Toge gauged the distance. Even with the loss of Mezu, Usami didn't seem bothered, but now Toge knew why. Usami Kato was a name spoken alongside Mei Mei and Atsuya Kusakabe. They were generally regarded as the strongest First Grade sorcerers of their generation, but where Mei Mei and Kusakabe had been more popular, owing to taking more public-facing missions, Usami was different.
Everything about him was tied to rumors and stories. He was the person the elders sent to do their dirty work. Toge knew little about him, his technique, or his skills. All he knew about the man was his strength, and considering what he had shown so far, that was not in doubt.
"So, why are you doing this? I did not take the Inumakis for stupid. Your clan has always been one governed by logic and self-control, owing to the danger of your technique. So why would the boy rumored to be the most talented Inumaki in a generation attack the higher-ups?"
Toge ignored the question. Instead, his eyes narrowed as he glanced around. Running away was not an option, despite how easy it would have been to. Usami knew his face, his name, his identity. If the older man got away today, he would make this an issue, and it would blow back on the Gojos and the Fushiguros. Toge was not going to let that happen. He had to kill him here.
He took a step forward, and Gozu took a matching step forward to block its master and summoner.
But the question remained, could he? He had learned some things from the past exchange, but was that enough to win? Mezu was monstrously strong and fast, while Gozu was monstrously tough, judging by the bone plates that covered his body strategically.
One was a spear, the other a shield.
Shikigami users had a major weakness: poor close combat abilities. But where figures like Megumi and Geto bypassed that weakness by training their bodies harder than most, Usami bypassed it by passing on whatever damage he got to his Shinigami. It seemed they could also pass their own to him as well.
With these details, it was better to retreat, to immediately report this to either Gojo. He was certain they would help him, and while Usami Kato was strong, Satoru and Jiki's strength were unfathomable.
"Or are you doing this because of that hideous abomination of a cursed puppet I killed?"
Toge's thought process ground to a halt. Every single thing that required his conscious effort or input froze. His body stiffened, his mouth went dry, he forgot to breathe, and his jaw went slack at those words. Words that overrode reason and logic in his head.
He looked at Usami, and the man seemed unbothered by the information he had just dropped, information that Toge had been unable to get from anyone else. It suddenly made sense. If Usami was the one the higher-ups used for their dirty deeds...
KILL
Toge saw red.
His nails dug into his palms, the sudden rush of heat in his head blotting out all reason. His throat burned with the words already clawing their way up, begging to be unleashed.
His cursed energy exploded outward in a violent surge that cracked the pavement beneath his feet. The air itself seemed to distort around him as fury, pure incandescent fury, overrode every survival instinct screaming at him to retreat.
"DON'T MOVE," he commanded, and the world obeyed.
Gozu froze mid-step, its massive frame locked in place as the cursed speech carved itself into reality. But Toge wasn't done. He had been holding back, trying to conserve his throat, trying to be smart about this. That was before he knew. That was before he realized he was looking at Panda's killer.
Now, he didn't care anymore.
"KNEEL," he snarled with rage, and Gozu's legs buckled, slamming the Shinigami into the ground with enough force to crater the concrete roof.
Usami's eyes widened fractionally, the first real reaction Toge had gotten from the man. His hand moved toward another talisman, but Toge was already moving, already closing the distance.
But Gozu recovered faster than anticipated, the horse-faced Shikigami surging back to its feet with a neigh that shook the rooftop structure. It charged, and Toge met it head-on.
He was done being cautious. Done being smart. He needed everything before him to die.
The Shikigami's fist came down like a meteor, and Toge twisted aside, feeling the wind of its passage ruffle his hair. He drove his elbow into its ribs, or what passed for ribs on a cursed construct, and felt nothing but solid, unyielding cursed energy, it was like punching a mountain.
Fine. He would simply have to break the mountain.
