Hanami, a Special Grade Cursed Spirit born from humanity's collective fear of forests.
It loved nature and, as a result, loathed the humans who devastated it. Though possessing a tranquil personality for a Cursed Spirit, after enduring numerous conflicts, it had begun to appreciate the thrill of battle.
"Who is... next?" Hanami's cold voice rang directly within everyone's minds.
Wait, Darkrai hasn't been disqualified yet, has it? Absol and the others exchanged glances. They didn't believe for a second that the previous attack could have actually harmed Darkrai.
Aomori glanced amusedly toward a shadow, where Darkrai had already taken up its "true" profession—holding a camcorder to film the fight. It clearly had no intention of stepping back onto the field.
Well, fine. Might as well leave the opportunity to the others. Besides, if Darkrai returned to the fight completely unscathed, those Cursed Spirits who just saw off their comrade would probably have a mental breakdown.
Thus, Aomori nodded to Ditto. "You go."
"Understood!" Yujiro-Ditto-Hanma let out a low growl. Its robust body leaped forward, landing in front of Hanami while radiating an unsettling, predatory aura.
"Grieving for your comrade's sacrifice? Feeling rage? If you fight me with only that level of resolve, you will never win. Your purity... is too low."
Hanami raised its hand, clenched a fist, and spoke: "Die!"
Boom!
From all directions, tree branches transformed into sharp spikes, closing in like the petals of a blooming flower. Just as it seemed Ditto would be skewered like a pincushion, it flashed a contemptuous smile. Its fists moved like twin dragons emerging from the sea, smashing every closing spike into splinters.
Then, it strode toward Hanami with thunderous steps, pulverizing the ground with every stride and crushing the incoming ancient roots into dust with every punch.
"Die! Die! Die!" Hanami went berserk.
Countless roots burst from the earth, wrapping around Hanami in layers until it became a giant treant over ten meters tall, encased in bark as hard as iron. The giant treant roared, swinging a fist the size of a man, carrying the weight of ten thousand catties, directly at Ditto.
"Good timing!" Ditto showed no fear. The "Demon Face" on its bare back contorted into a hideous grin, and its muscles pulsed and expanded as if they were alive. Its clenched fist, looking like a tiny ant before a Great Tree, met the giant treant's blow.
Bang!
It was a clash of pure strength. The result? Ditto didn't budge an inch, while the giant treant was forced back a step, its wooden fist crumbling.
"Impossible!" Hanami, located at the core of the giant treant, was shocked. "How can mere flesh and blood match a tree nurtured for hundreds, thousands of years!"
"Nothing is impossible. I told you, your purity is simply too low."
Ditto coiled its legs and leaped into the air, reaching eye-level with Hanami. It threw another heavy punch. The air vibrated, erupting in a sonic boom as the fist, carrying Ditto's absolute will to win, slammed into the treant's core. Hanami was sent flying, crashing deep into the dirt. Without its controller, the giant treant instantly collapsed.
Aomori watched from his high chair and nodded with satisfaction. After all that special training, if it couldn't even manage this, it would be in for a lecture later. Still, he wondered about Ditto's personality. It seemed significantly more reliable whenever it took on Yujiro's form.
The other spectators weren't nearly as calm.
"Terrifying... like a humanoid beast." Yuji was breathless with excitement as the battle reached a fever pitch.
"Take out the 'like.' It's not human at all. How could a human have a body like that?" Megumi remarked.
"No, they can." Satoru Gojo touched his neck, his tone unreadable. "There was once a man who could do the same."
"No way..." Megumi found it hard to believe.
"So cool! I want to grow up to be a man like that. Knock out every monster and ghost with one punch!" Yuji drifted into a daydream.
"Good luck, Yuji! I'm rooting for you."
On the other side, Dagon was worrying for Hanami. "Mahito, will Hanami be okay?"
"Relax. Hanami's defense is the highest among us." Mahito's smile remained unchanged.
As if validating Mahito's words, Hanami soon rose from the pit, aided by tree roots. Despite taking a direct hit from Ditto, it didn't seem mortally wounded, though it was covered in dust. Its wrapped left arm was now exposed, showing a color distinctly different from the rest of its body.
"Tough indeed. But if one punch doesn't kill you, I'll use two. If two don't work, then three. I'll keep hitting you until you stay dead." Ditto clenched its fists, walking toward Hanami with a slow, deliberate pace.
