Sakata was insanely awkward, but there was nothing he could do.
Once the emotions hit, there was no pulling his hands back. When the atmosphere and fervor surged to their very peak, it was no longer the contestants stirring up the audience's emotions—rather, the venue's atmosphere swept up the contestants on stage.
——But at least describe a usable move for me!!
A straight punch! A flying kick! A knee strike! Or anything else… anything would do!
What the hell is this windmill punch of yours?! How could an attack like this possibly put any power behind it!
"Dead—ly—Com—bo—"
But even though this so-called 'move' was utterly ridiculous, Sakata still had no choice but to use it—and he even had to make it look especially ferocious, especially formidable, as if he were about to win.
This was a total disaster!
He was riddled with openings now!
But… the pink-haired young man across from him didn't seem all that dangerous.
Maybe his [Deadly Combo] really could defeat his opponent!
"How terrifying! Contestant Sakata is like an awakened lion! Carrying Cursed Energy that can crush everything, he bears down on contestant Yuji Itadori!——"
The girl up above was still hollering away.
"He can't flee! Contestant Yuji Itadori can only choose to take the attack head-on, because if he runs, he'll be swept up by the whirlpool-like wind pressure!"
Yuji Itadori was stunned: Whoa, for real?!
Then it dawned on Yuji Itadori: Everything Mahiru said was fake!
Whoa! So it was all fake!
The boy had nearly really believed that the so-called 'Deadly Combo' coming out of Mahiru's mouth was the real deal.
Damn it, it was all because he'd always relied on Mahiru's super intelligence before, so he'd grown path-dependent! This wouldn't do!
He should have understood Mahiru's intent long ago—Mahiru was directing the whole thing in her own way!
Only by exciting the audience, by making them feel "whoa, they're putting on a great fight," could he draw Hakari Kinji's attention and get a chance to approach Hakari Kinji's side!
Mahiru! I totally get it now!
"That's not it!" Maki slapped a hand against her own face with a "smack," letting out a despairing voice. "That blue-haired Cursed Spirit is just messing around, isn't she?!"
"I won't be taken down by you!" Yuji Itadori bellowed outright, then thrust both arms out in front of him to block.
Sakata's two arms swung incessantly against Yuji Itadori's defending arms, producing one muffled thud after another.
"So strong!" Yuji Itadori shouted through gritted teeth. "Why are you so strong!"
Sakata's eyes were practically splitting with rage; he genuinely had no idea where his strength was supposed to be.
This fist technique—he couldn't put any force into it at all!
And besides, the way he was used to channeling Cursed Energy was nothing like this!
Now, striking his opponent with all his might, it felt like he was smashing a rock with his own dainty little pink fists—acting was important, sure, but winning the match was important too!
He really didn't want to lose.
After hammering away for a good few seconds, Sakata noticed that the commentator girl above had stopped acting up, and in that instant he realized this was his chance.
What a great chance!
I'll switch up my move!
"Hahaha! Looks like you're quite a formidable opponent yourself!"
Sakata shouted out the cringeworthy line, then did a few backflips, moving backward away from Yuji Itadori to open up some distance.
Excellent! He'd successfully escaped the awkward predicament! Now it was time for a real fight!
After all, switching moves mid-battle was common; doing so wouldn't sacrifice the audience's enthusiasm, and could even add some variety to the fight—killing two birds with one stone…
"Contestant Sakata has opened up the distance! Oh my goodness, I know it now—he's about to use the strongest ultimate technique he's relied on all along!!"
Hearing the girl's voice ring out overhead, Sakata's hairs stood on end.
Damn it! Don't tell me you're going to do it again…
"It's [Ultimate Move]! He's about to use [Ultimate Move]!" ——Just as he'd feared!!!
Sakata was about to lose it—whose kid even is this?! Can't the parents keep her in check?!
Where's the boss?! Where are the boss's people?!
Go rein her in! She's purely here to cause trouble!
"[Ultimate Move] is the big finisher, and the big finisher is [Ultimate Move]!"
"Sakata's [Ultimate Move] possesses world-destroying, earth-shattering power. As spectators, to get to witness contestant Sakata's [Ultimate Move] in this quarterfinal match—Round of 8 into the Final 4—is simply too lucky!"
Lucky my ass!
Sakata decided to stop humoring Mahiru.
He had to win! So he couldn't keep clowning around with her any longer.
The man steadied his focus and calmed his breath, locking eyes with the distant Yuji Itadori, seriousness surfacing in his gaze.
Time to fight with everything he had!
"Come on! Let's all cheer for Sakata together! Let's chant his name together, let's welcome the coming feast of [Ultimate Move]!"
But even though he wanted to fight properly, how could the girl possibly let him off?
If he really fought seriously, Yuji Itadori would slap him to the ground in one blow, and that wouldn't be fun at all—at least, not for Mahiru.
"Come on! Cheer together!"
"Sakata! Sakata!" Mahiru took the lead, and swept up in the fervent atmosphere, the audience began to cheer too.
"Sakata! Sakata!" "Sakata! Sakata!——"
Sakata felt like his heart was about to give out.
Come on, lady, can't you give me a break?
What you're doing is basically roasting me over an open fire!
And that guy across from me, the one called Yuji Itadori—why are you joining in the chant?! Are you dumb?! We're enemies, enemies!
"Oh, sorry." Yuji Itadori hurriedly clapped a hand over his mouth, then struck a battle stance. "Come on, show me your [Ultimate Move]."
Ultimate Move my ass!!
I don't even fucking have an Ultimate Move! What am I supposed to fight you with?!
"Fine, then get ready to take my move." Sakata struck a pose. "You're about to witness my ultimate secret art."
There was no other choice! Even without an Ultimate Move he had to bull through, so he'd just take his own strongest attack and pass it off as the Ultimate Move!
"Contestant Sakata has assumed his opening stance! Is it finally about to begin?! The audience's cheers have done the trick!"
"As legend has it, contestant Sakata's [Ultimate Move] requires him to assume nine different poses and recite nearly a thousand incantation words before it can be unleashed! That's an extremely long wind-up, so next—how will our contestant Sakata handle this stretch of time…"
The girl's voice echoed throughout the arena, and in this moment, Sakata's heart finally died.
"..."
He and Yuji Itadori exchanged a wordless gaze.
He turned his head toward Mahiru's loudspeaker, pointing at his own face: "Why don't you just come down and finish me off and be done with it?"
"…Pfft, cough… So this is the first pose! The first incantation!" Mahiru nearly lost her composure, but thankfully managed to hold it together. "The meaning of this incantation and pose represents Sakata's unyielding mindset of challenging fate——"
Sakata's composure utterly collapsed.
The audience didn't matter anymore, the cheers didn't matter anymore; if this kept up he'd go insane, so he plugged up both ears completely, stopped paying Mahiru any mind, and charged straight at Yuji Itadori.
In any case, as long as he took down his opponent, the commentator could say whatever she liked—he'd given up on saving face.
He channeled every last bit of Cursed Energy in his body and threw a punch, its power astonishing, looking like...
It was actually at about Miwa Kasumi's level!
"So weak!..." Yuji Itadori exclaimed in a hushed, thoroughly impolite voice.
Sakata froze in place, staring at Yuji Itadori, tears suddenly welling and shimmering in his eyes.
You people… why are you all ganging up to bully me?!
If we're fighting, then fight—why are you insulting me too?!
____
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