He unsheathed a blade in one fluid movement, pumping it full of cursed energy to sharpen it, then buried it deep in the Shikigami's midframe and was rewarded with a pained bellow.
Gozu's backhand caught him across the chest, sending him skidding backward, boots scraping against concrete as he fought to stay upright. Blood filled his mouth, from his throat or the impact, he wasn't sure anymore. It didn't matter. He had left the blade in Gozu's side, yet that did not matter either. Nothing mattered other than seeing Usami dead at his feet.
He spat a mouthful of crimson to the ground and launched himself forward again with a mad scream.
This time he went low, sliding between Gozu's legs and coming up behind it. His hands found purchase on the ground and he used that leverage to flip himself onto the Shikigami's back, fingers digging into the spaces between its armored plates. Gozu roared, reaching back to grab him, but Toge was already moving, climbing higher, positioning himself.
"BREAK," he commanded, and he felt his throat burn, but his specific target had dampened the damage to him. He had been targeting the armor directly beneath his hands.
Cracks spider-webbed across Gozu's shoulder guard, and Toge drove his fist into the weakened point. His knuckles split open on impact, but he felt the armor give way, felt cursed energy leak out like blood from a wound. He snarled as he continued to pound on the spot, ignoring the pain that shot down his fingers with every blow. He pounded and pounded like a drum to the music that was Gozu's screams.
Gozu bucked like a wild animal, and Toge lost his grip and was sent flying. He hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind from his lungs, rolled with the momentum, and came up just in time to see the Shinigami's hooved feet descending toward his head.
He threw himself aside, and the stomp cratered the concrete where he had been. Chunks of debris pelted his back as he scrambled away, but Gozu was relentless. It grabbed a support pillar holding up a tank of water, ripped it free, rebar, concrete, and all, and swung it like a club.
Toge ducked under the first swing, felt it pass overhead close enough to ruffle his hair. The second swing came faster, and he had to block with his forearms. The impact rattled his bones, sending electric pain shooting up to his shoulders. But he held.
And in that moment of contact, with Gozu overextended, Toge saw his opening.
"TWIST," he commanded.
The support pillar rotated in Gozu's grip, the sudden shift in momentum yanked the Shikigami off balance. Toge didn't waste the opportunity. He surged forward, getting inside Gozu's guard, and drove his knee into the blade still stuck in the crack he had made in its armor previously. The crack widened, then as his feet touched the ground he swung on the spot and slammed his fist into the butt of the blade. Once. Twice. Three times, until he felt something give way beneath the plating as the blade pushed in to the hilt.
Gozu's elbow caught him in the side, and ribs cracked. The pain was immediate and blinding, white-hot agony that made his vision swim. But he held on, fingers hooked into the damaged armor, refusing to be dislodged.
"TEAR," he snarled, and the armor plate ripped free completely, revealing the gaping wound that the knife and his repeated blows had made.
Cursed energy poured out, destabilizing Gozu's form. The Shikigami staggered, and Toge ducked back from a flailing limb in a way that made his broken ribs scream. He ignored it. Ignored everything but the need to end this.
Gozu staggered and turned to face him, slower now, its movements less coordinated. It was damaged and vulnerable, but already Toge could see some of its injuries disappearing and appearing on Usami's form, weakening the sorcerer for a split second. Finally.
Toge's throat was agony. Each breath felt like inhaling razor blades. He could taste copper and something worse, the metallic tang of his own cursed energy mixing with blood. He was running out of time, running out of throat to sacrifice on the altar of his rage. Yet even fueled by mad rage as he was, he still had the bare bones of a plan.
He didn't need much more time, just a few more seconds before his body broke down from the reckless way he had treated it.
Gozu charged one last time, partial healing and desperation making it reckless. Its massive feet thundered against the concrete. It did not have the strength or speed of Mezu, but each step carried tons of cursed energy and momentum. He could not send it flying as he did Mezu. That was what Usami was counting on.
Toge waited, watching its approach, timing it perfectly.
