The battle reached a lull. Neither side pressed forward; a massive amount of Cursed Energy and Cursed Energy was repairing Hanami's body, and Kakashi didn't take the offensive either.
Its opponent's regenerative ability was too powerful. Moreover, its suspected Wood Style-like abilities made him hesitant to act rashly. His own advantage wasn't as great as he had imagined.
The surprise attack with Raikiri hadn't killed it, which meant other methods would be even more difficult.
After weighing the pros and cons, Kakashi decided on a strategic retreat, but...
"The number you have dialed is currently busy..."
He couldn't get through!
Several minutes had passed, and Gojo Satoru's line was still unreachable. Coincidentally, this was happening right as Hanami launched its invasion.
As someone who had survived the world of Naruto, where even children were sent to the battlefield to kill, Kakashi sensed the stench of conspiracy.
At this very moment, a Special Grade Cursed Spirit was invading, and Gojo Satoru was unreachable.
Had he just stumbled into a war between Cursed Spirits and the jujutsu world?
Kakashi hesitated on whether to retreat, but after a moment of thought, he decided to keep the opponent here.
His presence was surely not part of the Cursed Spirit's plan. As long as he could hold it back, it would be a victory.
If nothing else, he would at least be doing Jujutsu High a favor. As a newcomer, building a good relationship with them couldn't be a mistake.
The Sharingan consumed a great deal of Chakra, but he had more than enough to hold out for a while.
'Stop the enemy, and at the same time, keep trying to contact Gojo Satoru.'
While recovering his stamina, Kakashi used his Sharingan to observe the flow of his opponent's Cursed Energy.
The distance to Jujutsu High is short from here, so the advantage is mine!
What he didn't know was that Schwarzer, who had been watching the show from high above, had already jammed all signals in the area. In other words, it was impossible for him to contact Gojo Satoru...
"I'll give you one last chance. Leave now, and no one will get hurt."
Hanami's body had fully recovered. Cursed Spirits could directly use Cursed Energy to repair themselves, something that was difficult for jujutsu sorcerers to do.
Faced with Hanami's offer to surrender, Kakashi remained silent, preparing for battle.
If it was just a matter of stalling for time, the best option was...
The people of this world had no knowledge of the Sharingan, so naturally, they wouldn't be on guard against it.
Seeing that its wounds had healed, Kakashi activated a genjutsu. He silently formed hand seals, and a new Shadow Clone took his place.
Hanami kept its eyes fixed on Kakashi's movements, wary of another surprise attack.
While Kakashi's previous Raikiri hadn't been fatal, the wound it inflicted was not minor. It would take considerable time and Cursed Energy to heal.
Since the opponent had no way to kill it, a battle of attrition would surely lead to its victory. Sensing the potent Cursed Energy in the surroundings, Hanami was confident of this.
Unfortunately, time was what it lacked most. Despite being a powerhouse suited for prolonged battles of attrition, it was being forced into a quick, decisive fight.
However, for the plan to succeed, this was a necessary sacrifice. It was clear that Hanami fully believed in Kenjaku's plan.
Eradicate humanity and restore nature. To do that, they had to eliminate Gojo Satoru, humanity's strongest.
The appointed time was fast approaching. Kenjaku and the others would move to seize Sukuna's fingers and the Cursed Womb: Death Paintings. It had to draw Gojo Satoru's attention!
"In that case, I'll just have to bury you here."
A multitude of tree roots reappeared, but Kakashi was already prepared and dodged them with ease.
'Just as I thought. He fell for it.'
Hanami felt it had grasped its opponent's combat rhythm. Flower buds hidden underground suddenly burst open, firing a volley of green spores like bullets.
Caught off guard by this move, Kakashi hurriedly dodged, but a few spores still managed to hit, biting into his body.
'This thing... is it absorbing my Chakra?'
As a Shadow Clone, he quickly realized this. The spores' attack power wasn't high, but they could devour his Chakra.
Luckily, the damage was low; otherwise, his identity as a clone would have been exposed.
Hanami's spores could absorb Cursed Energy. The more one used techniques, the harder it was to get rid of them.
The experienced Kakashi perceived this instantly. Without using Chakra, he quickly crushed the few spores with his bare hands.
But that moment was enough for Hanami to attack. It burst out from underground, aiming a fierce kick at Kakashi's chest.
Thud! With a dull sound, Kakashi crossed his arms just in time to block the powerful kick.
However, his body flew backward uncontrollably. Seeing this, Hanami smiled faintly.
Its Cursed Technique allowed it to manipulate plants over a wide area, meaning it was fully capable of long-range attacks.
A wall of wooden spikes shot up from the ground, appearing right behind Kakashi. Hearing the sound, Kakashi had already noticed the flow of Cursed Energy.
'Behind me!'
Although he couldn't see it, he had already guessed what the enemy had done. His hands, nearly numb from the kick, formed a seal—Body Flicker Technique!
Simple, yet effective. It was one of the three basic ninjutsu every ninja had to learn.
Kakashi looked at the log that had been impaled by countless spikes, gaining a better understanding of his opponent's methods.
It was almost all Wood Style-like abilities, from manipulating tree roots to the Chakra-devouring seeds. Based on his previous conversation with Gojo Satoru, this must be what they called a 'Cursed Technique,' right?
Sorcerers were different from ninja. He possessed a vast number of ninjutsu, whereas a sorcerer typically had only one Cursed Technique. This naturally gave him more options for countermeasures.
On the other side, with all its continuous attacks being thwarted by Kakashi, Hanami also felt this was becoming troublesome.
It couldn't see through Kakashi's techniques at all—the ability to attack with lightning, to teleport and switch places with a log, to conceal his presence...
But no matter how versatile the opponent's abilities were, he would eventually have to attack. Hanami immediately changed its strategy.
While forcing Kakashi to move with a constant barrage of tree roots, it deliberately began to enclose the battlefield.
Hanami could see that Kakashi was stalling for time. It couldn't afford to drag this out any longer.
The area for movement was shrinking as Hanami tightened the encirclement. The grass beneath its feet had withered at some point...
The tree roots shielded its body, serving both as a defense against Kakashi's lightning-like attack and as a cover for its actions. It was absorbing the life force of plants and converting it into Cursed Energy!
Kakashi was indeed in no hurry, but this stalling strategy had also given Hanami an opportunity to prepare.
"Now!"
Having absorbed enough Cursed Energy, the roots in front of Hanami parted in an instant, revealing its body.
On its left arm, a red flower was blooming—a cannon of light formed from a massive amount of Cursed Energy.
"What?!"
There was no time to react. The Kakashi that had been stalling was instantly engulfed by the cannon of light, seemingly turned to ash by the unstoppable Cursed Energy... or was he?
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Having gathered most of his Chakra, the real Kakashi reappeared in front of Hanami.
It wasn't just Hanami that had been waiting for an opportunity. He had been acting the entire time, baiting it into revealing its trump card.
The Shadow Clone had worked wonders once again, fooling even a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.
A giant fireball the size of a dump truck slammed down, its flames perfectly countering Hanami's plant-based Cursed Technique.
"Did I win?"
His Chakra heavily depleted, Kakashi covered his Sharingan, which had been active for a long time, and panted to recover his stamina.
In front of him lay a patch of grassland, completely burned to ashes by the flames.
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