After many years, Mahoraga's sacred and imposing figure once again appeared before Eichi.
Its head had a strange beauty, its five-meter-tall body was massive, its muscles radiated explosive power, and the overwhelming aura of Cursed Energy exuded despair.
"Is this Mahoraga?"
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Toji's forehead.
He had not yet reached his peak, and due to the taming ritual, he could not use his powerful cursed tools.
Mahoraga's combat strength was immense, even surpassing many Special Grades.
In the original, although Jogo was acknowledged by Sukuna, one must admit Sukuna defeated him with ease.
Facing Mahoraga, however, Sukuna spent considerable effort, even fully expanding his Domain and using countless slashes to try to shatter Mahoraga in one go.
He later found that Mahoraga had already adapted to the slashes, and ultimately used a highly explosive attack to eliminate it.
He suddenly wondered what would happen if Jogo fought Mahoraga. Most likely, Jogo, initially unaware of Mahoraga's mechanics, would be chased and hammered due to the numerical difference, and even after understanding it, he would be helpless against Mahoraga because he lacked a second Technique.
If he were accidentally touched by the Sword of Exorcism midway, he would probably be gone instantly.
Even without considering the Sword of Exorcism's special attack, Mahoraga could probably take down the Four Calamities in a direct confrontation.
Toji, on the other hand, had easily defeated the Special Grade Cursed Spirit Dagon with just Playful Cloud.
As a recently hatched Cursed Womb, Dagon's strength was considerably less than Jogo's, but Toji then only had Playful Cloud, and his combat means were not comprehensive.
Therefore, Toji in his prime should be comparable to Jogo and qualified to fight Mahoraga.
But only to fight. He had never heard of any cursed tool with enough firepower to take down Mahoraga in one hit.
He just did not know what effect the Inverted Spear of Heaven would have on Mahoraga.
But these were meaningless in the taming ritual.
Because the taming ritual is judged by the Cursed Energy system, and this system only recognizes the tamer's own Cursed Energy. Even if Toji used a cursed tool to defeat Mahoraga, it would be meaningless.
The best way to defeat Mahoraga is a one-hit kill, and while Toji's cursed tools are strong, their attack methods are relatively simple, lacking extremely powerful offensive Techniques.
Such attacks would likely be adapted to before Mahoraga could be killed, ultimately leaving Toji helpless and forced to retreat.
The fully manifested Mahoraga stared at Eichi, bent its legs, and swung its right fist toward him.
Bang.
Standing in front of Eichi, Toji did not back down. His right fist, infused with all his strength, slammed into Mahoraga's fist.
A visible shockwave spread from the impact.
The two separated immediately, and through this probing clash, Toji reached a surprising conclusion.
It could not be resisted by force.
This was the first time since obtaining Heavenly Restriction that Toji had encountered an enemy he could not overpower in a direct confrontation.
Seizing the opportunity, he swung his sword and severed Mahoraga's hand.
"Tsk, this is troublesome."
Looking at Mahoraga's hand, which had already regenerated, then at his slightly deformed steel sword, Toji felt troubled.
Mahoraga did not give him time to find a countermeasure and charged again. Its massive body brought overwhelming offense, so Toji abandoned the head-on style he used taming other Shikigami and began to skirmish.
"Rabbit Escape. Toad."
Hundreds of Rabbit Escape emerged from Eichi's shadow, crashing into Mahoraga like a wave.
Their impact did not harm it, but they effectively interfered with its perception.
"Hmph."
Switching to two weapons, Toji circled behind Mahoraga and brought them down with all his might.
Mahoraga turned, about to swing its sword, when its arm was snared by the Toad's long tongue.
Toji did not miss the opening. He used both hands to forcefully chop off Mahoraga's right arm, disabling the most threatening Sword of Exorcism, then followed with a series of heavy slashes.
Soon, Mahoraga's body was covered in wounds.
Clang.
Crack.
The wheel on its head spun, and a crisp snap echoed as the weapon in Toji's hand broke.
"Hey, hey, this isn't an attack from the Cursed Energy system, is it? Can it adapt to this too?"
He looked helplessly at the broken weapon.
"Mahoraga has already adapted to slashes. From now on, all slash-type attacks will be greatly weakened or even nullified."
"Can you control it?"