Three steps away. Two. One.
"BREAK."
But this time, he wasn't targeting Gozu. He was targeting the ground beneath it.
The concrete spider-webbed instantly, structural integrity destroyed by cursed speech. When Gozu's next step came down, all that mass, all that momentum, all that weight concentrated on compromised ground, the floor gave way.
The horse-faced Shikigami plunged through with a surprised bellow, its arms windmilling as it tried to catch itself on the edges. But the hole was too wide, the collapse too complete. It fell into the level below with a crash that shook the entire structure, and the level after that before finally seeming to come to a stop a few levels below, but Toge did not wait to hear all of that.
He didn't wait to see if it would recover. His eyes snapped to Usami, and the older sorcerer's expression had finally changed. No longer calculating. No longer cold. There was something that might have been concern there, or maybe just a reassessment.
Toge didn't care which.
He drew his second knife and was already moving in a charge.
Some of the injuries on Usami's body had disappeared. He must have passed them onto Mezu, but it didn't matter. Usami didn't seem like he knew what to do in close combat, and other than flooding his ears with cursed energy, the man stood there in the bare beginning of a martial art pose.
He should not have bothered blocking his ears. Toge was done relying on his technique. His throat was shredded, each breath a reminder that he'd pushed too far, used too much. Speaking again might destroy his vocal cords permanently.
He was going to kill Usami the old-fashioned way.
He closed the distance in seconds, blade leading.
Their first exchange was brutal and fast. Toge's blade swept toward Usami's throat, and the older man tried to deflect the arm, but Toge dropped the blade, and his other hand caught it. Then he swung upward, and the blade cleaved into the man's chest, cutting up.
Usami twisted as Toge lashed out with another blow, letting the strike pass harmlessly by, and his counter came lightning-fast, a palm strike aimed at Toge's solar plexus. Toge's knee shot up in time to deflect it, then he swung the blade down in a reverse grip and it plunged deep into the overstretched arm.
Usami grunted in pain and flung himself back to the edge of the rooftop, taking the knife with him, but Toge was already following after him. The injuries where not disappearing. He pressed forward with rabid intensity, eyes red, hand cocked back to punch when the least expected happened. He had been so focused on Usami, his vision completely narrowed on his best friend's killer, that he had forgotten everything else.
Usami gave a thin smile. Then the shadow fell.
The only warning was a rush of displaced air before Mezu dropped from above. The Shikigami had returned, and it was not happy. Toge saw it coming, tried to move, tried to twist out of the way, but his body was bruised and battered.
Mezu's massive fist hammered Toge into the ground with a single blow. The floor cratered, dust flying up as Toge's ribs screamed from the impact. Blood sprayed from his lips as Mezu reared back, the Shinigami landing behind him, its fist raised and ready to cave his skull in.
"Enough," Usami's voice cut through. The Shikigami halted, fist trembling inches above Toge's head.
Usami let out a sigh.
"Such waste," Usami said, standing over him. "The Inumaki clan's greatest prodigy, throwing his life away for a cursed puppet. Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Children rarely understand the bigger picture, the necessary sacrifices we make to maintain order. That abomination your principal created was too dangerous to exist. It was an idea that couldn't be allowed to bear fruit. The higher-ups were right to order its destruction, just as they'll be right to execute you for this attack."
He crouched, eyes like daggers boring into Toge. "I'll admit it. You're sharper than I expected. Stronger than I thought. No one has hurt me this much in a long time. Unfortunately, you're still a child. This is what separates you from me. A taunt like that would not have worked on anybody with experience."
A slim black binding cord slid from Usami's sleeve, wrapped with seal talismans. He reached to fasten it around Toge's neck. "You'll make a fine bargaining chip for the elders when I drag you before them. Any last words, boy? Though I suppose you've used your voice up already."
Toge tried to speak, tried to curse him, tried to do anything. But his throat was destroyed, his body broken, and darkness was creeping in at the edges of his vision.
