of the Ancient Cursed Speech Family], possessing a cursed technique with absolute control and an extremely high ceiling, who would play an important role in the final battle of the Shinjuku Showdown.
Panda: a [mutated special-grade cursed corpse] capable of [freely switching between three-core forms], combining tremendous defense and offense, with strength approaching that of a Grade 2 Sorcerer.
Maki Zenin: a bearer of [heavenly restriction], the future [Awakened Tyrant], who would single-handedly slaughter her way through the Zenin Clan.
Hajime Kashimo would take on all five of them alone in a [gauntlet].
"Is it really all right to let them do whatever they want?"
"Satoru."
High up in Jujutsu High's classroom building, Kento Nanami and Satoru Gojo stood side by side, watching the battle on the athletic field from the shadows.
As a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer, Nanami had neither Gojo's prodigious talent nor his overwhelming strength.
But years of missions exorcising cursed spirits had given him far more combat experience than the students, along with the ability to assess powerful opponents.
So almost the instant he saw Hajime Kashimo, he understood that the boy's strength could not possibly match the "Semi-Grade 2 Sorcerer" rating Principal Yaga had assigned him.
At the very least, Hajime Kashimo ranked somewhere in the lower-middle range of Grade 1 Sorcerers.
Having a Grade 1 Sorcerer beat up a bunch of first- and second-year students?
That was practically an adult beating children!
"Oh, come on, it's fine~"
"If things really get out of hand, I'll go stop them-"
"But look at you, caring so much about your juniors. How sweet~"
Gojo teased Nanami in a relaxed tone.
With his strength, stopping Hajime Kashimo's attacks from this distance would be effortless.
Besides, he wanted to see just how much this student of unknown origins could do...
After all, from the very first moment he had seen the boy, Gojo had felt something inexplicable...
What overwhelming pressure...
At one end of the field, Megumi Fushiguro was already drenched in sweat just from meeting Hajime Kashimo's eyes.
[Divine Dog: White] had been destroyed in a recent battle.
If he recklessly summoned [Divine Dog: Black], judging by what he had observed of Hajime Kashimo's attacks, his Divine Dog would be killed the instant it emerged from the shadows...
His thumb and little finger hooked together, while his middle finger slowly extended straight out.
Fushiguro lightly pressed his index and ring fingers against either side of his middle finger, forming the Ten Shadows Technique's basic hand sign.
His only hope now was to summon his Divine Dog the instant Hajime Kashimo rushed him, exploiting the opening when Hajime Kashimo committed to attacking him to trade injury for injury...
At least... I have to ease the burden on Kugisaki and the others...
Itadori's faintly smiling face seemed to appear before Megumi Fushiguro again.
That boy, who feared death, had still chosen to sacrifice himself for his companions, knowing that he would die if he regained control of his body...
How long had he even been at Jujutsu High?
A newcomer who did not even have his own cursed technique already possessed a [resolve] that Fushiguro lacked.
Megumi Fushiguro felt ashamed...
Clenching his teeth, he focused with everything he had, watching Hajime Kashimo's every movement as though the anger blazing in his eyes could swallow him whole.
"Nice fighting spirit."
Hajime Kashimo nodded in satisfaction at Fushiguro's current state.
That was how jujutsu sorcerers were.
They either perished under overwhelming pressure or improved themselves through it.
Hajime Kashimo could feel it: this body was his best opportunity to improve himself!
"But..."
Hajime Kashimo suddenly dropped his fighting stance.
A trace of displeasure entered his voice as he raised a finger and pointed at Fushiguro's hands, still forming their sign...
"You rely too much on that cursed technique."
The words were spoken lightly, yet carried immense weight.
Hajime Kashimo exposed Fushiguro's greatest weakness:
[His combat relied entirely on the shikigami provided by the Ten Shadows Technique.]
Fushiguro's physical abilities were by no means poor.
But whenever he used the Ten Shadows Technique, he seemed to forget his own fighting instincts entirely, reducing himself to someone who summoned and commanded shikigami.
Kashimo lifted his left foot high and stamped down hard.
With a resounding bang!, several cursed tools Maki had left near the field were jolted off the ground and flung into the air.
Fushiguro was hardly stupid enough to miss such an obvious hint!
"All right..."
"Then let's do this!"
The black shadow markings receded from the backs of his hands.
Fushiguro abandoned the idea of fighting Hajime Kashimo with the Ten Shadows Technique.
He sprinted toward the edge of the field and, just before a short blade hit the ground, dove forward and caught it securely in his palm...
