Kiyotaka rushed towards Sukuna as Sukuna flicked his hand, and Kiyotaka dodged it, making Sukuna think, 'He's faster than before.'
Kiyotaka and Sukuna went into an exchange of attacks and blocks as Sukuna thought, 'He's managing to keep up with me?'
Sukuna grinned as he grabbed Kiyotaka's arms and then grabbed Kiyotaka's torso with his free two hands and said, "Cleave."
Kiyotaka spat blood into Sukuna's face, grabbed his upper arms and lifted his leg, slamming his foot into Sukuna, pushing him back and forcing Sukuna to let go.
Sukuna's eyebrow raised as he said, "I didn't hold back in that attack. It should have killed you. Your Reverse Cursed Technique has improved. I wonder, though. How did you have the time to improve it?"
Kiyotaka wiped the blood from his mouth and said, "I cheated."
"Manifest."
Kiyotaka said this as a rain of spikes fell down towards Sukuna, who jumped back and waved his hands, sending slashes towards Kiyotaka, who dodged them and rushed forward, calling out, "Shiro!"
His Shikigami appeared and wrapped its tail around Sukuna's leg, pulling on him as Sukuna was dangling in mid-air.
Kiyotaka charged up Cursed Energy and slammed it into Sukuna as Black Sparks flew.
The Shikigami disappeared as Sukuna aimed a Dismantle at it, making Sukuna think, 'He recalled it before I could fire', as he landed on his feet.
Kiyotaka swung his leg, slamming it into Sukuna's face as Black Sparks flew.
Sukuna spat out blood, thinking, 'Another?'
Sukuna sent out a net of Dismantles as they cut into Kiyotaka, who spat blood off to the side and healed himself.
Sukuna looked to him, thinking, 'Low Output Dismantles or Cleaves won't be enough to kill him. He's approaching the same level as Satoru Gojo.'
Kiyotaka rushed in as he pushed off a strike from Sukuna, who thought, 'This is the same kata he used against that Todo brat.'
Sukuna used his lower arm on his right side to strike at Kiyotaka, but Kiyotaka caught it and slammed his leg into Sukuna's side as Black Sparks flew.
Kiyotaka's hands were suddenly cut to pieces as Kiyotaka jumped back, healing his hands as Sukuna looked to him, thinking, 'How is he chaining Black Flashes so easily? Why isn't he using more applications of his Cursed Technique?'
Kiyotaka jumped off the air consecutively as he appeared behind Sukuna and slammed his leg into him as Black Sparks flew, and Sukuna was sent flying, thinking, 'Again?!'
Kiyotaka rushed after him as Sukuna let off Dismantles, and a few cut into his flesh, severing muscle and bone, only to heal with ease.
Sukuna started a barrage of punches as Kiyotaka blocked them and then...
Sukuna's eyes widened as Kiyotaka punched his arm to redirect it as Black Sparks flew, and Kiyotaka smiled, thinking, 'That feels good.'
Kiyotaka then slammed his fist into Sukuna's stomach, sending him flying back as Sukuna gritted his teeth, thinking, 'Five in a row?! How?'
Kiyotaka started breathing heavily, thinking, 'Five huh? I guess that's my limit for now. I'll have to fight normally from now on. Even five made be sufffer a lot of mental strain. Also, this strategy isn't very efficient right now. I'm losing more Cursed Energy than I'm gaining. Still, it should be enough to bridge the gap entirely.'
Kiyotaka thought of Gojo and thought, 'I wouldn't have figured out this method without you. Thanks for the lesson... Gojo-Sensei.'
[Gojo sat there and asked, "You're asking why I can't use Black Flash at will even with the Six Eyes?"
Kiyotaka nodded, saying, "With the level of detail provided to you by the six eyes, it should be easier. Or are there more factors to it?"
Gojo sighed and said, "They say that [Black Flash] is a distortion of space that occurs when Cursed Energy hits the opponent 0.000001 seconds before the physical strike. Personally, I think that explanation is a bit lacklustre. I mean, if that's the whole secret behind it, then you'd be right. I'd be able to land it on will. So yeah, there's more to it."