"You won't get the chance." Hanami seemed to regain its composure. With a gentle wave of its hand, the ground was instantly carpeted in beautiful flowers and tender grass.
A strange, sweet fragrance filled the air. Ditto's footsteps faltered as it became immersed in the scent, appearing dazed and enchanted. Hanami touched the ground with its strange left hand. In the blink of an eye, the surrounding trees withered into dry rot, turning to ash in the wind. Simultaneously, a red flower with a single eye sprouted from its left shoulder.
This was the function of its left hand: absorbing the life force of plants and converting it into Cursed Energy, which was then stored in the flower. Combining its natural energy with the stored reserves, Hanami formed a hand seal and shouted:
"Domain Expansion: Shining Sea of Growing Branches!"
The expanding Domain engulfed both of them, vanishing from the view of the others.
"Rare to see it successfully deploy its Domain in front of Satoru Gojo," Aomori noted with slight surprise. In the original story, Gojo usually interrupted the expansion. Now, he could finally see it for real.
Since a Domain is essentially a barrier technique combined with sorcery, its boundary possesses the characteristics of a barrier. Depending on the purpose, the caster can set the boundary to be permeable or sealed. Hanami's Domain, Ceremonial Sea of Light, allowed entry but forbade exit. Aomori wouldn't miss this show; as the Domain expanded, he blurred from his seat and entered the space.
"The God went inside," Megumi observed, having kept his eyes on Aomori. "Maybe we should..."
"Maybe we should go in and take a look, too." Gojo grabbed their shoulders and leaped, entering the Domain as well.
"…" Shoko Ieiri was not amused.
"…" Megumi had actually intended to ask if they should take the chance to escape, but seeing Yuji's excitement, he swallowed his words.
Inside the Domain was a breathtaking, sea-like field of flowers, each one swaying gently. Being there made one feel an involuntary urge to lie down and rest.
"So tired... want to sleep..." Megumi yawned, his spirit flagging. Tiny motes of light began drifting away from his body. "What are these? Fireflies? So pretty..." Yuji was in a similar state.
"Wake up. Now isn't the time for a nap," Gojo said, clapping his hands.
Megumi and Yuji snapped out of their daze, cold sweat breaking out.
"A mesmerizing ability? That's terrifying; you fall for it without even realizing."
"And it absorbs stamina and Cursed Energy. If you don't wake up immediately, you probably never will."
"Thank goodness Gojo-sensei is here."
"It's not actually that scary. It's mostly because you lacked a sense of crisis. You felt the enemy wouldn't target you and that you had a 'Super Bodyguard' like me nearby, which made you susceptible. With a bit of vigilance, it's easy to break the enchantment." Gojo pointed at the fighting Ditto. "Look, the guy actually being targeted isn't affected at all."
"His body is different, you can't compare us!" Yuji protested.
"I was being vigilant," Megumi insisted.
"Then you're just too weak."
"…"
Aomori had also easily shrugged off the Domain's charm. This level of mental influence could be nullified by anyone with a sufficiently strong will. The charm was merely a side effect; the primary technique was the remote absorption of stamina and energy, which was a "sure-hit" effect that could not be dodged.
Given enough time, the balance of power would shift. By now, many orbs of light were floating around Ditto—stamina and energy that had been sucked out. These orbs were being consumed by the flowers on the ground to maintain the Domain.
"The power in your fists is beginning to wane. Soon, you won't even have the strength to swing, and you'll be at my mercy." Hanami's defense grew more effortless as the fight progressed.
"I guess my purity isn't high enough either," Ditto chuckled, tilting its head. "You should be proud that you forced out my second form."
"Second form?" Before Hanami could process the words, Ditto showed it.
Its humanoid body buckled and shifted, growing even more massive. Its head elongated, sprouting two sharp horns. Its snout sharpened, its neck lengthened, and its body became heavy and powerful. Its limbs grew wicked claws, and from its back sprouted wide wings and a tail tipped with a burning flame.
"Second Form: Blazing Charizard!"
"The person... turned into a dragon?" Yuji and the others were stunned.
"I thought it would be mean enough to turn into Jogo, but I guess I overthought it." Aomori nodded. This Charizard looked far more majestic than Ash's, likely because Ditto had "modded" the appearance.
