Zen'in Naobito had already determined that his movement was ineffective—a motion of 24 frames per second would definitely be visible to Mahito's naked eye. For the current Mahito, he would certainly be able to precisely discern Zen'in Naobito's trajectory.
Seeing 24 movements in a single second with the naked eye—was that even possible? Although common sense told Zen'in Naobito this was nonsense, such people did indeed exist in this world, and more than one—Fushiguro Toji, who had been expelled from the family, and Gojo Satoru, hailed as the strongest of the modern era, both possessed this ability.
In that case, there was no need to be shocked by one more Mahito.
Therefore, no matter how he circled around, it would be ineffective against Mahito, because Mahito didn't need to predict Zen'in Naobito's godlike speed at all; he could see Zen'in Naobito circling with his naked eye. Then, by raising Kirigiri, he could simply wait for Zen'in Naobito to collide with it.
Then, wouldn't it work as long as he didn't circle around?
It wasn't that he insisted on a frontal assault, but rather that he could only use a frontal assault—this was Zen'in Naobito's true thought.
Since it was determined that a frontal assault was necessary, how would Mahito, who held Kirigiri with its all-things-severed property, choose to act?
The optimal solution was a massive diagonal slash that encompassed all the space in front. Within this giant diagonal slash, everything—whether above, below, or directly ahead—could be covered.
Zen'in Naobito had preset his movements based on the belief that Mahito would definitely use a massive diagonal slash. If Mahito failed to use the optimal solution and instead used a large horizontal cut that ignored attacks from above or below, or even a simple and direct thrust, Zen'in Naobito would surely die facing Kirigiri's blade.
But Mahito chose exactly that: the massive diagonal slash, the optimal solution.
At this moment, Zen'in Naobito's blood was boiling, as if his entire body's blood had caught fire. It wasn't just that his prediction was correct; he imagined the deaths of his clansmen, the arrogance of the Zen'in, the decline of the family after failure—he imagined everything.
Finally, he transformed all this anger, fear, arrogance, and uncertainty into Cursed Energy.
Resonance, then, a punch. Black Flash manifested.
Out of the corner of his eye, Mahito saw cracks appear on Kirigiri. This tsukumogami, forged from an ancient blade, was severely damaged by the direct hit from the Black Flash. Mahito decisively let go, and Kirigiri let out an unwilling hum, flying away with the force of the impact.
The unexpected Black Flash knocked Kirigiri away, and Zen'in Naobito finally reached Mahito's chest. His fists were clenched tight, and his entire body was so tense that his muscles throbbed from the exertion; the veins on his forehead pulsed as if his entire body was brimming with power.
Mahito immediately used Soul Creation.
—Awasaka Jiro, Inverse.
In the next instant, Zen'in Naobito's fist slammed into Mahito's abdomen.
As long as it wasn't a Black Flash, even a full-power punch wouldn't dream of hurting him. At that point, Mahito could kill Zen'in Naobito in an instant, just as he had killed Zen'in Jinichi.
But on that fist, there happened to be black sparks.
—Black Flash. A second Black Flash.
Accompanied by the sound of a bursting air explosion, Inverse was pierced through without hindrance. Mahito's abdomen was blown hollow, yet the massive destructive power had not yet finished venting. This enormous force penetrated Mahito's abdomen and spread out in all directions; Mahito's body was like a commoner in cloth clothes being hit by a distant cannonball.
As his body was blown open, he flew backward. This was because the venting of destructive power formed a powerful air current, and Mahito was swept away like a withered leaf caught in a storm.
The power of Black Flash grows with the growth of a sorcerer. In terms of raw strength, even the prestigious head of the family, Zen'in Naobito, was far inferior to the Special Grade 1 Sorcerer Zen'in Jinichi. Zen'in Jinichi could use a Black Flash to directly blast Mahito's physical body into mincemeat, but Zen'in Naobito could not.
Mahito still wanted to use Soul Creation while floating in the air. He had just been attacked by Zen'in Naobito, and his body was already stained with Zen'in Naobito's Cursed Energy.
At this time, if he used Interstellar Flight, he could immediately repel Zen'in Naobito.
But another fist appeared before his eyes.
Zen'in Naobito caught up with the retreating, blasted Mahito. His speed at this moment far exceeded the speed of sound. His pupils flickered with a cold light, but his heart was as hot as an erupting volcano. Enormous force was concentrated in his fist, and on his fist—
—black sparks flashed for the third time.
The third strike, Black Flash.
Thud.
Zen'in Naobito's fist smashed into the side of Mahito's face. The spatial distortion carried by the Black Flash immediately tore Mahito's face apart. Facial bones and flesh were pulverized together by the black lightning, and half of Mahito's face was directly blown to pieces.
Too fast. So fast that Mahito had no ability to fight back. This level of speed exceeded Mahito's imagination. Was Zen'in Naobito such a strong person? All the Cursed Energy Mahito extracted was used for Idle Transfiguration. He had evolved multiple times during this battle, and his Idle Transfiguration was operating at an unprecedented level.
Yet at this moment, he actually still couldn't keep up with the speed of the destruction.
Too slow. The current speed of energy circulation could no longer keep up with this final battle.
Mahito didn't have time to use Soul Creation and could only use Idle Transfiguration with all his might to maintain the integrity of his soul. His physical body regenerated at high speed. At this moment, he deeply felt the sluggishness of the physical body. His Idle Transfiguration was perfectly attuned to himself; even the Cursed Energy interruption of a Black Flash couldn't dream of stopping the use of Idle Transfiguration.
