2 months later
In the abandoned airstrip,
The sun was high in the sky at its full glory, blazing without mercy. Heat shimmered above the cracked runway, and the vast stretch of land scaled outward endlessly. What was once a clean landing strip was now unrecognizable—craters, fissures, and long scars carved through the concrete and earth alike. At the center of it all stood a lone figure, walking slowly through the destruction as if inspecting a battlefield left behind by a natural disaster.
A happy expression rested on the face of the now visibly changed Kai. His posture was relaxed, his steps light, almost casual—yet the environment around him told a different story, one of overwhelming force repeatedly unleashed.
Kai:
"Well… I have fought a lot of cursed spirits with Emi, as per Toji giving us missions. Mostly Grade 3 cursed spirits… and a few Semi Grade 2 cursed spirits."
As he spoke, the memories flashed through his mind—forests soaked in negative energy, abandoned buildings crawling with malformed shapes, the sound of curses screaming as they were torn apart. Each mission sharpened his instincts, refined his cursed energy control, and pushed his body closer to its natural ceiling.
His hand flexed slowly as he stared at his surroundings. Countless marks and large ravines slashed across the surface of the earth, intersecting and overlapping in chaotic patterns. Many slash marks were visible everywhere, deep enough to expose layers of stone beneath the soil, debris scattered as if a storm of blades had swept through the area.
Kai:
"I have been testing my limits now that I have Dismantle. But what I found out…"
He crouched briefly, dragging his fingers across one of the deep grooves, feeling the clean precision of the cut.
Kai:
"For every single use of Cleave, I can use ten Dismantles. And I know I can use fifteen Cleaves currently—meaning one hundred and fifty Dismantles."
The realization made his chest tighten with excitement. This wasn't just raw power; it was efficiency, a fundamental shift in how his cursed technique functioned.
He straightened, eyes narrowing slightly as his thoughts became more analytical.
"But to truly understand how Dismantle works…"
He lifted his gaze toward the far end of the airstrip.
"It's a long-range slash that cuts through space—but in my case, it instantly teleports… appears directly in front of the target."
The air around him subtly warped as cursed energy pulsed.
"I'm deleting the distance between the slash and the target. The damage output is fixed—far lower than Cleave. It doesn't automatically adapt to the target's durability."
He paused.
"But because it's nearly instantaneous…"
A faint smile appeared.
"It can't be dodged—unless someone knows before I use Dismantle."
With a grin, excitement rising in his voice,
Kai:
"But that's the thing… let's change that."
He stood still, cursed energy circulating more deliberately now.
"Let's use a Binding Vow: Sight of Control."
The air seemed to tense.
Kai:
"In exchange for no longer needing hand signs for Dismantle, my range is limited only to the perception of my five senses."
A sharp clarity filled his mind as the vow etched itself into his cursed technique's structure.
Then, without hesitation, he continued.
Kai:
"Binding Vow: Reject the mind, not the body."
His voice steadied.
Kai:
"I restrict my cursed techniques' casting speed to match my physical body's reaction speed. In exchange, all my cursed techniques gain my reaction and movement speed stats on top of their own speed."
The implications were immense.
"This makes it a nerf in a sense—if I'm tired, if my brain or body is overworked, my techniques slow down or if I experience curse energy burn out. I will be cooked, but I have a plan for that ."
His lips curled upward.
"But when I'm in good condition…"
A pulse of cursed energy rippled outward.
"The speed becomes monstrous. Especially since my Heavenly Restriction keeps pushing my physical speed higher since I have not reached my physical prime yet and it also take the speed added from curse energy reinforcement ."
A burst of cursed energy surged around his body as he felt the conditions of his cursed technique change. The sensation crawled under his skin, settled behind his eyes, and expanded outward into his senses. Without realizing it, his eyes darkened into a deeper shade of crimson.
His hearing sharpened to the point he could detect distant echoes. His sight pierced further. He could sense air currents, individual particles, pressure changes, even small pockets of space. Vectors—tiny directional flows—laid themselves out in complex, overlapping patterns far too intricate to consciously understand.
