When Yuji encountered Uro, another battle was unfolding elsewhere inside the Tokyo No. 2 Colony.
Severed limbs were scattered everywhere. The foul stench of blood filled the air while crimson pools spread across the ground like rivers.
Only one man remained untouched amidst the carnage. With an indifferent expression, he squatted atop a shipping container and looked down at the horrifying scene below as if bored out of his mind.
"No matter how you look at it, that guy isn't someone we can handle. What a pain. Okkotsu should've been sent here instead..."
Nearby, Inumaki and Panda swallowed nervously after glancing toward the massacre.
After learning that Yuta had entered the Culling Game, the two of them had also entered the Tokyo No. 2 Colony from another direction. Their mission was to rescue survivors whenever possible, not fight.
After all, the earlier they entered, the more people they might save.
Being a jujutsu sorcerer had always meant risking your life.
Unfortunately, the colony's teleportation did not go as smoothly as expected. The two of them had been dropped directly near Kashimo.
The mountain of corpses and the terrifying precision with which he controlled cursed energy made it obvious that Kashimo was far beyond their level.
Right now, neither of them even dared breathe loudly. Terrified of being noticed, they could only hide and wait for Yuta to arrive.
"You two. Which circus did you escape from?"
But at some point, Kashimo had already appeared atop a nearby container and casually called out to them.
Inumaki stayed silent and only nodded repeatedly. Beside him, Panda immediately dropped onto all fours and started acting like a real panda.
"Kogane, are those two players?"
Kashimo questioned the small white shikigami beside him.
As the strongest sorcerer from four hundred years ago, he had no interest in slaughtering ordinary people just for points. Of course, he also had no intention of letting prey escape once it was in front of him.
"Yes! Both of them are sorcerer-type players!"
As soon as Kogane responded, Inumaki and Panda stiffened and quietly prepared for battle.
"Two sorcerers, and one of them is even a panda... a cursed corpse?"
Kashimo rested his staff behind his shoulders and gave them one final warning.
"You should know something about Sukuna. Tell me, and I won't kill you."
Ever since reincarnating four hundred years later, the only thing occupying his thoughts was the strongest man in history that Kenjaku spoke of. He no longer wanted to waste time on weaklings.
"We don't know."
Panda stopped pretending and stood upright as he answered.
No matter why Kashimo was searching for Sukuna, it definitely would not be good news for Yuji. There was no way Panda would tell him anything.
However, the moment the question was asked, Yuji's face flashed through Panda's mind. When answering, he hesitated for just a brief instant.
But that tiny hesitation did not escape Kashimo's eyes.
"You hesitated. So you definitely know."
For the first time since reincarnating, Kashimo smiled.
Even though he still had not received the answer he wanted, he had finally found people who knew something about Sukuna. How could he not be excited?
As for their refusal to speak… he would force them to.
Crackling electricity exploded around him as lightning began wrapping around his body.
"What a pain. Guess I'll just have to make a bigger scene."
A fierce look flashed through Panda's eyes. In an instant, he switched forms and transformed into his Gorilla Mode. His body rapidly expanded while thick muscles bulged with explosive strength.
"Unblockable Drumming Beat!"
Cursed energy gathered into his fist before he unleashed a violent punch. He started with his strongest move in Gorilla Mode, a punch that cursed energy could not defend against.
Boom!
A deafening sound erupted.
Yet even with Panda's full-powered strike smashing into Kashimo's crossed arms, the man did not move back even a single step.
"Internal damage, huh? Not bad! But... too ordinary!"
The attack made Kashimo's bones feel slightly numb. With the unique nature of his cursed energy, he instantly saw through the true nature of Unblockable Drumming Beat. But the overwhelming difference in strength meant that even attacking internally could not deal meaningful damage to him.
Instead, after blocking the punch, Kashimo twisted his staff around Panda's arm and pushed forward. He intended to rip the arm off by force.
"Don't move!"
At that critical moment, Inumaki finally pulled down the collar covering half his face and shouted toward Kashimo.
Cursed energy surged outward through his voice. Even someone as powerful as Kashimo froze in place for an instant.
Using that opportunity, Panda quickly pulled his arm free from the staff and slammed a heavy punch into Kashimo's abdomen, blasting him into a shipping container.
"Pfft!"
But when Panda turned back around, he saw Inumaki already kneeling on one knee while coughing up blood.
"Run..."
Holding his throat, Inumaki forced out the word in a hoarse voice.
As a semi-grade 1 sorcerer, using Cursed Speech even once against Kashimo had already severely injured him. Kashimo's strength among sorcerers was likely at the absolute peak of grade 1, perhaps even special grade.
All they could do now was escape.
"Got it!"
With the boost from Cursed Speech, Panda grabbed Inumaki around the waist and sprinted away at full speed.
Behind them, Kashimo slowly stood up from the destroyed container. He casually rolled his neck as though the previous attack had merely helped loosen his muscles.
"No wonder you kept your mouth shut. So you're a Cursed Speech user. Too bad that punch was still too ordinary. When will someone stronger finally show up..."
Watching their fleeing backs, Kashimo sighed before bending his knees slightly.
The next instant, he shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
The distance Panda and Inumaki had desperately created vanished within seconds. In the blink of an eye, Kashimo overtook them and blocked their escape route before throwing a punch at Panda.
Panda could only forcefully twist his body to tank the hit while protecting the injured Inumaki in his arms.
But the crackling lightning did not spare them.
A powerful electric current surged through their bodies. Much like Panda's Unblockable Drumming Beat, this attack bypassed cursed energy defenses and directly destroyed the inside of the body.
Kashimo's cursed energy naturally carried the properties of lightning.
With a single punch, both semi-grade 1 sorcerers were critically wounded and collapsed.
Panda's condition was slightly better. One strike was not enough to completely destroy his three-core body. But Inumaki had nearly lost the ability to fight.
Panda could only force himself back onto his feet and stand protectively in front of his companion.
"Neither of you has died yet. Are you sure you don't want to tell me about Sukuna? Answer me and you can live."
Kashimo did not rush to attack and instead offered them another choice.
"Sorry about that. I hesitated earlier because I think I had an uncle or aunt with the same name."
Panda took his stance while switching cores once more, transforming into the unicorn-like Triceratops Mode and preparing for the worst.
Even if he died here, he absolutely would not let someone this dangerous go after his underclassman.
"You dare mock me..."
Kashimo's patience was finally running out.
"I hope when you're dying, that Cursed Speech user's mouth stays as tough as yours."
Cursed energy surged wildly around him.
This next strike would not hold back. He would make these youngsters understand true despair. Only then would they cooperate properly.
Kashimo raised his staff.
At the same time, Panda swung his iron fist forward.
Then, in that split second before the clash, a voice suddenly echoed out.
"Don't move!"
An overwhelmingly powerful wave of cursed energy surged alongside the command as a figure vaulted over the shipping containers and rushed toward the battlefield.
Special grade sorcerer Yuta Okkotsu had arrived!
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