Gojo explained, saying, "For instance, if I load up my fist with Cursed Energy and throw a punch, that Cursed Energy will be one of three types. One. The type that strengthens my fist. Two. The type that strikes my opponent. And Three. The type that does both. It's not just the timing of the hit. Depending on the blend, it's a toss-up. And it's not like anyone can control the third type. Well, anyone except me. On top of that, the blend needs to change depending on the environment. Things like your physical condition, or your opponent's Cursed Energy. This might actually make you laugh, but I personally think there's some connection with temperature and humidity. Black Flash is a spatial phenomenon after all. The point is, there's no correct answer as to how to unleash a Black Flash."
Gojo pointed to himself and said, "When I fight seriously, I enhance my blows with Blue. In that situation, Black Flash is practically up to luck, even for me. The truth is that while Nanami has the highest consecutive count, my total count is actually higher. I finish fights too quickly to build up a streak."
Gojo looked to Kiyotaka and asked, "Hey. Are you listening?"
Kiyotaka was holding his hand to his chin in deep thought as his eyes snapped towards Gojo in attention, and he said, "Sorry. I was just considering something from the variables and conditions you told me about."
"Oh yeah? Did you figure something out?"
Gojo asked this as Kiyotaka nodded, saying, "Timing, type of Cursed Energy striking the opponent, temperature, humidity, physical conditioning and the opponent's Cursed Energy. Most of these factors. I can calculate for them all and control most of them using my Cursed Technique, but even then... there's probably a limit."
Gojo grinned and asked, "So are you going to start chaining Black Flashes like it's nothing serious or something like that?"
"Maybe"
Kiyotaka said this as Gojo smiled.]
Kiyotaka blocked another attack as Sukuna chanted, "Cleave!" as Kiyotaka's arm fell off for a second, but his Reverse Cursed Technique healed at the slicing point, instantly reattaching the tendons and bone.
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Megumi looked to the screen and shouted, "Five in a row?!!"
Mei Mei stared at it and said, "Well, that's Nanami-San's consecutive record broken."
Kuskabe looked shocked, thinking, 'You can't be serious.'
Shoko looked at the screen, thinking, 'That's not just any kind of Reverse Cursed Technique. It's way too... fast.'
Nobara grinned and shouted, "Kick his ass, Ayanokoji!"
Megumi chopped her on the head, saying, "Don't jinx this."
Megumi sweated before saying, "That's the King Of Curses. Ayanokoji's fighting with his life on the line."
Nobara sweated thinking, 'He's right. Things won't be that easy.'
Hakari looked at Kiyotaka in awe and said, "Hey, Mei-san."
Mei Mei looked to him and asked, "Yes?"
"Open up the betting pool again. I'll bet everything I won from betting on Sukuna to win on this one."
Hakari said this as Mei Mei looked surprised, asking, "You're going all in?"
"Yeah. That fire in his eyes. I can tell. I'm going all in on Ayanokoji Kiyotaka coming out on top."
Hakari said this as Mei Mei smiled and said, "Got it."
Hakari looked at the screen, thinking, 'Come on, Ayanokoji. Show me more of that fever. That passion.'
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Kiyotaka jumped back as a Dismantle hit the space he was standing in, as he thought, 'I'm definitely getting good hits in, but he's still standing.'
Sukuna made hand signs with his lower hands and formed a chopping motion with his upper right hand.
Kiyotaka's eyes widened as Sukuna's hand descended on his cross-blocked arms, and Sukuna chanted, "Sever", as the attack cut right through Kiyotaka's arms and formed a slashing wound on his chest.
Kiyotaka fell to the floor as his arms lay to either side of him.
Sukuna grinned and said, "You pushed me this far, huh? Forcing me to create a variant of Cleave."
