In the forest.
Tokyo High's tactics were being executed perfectly.
Maki had single-handedly breached the Kyoto school's defenses.
Just as everyone thought the match would end in a crushing victory for Tokyo...
"Rumble—!!!"
A heavy, dull explosion suddenly tore through the air above the battlefield without warning.
The earth shook violently, as if a giant hand were churning beneath the soil. Countless birds took flight from the trees in terror, blotting out the sun.
"What's going on?!"
Maki, who was in the middle of chasing Mai, skidded to a halt and looked up at the sky.
Directly above the arena, the once-clear blue sky was suddenly stained as if by ink.
A layer of viscous black liquid poured out of the void, flowing downward at high speed like a giant bowl being flipped over.
It was a Veil.
Simultaneously, a massive, suffocating surge of malevolent cursed energy erupted from the center of the forest.
It was the aura of a Special Grade Cursed Spirit!
"An enemy attack?!"
Maki's expression hardened.
"Mai! Snap out of it!"
Maki barked at her sister, who was still dazed.
"Get back to the staging area! This isn't a fight you can handle anymore!"
Without waiting for a response, she bolted like an arrow toward the center of the energy spike—the area where Fushiguro Megumi was located.
...
The center of the forest, downstream.
The area had been transformed into a botanical nightmare.
Thick roots writhed like berserk pythons, bursting from the ground to crush the surrounding trees and grind boulders into dust.
Fushiguro Megumi, Kamo Noritoshi, and Inumaki Toge, who had just arrived as backup.
These three elites from both schools stood together, battered and bloodied.
Standing before them...
...was a tall, white figure.
Its left arm was wrapped in white cloth, branches sprouted from its eye sockets, and it radiated the essence of the forest and earth—tainted by an ultimate malice toward humanity.
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit: Hanami.
"Humans, do you still not understand?"
Hanami's voice resonated directly within their minds, carrying a tone of mournful compassion while uttering the most ruthless words.
"The forest is weeping."
"The earth is wailing."
"For the sake of this planet's future, please... become fertilizer."
BOOM!
Hanami raised its right hand.
The ground shattered as dozens of sharp wooden spikes shot toward the trio like spears with incredible speed.
"Get out of the way!!"
Megumi shouted.
The three scrambled in different directions.
"Divine Dog: Totality!"
Megumi formed a hand sign, and the massive black-and-white wolf emerged from the shadows, lunging at Hanami's throat with a roar.
However...
...Hanami merely gave a casual wave of its hand.
*Smack!*
The Divine Dog, powerful enough to tear apart a Grade 1 Curse, was swatted away by a suddenly extending branch, dissolving into black ink.
"The gap... it's too big."
Kamo Noritoshi gritted his teeth. The Piercing Blood fired from his Blood Manipulation struck Hanami's iron-hard skin, leaving nothing but a faint white mark.
"Don't move!"
Inumaki Toge pulled down his collar and unleashed his Cursed Speech.
Hanami's movements froze for a split second.
But immediately after, Toge spat out a mouthful of blood. His throat seared with pain, and he collapsed to his knees. The difference in their levels was too great; the backlash was instantaneous and violent.
"It is futile."
Hanami approached slowly. The flower on its left arm began to bud, gathering immense cursed energy as the surrounding flora seemed to cheer.
"Kindness has not brought about understanding."
"In that case..."
"Sleep within this field of flowers."
Countless bloodthirsty seeds scattered from Hanami's hand—parasitic plants designed to drain a sorcerer's cursed energy.
It was a desperate situation.
Megumi gripped his blade, his eyes filled with resolve.
If it came down to it, he would have to summon that thing... even if it meant certain death for everyone involved.
At that critical moment...
"Fushiguro! Give me that!!"
A sharp shout rang out from the canopy above.
Megumi looked up instinctively.
A tall figure descended like a meteorite, carrying an unstoppable momentum.
"Maki-san?!"
Megumi's reflexes were sharp; he knew exactly what Maki needed.
Shadows rippled.
A red, three-sectioned staff radiating an ominous aura shot out from the shadows.
The Special Grade Cursed Tool: Playful Cloud.
It was the only Special Grade tool without a cursed technique, relying entirely on the user's physical strength to unleash its power.
*Clack!*
Maki caught Playful Cloud mid-air with a firm grip.
The moment she landed, the ground spiderwebbed with cracks beneath her feet.
"A guy who can only grow weeds..."
Maki tightened her grip on the staff, feeling its heavy weight.
Following En's treatment, the shackles that had restricted her body were largely unlocked. In this moment, Playful Cloud seemed to come alive in her hands, its resonance of power making her tremble with excitement.
"A good thrashing with a stick should be enough!"
*Boom!*
Maki's figure vanished instantly.
Pure physical explosiveness.
She was so fast that even a Special Grade Curse could only track a blur.
"So fast!"
Hanami was startled, instinctively raising its arm to summon a wooden wall for defense.
However...
"Shatter!!"
Maki roared. Playful Cloud whistled through the air and slammed violently into the wooden wall.
"Crash—!!!"
Wood splinters flew everywhere.
The hardened wooden wall, which even Kamo's Piercing Blood couldn't penetrate, was pulverized like wet paper.
The momentum of Playful Cloud didn't stop there, smashing heavily against Hanami's blocking arm.
*Crack!*
The sound of bones shattering was loud and clear.
Hanami's massive frame was sent flying by the strike, snapping three large trees before finally coming to a stop.
"What?!"
Kamo Noritoshi and Inumaki Toge were both struck dumb.
Was this the same Zenin Maki... the one her clan called "trash"?
This level of destruction, this pure aesthetic of violence... it was as if the "Heavenly Tyrant" of old had been reborn!
"I'm not done yet!"
Maki didn't let up. She swung Playful Cloud into a crimson storm, launching a torrential barrage of attacks at the struggling Hanami.
Every strike was heavy and decisive.
Every blow aimed at a vital point.
The Special Grade Curse that had just been so overwhelming was now being utterly suppressed by a human with "zero cursed energy."
"She's so strong..."
Megumi watched Maki's back, his eyes filled with shock.
He knew Maki had grown stronger, but he never expected it to be to this extent.
'Is this... the result of En's work?'
...
At the edge of the arena, near the forest entrance.
Alarms blared shrilly throughout Jujutsu High.
Students began an orderly evacuation under the direction of the teachers.
Gojo Satoru stood outside the Veil, staring at the black barrier. A cold light flickered in his azure eyes.
"A Veil that 'denies entry to Gojo Satoru'?"
"And with such a high priority setting..."
He raised his hand, gathering a terrifying amount of cursed energy at his fingertips, preparing to break it by force.
...
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