In fact, in the original work, Mahito had never feared Black Flash. He had once been hit by Black Flash multiple times, yet his physical body remained quite intact; as long as he could continuously operate Idle Transfiguration to maintain the integrity of his soul, Black Flash was essentially ineffective against him.
In terms of resistance in this area, he was even stronger than Gojo Satoru and Ryomen Sukuna. In the final battle of the original work, even Gojo Satoru and Ryomen Sukuna suffered serious aftereffects after being hit by Black Flash.
However, the Reverse Cursed Technique application, Soul Creation, derived from the "double negative" nature of being a half-Cursed Spirit, was holding him back.
Even though Soul Creation had been running smoother and smoother during the battles with the Kukuru and the Hei, with almost no sense of lag, compared to the perfectly attuned Idle Transfiguration at this moment, it was so sluggish.
Mahito immediately realized. The time had come.
Discarding this mismatched physical body, constructing a perfectly suited one, transcending common sense, and arriving at a new birth—it was happening now.
Zen'in Naobito's face suddenly appeared before Mahito. This man was now shrouded in Cursed Energy, like he was wearing a suit of burning armor. He stepped forward, opened his fingers, covered Mahito's face with his palm, and then slammed down with force.
Boom.
The fourth strike, Black Flash.
The Grade 1 Sorcerer Nanami Kento once said: "Using Black Flash consecutively isn't anything special. If you use it more than twice, it's actually harder not to use it consecutively or within the same day."
"Regardless of whether the first Black Flash was based on luck or skill, once it's used, the sorcerer temporarily enters what athletes call 'the zone.' Cursed Energy that normally requires careful control flows as naturally as breathing, and it feels as if everything around is rotating with oneself at the center, creating a sensation similar to omnipotence."
In other words, as long as more than two Black Flashes are used consecutively, the remaining Black Flashes can essentially be used without limit. Aside from Cursed Energy, the only other restriction on their number is—
—how tanky the target is.
The entire corridor began to collapse. The massive destructive power caused the entire ground to cave in. The spreading impact shook the entire Zen'in Family. The corridor collapsed, and half of the reception hall caved in as well. The Zen'in Family residence was forced into ruins by this single strike. Amidst the torrential rain, thunder rumbled again, and lightning flashed in the sky, illuminating Zen'in Naobito's distorted face.
"What's wrong? King of Curses?" Zen'in Naobito mocked loudly. "Weren't you going to become the second coming for the Zen'in Family?! Stand up, we're continuing!"
Zen'in Naobito believed Mahito would not die just like this. He had already watched the entire battle of the Zen'in Family through the eyes of his shikigami. He clearly knew Mahito possessed a nearly immortal body that could fully regenerate even if turned into mincemeat. In Zen'in Naobito's eyes, there was only one way to kill him—
—wear him down.
Even with an immortal body, his amount of Cursed Energy had a limit. Healing the wounds from a Black Flash would consume even more Cursed Energy. No matter what Mahito's regeneration technique was, the most basic laws of techniques still existed. It's just like how even the best sports car can't run without fuel. No matter how terrifying Mahito's resurrection was, he would have to die once his Cursed Energy was exhausted.
Immortality does not exist. Didn't the "Yamata no Orochi," claimed to be immortal a thousand years ago, also get slain by the legendary Ryomen Sukuna? There is no such thing as an invincible Cursed Technique in this world. Since the principle couldn't be figured out in a short time, then don't try to understand it—use violence. Forcefully break it.
If one Black Flash can't kill him, then ten. If ten can't, then a hundred.
The current record holder for consecutive Black Flashes in the jujutsu world is Nanami Kento, who landed four in a single battle. Now, Zen'in Naobito was going to challenge this record. The number of consecutive strikes didn't depend on Zen'in Naobito himself, but on this King of Curses—on how many strikes he could withstand.
In fact, his judgment was correct. How did the original Mahito die? It was because his Cursed Energy was exhausted. Because even in the original work, up until the second before being absorbed by Kenjaku, his body was still complete and without any wounds other than the exhaustion of Cursed Energy.
Suddenly, a muffled voice came from underground.
"As you wish."
Zen'in Naobito keenly perceived the ground vibrating. It wasn't the kind of vibration from the sudden downward smash just now, but a vibration like rolling waves on the sea. A swimming fish moving beneath the surface of a pond creates ripples on the water; the ground now was rippling just like that.
But how was this possible? How could the earth ripple like the surface of water?
A great creature broke through the shackles of the earth and soared into the sky from underground. Zen'in Naobito jumped back from his spot and looked up at this creature, his fierce and distorted face becoming blank. A creature he couldn't have imagined was right before his eyes.
The entire earth was covered in patterns of cracks. From within the massive fissures, this creature stood before Zen'in Naobito.
It was a dragon.
On its massive dragon head, a gold and a blue dragon eye flickered, looking down at Naobito. Its dragon claws were loosely clenched, the five claws appearing sharp and eye-catching under the wash of the rain. Each dragon scale rose and fell as if breathing. The dragon's lower body was still underground, while its upper body seemed to reach the sky, blotting out the sun.
—Simple Domain: Descent.
Mythology returns, the divine dragon manifests.
Zen'in Naobito forced the corners of his mouth to curl up into a smile.
"Very good, now this is more like it," he said.
In the next instant, the dragon claw descended from the sky.
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