Sever is a third cutting attack that acts similarly to Cleave. Cleave requires contact followed by cuts that are adjusted based on the target's Durability. Sever acts more like a traditional blade. It repeats the cutting effect of Cleave continuously along a thin surface area of Sukuna's hand, allowing him to cut through continuously through a person's flesh and bone. Due to this, even if the opponent uses the Reverse Cursed Technique in an attempt to outheal the damage from a Cleave, regeneration in that moment is impossible due to Sukuna's hand being interposed in the space where the flesh would knit back together. Sever can only be used with direct contact. It cannot be used at range even from within Sukuna's domain.
Sukuna looked to Kiyotaka and said, "Come on now, Ayanokoji. Get back up."
"Supernova."
Suddenly, the blood Kiyotaka had spat on Sukuna's face turned red and exploded as Sukuna reeled from his thinking, 'Blood Manipulation?!'
There are currently two Cursed Techniques residing within Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. The first is Mass Sorcery. The Innate Technique that he acquired after being able to use Cursed Energy following the consumption of the Special Grade Cursed Object [Sukuna's Finger]. The second was Blood Manipulation, engraved by absorbing the Cursed Womb Death Paintings, numbers 5 through 9. Due to an incompatibility of their souls, the engraving of Ryomen Sukuna's Shrine was hindered. Due to this, his Cursed Energy made adjustments to attempt to encourage engravement but following Ryomen Sukuna's escape into the vessel Kanamori Shiro, the engraving halted at a point where the acquisition of the Technique became impossible.
He turned back to Kiyotaka to see blood flowing from the severed stumps that were his arms and connecting with severed arms as they reattached and healed.
Kiyotaka clasped his hands together and chanted, "Piercing Blood."
Blood fired from his hands and pierced Sukuna, who blocked the rest of the flow with a hand as he dodged to the side.
Sukuna smirked, thinking, 'This will be even more fun than I thought.'
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Choso smiled and thought, 'It's engraved into you. Our Brothers. Live a long life so they can live that life from within you.'
Mei Mei smirked and said, "If he wins this, the Kamo Clan might just try to snatch him up "
Choso looked to Mei Mei and said, "No one will be [Snatching Up] my little brother."
Mei Mei laughed and said, "I don't mean it in a bad way. I mean, like making him their Clan Head. Noritoshi-kun's already stepped down after all."
Choso looked to her suspiciously, saying, "Something about you makes me think it's not safe to let my little brother be near you."
Mei Mei simply looked at him with a confused expression.
Shoko then said, "Well, that explains why his Reverse Cursed Technique is so good and why his durability's gotten even better, too. He's forcing reconnections of tissue and bone through his blood, and he's hardening it in his own body when attacks hit him so that it's harder to cut through. Because of that, Sukuna is forced to use more Cursed Energy than he'd normally have to while also making it easier for Ayanokoji to heal."
Choso stood there with a smile as he nodded along, thinking, 'That's my little brother.'
Mei Mei looked at her phone and thought, 'I think I'll earn quite a lot from this fight.'
Yuki walked into the room syaing, "I've dealt with Uraume-chan. How's Kiyotaka doing?"
Megumi responded, "He's doing fine for now. He's taken some major hits, but he's healed."
Yuki then asked, "What about Okkotsu-San and Maki-San?"
Megumi shook his head, saying, "We don't know. They haven't gotten back yet."
Okkotsu Yuta was currently trapped in Kenjaku's Domain and readying to signal Maki to come and assist him. They would then be made busy with dealing with the Cursed Spirits unleashed upon Kenjaku's death.
Yuki's eyes darted to the monitor to see Kiyotaka fighting and thinking, 'You have to win this, Kiyotaka.'
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Kiyotaka waved his hand and chanted, "Slicing Blood", as blood burst from his fingertips and a slashing mark appeared on Sukuna's chest.
Sukuna looked at the wound, thinking, 'He's swapped from using his liquid state to Blood Manipulation. Blood Manipulation is probably more efficient for cutting and piercing than creating Liquid Mass like he used to.'
Sukuna jumped off the air, rushing towards Kiyotaka, who thought, 'Too fast!'
Sukuna slammed his fist into him as Black Sparks flew, and Kiyotaka was sent flying back.
Kiyotaka took a stance and chanted, "Flowing Red Scale."