The Toad vanished, replaced by the Piercing Ox, which ran into the distance.
"I'll try my best."
Having personally experienced the difficulty, Toji's earlier defiance vanished, replaced by solemn focus.
Their figures flashed at high speed through the jungle. Pure physical combat nearly reshaped the terrain.
Under Eichi's anxious gaze, the Piercing Ox finally returned.
"Now."
He shouted to Toji, and countless Rabbit Escape swarmed Mahoraga, forming a fluffy mass around it.
Glancing at the Piercing Ox's position, Toji no longer hesitated. He gathered all his strength and used an Iron Mountain Lean, sending the much larger Mahoraga flying.
Mid-air, Mahoraga flipped, landed, and prepared to attack.
"Max Elephant."
The Rabbit Escape disappeared, replaced by a pink elephant descending from the sky.
Unable to expand his Domain, Eichi could not summon Max Elephant from high altitude while standing on the ground like Megumi in the original, so he moved through the trees using Rabbit Escape as footholds, manually air-dropping Max Elephant from the shadows above.
Boom.
Several tons slammed down on Mahoraga, and the immense weight made its movements pause for a moment.
The wheel spun, and a moment later, Max Elephant was thrown off.
"Huff, huff."
With his Cursed Energy nearly depleted, Eichi used the Holy Grail to replenish it and looked at the rapidly approaching Piercing Ox.
This was his last hope of defeating Mahoraga.
After a long run-up and acceleration, Piercing Ox's power was greatly enhanced. A normal Special Grade might be killed instantly by this blow.
This powerful attack came with huge Cursed Energy consumption. Without the Holy Grail's replenishment, Eichi would have been empty long ago.
Under their tense gazes, the Piercing Ox, like a black meteor, pierced through Mahoraga's body.
The wound was too small.
It dealt damage, but not severe, let alone fatal.
The next moment, under Eichi's unwilling gaze, Mahoraga's body began to rapidly recover.
Still too weak, huh.
Eichi felt unwillingness rise.
As mentioned, Mahoraga's strength was likely higher than Special Grades like Jogo and Dagon.
This "higher" was not just the Sword of Exorcism.
The Sword's anti-Cursed Spirit effect is too powerful. If it struck Jogo, he would likely be gone instantly.
After Sukuna's slash hit Jogo, Jogo's body was severed. But Mahoraga, after taking Sukuna's initial probing slash, was not completely severed.
It later even deflected Sukuna's slashes.
When Sukuna became serious and increased their power, Mahoraga's body was severed multiple times.
Therefore, without prior information, Mahoraga's strength was likely superior to Jogo's.
And Eichi was at best a Grade 1 Jujutsu Sorcerer, still some distance from Special Grade.
Even at full power, he could not reach Jogo's level, let alone Mahoraga, who might be stronger.
Watching Mahoraga's body nearly fully repaired, Eichi gritted his teeth and decided to cancel the taming ritual.
At that moment, a figure appeared behind Mahoraga, and a series of glowing red objects were thrown onto its body.
Before Eichi could even see what they were, Toji grabbed him and sprinted away.
In under ten seconds, they had moved a kilometer from Mahoraga. Even a world champion would be humbled by that speed.
Boom.
A huge explosion erupted from where Mahoraga had stood.
In Eichi's stunned gaze, a massive fireball, accompanied by faintly mushroom-shaped black smoke, rose into the sky.
Even a kilometer from the epicenter, the blast could still be felt.
"To… Toji, was that…?"
Eichi looked at him in disbelief.
"I got some explosives from foreign countries earlier. These things aren't subject to the Cursed Energy system's judgment, so I figured they might be useful."
They were indeed useful. Eichi could feel Mahoraga had already begun a new round of adaptation.
"Tsk, what a pain."
Toji clicked his tongue, looking at the tattered figure slowly rising from the flames.
"Let's stop here for today."
He looked down at Eichi.
Eichi nodded.
On one side was himself, whose strongest offensive Techniques had failed.
On the other was Toji, who had fought half the night, suffered considerable injuries, was exhausted, and had used up all his weapons.
Eichi knew the taming ritual could only go this far.
He had no complaints. This battle let Toji test Mahoraga's strength for him, providing valuable experience for future attempts. That was enough.
(To be continued.)
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