"He's not choosing the staff? Even Maki can't get the upper hand against him at close range!"
At the edge of the field, Panda was surprised that Fushiguro had passed over the long staff cursed tool, with its superior reach, in favor of a short blade.
But before he could offer any advice, Hajime Kashimo vanished from his spot and appeared in front of Fushiguro almost instantly.
So fast!!!
From a distance, Fushiguro had only felt the pressure Hajime Kashimo exuded.
Only now, fighting at close range, did he personally experience that terrifying speed.
Clenching his teeth, Fushiguro relied on a jujutsu sorcerer's keen instincts to bring his blade across his body as quickly as possible, but before he could brace for the impact, Hajime Kashimo's heavy fist—carrying only a trace of cursed energy and powered almost entirely by brute force—slammed into the short-blade cursed tool.
"Urgh-!"
Pure strength instantly shattered Fushiguro's hurried guard. His right hand went completely numb, and his grip loosened so much that the blade was about to slip free.
If his lower body had not still been responsive, allowing him to retreat rapidly while his left hand clamped over his right to keep hold of the blade, he would already have lost his only means of defending against Hajime Kashimo...
"This doesn't look good."
"Fushiguro will lose."
As Nanami murmured his assessment from his vantage point, Hajime Kashimo's fists were already coming one after another.
Every punch and kick left Fushiguro scrambling. The whistle of blows cutting through the air and the dull thuds of impacts against flesh continued without pause. Although Fushiguro could clearly feel that Hajime Kashimo was deliberately holding back to keep the fight from ending too soon, he had no way to retaliate against an opponent who tore through every defense he raised...
Scrape!
The sound of a sole scraping over grit suddenly reached Fushiguro's ears as he concentrated on finding a gap in Hajime Kashimo's attacks.
To strike back, he wanted to exploit every element of the terrain...
An opening!!!
Seizing a gap as Kashimo swung a high roundhouse kick at him, Fushiguro tossed his blade into the air and blocked with both hands.
An agonizing pain shot through his forearms, but Fushiguro gritted his teeth and endured the burning sensation. He quickly scooped his left toe across the ground, flinging a spray of grit toward Hajime Kashimo's face.
Whoosh-
The dust briefly obscured Hajime Kashimo's vision.
But even with his sight blocked, Hajime Kashimo's sharp senses still detected the direction and form of Fushiguro's attack.
Fushiguro caught the falling blade firmly. Its sharp edge pierced the dust, driving toward Hajime Kashimo's neck with unstoppable momentum!
"Good idea!"
"But you're not fast enough!!"
Hajime Kashimo swiftly raised his left arm, using his own flesh to block the blade's path to his neck. At the same time, he sank into a forward stance, gathering power in his right fist to unleash a crushing punch-
"I know."
Fushiguro's calm, steady voice rang out.
A corner of the dust cloud thinned, and Hajime Kashimo saw the light and determination in the boy's eyes.
Bam-!!
The pain of a blade piercing skin never came.
What struck Hajime Kashimo's forearm was Fushiguro's powerful right fist...
"You're right. I relied too much on the Ten Shadows Technique's shikigami..."
"I'd instinctively forgotten how to really use [shadows]..."
Fushiguro quickly ducked, following the direction of his right fist's strike.
Under cover of the dust, he had already released the blade he had aimed at Hajime Kashimo, letting it fall straight into his own shadow...
"Not bad-! Now that's more like it!"
Hajime Kashimo turned toward Fushiguro, whose left fingertips had already reached into the shadow and grasped the blade to strike at him.
He had to admit that this combination had been beautifully executed...
In those resolute eyes, Hajime Kashimo almost seemed to see Toji Fushiguro...
"Did he get him? Did he get him?!!!"
Panda excitedly scrambled up from the ground, his anxious gaze fixed on the blade closing in on Hajime Kashimo-
He genuinely hoped Fushiguro could injure Hajime Kashimo and knock him down a peg...
But clearly...
Hajime Kashimo was going to disappoint him.
Because emerging from the shadow along with the blade was a streak of blue lightning clinging to its edge.
"Dis-charge."
The faint lightning rapidly spread as Hajime Kashimo chanted the command.
The electricity was not lethal, but it was enough to numb Fushiguro's nerves, making his entire left arm lose all feeling-
The blade that had been about to strike Hajime Kashimo slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a clatter...
Hajime Kashimo had won this battle.
But even in defeat, Megumi Fushiguro had not come away empty-handed...
Before you continue