"Brother," Aoi Todo cracked his knuckles, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth as his aura flared, thick and violent.
"It's ti we teach this thing a lesson."
For him, there was nothing in the world more exhilarating than fighting side by side with his best friend.
"Let's go," he said, rolling his shoulders. "Guess it's finally ti to use my technique."
Yuji Itadori nodded, tightening his fists. "Yeah!"
The two charged in unison.
With Todo's Boogie Woogie swapping their positions at blinding speed, the pair overwheld the special-grade curse Hanami, their rhythm unpredictable, their attacks relentless.
Each swap was followed by a devastating strike — a blur of motion, impact, and the crackling roar of Black Flash.
If not for Hanami's inhumanly durable body, it would have been reduced to dust already.
---
Hanami steadied itself, its monstrous form trembling from the barrage.
"I see…" it rasped, its voice calm but tinged with dark amusent.
"So simple… yet so difficult to counter."
It recalled Mahito's words — "Learn to enjoy the process."
At the ti, it hadn't understood what he ant.
But now, as it stood on the edge between agony and exhilaration, it finally did.
"Ahh… so this is it. The joy of battle."
Hanami tore away the white bandages from its left arm.
What erged was a pitch-black limb, pulsing with cursed energy. From its shoulder grew a bulbous, half-blood flower — the color of blood and ash.
Pressing its hand to the ground, Hanami began to drink.
The earth cracked beneath its touch as every tree, vine, and blade of grass in a wide radius withered to gray dust. The life force of the forest flowed into that dark flower bud, feeding it.
Behind Hanami, a monstrous tree burst forth from the earth — its petals a sea of crimson mouths, each one whispering and gnashing like tiny, living curses.
The air thickened with decay and death.
---
"Yuji," Todo warned, his tone unusually serious. "Its cursed energy just spiked. Be careful."
He was still smiling — but there was no mistaking the gravity in his eyes.
"Amazing, isn't it? It's already adapting. That's what makes fighting a special grade so much fun."
He clenched his fists. "But it's not unbeatable. Not while we're together."
If it were just him alone, he knew this would already be over.
But now he had Yuji — his kindred spirit, his partner in chaos.
From the mont they t, Todo knew this boy would make life exciting again.
"You holding up okay?" Yuji asked, wiping blood from his lip.
"Please," Todo scoffed. "This? Barely a scratch."
"Then let's finish this," Yuji said, eyes blazing.
"Right here — right now."
The mory of that other curse — the stitched-faced monster who'd haunted him since Shibuya — flickered in his mind.
This one was just like it.
A spawn of the sa evil.
That was all the reason he needed.
"Die here, curse."
---
BOOM!
Just as the two were about to strike, the sky itself split open with a thunderous crack.
A shockwave rippled through the entire battlefield, shaking the earth beneath their feet.
Everyone — from the Tokyo students to the Kyoto team — froze and instinctively looked up.
The overcast clouds churned violently, their color shifting from gray to an ominous, burning red.
BOOM!
Another explosion.
Louder this ti.
Closer.
Yuji's eyes widened. "What… what is that?"
Todo turned his gaze skyward, a grin spreading across his face even as the pressure in the air grew unbearable.
"Looks like," he said with a dark chuckle, "sothing even scarier than this one just showed up."
Todo turned his gaze toward the distant sky, squinting.
A faint figure was hurtling toward them at breakneck speed.
"Yuji," he said, his grin widening. "Get ready to fall back. Looks like our backup just arrived."
Yuji shaded his eyes, trying to focus on the approaching blur.
"Wait— is that… Professor Zen'in?!"
His jaw nearly hit the ground.
Zen'in-sensei… was flying.
"What the hell…?"
He wasn't the only one gaping. Across the battlefield, students from both schools stopped mid-fight, staring in disbelief.
"Hey, wait— isn't that the Zen'in guy from Tokyo Jujutsu High?!" one Kyoto student shouted.
"Didn't they say he has no cursed energy? How's he flying?!"
Even Momo Nishimiya, who was retreating through the air with the unconscious Inumaki in tow, almost got knocked out of the sky by the sudden gust.
"Wha— what the hell?! True, I'm the one flying here, but that's just plain unnatural! Is that guy even human?!"
