"I can't dodge this..."
The guaranteed-hit effect of Mirror Binding Technique prevented Kashimo from making any large movements. Meanwhile, the cursed energy blast fired by the enraged Rika was already right in front of him.
There was no time to evade.
He could only raise both arms with difficulty and gather all his cursed energy into them, using cursed energy to resist cursed energy.
BOOM!
The next moment, Rika's blast slammed directly into Kashimo's body and kept going.
The terrifying wave continued forward for dozens of meters before finally fading away, leaving behind a massive scorched trench that still released steaming heat.
"Thanks for your hard work, Rika."
Yuta turned his head and gently stroked her face, calming her furious emotions. The tenderness in his eyes made him look just like a boy deeply in love.
"Yuta... I love Yuta the most..."
Only after seeing that the wound in his abdomen had almost fully healed through Reverse Cursed Technique did Rika finally calm down slightly. She wrapped both arms around him and kept repeating those words softly.
After being held like that for more than ten seconds, Yuta slowly stepped out of her embrace.
"Take a rest. Leave the rest to me."
Once Rika disappeared, he walked slowly toward Kashimo.
Kogane still had not appeared to announce any death. That meant the devastating attack earlier had not killed him outright.
But judging by Kashimo's personality, if his injuries were not severe, he would have already rushed back out to continue fighting. Because of that, Yuta concluded he had already lost the ability to battle.
Following the trail left behind by the cursed energy blast, Yuta eventually reached the end of the massive trench, where he finally saw Kashimo.
Compared to Yuta, Kashimo's condition could no longer simply be described as miserable.
He lay motionless on the ground. The calm composure he once carried had disappeared completely. The clean clothes that remained spotless even after slaughtering dozens of sorcerers earlier were now torn to pieces.
Most horrifying of all, the right arm he raised to block the attack had completely vanished. Even part of the right side of his torso had been blown apart.
Blood poured endlessly from his wounds. Yuta could clearly see broken bones and exposed organs.
At the same time, the domain collapsed.
Even with Yuta's massive cursed energy reserves, he was nearly drained after fighting without restraint. Now that victory had been decided, there was no reason to waste more cursed energy maintaining the domain.
"You win. Kill me."
Kashimo stared quietly at the sky while speaking in a hoarse voice, his face remaining calm as if this battle had never truly mattered to him.
"Why didn't you use your cursed technique?"
Yuta did not strike him down. Instead, he asked the question that had been lingering in his mind.
Although there were experts like Kusakabe from Kyoto Jujutsu High who had no cursed technique, he at least relied on New Shadow Style.
But someone who pushed Yuta this far using only cursed energy control and physical skill… Kashimo was the first.
That was why Yuta was curious.
"My cursed technique can only be used once. It's reserved for the strongest, Sukuna."
Kashimo answered openly without hesitation.
Even counting his previous life, he had never used his cursed technique because it could only be activated a single time. Once the technique ended, his body would collapse completely.
Back in his first life, Kashimo had dominated the world and never encountered anyone capable of forcing him that far. So after hearing about the "strongest" man acknowledged by Kenjaku, who had lived for over a thousand years, Kashimo decided his technique existed solely to defeat Sukuna.
That was why he agreed to reincarnate.
Even though Yuta had now proven himself worthy of seeing that technique, Kashimo would rather die here than use it.
The reason was simply confidence.
He had no doubt that if he activated his cursed technique earlier, he could have killed the Yuta who defeated him.
But if he used the technique here, then the ability he preserved for hundreds of years would lose all meaning.
His cursed technique existed to defeat the strongest. It absolutely could not be used on anyone else. Not even someone as powerful as Yuta.
Kashimo could accept dying with regret before ever fighting Sukuna. But he could not accept revealing his ultimate trump card just to defeat an ordinary strong opponent.
That was the pride of a battle fanatic.
If Yuta had displayed truly overwhelming strength, Kashimo might have changed the target reserved for his cursed technique.
Unfortunately, he did not.
"You really do have a cursed technique?!"
While Yuta had already suspected as much, he still looked shocked. But after the brief surprise, his thoughts quickly shifted.
"So that's why you've been searching for Sukuna all this time. You want to defeat him, right?"
As he spoke, Yuta sat down beside Kashimo and slowly began using cursed energy to heal his injuries.
He had his own plans.
Sukuna was only temporarily residing inside Yuji's body. According to what Gojo-sensei and Fushiguro-san had told him before, that monster would definitely find a way to fully separate from Yuji eventually.
And Kenjaku, the mastermind behind the Culling Game, would certainly do everything possible to bring back the King of Curses completely.
To ensure Sukuna's perfect reincarnation, Kenjaku had even personally played a role in Yuji's birth.
Jujutsu High stood in the light, yet they constantly had to guard against enemies lurking in the darkness.
Yuta did not know how it would happen. But he was certain that a battle unlike anything in history would erupt during this era.
Because both Gojo-sensei and Fushiguro-san wished to completely exorcise the most vicious curse in history during this golden age of jujutsu where both of them existed together.
Though Yuta believed those two men would win, more allies were naturally better.
That was also why he chose to use Reverse Cursed Technique on Kashimo. The healing was slow, but enough to preserve his life. If Kashimo refused, Yuta could always stop later.
After all, it would be a shame to lose a warrior who carried such a powerful hidden trump card and crossed centuries just for a single battle.
"Where is Sukuna?!"
The moment those words left Yuta's mouth, Kashimo struggled to sit up immediately, completely forgetting the state his body was in. As a result, the wounds Yuta had just repaired split open again and began bleeding.
Yet Kashimo himself did not even notice.
"Hand over your points and stop killing people from now on. I promise you'll get the chance to meet Sukuna."
Seeing the fish take the bait, Yuta smoothly reeled him in.
"Whatever. As long as I get to fight Sukuna."
At that point, Kashimo stopped questioning him and silently summoned Kogane to transfer his points.
"Okkotsu-senpai! Thank goodness you're okay!"
Just then, Yuji came running over excitedly after successfully reaching an agreement with Uro to stop killing people.
"I'm glad you're okay too, Itadori..."
Yuta's eyes awkwardly glanced toward Kashimo beside him before answering.
* * *
"Interesting..."
Meanwhile, inside Sukuna's innate domain deep within Yuji's body, the man suddenly curled his lips into a grin.
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