"No matter what form you take, the result will not change." Hanami remained unmoved, spreading its arms. "Keep absorbing! Shining Sea of Growing Branches!"
"That's enough of that!" Charizard exhaled a massive blast of fire at Hanami, forcing it to flee in desperation. Hanami's defense was like paper before those flames.
I still have a chance. If I hold out for two more minutes, it will run out of stamina, Hanami told itself.
"You're overthinking it. You don't even have ten seconds!" Charizard spread its great wings and flapped once, soaring into the air. With a second flap, it appeared instantly before Hanami, slamming its massive claws down to grip its shoulders tight.
"Oh no!" Hanami struggled desperately, but against such absolute strength, it couldn't budge the dragon. Its wooden spikes couldn't even pierce the dragon's scales. It could only watch helplessly as it was carried high into the sky.
Charizard erupted in flames, making Hanami scream in agony. The dragon flew in a massive circle, looping several times until it reached peak velocity, then began a steep, rapid dive. Just before hitting the ground, it released its grip, hurling Hanami downward.
"Seismic Toss!"
Struck by this massive impact, Hanami's consciousness blurred, and it could no longer maintain the Domain. Everyone reappeared back in the shrine.
"One last hit." Looking at Hanami buried in the crater, Charizard condensed all its energy and released a blast of fire in the shape of the character "大."
"Fire Blast!"
Flames shot into the sky. In the eternal fire, Hanami was burned to a cinder, leaving only its final sigh: "Return... to nature..."
Following Jogo, Hanami had also perished.
"Hanami! I will avenge you!" Seeing that Ditto's strength was nearly depleted, Dagon, who had been in its Womb form, instantly evolved into its true form. It formed a hand seal and roared: "Domain Expansion: Horizon of the Captivating Skandha!"
"Again?!" Before Ditto could catch its breath, it was dragged into another Domain. To save time, the spectators, including Aomori, were pulled in as well.
"Die!" Dagon commanded countless piranhas within the Domain to swarm and tear at Ditto.
"You forced my hand," Ditto sighed helplessly. "Third Form: Ultimate Tangrowth!"
It transformed into a mass of tangled blue vines. Once the transformation was complete, it immediately launched a four-hit combo: "Grassy Terrain! Ingrain! Stun Spore! Giga Drain!"
There it was, the incredibly annoying "stall" build Aomori had forced it to learn. Its immense recovery power kept it standing, while the piranhas simply became "food" to restore its stamina. Eventually, Dagon was constricted to death by the vines.
"This is too much. I'm starting to feel bad for the Cursed Spirits," Yuji said, shaking his head.
"Against this type of enemy, you have to use a powerful destructive skill to take it out in one go," Megumi noted, mentally rehearsing the fight.
"So there's only one left, huh? This one-sidedness is getting boring," Gojo said gloomily.
Seeing Dagon's heroic sacrifice, Mahito shrugged helplessly. "In the blink of an eye, I'm the only one left against three opponents. There's no way I can win this, right? Can I surrender?"
"I'm just a kid; I don't want to die so young."
"It's better for the whole family to be together," Aomori replied. "I won't let you go. I hate people who don't keep their promises most of all."
"Well, no choice then." Mahito shrugged and stepped onto the field.
Its opponent was still Ditto.
"A triple kill! A triple kill! I'm going for the hat trick!" Having basked in the awe of the spectators, Ditto was feeling a bit full of itself. "A mere Mahito who toys with souls... I'll finish you off with my fourth form!"
Ditto was planning to transform into Aomori and end it with a Hado spell. But before it could transform, Mahito opened its mouth, revealing tiny hands inside.
"Domain Expansion: Self-Embodiment of Perfection!"
"Wait, again? again?!"
This time, Mahito's Domain only enclosed Ditto.
"Now, let me see what the soul of a 'Subordinate Deity' looks like." Mahito was so excited his brain was practically trembling.
Then, Mahito saw the purple blob that was Ditto, and the Giant of Light connected to it by a golden thread.
"Ahh... is this... a God?" Mahito trembled with excitement as it stared at the Giant of Light, whose single toe was larger than its entire body. It reached out, wanting to touch it, but the Giant of Light merely looked down.
With just a single glance, an indescribable pressure descended. Mahito's soul was instantly torn to shreds. Before the final fragment of its soul vanished, a ripple of thought escaped: "I see... so that's how it is..."