Below, Maki, Panda, and gumi spotted the familiar figure streaking through the air, trailing a jet of white steam like a cot.
"It's… Sensei!"
Maki's eyes sparkled with admiration. "I swear, one day I'm gonna be like him."
gumi could only sigh, a vein pulsing on his temple.
"Sensei can… fly?"
"You haven't seen him in his pri, gumi," Maki said, already puffing up with pride. "Back then, right here in this very forest, he and Gojo-sensei—"
"Ahem," Panda cut in quickly, "maybe save the fan club speech for after we escape?"
Maki pouted. "Fine, but remind later — you need to hear this story."
With that, the trio took off again. They'd regroup with the teachers first — no telling how many more special grades were lurking.
---
On the other side of the forest, Todo yanked Yuji out of Hanami's attack range just in ti.
Hanami's body went rigid.
Sothing terrifying was coming.
Its vines quivered as it looked skyward.
"That cursed energy… no… this one's different. Is it Gojo Satoru?"
But as the figure descended into view, Hanami froze.
The man's skin was crimson, muscles bulging, veins standing out beneath his flesh like cords. Steam hissed from his body as he grinned — a feral, beastlike smile that radiated killing intent.
"No cursed energy detected… Not Gojo."
A twisted sense of relief flickered through Hanami's chest.
Not Gojo — but sothing worse.
---
"Three-on-one?" Hanami growled. "So be it."
It slamd its hand to the ground, cursed energy bursting outward.
"Domain of Thorns!"
Dozens of colossal branches erupted upward, spearing toward the sky like living lances.
From above, Zen'in Shinsuke's eyes lit up.
"Found you," he said, his voice cold. "A domain technique, huh? You must be the one they call Hanami."
His legs coiled. The air cracked.
BOOM!
With a thunderclap, he dove — faster than a bullet, a red streak ripping through the clouds.
His fist clenched tight, muscles straining as steam spiraled around his arm.
When he punched, the air itself scread.
KRAAASH!
The descending blow obliterated every branch in its path, splintering Hanami's defenses like rotten wood.
Hanami's eyes widened. "Impossible—!"
It tried to retreat, but too late.
Shinsuke's body hit the ground like a teor.
BOOOOOOM!
A crater several ters deep exploded outward, shockwaves flattening the surrounding forest.
The blast hurled both Yuji and Todo into the air.
"Whoa—!!"
Todo twisted midair, landing on his feet, grabbing Yuji by the collar before he hit the ground.
"Steady yourself, brother," he grinned.
Yuji's jaw dropped. "What the hell is Zen'in-sensei doing?! He's like a walking natural disaster!"
But the crater was already empty.
Then—
CRACK!
Another explosion erupted in the distance.
Hanami's body slamd into the ground, its face crushed into the dirt. The earth split apart under the impact, vines and roots scattering.
"So fast—!" Hanami gasped, panic flooding its mind.
It hadn't even seen the attack.
Before it could move, a shadow fell over it.
Shinsuke straddled its chest, grinning down like a demon from hell.
"Hello there, little curse," he said softly.
Hanami's eyes went wide.
Then ca the pain.
Shinsuke grabbed both of its massive, rootlike eyes — and ripped them out.
Purple fluid sprayed across the ground as Hanami let out a shriek so horrible it made even the trees tremble.
"AaaaaAAAARGHHHHH!"
The agony was indescribable.
Its entire body convulsed violently, the sound raw and wet.
"Relax, little curse," Shinsuke said, flicking away the dripping eyes. "I'll make sure you don't feel a thing… soon enough."
He raised his fists — each one the size of a sledgehamr — wrapped in blood steam.
And then he started punching.
BAM. BAM. BAM. BAM.
Each strike landed like a cannon blast, pounding Hanami's skull into pulp. Purple ichor spattered across the earth, staining everything it touched.
Yuji and Todo watched from afar, their faces pale.
"Uh…" Yuji swallowed hard.
"Isn't there so rule about… not torturing living things?"
Todo crossed his arms solemnly. "Normally, yes."
He glanced at the crater, where Shinsuke was still rhythmically beating the curse into the ground.
"…But I think exceptions can be made."
---
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