Within the forest, beside a certain stream.
Boom—!
The ground shook violently as countless thick tree trunks burst forth from the earth, surging like a tidal wave toward a single direction.
Several figures darted and leapt amid the onslaught of wooden branches, struggling just to hold on.
Before they could even catch their breath, scorching flames roared in.
"Watch out!"
Todo Aoi shouted a warning to the others.
The intense heat instantly ignited the surrounding trees, leaving charred black scorch marks across the ground. Fortunately, because the attacker was acting rather casually—and because everyone managed to dodge in time after the warning—no one was injured.
Unlike the original story, due to An Xora and Seele's prior interventions, the plot at this point had already diverged beyond recognition.
In the original timeline, only Hanami, a single Special Grade curse, attacked the students of the jujutsu schools. Now, however, the attackers consisted of Hanami, Jogo, and the three Death Painting brothers—Choso, Eso, and Kechizu—a total of five Special Grade curses.
During the initial wave of attacks, the students who had gathered together to resist were forcibly scattered. Miwa Kasumi and Nishimiya Momo fell into the encirclement of Choso, Eso, and Kechizu, while the remaining students were deliberately driven by Hanami and Jogo toward this forest stream, splitting the battlefield into two separate zones.
This was done because Kenjaku had instructed the curses in advance that their mission was merely to stall for time. Using the students of the two schools as hostages while dividing the battlefield was the most efficient way to buy as much time as possible.
"Hanami, be careful. Don't let these humans escape."
With a volcano crater atop his head, Jogo continued unleashing flame attacks while reminding Hanami beside him.
Hanami nodded.
With its abilities, if it truly wanted to, not a single human present would be able to escape.
In fact, neither Jogo nor Hanami was fighting seriously at the moment. They were merely attacking casually.
After all, their purpose here was only to delay. To a certain extent, these humans were bargaining chips meant to draw the attention of the humans outside the barrier. Moreover, among them was Sukuna's vessel, making it all the more important not to go all out.
The same was true on the Death Painting brothers' side.
That said, not going all out didn't mean they couldn't torment these humans a little.
A stream of blazing magma surged through the group of jujutsu students. Just as they thought they had avoided the attack, the magma suddenly detonated a second time.
In an instant, Todo Aoi, Zen'in Maki, and Inumaki Toge, who were closest, suffered severe burns across their bodies.
"Senpai!"
Seeing this, Fushiguro Megumi quickly formed hand signs, preparing to summon shikigami, while Kamo Noritoshi activated his clan technique—Blood Manipulation: Piercing Blood.
But before either of them could strike, massive trees erupted beneath their feet, interrupting their attacks and binding them tightly in place.
"Hang in there!"
Seeing this, Itadori Yuji and Panda rushed forward to help, only to be intercepted by Jogo, who had appeared before them out of nowhere. With a punch to each, he sent them flying.
In just a few brief moments, not a single figure on the battlefield remained standing.
"This is all you've got. Humans are weak creatures, after all. Losing to us—the true new humans—is only natural."
Jogo sneered disdainfully.
Unlike in the original story, where he had already been thoroughly beaten by Gojo, this version of Jogo had yet to suffer such humiliation. At this stage, he looked down on humans entirely.
After all, in his view, how could fragile humans ever compare to curses like them—beings born from disaster itself, from primal fear, wielding immense power from the moment of birth?
Suddenly, Hanami turned its gaze toward a certain direction. Jogo, whose perception was slightly inferior to Hanami's within the forest, followed suit a moment later.
From that direction, an overwhelmingly powerful cursed energy signature was rapidly approaching.
"So they're here."
Both Jogo and Hanami understood immediately—this was one of the powerful human combatants Kenjaku had warned them about.
Cursed energy surged in his hands. Believing in striking first, Jogo immediately launched an attack toward the incoming presence.
"Let me see whether this one is truly strong, or just another weakling praised by fools."
A massive pillar of fire tore through the forest, obliterating countless trees and triggering a colossal explosion in the distance. Blazing flames soared skyward.
Yet before the explosion had even settled, a figure wielding a scythe abruptly appeared behind Jogo.
Slash!
The scythe swept across Jogo's body in a single stroke. Fortunately, Jogo managed to turn in time and raise both arms to block, avoiding being cut in half—though at the cost of both arms being severed.
"So fast… no—she appeared instantly!"
This must be the newly promoted Special Grade sorcerer with a suspected spatial technique, the one Geto had mentioned.
As he rapidly regenerated his arms with cursed energy, Jogo hastily retreated.
Seeing this, Hanami immediately activated its abilities to cover Jogo's withdrawal.
Rumble—!
The earth shook again as countless thick tree trunks burst forth, surging toward the girl like a flood.
However, Seele, scythe in hand, didn't even spare them a glance. Her figure vanished in an instant, and all the trees around her were severed simultaneously.
"Now! Let's get everyone out of here as fast as possible!"
Taking advantage of Seele's attack to break free from Hanami's restraints, Fushiguro Megumi, already experienced in such situations, immediately called out to Kamo Noritoshi. Together, they hoisted the fallen students and retreated rapidly from the battlefield.
"Detestable human… why does your body carry the aura of our own kind?"
Having fully regenerated his arms, Jogo ignored the retreating students—they were irrelevant.
What mattered was this: why could he sense the presence of a fellow curse within this human girl?
Could it be that she, too, was a vessel possessed by some powerful curse?
With that thought, Jogo once more gathered cursed energy and rushed toward Seele, flames erupting violently at point-blank range.
Yet every flame that struck her body passed straight through, as if touching nothing but an illusion.
Unable to touch her at all—this must be the second ability Geto had mentioned, the one said to evade even domain effects…
Bang!
Seele's foot slammed into Jogo's abdomen, sending him flying backward as he spat out a mouthful of purple blood.
Seeing this, Hanami prepared to activate its abilities again to stop her pursuit of Jogo—only to realize that Seele's figure had already vanished once more, reappearing directly behind it.
Slash!
The scythe cleaved through Hanami's hardened body. A physique that ordinary sorcerers could scarcely damage was, in this instant, cleanly split in two.
"Hanami!"
From afar, having just stabilized himself, Jogo cried out in shock.
In a single exchange—
One of the Four Disaster Curses, Hanami, was cut in half at the waist.
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