This was it. This was how it ended.
And then something landed. Something strong. Something heavy. Toge twisted his neck to look. He was greeted by the sight of a blur. A blur of black and white.
"Unblockable Drumming Beat."
A familiar voice called out, in an unfamiliar tone, and the weight of Mezu pressing down upon him disappeared with an explosion of force as the Special Grade shikigami was sent flying off.
Despite the broken-down and battered body, Toge forced himself to move. He looked at the hulking figure standing protectively above him. The figure let out a huff of steamy breath, eyes not focused on him but on the frozen figure of Usami.
"Impossible," Toge lisped in shock.
"Not impossible, Inumaki-san," the gruff voice of Principal Yaga reached out as he stepped forward from behind. "Improbable. Now stay down. Let us take over from here."
...
The surroundings were silent and empty.
Satoru stepped into the ruins, hands in his pockets, Six Eyes flicking across the scorched landscape. It wasn't hard to picture what had happened here. He could see it in the torn earth, the shattered stone, the outlines of destruction burned into the air itself.
Sukuna's scar was unmistakable. A gash across the world. Satoru did not know the name of the attack, but he had heard enough about it. He had read archaic tomes where it was noted that Sukuna used a strange technique to burn and obliterate entire groups of sorcerers. The ground still steamed from where Toji's body had been reduced to nothing. Even without cursed energy perception, anyone could tell a god had fought a monster here.
The Sorcerer Killer, the man who had nearly killed Satoru himself years ago, the legendary assassin who had built his entire reputation on being unkillable, was dead. Reduced to ash by a technique that predated modern civilization.
Satoru's gaze lingered on a single spot, charred black, the ashes scattered but heavy with cursed residue. He crouched, quiet and brought out a plastic container pulled from his coat. He lowered himself without quite kneeling, Infinity still maintaining that paper-thin barrier between him and the ground. His hands moved carefully, reverently almost, as he gathered what remained of Toji. The ashes were so fine they barely had weight, threatening to slip through his fingers or scatter in the faint breeze.
"You went out like yourself, old man," Satoru muttered under his breath, rising to his feet. His voice was flat, but there was something buried under it, a respect he'd never say out loud. He looked to the distance, to where a clan of curse users were huddled, then to the building on the outskirts, empty of people.
Then he teleported away, the devastation disappearing in a blur of compressed space, replaced by the familiar grounds of Tokyo Jujutsu High.
Jiki was waiting.
His cousin stood near the main building, hands in his pockets, posture relaxed in a way that was completely artificial. Satoru could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his cursed energy was pulled tight like a coiled spring. Jiki's eyes, red and black, locked onto the container in Satoru's hands immediately.
Neither of them spoke for a moment.
Satoru watched understanding dawn on Jiki's face. Saw Jiki's expression shift from tense anticipation to something harder, colder, more controlled. Jiki's cursed energy spiked for a fraction of a second before he clamped down on it, forcing it back under control with the kind of discipline that came from years of practice.
No words were needed. He didn't ask. He already knew.
Together, they made their way to the Fushiguro household.
The knock had barely landed before the door burst open. Tsumiki stood there, brown hair loose, eyes already searching Satoru's face. Then her gaze dropped to the container in his hand. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. The tears hit before the words.
She collapsed against the doorframe, sobbing.
Megumi's hand came around her shoulder, pulling her close. His eyes were red-rimmed, but he didn't cry. He just looked at the jar. Looked at Satoru. Looked at Jiki. His eyes were cold, eyes that burned with vengeance. The cycle of hatred was a familiar thing to Jiki. It was a cycle that had built his previous world, and it seemed to be one that was present here as well.
"We have a funeral to plan," Megumi finally said, his voice a low whisper.
No one moved for a long time. The sound of Tsumiki's sobbing was the only thing alive in the wake of Toji Fushiguro's death.