The biggest change hit his brain—the place where his cursed technique was anchored.
It felt like something clicked into place.
Kai:
"Now… I no longer need my hands."
His fingers relaxed at his sides.
"With just a glance—or a glare—I can launch Dismantles."
A short breath escaped him.
Kai:
"This frees me for hand-to-hand combat. It also allows me to use Cleave and Dismantle at the same time."
The potential made his pulse quicken.
"Now… I can begin my plan for a lethal fighting technique I've been wanting to try."
With his eyes closed, he inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly. The world faded, leaving only sensation. Then he opened his eyes behind the blindfold.
Shing…
Dismantle.
The air split.
For an instant, time itself seemed to slow—or perhaps it was only his perception. He felt space shift, felt air particles severed cleanly, felt vectors guiding invisible blades. The slashes were far too fast to see—only sense—as Dismantle shuttled through space.
Then—
Reality snapped back.
A delayed shockwave erupted. Gusts of air collapsed inward, debris lifted and was shredded apart, the ground tearing open in intersecting lines that stretched far beyond what should have been possible.
The destruction spoke for itself.
Kai:
"Ten slashes at blinding speeds."
His voice was quiet now.
"So fast that even I wouldn't be able to react or have a single thought—before being cut to pieces."
He clenched his fist.
"This is because of the Binding Vows I've made so far."
A slow, satisfied smile formed beneath the blindfold.
"I can't wait to see how far I can go."
He looked out across the ruined airstrip, toward the horizon.
"The path of the strongest…"
His cursed energy flared softly.
"…is not that narrow anymore."
Kai:
"Also, with my blindfold on, it makes it much harder for someone to know when I'm using Dismantles. Normally, my eyes light up right before activation, which is a giveaway. With this… that weakness is gone."
The blindfold fluttered slightly as cursed energy circulated beneath it, stabilizing. The faint crimson glow that once betrayed intent was now hidden, suppressed, giving Kai a terrifying advantage—attacks without warning, slashes without tells, death without prelude.
Kai walked away, his figure shrinking into the far distance of the ruined airstrip. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a phone, and stopped near the edge of the cracked terrain before dialing a number.
Ring…
Ring…
Calling…
Call connected…
Kai:
"Hey… can we go on a mission?"
A pause.
"Yes, we can meet up there. And you'll be surprised how strong I've become now."
Kai ended the call with a small, confident smile and slipped the phone away. As he began walking toward the set location, his thoughts drifted forward—past the present, past the next few missions, into the shape of the future he was carving out with every binding vow.
Kai:
"Well… I'll be a first-year student when I turn fifteen. But how strong will I be then?"
He exhaled slowly.
"I think I'm already beyond Grade 2 now. I should be close to Grade 1 at least in power output and damage."
That realization didn't make him arrogant—it made him focused.
"That should be good, since I only have five months before I battle Geto in a sparring match."
His expression sharpened.
"Oh… that reminds me. I should perfect my Dragon-style martial art. The one I adapted and refined from training with Toji and Emi."
30 minutes later
In an open field, the sound of flesh colliding with flesh echoed sharply. Metal clashed against metal as well—short, efficient strikes meeting controlled defense. A shirtless figure constantly advanced, every movement sharp, fast, precise. With each blow, the ground trembled slightly from the force transferred through perfectly aligned joints.
The long black hair of a girl whipped through the air as her body shifted stances rapidly. Sweat rolled down her face, but her posture never faltered. Her eyes met Kai's with a sharp, piercing gaze.
Emi:
"I don't know why you took one month of training by yourself…"
Her tone wasn't angry—but hurt.
"Do you think I'm weak?"
She stared at him.
"I see it in your eyes. I know that I'm holding you back."
Kai's lips lifted into a small smile, calm and genuine.
Kai:
"You're overthinking it."
He stepped lightly, adjusting his stance.
"I just wanted to do something dangerous. I wasn't sure if there would be any backlash."
