Yuji and Junpei remained expressionless, their fists wrapped in thick Cursed Energy as they charged toward Mahito once again.
On the other side, Megumi and Nobara were having an even tougher time against Hanami. Divine Dogs and Nue were unable to deal any effective damage to Hanami, while Toad and Rabbit Escape had extremely low combat power. Max Elephant could cause some damage, but it was a heavy consumer of Cursed Energy and could only be used at critical moments.
Nobara's nails could only inflict shallow wounds on Hanami, and together, the two could only stall Hanami for a short while.
In contrast, Hanami, wielding the Sky-Breaking Blade, severed the White Divine Dog at the waist with a single light slash. The deceased White Divine Dog turned into a mass of shadows and retreated back into Megumi's shadow.
The death of the White Divine Dog made Megumi's heart ache as if it were bleeding. Similarly, it made him even more cautious as he drew a long spear from his shadow.
This was the Special Grade Cursed Tool, Tsuranuki Yari, that Shin had left him for self-defense before departing. Once infused with Cursed Energy, the spearhead would rotate at high speed like a drill. Even a Special Grade Cursed Spirit would have a large chunk of flesh torn off by the high-speed rotating spearhead if struck.
Suddenly, a strange smell of sake wafted into his nostrils, and his brain began to feel groggy almost instantly. If it were just dizziness, it wouldn't be much, but Megumi felt as if even the Cursed Energy in his brain was being anesthetized, becoming sluggish as it flowed through his neural circuits.
Megumi quickly used Cursed Energy to protect his brain and resist the erosion of the sake fumes, looking toward the source of the smell—it was the Shuten-dojis jar at Mahito's waist. However, Yuji and Junpei were not as affected as Megumi, as they were unable to use Cursed Techniques to begin with.
In the moment Megumi was dazed, a thick branch came whistling in from the side.
Nobara quickly shouted, "Fushiguro! Watch out!"
At the same time, her movements didn't stop. Four nails instantly left her hand and flew toward the branch. Megumi was snapped back to his senses by Nobara's shout, raising Tsuranuki Yari and thrusting it forward.
Boom!
Wood chips flew everywhere as the thick branch was struck by their joint attack. Tsuranuki Yari continued its thrust toward Hanami with undiminished power. Hanami raised the Sky-Breaking Blade to resist, while Nobara, standing behind Megumi, raised her hammer and used all her strength to strike a nail, providing cover for Megumi.
Whoosh—
Accompanied by a flash of black light, Nobara unleashed a Black Flash. The high-speed nail embedded itself entirely into Hanami's forearm, forcibly altering the trajectory of their slash. Megumi's Tsuranuki Yari followed immediately, piercing Hanami's chest.
Hanami jumped back the moment the spear struck, significantly reducing the damage from Tsuranuki Yari. In the end, only a small amount of blood flowed from their chest, and the wound healed in the blink of an eye. They pulled out the nail from their forearm and tossed it aside.
"I have no intention of fighting you, but since you have chosen to stand in my way, I have no choice but to eliminate you."
As Hanami spoke, a large number of roots sprouted from the surrounding ground, twisting and grinding toward Megumi and Nobara.
As for Hanami, they stepped onto a pair of Wooden Spheres, flying into the air and releasing dozens of Cursed Seeds toward the two Jujutsu High students below.
Max Elephant!
Splash—
A powerful jet of water surged toward the tree trunks that were crushing forward like waves. Tsuranuki Yari in Megumi's hand was swung so fast it left afterimages, blocking the Cursed Seeds in mid-air. However, one of the dense Cursed Seeds still hit his shoulder.
Instantly, Megumi felt his Cursed Energy draining rapidly, yet he had no choice but to continue using Cursed Energy to reinforce his body against the remaining seeds.
Nobara had two seeds embedded in her shoulder and calf, causing her Cursed Energy to drain even faster.
By the time Hanami's wave of attacks ended, both were panting heavily, their Cursed Energy severely depleted. Even Max Elephant was automatically dispelled due to insufficient Cursed Energy.
The cautious Megumi didn't dare to rashly pull out the already sprouting Cursed Seeds, but the carefree Nobara had no such qualms. She endured the pain, pulled out the two seeds, threw them on the ground, and stomped on them fiercely.
Only then did Megumi pull out the Cursed Seed from his shoulder and stand straight again.
However, anyone could see that their current state was extremely poor, with their Cursed Energy heavily depleted. It was estimated that a few Grade 2 Curses could finish them off now.
Yuji saw this and grew anxious, but since Mahito was releasing poisonous gas from the Shuten-doji's jar, he also had to use a portion of his Cursed Energy to resist the toxins. His consumption was not small, and defeat was only a matter of time.
Mahito wasn't feeling great either. Having taken only a few punches from Junpei, his battered soul felt a distinct numbness, and even his movements had slowed down. He also wanted to end the battle quickly.
'Damn it! If it wasn't for that detestable Kagura, how could I have become this weak!'
Mahito's Cursed Energy reserves and physical strength had been utterly crushed by Shin, who had even stomped on them a couple of times. If it weren't for Mahito's disgusting Cursed Technique, he would likely be seriously injured by now.