Two minutes earlier.
"Then I should get ready too. We can't just let Sukuna keep acting so smug."
By now, Kashimo's defeat on the battlefield was already certain. In the viewing room, the one who stood up was Satoru, Utahime and Gakuganji followed closely behind him.
All three had serious expressions. After all, they were about to face what might be the strongest existence in history.
Although he did not say it aloud, Satoru knew very well that with Kashimo's strength, even if he used an innate technique he had never revealed before, he could not possibly hold Sukuna off for long.
The first person to take the field was about to lose, and Satoru happened to be able to answer the show of force Sukuna had given them.
"Sensei~ Your technique is in the way."
Just as Satoru was about to teleport away with the other two, Yuji raised his hand from behind. He seemed to want to pat Satoru on the back, but Infinity stopped him.
'So that's how it is~'
The serious look disappeared from Satoru's face. He grabbed his coat and pulled it off in one motion, revealing his sturdy body wrapped in a black compression shirt.
"Come on, bring it on!"
The compression shirt was the same kind Toji had worn back then.
Satoru could never forget the first defeat of his life on the day he awakened. Therefore, in a battle where he could finally use his full strength again after so long, he wanted to keep that lesson in mind. At the same time, he wanted Sukuna to experience that same taste of defeat.
Smack!
With a loud laugh, Yuji's palm landed on Satoru's back after he turned off Infinity, producing a crisp sound. It was just like a teammate giving him an encouraging pat before he stepped onto the field for a match.
"I'm coming too!"
Behind him, the other Tokyo Jujutsu High students followed Yuji with smiles on their faces. They sent their "strongest" off to battle in their own ways, some patting him on the back and others even giving him a kick.
"Be careful above all else. It's not like we're out of people over here."
"Gojo-san, good luck!"
Nanami and Haibara encouraged him with their words.
"If things really don't work out, I can take your place too."
Shoko joked as she held an unlit cigarette between her lips.
'This isn't bad either... If those two guys were here too, I would probably be even more excited.'
Satoru was satisfied. Yet among the crowd, his one and only best friend was missing, along with the guy he had "never gotten along" with since their student days.
'Still, it would definitely be interesting to defeat Sukuna before they get here.'
Satoru smiled and waved at the students before teleporting away with Gakuganji and Utahime.
When they stopped, they were already standing atop a tall building several kilometers away from the battlefield.
"Gojo-san..."
Ijichi had been waiting for them for some time.
"Just keep an eye on Kashimo's situation. We'll take care of everything here, just like we used to."
Originally, Satoru had planned to have Ijichi use barrier techniques to create a diversion before the attack. However, he had changed his mind.
He was going to face Sukuna openly and bombard him the moment Kashimo went down.
"Yes!"
Ijichi pushed up his glasses, feeling a slight sting in his nose.
He was not cut out to be a jujutsu sorcerer, which was why he had become an assistant manager. Even so, ever since he entered Jujutsu High and up until now, his seniors had never once failed to stand in front of him and shield him from danger.
What could he possibly do to repay them for all they had done for him?
"Let's begin."
Satoru tossed his coat aside.
Meanwhile, Gakuganji, dressed in his usual trendy clothes, had already started playing his guitar. Beside him, Utahime began dancing to the sound of the music.
Solo Forbidden Area had begun.
This was Utahime's innate technique and one of the reasons she was hardly ever involved in combat as a jujutsu sorcerer.
Solo Forbidden Area could temporarily increase the total amount of cursed energy and maximum output of any jujutsu sorcerer within the technique's range, including Utahime herself.
One had to understand that the total amount of cursed energy and maximum cursed energy output were extremely difficult for a sorcerer to increase. In most cases, only a life-threatening Binding Vow could serve as the basis for increasing the latter, just like Mei Mei's Bird Strike.
Essentially, by sacrificing the life of a crow as part of the Binding Vow, the limit of its cursed energy output could be released.
Utahime's technique, however, could accomplish the same thing directly. Because of this, she and Shoko both belonged to the extreme support type of jujutsu sorcerer and never went on missions alone.
However, the way Utahime used her technique was also different from that of ordinary jujutsu sorcerers.
In the jujutsu world, almost everyone pursued the ultimate form of "subtraction." How many incantations, hand signs, and other components of a technique could be omitted, as well as how many steps of activating the technique could be removed, became one of the standards for judging a jujutsu sorcerer's skill.
Utahime, however, did not remove a single step when using her technique.
Incantations, hand signs, music, and dance. All four worked together to bring her technique's effects to their peak, taking the enhancement it could normally provide and raising it even further to a 120% increase.
As she moved her body in the dance, powerful cursed energy also began to radiate from Satoru.
The forces of the forward and reversed applications of his technique slowly emerged behind him and had already begun to merge together.
"Nine Ropes, Polarized Light, Crow and Declaration, Between Front and Back…"
The complete chant had already raised the power of Hollow Purple to its maximum.
This Purple had a power that could be called 200% of its usual strength. All that remained was an opportunity to fire it.
"Kashimo is dead!"
At that exact moment, Ijichi had completely witnessed the God of Lightning's fall through the livestream on his phone. He hurriedly shouted toward Satoru in front of him.
"Perfect timing."
Kashimo had entered the battle with the resolve to die from the very beginning. No one would feel regret or sorrow over his death.
Satoru raised his right hand toward that direction.
"Hollow Purple!"
Powerful cursed energy burst forth. The Hollow Purple carrying the full might of the "strongest" shot toward Sukuna with overwhelming force.
Everything in its path, including towering buildings, was crushed to pieces in an instant.
Although Purple's power had been greatly consumed over the several kilometers it traveled, it still possessed terrifying destructive force.
* * *
"Trying to play little tricks like this, Satoru Gojo?"
The attack had not been concealed in the slightest, so Sukuna quickly noticed Purple approaching.
In fact, he could have easily dodged it. But Sukuna had no intention of doing so.
Just as Purple was about to reach him, he extended one hand and suddenly grabbed the space in front of him before pulling it sharply to the side.
That terrifying Hollow Purple was actually twisted and deflected by his Sky Manipulation. It curved around him and flew toward the rear.
"You're really good at cheating~"
Purple had only just passed by Sukuna when Satoru's figure descended from the sky. He did not forget to mock Sukuna as he landed.
In reality, this was exactly what Satoru had expected. Sukuna had clearly put a great deal of effort into dealing with his Infinity.
But did that also mean he was unwilling to confront Satoru directly?
"You sent someone here to die as an appetizer, and you're asking who the cheater is?" Sukuna scoffed at Satoru's words.
"You seem to have misunderstood something. But your actions have already proven my point, so let me make it clear once again."
Satoru raised his index finger. "You're the challenger."
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