"You're all so annoying... Can't modern people take a good look at the situation before opening their mouths?!"
One after another, clueless brats kept getting in her way. Yorozu's playful mood and patience had finally run out. Her tone turned cold as powerful cursed energy overflowed from her body and wrapped around her like a storm.
The next moment, the flow of cursed energy, something that should only be visible to sorcerers, suddenly became tangible. Around Yorozu's body, it solidified into something resembling flowing water, and the liquid metal drifted beside her like two silk ribbons dancing in the wind.
It was the Construction Technique. She had immediately brought out her specialty. Although she possessed the same technique as Mai, the difference between them was like night and day.
A thousand years ago, Yorozu had been powerful enough to defeat the Five Empty Generals and later receive an invitation to join the Fujiwara Clan.
The Five Empty Generals were the Fujiwara Clan's elite military force, a group renowned alongside the Sun, Moon, and Stars Squad led by Uro.
Among users of the same technique, unless one possessed overwhelming combat experience, battles between sorcerers ultimately came down to cursed energy, and Yorozu's cursed energy reserves were immense.
"What... is that thing?!"
The most shocked person was Maki. Her swinging motion with Playful Cloud froze in place.
The familiar feeling reminded her of Mai's technique. Yet even if Mai exhausted every last bit of her cursed energy, she likely couldn't create something carrying such terrifying power.
Yorozu's strength was obvious.
"Don't underestimate it," she proudly introduced her masterpiece.
Although both she and Mai possessed Construction, differences in cursed energy reserves and output allowed Yorozu to create far more things. Aside from certain special cursed tools that required engraved techniques, she could recreate nearly any material she understood.
After constructing countless weapons throughout her life, she had already discovered the combat style best suited for herself.
Liquid metal was one of her greatest creations. It was a semi-autonomous construct that, while maintaining stable physical properties through cursed energy, could also alter its size and shape according to the cursed energy she supplied afterward.
An ideal weapon.
Boom!
In an instant, the liquid metal shot toward Maki under Yorozu's control and slammed into Playful Cloud.
'It's heavy!'
Having only recently awakened, Maki managed to block the attack but was forced back several steps, surprise appearing in her eyes.
"Try paying attention to the sorcerer herself, little girl."
What Maki hadn't expected was that Yorozu had stepped onto the liquid metal. Like a skater gliding across ice, she rode it straight toward her at incredible speed.
"Wells Unknown Abyss!"
Megumi wasn't about to let that happen. The winged frogs beside him leapt into the air, their long tongues shooting out toward Yorozu.
"With this treasure, I summon..."
At the same time, he formed the hand signs for summoning Mahoraga.
Mukuro had once told him that perhaps Mahoraga could be hidden within shadows through an expanded interpretation of the technique, allowing it to adapt to enemies while remaining concealed.
Unfortunately, Megumi's physical abilities weren't strong enough, nor had his understanding of his technique reached the monstrous level of certain individuals. For now, he could only summon Mahoraga through the standard method.
"Not happening!"
However, the moment Yorozu noticed his hand signs and heard the chant, she abruptly changed directions.
Instead of continuing toward Maki, she poured cursed energy downward. The liquid metal instantly branched off and surged toward Megumi.
Meanwhile, her feet seemed fused to the metal itself, and with a series of smooth movements, she effortlessly avoided every attack from the frogs.
During her time with Sukuna, she had learned about Jujutsu High through Kenjaku. That information naturally included Mahoraga. She believed she could destroy the shikigami instantly. Still, before facing those two monsters, she wasn't willing to waste unnecessary cursed energy.
"Leave this to me!"
A new fighter entered the battlefield as a figure dropped from the sky and landed directly between Megumi and the incoming liquid metal.
His body crashed down heavily, and the moment his feet touched the ground, cracks spread across the earth.
Without hesitation, he threw a punch directly at the liquid metal. Empowered by overwhelming cursed energy, he stopped it head-on with his bare hands.