Then, softer:
"But you know you're my martial arts partner, Emi."
Her breathing steadied. She moved into a stance and began circling him, feet whispering against the grass. Then, in a burst of speed, she closed the distance for a frontal strike.
Kai grinned.
With a slight shift of his body, he wasted no momentum. His shoulders twisted into his hips, hips into knees, knees into ankles—perfect kinetic chaining. He leaned down to his right while lifting his knee high, and Kai's right hand snapped forward in a precise hand-knife strike.
It landed perfectly—between the space behind her left kneecap.
Emi hadn't expected Kai's reaction speed to be that fast.
Her knee buckled instantly, balance disrupted.
Before she could recover, Kai stepped in and delivered a Tony Jaa–style high knee strike, his knee driving cleanly into her face. The impact sent her flat onto her back.
Kai closed the distance immediately, dropping with controlled weight. His legs pinned her hips, and in one fluid motion, his palm stopped inches from her neck.
The round was over.
Emi's eyes were wide with shock.
Only a month ago, they had been equals in pure martial arts. Sometimes she even had the edge.
Now—
Emi:
"How did you do that…?"
Her voice was quiet.
Emi:
"It felt like you were moving much faster than me. But I know that's not true—you weren't using cursed energy."
Kai chuckled and reached down, pulling her gently back to her feet.
Kai:
"I've improved my five senses."
He tapped the side of his head.
"Now, movements feel slower. Especially when an opponent isn't doubling their speed."
He met her gaze.
"It lets my instincts react faster than my body normally could."
As they stood there, thoughts raced through Kai's mind. During that exchange, he had felt the air particles shift, the folding patterns of motion, the vectors in space that Emi unconsciously created with every strike.
His body had moved before thought.
Instinctive. Fluid. Natural.
All guided by heightened perception.
Kai:
"My next martial art…"
He looked off into the distance.
"It should let me flow between close-range and long-range."
He gestured with his hand, tracing an invisible axis.
"A pivot point between the two. That'll make me a god in hand-to-hand combat."
Images of Domain Expansion between Gojo and sukuna in the manga, flashed through his thoughts—burned-out cursed techniques, raw physical clashes deciding life and death.
Kai:
"Combining this with Cleave and Dismantle will be far more lethal than even Sukuna could ever do."
His voice lowered.
"And for the technique that merges both… I'll take inspiration from how Gojo uses Blue."
Emi tied her hair into a messy bun and grinned mischievously. Without warning, she lunged forward in a sneak attack.
Kai sidestepped her knee strike effortlessly.
She transitioned into a hand knife—but Kai leapt, rotating 180 degrees into a B-twist, avoiding the strike entirely. She followed with a push kick, but mid-rotation Kai extended his body and shifted into a one-handed handstand.
Ignoring his legs, Emi targeted his arm.
Instantly, Kai transitioned into an air flare, sweeping her legs.
She hit the ground but arched her back, catching herself in a back handspring. From there, she launched a split kick.
Kai rotated his momentum from the air flare, swung onto one arm, and delivered a powerful side kick straight into her chest.
She flew back several meters, rolling and tumbling before using the momentum to launch herself upright.
Dust settled.
She stared at Kai.
His stance was calm, undefined—free. Yet beneath that freedom lay something heavy, coiled, and dangerous ..Like a dragon at rest.
Emi:
"It's like you can counter all my movements…"
She exhaled.
"And I know you're holding back. You could've ended that round at least three times."
She relaxed and blew air out, signaling defeat.
Kai:
"Our sparring is for hand-to-hand combat."
He smiled.
"But now… I think I can contend with your father using martial arts alone better than ever before."
Emi's face lit up instantly.
Emi:
"Yes! You're not far from beating Papa now!"
She clenched her fists.
"If I reach your level too, we can finally bully him together."
The sun dipped toward the horizon, wind sweeping through the field. In the distance, a tall, broad-shouldered figure approached—hands in pockets, posture relaxed, presence overwhelming.
The signature, spiky short hair ,..Toji was watching.