Sukuna rushed towards him again as Kiyotaka began blocking Sukuna's attacks, even as Sukuna increased his speed, making him think, 'He's using it to increase his reaction speed. How interesting.'
Sukuna swung his hand, chanting, "Sever", as Kiyotaka jumped back, managing to narrowly avoid it.
Kiyotaka took a stance and chanted, "Flowing Mass Fists."
Sukuna grinned, thinking, 'That again, huh? But you can't use two Cursed Techniques at the same time without lowering the output of one of them.'
Sukuna let out a net of Dismantles as Kiyotaka walked through it, gritting in pain as his Reverse Cursed Technique healed him from the cuts.
Kiyotaka then slammed his fist into Sukuna as the mass solidified, and Sukuna's eyes widened in pain as he coughed up blood, thinking, 'How?!'
Sukuna was sent flying back as he grinned through the blood flowing from his lips and asked, "So, Ayanokoji. What binding vow did you make that let you keep the output of both your techniques so high??"
"I didn't."
Kiyotaka said this as he tapped his head and said, "My brain can handle it. It's just better than yours."
Sukuna looked annoyed, thinking, 'He's getting a bit full of himself.'
Sukuna smirked and thought, 'I'll do that. I can afford to shrink it a little and lower the firing rate.'
Sukuna made hand signs and chanted, "Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine."
The King Of Curses had this entire fight been focusing most of his Reverse Cursed Technique on his brain in an attempt to heal it as much as possible. He then made several Binding Vows, including a reduction of range, a reduction of firing rate and time constraints to allow himself to manifest his Domain despite the damage to his brain. How long can this Domain be kept active? 60 seconds.
The Domain formed as Kiyotaka watched it manifest with cold eyes, thinking, 'Trying to contest it would be foolish. I'd just end up burning out my technique for a low probability of winning the Domain Clash.'
Kiyotaka got into a stance as he began using Full Body Domain Amplification, thinking, 'Cancel out the Sure-Hit effect and fight back!'
Slashes began descending towards Kiyotaka, who began running through the domain, dodging them, thinking, 'He's reduced the firing rate but not the speed of each individual slash.'
Sukuna made a hand sign with a smirk as he let out a net of dismantles that hit Kiyotaka as he was stopped in his tracks, and then the slashes rained down on Kiyotaka.
Kiyotaka staggered back as the slashes hit him and his Reverse Cursed Technique healed him, thinking, 'They're so heavy!'
Sukuna grinned, but then his grin fell as Kiyotaka began walking towards him through the slashes.
Sukuna stared in disbelief as Kiyotaka undid his Full Body Domain Amplification, and Sukuna thought, 'What?! Why would he?'
Kiyotaka aimed his hand at Sukuna and chanted, "Manifest", as a cube was sent out and slammed into Sukuna, sending him flying towards the shrine in the middle of the Domain.
Sukuna flipped through the air as he jumped off the air to divert his trajectory.
Sukuna stood back up to see Kiyotaka with white eyes in front of him, leg in the air, ready to strike as he thought, 'Now this man is a Jujutsu Sorcerer!'
Kiyotaka slammed his leg into Sukuna as Black Sparks flew and sent him flying into the shrine, and Sukuna's domain collapsed.
Kiyotaka spat out blood from his mouth as his body healed, and he thought, 'I'm down to 85% of my reserves. Sukuna is likely at 60% of his.'
Sukuna stared at him, thinking, 'His efficiency has risen even higher than before.'
Kiyotaka raised his hands as Sukuna did the same, and they faced off again, ready to continue the fight.
Sukuna stared at him, saying, "You're not human anymore. You're the same as me."
Kiyotaka looked to him and said, "We're not the same."
Sukuna then said, "Oh, but we are. We live for ourselves and no one else. We fulfil our desires in all things, and the weak can only beg that we do not trample over them."
Sukuna grinned and said, "I'll acknowledge you, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. Aside from Satoru Gojo, you are, without any exception, the strongest I've ever fought."
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To Be Continued
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Rating Out Of 10 For This Chapter?
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