"Hakari-senpai?!" Megumi exclaimed in shock.
The newcomer was none other than Kinji Hakari, the man who had single-handedly pacified one of the Culling Game colonies.
"You guys back off. Let me show Fushiguro-san what I can do!"
There wasn't time for lengthy conversation. Facing Yorozu's approaching figure, Hakari charged forward immediately.
After all, opportunities to impress the future head of the Fushiguro family and one of the strongest people alive didn't come often. His future casino business might very well depend on it. In the rapidly changing jujutsu world, Mukuro's approval was worth more than gold.
Caught off guard, Yorozu could only hastily raise her arms. The liquid metal couldn't reshape itself quickly enough to stop Hakari's assault.
Bang!
His fist crashed into her crossed arms. The impact blasted her backward, and she slid dozens of feet before finally regaining her footing.
"Then she's all yours, gambling addict."
Seeing this, Maki lowered Playful Cloud, though she felt slightly annoyed.
She had always preferred solving problems through brute force, and after fully awakening, that tendency had only grown stronger.
But facing someone whose cursed energy output was on this level felt uncomfortable. If it had been those two, they definitely wouldn't have blocked that attack the way she had. With their speed, they would have dodged effortlessly and launched an immediate counterattack.
To become a true monster like the Fushiguro brothers, she still had a long road ahead. This body merely gave her the qualification to chase after them.
"Hurry up and go." Hakari waved them away.
His eyes narrowed as he stared at Yorozu, a trace of excitement burning within them. He could practically see his future casino thriving already.
'What monstrous cursed energy...'
On the other side, Yorozu glanced at her arms. They felt slightly numb. It was as if she had been struck by a blunt weapon.
She knew it was time to get serious. The next moment, cursed energy erupted from her body. It wrapped around her form and began constructing a massive suit of armor.
The armor covered nearly her entire body and resembled an insect. Behind it extended a pair of thin wings resembling those of a dragonfly.
Insect Armor was one of Yorozu's proudest creations.
Back during the Heian Era, the age known as the golden age of jujutsu, powerful sorcerers were everywhere. As an individual, Sukuna stood at the peak. As an organization, the Fujiwara Clan represented the strongest forces of the age.
Compared to the present, the number of powerful sorcerers back then was vastly greater. They either possessed unparalleled cursed techniques, enormous cursed energy reserves, or monstrous physical abilities.
At the beginning, Yorozu hadn't stood out among them. Her large cursed energy reserves merely allowed her to survive among the strong. They weren't enough to make her exceptional.
Construction itself was also considered a somewhat mediocre technique. Whether creating cursed tools or other objects, it relied heavily on the user's own physical abilities to maximize effectiveness. And it possessed one fatal flaw: the amount of cursed energy wasted during construction was absurd.
Yorozu didn't possess the Six Eyes, nor was she Sukuna. No matter how carefully she controlled her cursed energy, she couldn't eliminate the massive losses caused by her technique. Although her reserves and output rivaled the strongest sorcerers of her era, the constant waste had nearly led her to defeat on multiple occasions.
Because of that, she began searching for answers. Eventually, she heard many fascinating stories: butterflies crossing oceans, hornets flying hundreds of kilometers in a single day, insects lifting objects hundreds of times heavier than themselves, and creatures capable of generating impossible bite force, jumping power, and speed.
Those stories inspired her. She became convinced that for close-range combat, Insect Armor represented the ultimate form of the Construction Technique. As for mid-range combat, she could simply alter the shape of her liquid metal through cursed energy output.
Using those two masterpieces, she had ultimately slaughtered the Five Empty Generals.
"Interesting. This is getting really interesting!"
Hakari had originally only wanted to show off for Mukuro. But after witnessing the creation of Insect Armor, he suddenly found himself genuinely excited about this fight.
"It's coming..."
He slowly closed his eyes. The thrill within him was rising, and with it, his cursed energy surged higher and higher.
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