"After all, this is Tokyo. If you release a cursed spirit's presence on purpose, people from the jujutsu world will show up soon enough. Not a bad plan," Toji said after kicking the old man flying. He turned and saw Mukuro's hand signal telling him everything was under control, then sneered at their foes. "Too bad. Taking care of you won't even take that long."
His shoulders dipped slightly, every muscle carved tight like stone. A savage aura spilled from his body, more beast than man.
"Then come try, brat!" The old man's red, fish-like face twisted with rage. He raised both hands, summoning a large sphere of water in his palms, and hurled it down like a wrestler slamming his opponent. The orb stretched into a raging torrent that roared through the room.
Toji smirked and vanished from sight, moving faster than the eye could follow. In the old man's ears, only the cutting wind remained.
'What is this ability? Why can't I sense any cursed energy flow from him?' The old man's gaze darted around, catching only afterimages. After invoking a grade 1 cursed spirit's power, his strength was more than doubled, yet against this man, he was still utterly helpless. Fear crept in, gnawing at the edges of his mind.
"Damn it… Ocean Current Defense!" The old man spread his arms wide. Streams of water wrapped around him, forming a sphere like a cocoon. "Come on! Any attack that enters this barrier will be weakened endlessly. If you don't value your life, then try!"
This was the ability of the grade 1 imaginary cursed spirit known as Umibōzu, a sea demon. Even away from the ocean, he could conjure vast currents at will.
In the next second, Toji's long blade pierced into the watery shield. Just as the old man had claimed, the strike lost momentum instantly. What had been a blistering thrust slowed as soon as the blade touched the sphere, grinding down until it almost stopped.
"Got you! Die, brat!" The old man's hand shot out from within the water, gripping the edge of the blade with cursed-energy-clad fingers. The sphere collapsed as he lunged, his fist surging forward.
"You senile fool!" Toji taunted. He released the sword, tilted his head to dodge the strike, and slid a dagger from his clothes with his other hand.
The sharp edge sank into flesh.
The old man looked down. The dagger was buried deep in his chest, crimson spilling from the wound.
"Khah!"
A metallic taste flooded his throat and he coughed up blood.
Clink!
But before Toji could carve deeper, the dagger snapped. The blade tip was stuck inside the old man while he was left with just the broken hilt.
"So even his body is as tough as a grade 1 cursed spirit…" Toji murmured, casually dodging the old man's desperate counterattack and staring at the useless handle. That dagger had been his only semi-grade 2 cursed tool. At best, stabbing with it might hurt, but that was all.
The old man ignored the blade still lodged in his chest. He charged forward madly, convinced this was his one chance to exploit an opening. He could not hesitate.
Smack!
Toji suddenly flung the broken handle at his opponent's face and sidestepped, his right hand closing around the hilt of his long sword again.
Blood splattered in the air.
The old man stiffened as his left hand went numb. He glanced over in shock. His five fingers, the ones that had been gripping the sword's edge, had all been severed.
"Looks like the kid's blade holds up better. No time to let you mourn, old man." Toji's strikes rained down. Steel flashed, cutting one wound after another into the elder's body. The man covered himself with cursed energy, desperately resisting, but it was no use.
"Grandpa!" On the other side, Kunihide caught a glimpse of the carnage. Panic filled his eyes as he shouted. He wanted to rush in and help, but Mukuro's trident kept him locked in place.
"Crow Cloud!"
Not daring to turn his attention elsewhere, he roared and cast his technique. Dozens of crows materialized in the air, swarming toward Toji.
"Hm?" Toji simply turned his blade, and in an instant, the flock was shredded. Yet that brief distraction was enough for the old man to retreat.
'I can't… I must summon another cursed spirit. A special grade this time…' He staggered backward. His severed fingers regrew quickly under the cursed spirit's powerful regenerative ability, but his face twisted with dread. A special grade cursed spirit was beyond his control. He would be devoured instantly, his body reduced to feed. Even if it worked, he had no control over what would appear.
But faced with these two monsters, even the power of two grade 1 curses wasn't enough.
'Their strength… they're both at the level of grade 1 sorcerers!'
"Kunihide, run! Survive until the Jujutsu High sends someone!" The old man's hands pressed together once more, preparing to sacrifice his own body to summon something stronger.
"You really want to try again?" Toji appeared in front of him, sword raised.
"Grandpa, don't!" Kunihide's voice cracked. His eyes widened, tears streaming down as he stretched his arms toward the old man.
"Who said you could be distracted?" A cold voice whispered behind him. Then came the sound of tearing flesh.
Kunihide outstretched arms flew high above him, severed cleanly. His body collapsed to the floor, weakened by the sudden loss.
"God Feeding Art…" the old man tried to chant. But the ritual never finished. Toji's blade cleaved down, sliding from shoulder to waist.
The mighty body of a grade 1 cursed spirit was split in two as though it were nothing. His upper half slid down and crashed onto the ground in a pool of blood.
"Grandpa…" Kunihide stared as the strongest man in their clan was killed before his eyes. Tears blurred his vision, his mind blank with shock.
The sound of a blade cutting flesh echoed again. Agony tore through him as he realized his legs had been sliced off by Mukuro's trident. Wailing, his legs slowly regenerated through cursed spirit resilience.
"Why… why target us? We're not the only ones who've done bad things! Countless sorcerers out there have done worse. Why won't you leave us alone? Do you really think killing a few monkeys erases all we've contributed to the jujutsu world?!" He forced himself up, blood staining his face, and shouted in despair.
"You're right," Mukuro said calmly. His trident spun idly in his hands as he stepped closer. "But it has nothing to do with us."
"Crow Cloud!" Kunihide screamed abruptly, cursed energy bursting from his body. A storm of crows exploded into the room, swarming around both assassins.
"God Feeding Art: Divine Descent, Special Grade Imaginary Vengeful Cursed Spirit!"
Mukuro made his way through the black mass, charging toward him. But Kunihide had already brought his hands together at his chest. His technique flared to life.
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