As Chinatsu formed the hand sign, a layer of cloud-like Cursed Energy instantly emanated from her center, and the ground beneath her feet transformed into a clear, moonlit lake.
The dreamy, spherical barrier completely enveloped Chinatsu and Kenjaku. This sight was undoubtedly a standard Closed Domain.
Observing the scene, although Kenjaku was shocked that Chinatsu had awakened a Domain so soon after reaching adulthood, it remained completely confident in its own Domain.
Domains are categorized into two types: the Closed Domain, mastered by the majority, and the Open Domain, mastered by a select few.
A Closed Domain, as the name implies, generates a spherical barrier that traps both the user and the opponent, creating an area that is advantageous to the user but detrimental to the enemy.
An Open Domain, conversely, does not establish a restrictive wall barrier, giving the enemy Jujutsu Sorcerer a chance to flee the Domain's range. However, by sacrificing the barrier, the Open Domain's effective area is significantly strengthened.
If an Open Domain clashes with a Closed Domain, the Open Domain can target the Closed Domain's relatively fragile outer shell, thus destroying the Closed Domain from the outside.
Thinking this, Kenjaku immediately set about increasing the range and power of its Open Domain, concentrating its firepower to attack the outer shell of Chinatsu's Domain.
Under the loud external Cursed Energy attacks, the shell of Chinatsu's Closed Domain developed winding cracks, and complete destruction was only seconds away.
Watching the scales of victory tip back in its favor, Kenjaku's lips curled slightly. It declared that its millennia of accumulated experience would not lose to a mere brat.
It clenched its fist, and surging Cursed Energy gathered within it. It prepared to use this single strike to simultaneously destroy Chinatsu's body and the Domain.
While charging, it looked at Chinatsu, who was still maintaining the hand sign. Although it felt a slight confusion about what Chinatsu was doing, the favorable situation at hand prevented it from dwelling on the thought.
With a loud "Swoosh!", Kenjaku instantly lunged from its spot and appeared before Chinatsu. At the same moment, Chinatsu's Domain was destroyed by Kenjaku, and Chinatsu, having lost her Limitless Defense, was exposed to Kenjaku's powerful Cursed Energy output.
Bang!!!
Kenjaku's swift punch pierced Chinatsu's abdomen, splattering droplets of blood onto its skin and face.
Victory!
The moment those two words flashed in Kenjaku's mind, its pupils involuntarily trembled, and the scene before its eyes suddenly underwent a massive change.
Chinatsu had not been pierced by its fist; she was still standing in place making the hand sign, and Kenjaku itself showed no sign of having moved from its original position, maintaining the exact posture it held when Chinatsu first initiated her Domain Expansion.
Could it be... an illusion?
The moment this idea flashed through Kenjaku's mind, it instantly rejected it.
While explaining the recent situation using the concept of an illusion was barely plausible, Kenjaku's subconscious told it that the answer was incorrect, or perhaps, not that simple.
Since it could not deduce the answer, Kenjaku's only recourse was practical testing.
It initiated a second attempt, mobilizing the Cursed Energy output of its Open Domain to attack the fragile outer shell of Chinatsu's Closed Domain.
Sharp sounds of "Crack! Crack! Crack!" echoed from the fragile outer shell of Chinatsu's Domain. Identical to the previous illusory scene, the outer shell of the Closed Domain once again showed dense cracks.
Kenjaku gathered Cursed Energy across its entire body, charging toward Chinatsu like an iron-clad rhinoceros. Just as its fist was about to pierce Chinatsu's body, Chinatsu reacted this time, blocking Kenjaku's attack with crossed arms.
Seeing the change from the previous attempt, Kenjaku was delighted, believing this round was reality, not an illusion. It continued its relentless assault on Chinatsu.
A few seconds later, the outer shell of Chinatsu's Closed Domain was destroyed, and Kenjaku seized the opportunity to punch through Chinatsu's chest, splattering fresh blood from her chest onto its body.
This sensation, this temperature, this change... Victory?!
Kenjaku's pupils trembled once again. It returned to its original position, and Chinatsu was still standing safe and sound before it, performing the Buddha's palm mudra.
"Tsk, the third round, then..."
Kenjaku couldn't help but click its tongue, venting the frustration in its heart. After two experiments, it generally understood that it had definitely fallen for a trick, and this current round was still just a false illusion.
While Kenjaku was deep in thought, Chinatsu, who had been maintaining the hand sign, exhaled a puff of cold air. Although her cheeks were covered in sweat, her eyes sparkled with sharp light.
Looking at Chinatsu, who gathered Cursed Energy into her clenched fist, Kenjaku didn't pay much attention, merely mobilizing its own Cursed Energy before adopting a defensive stance with crossed arms.
Chinatsu's eyes narrowed. She used teleportation to quickly appear in front of Kenjaku, swinging her fist, which was charged with fierce Cursed Energy, directly toward Kenjaku's head.
Kenjaku reacted quickly, slightly raising its crossed-arm defense. It intended to take the blow head-on and then switch to a new method to break the environmental trick of this round.
But just as the fist rapidly approached and made contact with Kenjaku's body, a genuine, powerful impact rushed over and violently spread throughout Kenjaku's body.
Wait, this impact... could this be real?!
Kenjaku hurriedly tried to increase its Cursed Energy output for defense, but the moment the physical strike landed, streaks of Black Flash were reflected in both their pupils.
When the margin of error between Cursed Energy output and physical impact is less than 0.000001 seconds, spacetime distortion occurs at the point of impact, increasing the power of the strike to the normal power raised to the 2.5th power.
Black Flash!!!
Kenjaku's legs left the ground, and its entire body was sent flying by the strike laced with Black Flash, while it simultaneously spat out a mouthful of blood.
Simultaneously, Kenjaku's Domain collapsed, unable to be maintained due to the severe damage to its body. Chinatsu's Domain, "Mirror Flower, Water Moon", automatically dispelled because it was incomplete due to being deployed for the first time.
The flying Kenjaku finally crashed into a large tree, stopping only after breaking the tree clean in half.
Its face was twisted in pain, and both arms used for defense were broken by the previous Black Flash strike. Fortunately, under the healing of Reverse Cursed Technique, this physical injury was nothing serious.
Gazing from afar at Chinatsu, who wore an expression of exhilaration, it knew this fight could not continue. The opponent was not a person; she was clearly a monster.
Future plans must be reformulated. When it considered that this era also contained a Rikugan / Six Eyes who might also be such a monster, it couldn't help but sigh deeply.
After a Domain collapses, the Jujutsu Sorcerer enters a state called Cursed Technique Reversal for a period of time, during which they cannot use their Innate Technique.
Concluding that Chinatsu would be unable to use teleportation to pursue it for a short time, it scrambled up from the ground and turned to flee in the opposite direction from Chinatsu...